Stuff People Don't Tell You About Moving Aboard!

[mahal]

Speaking of headroom, a stand up engine room was a non negotiable item when we were shopping. Being also able to walk into the engine rooms through normal door's was a huge plus as well. I'm 6'1" +.

Brilliant! I just realized that outboard powered boats have stand-up engine rooms. Another plus for outboards.

 

[ssobol]

Brilliant! I just realized that outboard powered boats have stand-up engine rooms. Another plus for outboards.

No doors or hatches either.

 

[High Wire]

We’re not full-time cruisers yet but on long trips occasionally hook up self serve pump out hoses. 1- make sure you flush the hose before storing it and 2- Treat any pump out hose as if the previous user did not flush it. Nothing like pulling out the pump out hose from its storage box and have a black water spill all over the dock!

 

[ghost]

"Those dang blue heron birds love to roost on the dock lines and inevitable SQUAAAAAWWWWK and take off flying just as you approach and don't see them."



Not that it really matters to you, but those are almost certainly black capped night herons.



I could be wrong, but from your list of "complaints", it does seem like maybe you are not a great candidate for the live aboard life! Don't want to discourage you, but many of your concerns look fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, so, if they really bother you, maybe you might be better pursuing a different life style?

I think the op was being humorous(I laughed). Just a wild guess but, were you a sailboaters?

 

[dhays]

We’re not full-time cruisers yet but on long trips occasionally hook up self serve pump out hoses. 1- make sure you flush the hose before storing it and 2- Treat any pump out hose as if the previous user did not flush it. Nothing like pulling out the pump out hose from its storage box and have a black water spill all over the dock!

I’ve always rinsed my holding tank when I pump it out but never rinsed the hose separately until I was at a Kingston and had one of the dock employees use the mobile pump to pump out my tank. I noticed that when he was done and the pump was still running, he dipped the hose into the water for a few seconds. This effectively rinsed the hose. I since have been doing then same when I do my own pump-outs.

 

[SlowGypsy]

I think the op was being humorous(I laughed). Just a wild guess but, were you a sailboaters?

Guilty, as charged! (I sailed for about 54 years)
I am usually pretty good at detecting evidence of a dry, off the wall sense of humour, but I completely missed on this one! Having experienced more than my share of MUCH bigger problems than those described by the OP, I guess I jumped to the conclusion that if these little things are really bothering him, perhaps he should find other pursuits.
My apologies to the OP! ?

I actually laughed when I read about his heron incident - I lived aboard my old schooner, summer and winter, for 14 years, and that is how I learned about the habits of the black-capped night heron. First time it happened to me, at 3am on a dark and stormy night, it scared the crap out of me! Almost ended up in the frigid water! Always funnier when it happens to someone else!

 

[toocoys]

- Everything is miniature! Unless you’re on a larger boat, everything seems miniature. Our first meal on board is tonight and cooking a meal on a two burner electric stove with only a foot of counter space is rather tight. We’re rrally missing the 4 burner propane stove and the kitchen island of the RV right now!

 

[Lou_tribal]

- Everything is miniature! Unless you’re on a larger boat, everything seems miniature. Our first meal on board is tonight and cooking a meal on a two burner electric stove with only a foot of counter space is rather tight. We’re rrally missing the 4 burner propane stove and the kitchen island of the RV right now!

Everything miniature... Except the bill!!!

L

 

[markpierce]

Some of the worse kinds of stairs are those without railings needed to enter or leave a boat from/to the dock. Even worse are ladders such as boats equipped to access the flybridge. A flybridge is best used to observe fireworks or to function as attic storage.

 

[Lou_tribal]

A flybridge is best used to observe fireworks or to function as attic storage.

Well this is your opinion, some may have a different one. I spend most of my time on the flybridge and only count on one hand the time I spent at the lower wheel. Only depends on how and where you use your boat...

L

 

[markpierce]

Brilliant! I just realized that outboard powered boats have stand-up engine rooms. Another plus for outboards.

Sounds like "lean over" to me. Prefer to sit on the battery boxes on opposite sides of the engine with "unlimited" headroom if sticking up my head through the hatch on the pilothouse floor.

 

[markpierce]

Well this is your opinion, some may have a different one. I spend most of my time on the flybridge and only count on one hand the time I spent at the lower wheel. Only depends on how and where you use your boat...

