I am 75, I have lived aboard 2 other times, first a 24 foot double end sail boat in San Diego in the 80's, then a 36 foot houseboat in the 90's and now, still spry, I just popped for a 24 foot Century Antigua cruiser. I am so stoked, I take possession tomorrow on the Mississippi River. Wish me luck.
I lost my rental home in a housefire last year, I have talkt about living on a boat for manny years. Never tought I was be able to do it, but yet I was blessed and bought a 40 ft steel cruiser and live on it for a year now. Loved it since Day one
I'm on my 16th year on a 44' SeaRay and I still love it. I do have a washer/dryer combo and a separate shower stall. I did have one that was only 24' and stayed on it more than my house. Upgraded to a 28' and did the same . It's not for everybody. The big difference is no matter who else has a boat there you always have something in common and that's the love of boats and the water. Plus you have very wealthy living next door to the poor guy and they all get along great. On land you wouldn't live in the same neighborhood and most likely not have anything in common. It's all in what you like. We have some that don’t work at all and live on a budget. We have Executives , Lawyers , Doctors , Engineers and blue collar workers of many trades. When on the water , anchor or at the docks we’re all just boaters.
GuerrillaFPS - Most stay at harbor when forecast is not looking good. Not to bad at the marina due to being protected by wave breaks and wind. It can get bumpy sometimes. Bigger the boat less the movement. Out on the open water in storm it can get pretty rough.
My wife and I bought a Sea Ray 280 2007 (LOA 31) last year, and hardly stayed at our very modern house last year. When we would go home and walk in it was a small shock to see how much “stuff” we had and really didn’t miss at all. Then we became to talk. We looked at our monthly living budget and decided we could live so much cheaper and be just as happy living in a boat on the water (this had been a dream of mine since a teen) if we sorted through all our “stuff” and downsized. So we decided to sell our very nice house and moved into our Sea Ray close to two months ago and have no regrets. We have been able to retire early and slowly the “move hangover” is fleeting. We are hoping to move up to a 40+ Motor Yacht in the future, but until then we are happy to call our boat home. Storage was our prime concern so we boat a nice van where we are able to have much more storage as we live at our marina. A nice marina makes quite a difference as we have dock water and electric hook ups. The boating community is great (even if we are not the partying couple). “To float life through life; one needs to live the boat life”
blessedjohn - Its really nice to hear you and your wife love boat life so much. I had a 28 ‘ while I still had my house. I rented part of my house to a co-worker and she said i was the best roommates ever because I never came home. When I sold my house to move of my boat I sent a email to all my co-workers listing all my furniture at a very reasonable price under the condition they would come move it out. I up sized my boat since It would now be my home. One thing I want to say is I feel much safer living at the marina. We have security and gates and like a small town everybody watches out for each other. You have a problem with your boat dozens of people willing to help as someone has had that same problem before and know how to repair it. Literally people from all professions are boat owners. At your home you may have many neighbors that you have nothing in common with. At the marina no matter how big, how small or what kind of boat you have everyone has something in common. The love of boating and the water. What I found out and most other that stay on the water have to is you don’t miss all the stuff that was in the attic , garage and storage shed. As I said before it’s not for everybody but those who love it wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I can’t even imagine living on shore again.
Fixing to make a move to a 100 foot house boat. Tired of the house, yard up keep, property taxes etc. Lived on a small boat about 22 years ago for a year. only moved off to be closer to work. now retired, can hardly wait.
On a boat, you crack a beer and some snacks and head for someplace to anchor or marina, the relaxing time starts when you leave the slip, no fighting traffic to get to a nice place, then some mayhem setting the anchor and back to relaxation, I had the best time going to Sucia this summer for 3 days, hanging on a mooring, no worries about anchor and watching the sunrise and sunset. I have a 30' sailboat I am prepping, planning a radar/bimini tower as we do get a lot of fog in the PNW, will retire and spend a few years between Anacortes and Alaska, then decide to truck it down to Mexico as I get older. Hardest part of cruising on my boat is being alone, or I would cruise more often.
Yep once you live on a boat you don’t want to go back. We live on a 63ft x 6ft boat on the canals in the Uk have done for 6 years and love it never get tired of waking up to the water. Look up narrowboats.
Drivin Home - my brother is big into motor homes. Definitely has some bright sides. Why a prefer the boat is it’s much easier to find secluded places away from roads , traffic etc.
@@1951RKP Yeah same, that's what sold it for me too, the boat life is easier. No hassle getting moved on, just pay cheaply monthly in a marina! Currently paying 180 a month, for a 45ft widebeam ( 1 bedroom flat on water ) Access to electricity, water toilets showers, security, post box and you can get away with living there. In my van it felt weird pretty much every night with noise of the road, people, cops. Even in the countryside you still get hassle lol
Jiggin Ginger what constitutes “really needed”? Is it maybe, three or four different shits? Or five or six different shits? I wonder if the inventor of Poo~Pourri grew up on a small boat?