L

That's for sure. That's for dang sure.

 

[boatpoker]

Flying bridge (sorry, I'm a traditionalist) best place on the planet for cruising the Dry Tortugas, Intra-coastal or Bahamas.
Never should have sold that boat.

 

[markpierce]

Boatpoker, your current boat seems more practical. So, you prefer many fenders too? I place five on each side.

 

[boatpoker]

Boatpoker, your current boat seems more practical. So, you prefer many fenders too? I place five on each side.

I do like my current boat and it is more liveable but I don't think it would survive the 19hrs of 20' seas that Isle of Skye took us through in Lake Superior or the 90 degree knockdown from a direct tornado hit in Pungo Creek.

Just finished a repaint job (changed colours) on DIRT FREE (see photo) getting ready for the trip down Mississippi come spring.

Fenders outboard .... that's where I keep em

 

[Wayfarer]

...Never should have sold that boat.

I do like my current boat and it is more liveable but I don't think it would survive the 19hrs of 20' seas that Isle of Skye took us through in Lake Superior or the 90 degree knockdown from a direct tornado hit in Pungo Creek.

Just finished a repaint job (changed colours) on DIRT FREE (see photo) getting ready for the trip down Mississippi come spring.

Fenders outboard .... that's where I keep em

Well if you ever decide to sell Dirt Free, you be sure to let me know! I've admired her for years, and the amount of love and attention that you've lavished on her is fantastic. She's pretty much exactly what I want in a boat. I'd even keep the name!

Also, sweet jesus, I've never seen 20 footers on the Great Lakes, though I know they come up every so often. It's taken effort to avoid them. I've seen 14-16 feet several times, but that's plenty, even in a 600 footer.

Also, also, sweet jesus, you were knocked down by a tornado?!

Sorry for the thread creep, but those are some sea stories I'd love to hear!

 

[boatpoker]

Well if you ever decide to sell Dirt Free, you be sure to let me know! I've admired her for years, and the amount of love and attention that you've lavished on her is fantastic. She's pretty much exactly what I want in a boat. I'd even keep the name!

Also, sweet jesus, I've never seen 20 footers on the Great Lakes, though I know they come up every so often. It's taken effort to avoid them. I've seen 14-16 feet several times, but that's plenty, even in a 600 footer.

Also, also, sweet jesus, you were knocked down by a tornado?!

Sorry for the thread creep, but those are some sea stories I'd love to hear!

Anchored in Pungo Creek, NC, 2006. A tornado came right down the creek. A single hander on a 36' TT tried to get his anchor up and run. He didn't make it. We saw him sucked off his foredeck. They found his body two days later. Here is a photo from the pilot house just before it hit.

The 20 footers were intentional. My wife hadn't seen the kids for a year and we were so close to home she didn't give a damn about the weather which was going to stay shitty for a week or more and insisted we go. ...... a very, very tough woman

 

[Wayfarer]

Anchored in Pungo Creek, NC, 2006. A tornado came right down the creek. A single hander on a 36' TT tried to get his anchor up and run. He didn't make it. They found his body two days later. Here is a photo from the pilot house just before it hit.

The 20 footers were intentional. My wife hadn't seen the kids for a year and we were so close to home she didn't give a damn about the weather which was going to stay shitty for a week or more and insisted we go. ...... a very, very tough woman

!! holy ****!

 

[boatpoker]

!! holy ****!

Not too bad. With somewhere over 23,000hrs in my log. Those were two of only four really bad days I've had. ..... I think that's a pretty good score

 

[Simi 60]

.

The 20 footers were intentional. My wife hadn't seen the kids for a year and we were so close to home she didn't give a damn about the weather which was going to stay shitty for a week or more and insisted we go. ...... a very, very tough woman

That's how boats and lives get lost and others have to risk their lives to rescue them.

 

[South of Heaven]

Some of the worse kinds of stairs are those without railings needed to enter or leave a boat from/to the dock. Even worse are ladders such as boats equipped to access the flybridge. A flybridge is best used to observe fireworks or to function as attic storage.

Grumpy. You need a hug! Lol

 

[markajh]

Everyone tells you about the normal stuff of maintaining a boat, but no one ever tells you about:

- Bulkhead doors. Every door that leads into a head has a lip about 6 inches off the floor. Make sure you step OVER them, because if you don't you'll find yourself going head first into the head itself.

- Get in shape, because you'll be doing a lot of walking. Walking from the parking lot to the boat, walking from the boat to the bath house, walking down to the green area to walk the dog. Walk, Walk, Walk.

- Speaking of bath houses, you better like community bathing if you don't want to use your boat. You'll get REAL intimate with the neighbors. You'll shower one after the other, get dressed together, and you'll even poop at the same time sometimes! I think my neighbor may need a colonoscopy cause something might have gotten stuck.

- If you do choose to use your boat, flush your vacuum toilet a few times to get used to it before you go ahead and sit down. It was quite a surprise how loud it was, and I might have added a little to the flush.

- Better like stairs. Stairs to get on the boat, stairs to go down to the salon, even more stairs going down to the aft cabin, up/down into the galley, its all stairs!

- Compartments. If you're an organized/OCD person, a boat may be for you! For the love of pete, there are 17 THOUSAND compartments on a boat. Sometimes there's even compartments inside compartments.

- Get a helmet because you'll be hitting your head, alot. On the engine room roof, on the bed when you're getting something out of the drawers underneath it, on the that damn bulkhead door to the head.

- BIRDS! If you have a low startle point, don't go walking the docks at night. Those dang blue heron birds love to roost on the dock lines and inevitable SQUAAAAAWWWWK and take off flying just as you approach and don't see them.

- Speaking of startle points, when out on your dinghy idling through the marina, that body you see floating up from under the sailboat isn't a dead person. It's probably just a diver cleaning a bottom. Bout flipped my dinghy on that one.

- If you have motion sickness, or get dizzy easily, living aboard is not for you. Even though we're in highly protected waters with barely even a ripple, when the wind blows the boats move back and forth. One boat moving one direction and another moving the other direction can get pretty dizzing pretty quickly, especially when you're below deck looking out a port hole the size of a coffee can.


... and that's just two days worth of observation.

Awesome post. I apologize for laughing at all - but you just about covered everything and some of it is actually amusing - at anothers expense of course hehe

 

[Crazymonkey]

My wife and I have been living on our 45' trawler for 2 years now...We downsized from our 3600 square foot home down 4x until we got to an 800 sqft condo to deal with the boat. We actually have alot more room on the boat and storage. It still took a bit getting use to but well worth it...cant wait for the next 2 years! Hang in there...its worth the effort

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Everything miniature... Except the bill!!!

L

Ain't that the truth

 

[Diane and Chris Fawcett]

Sheesh! I think many are taking the OPs comments a little too seriosuly. I thought it was hilarious!!

 

[Boatfever]

- Everything is miniature! Unless you’re on a larger boat, everything seems miniature. Our first meal on board is tonight and cooking a meal on a two burner electric stove with only a foot of counter space is rather tight. We’re rrally missing the 4 burner propane stove and the kitchen island of the RV right now!

Don't forget the grill. We've got a Weber Q1200 on our aft deck. Not too big, lid tall enough to do something like a whole chicken, etc. Heavy two piece porcelain coated iron grate. Uses 1lb propane canisters or you can use an adapter and hose to a larger tank. Oh, and a lot cheaper than many "Marine" gas grills. You can find them for $199 any time but sometimes Walmart or Target will have them on sale. https://www.weber.com/US/en/grills/gas-grills/q-series/51060001.html

 

[wayne ford]

Do you think dampness would be a problem on the newer boats. I don’t mean a canvas enclosed boat like an Express Cruiser, but an enclosed cabin boat.

 

[boatpoker]

Do you think dampness would be a problem on the newer boats. I don’t mean a canvas enclosed boat like an Express Cruiser, but an enclosed cabin boat.

23yr liveaboard with many winters in Toronto and some in Bahamas.
Ventilation + insulation = no moisture problems.

 

[toocoys]

23yr liveaboard with many winters in Toronto and some in Bahamas.
Ventilation + insulation = no moisture problems.

Texas Gulf Coast. We’re running our AC’s non-stop and have a 30 pint dehumidifier set on 40% humidity. We’re emptying 30pints every two days.

 

[BandB]

Do you think dampness would be a problem on the newer boats. I don’t mean a canvas enclosed boat like an Express Cruiser, but an enclosed cabin boat.

Dampness is a problem on anything on the water. If you don't control the climate you will have issues.