I moved out of the states to the Philippines and very cheap. If I come back, this seems to be my next move. 71 and single, sounds great to me. thinking southern states for 6 months and back to PI for six to save money.
Well, as a Navy veteran, he is not fooling me! Sure, 5 minutes and your clothes are picked up and dishes done! It's the constant maintenance that's required for any boat! Especially one that is in the water 24/7!!
Jake D. I live in AZ homeless at the moment. Fled California and lost everything but my car and computers. On a whim, after getting hired full time out here, I took a drive and stumbled on a national park. Then lake Bartlett. There’s a marina there and I’m seriously considering getting a membership there and bringing a small boat. My “rent” with the membership would include showers, docking, draining, electric, etc. I’m gonna do it. Saving for a boat right now. The loophole to the national park problem is docking every 12 days then throwing your boat right back in the water. Best part, I just dock at the marina with the membership so it can stay in the water.
Very cool dude.... and nice boat....., but yes a Trawler would be more comfortable. You know who he reminds me of ? Jessie James of West Coast Choppers ! They could be brothers...... lol
So jelly just so jelly I wanna live on a boat so bad always have since I was a kid but now I have a kid and cannot for the fam in that small of a place
i want to live off the grid, or live in a small powered boat. but 1 there really expensive and not like less than 10 grand, and how do i get money to live? obviously find a job or start my own job but i dont know how or any ideas. ive never done fishing and i dont fancy having fish every night and i dont fancy sailing as it will be hard work and like the guy said it takes longer to get anywhere. any ideas people?
Does Chad have a public/social media account? I am seriously considering doing this in San Diego and have questions for him. Willing to pay a consulting fee!
I just found a 28 Marinette for well under 10K - totally doable - sailboats can find for under 5K - nice ones - - walk the docks, check FB market, check Craigslist - and it's a really good time of year to do it - just remember, every month they don't sell is another month of slip rent, another month of insurance, etc. Just sitting there that boat is costing them money - so go with cash, go with good intentions, don't be jerk - you'll find a boat.
Having lived aboard? Slip rent varies tremendously from 700+ in places like Marin County to a few hundred where I am - many marinas have electric separate -so whatever your power bill is - depends on what amenities you want - nicer marinas have things like gates, bath houses, club houses with full kitchens, laundry facilities etc. then on the other end is stay at your own risk - poorly maintained, sketchy probably cook meth there sometimes - marinas are like neighborhoods, there are nicer ones, friendlier ones, pretentious ones, etc.
Adventure Darin, I lived on a boat for two years and in a van for a year. The boat was much tougher in the winter. I would choose van over boat but it also depends on where you live. Whatever you choose the number one must have is to be able to stand up inside!
Both are awesome. In my 20s did the van thing then from 30 switched to a sailing vessel. More expensive maintenance but no / little fuel to burn. More independent and free but you cant use it to drive to work. - Terry. Brisbane Australia
I'm going through a breakup and this has come across my mind to do...I turn 50 in 2-months and a bit lost because its scary as shit at this point wondering if this is the way to go.
I doubt the issue here is a lack of waterways but more so that they completely freeze over in the harsh winters up there!!! I live on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay and the only issue we have in the wintertime here is the fact that we have to physically cart 100 gallons of fresh water all the way to our boat once or twice every week since the marina must winterize the water lines out on the dock. And with 3 20gal plastic feed buckets and an extra jumbo, heavy duty dock cart, as well as an electric pump to get the water quickly into our tanks, it’s really not so bad. However, the temperatures here rarely remain below freezing for more than just a day or two AND the water is also slightly brackish so it doesn’t completely freeze over except in the most extreme of cold spells which are pretty rare here in Maryland.
What brand boat is that and what size? My broker is telling me not to go smaller than a 37' express cruiser but I see a lot of 35' that look very liveable. And 20k less money.
Interesting vid. I have a question though. How much fuel would it take to cross the Atlantic Ocean (if possible)? With a sailboat it’s about 20 days depending on the weather, with no fuel used. Cheers
Fuel usage depend on the hull type (shape), the length at the waterline (LWL) and the speed. Regarding type of boat to cross the Atlantic, You are definitely going to meet some gnarly and worse weather, so *never* a planing boat (because Expedition Suicidal if you do), perhaps a semi displacement boat, and the best is a displacement boat. Quote, How much fuel would it take to cross the Atlantic Ocean (if possible)?
I live on a boat. It's not hard to keep tidy and clean ( hense, small space) With the exception of a couple videos I have seen, so far, seaworthiness is not a priority....yikes!
You can have TV on a boat if you want it. In the marina you can often get Internet TV, Direct TV, over-the-air broadcast TV, etc., and at sea there are satellite systems like TracVision, although the latter type can be quite expensive.
Got 3 TVs on my boat and rarely watch them. The dock life is awesome and there are several big screen TVs on our neighbors slips where we get together, grill, and watch sports. While I don’t live on my boat, we are there as much as possible. We’ve made some amazing friends.
