living aboard

I am looking to possibly becoming a live aboard . Any info on cost would be great . Is it cheaper then dirt dwelling, if so how ?

rick, That is like asking how long is a piece of string. It depends on your wants and needs, area of the country you will live, size of your boat, at anchor or at a dock or a mooring, Etc., etc. Chuck

The are several past discussion on PassageMaker and this forum under Live a Boards. My wife and I been a full time live a board for 12 years in the Seattle area.* Because we both still work we have a permanent year round slip.* I would say it cost equal or more to be a live a board.* To be a 24/7 365 days per year you need to have a reasonable size boat, 40+ ft, that is live a board ready. We also own a condo that we rent out which is a lot cheaper than the boat.* *

If you could give a little more detail as to the area, married/children/pets and the type of living a board you have in mind it would help.* **


-- Edited by Phil Fill on Monday 14th of December 2009 10:15:06 AM

One big hassle is most boats are designed to cruise , not live aboard, so if you are in a real cold area a specialized heating system will be required.

No there is seldom enough electric (maybe for a S Fl winter) particularly in the NE where a couple of weeks of below zero , happens at times.

San Diego would be less cost than NYC.

FF

ok sorry to be vague , boat is 40 foot , will be in cocoa fl. , jacksonville, or savannah ga.*** no pets , no wife, no kids.

In that case it might be as cheap as living on land.* SO and Children usually require a bigger boat with more creature comforts.* Moorage will be your biggest month expense.* In the Seattle area moorage is $8.00 to $12.00 per foot, plus fees and taxes.* Insurance on a boat is a little higher rate than on land, but a lot depends on the boats age, value and conditions.* Every couple of years the boat will have to be pulled for bottom painting and inspection, which has ran*us about $2,000.00 per pull.*

The boat may require a big a mount to make live a board ready, which depends on the marina facilities and you using them.* The biggest concern is sanitation as holding tanks are not that big and need to be pumped out.* We get pumped out every weeks which cost $15.00 per week. Some marinas do not have a pump out service, so marina facilities are used.* General maintenance will be more and cost more but that is dependant on how you maintain the boat.* Being the boat is our home we keep the boat in like yacht condition.* *
Anyway being single, buying a reasonable condition live aboard ready boats, and using marina facilities you should be able to live as cheap as on land.*

-- Edited by Phil Fill on Tuesday 15th of December 2009 12:27:17 PM

To break it down to numbers....it cost more per square foot to live aboard. That might have been obvious, but we gotta get that outta the way.

You generally do not have property taxes....but you do have slip rent....which cancels out that advantage. Electricity is cheaper generally. Water is included in slip rent around here.

The way I answer this question to people is that if you HAVE TO HAVE a boat, then living aboard makes your expenses less(than having a boat AND a house).

You also have to look at "abstract" costs(for lack of a better phrase). The biggest one is that most liveaboards do NOT take their boats out. That is usually because your **** piles up everywhere and it becomes more of a living space than a boat. To me, this is tragic. We lived aboard a 29 foot boat for 5 years and used our boat more as liveaboards then we did as dirt dwellers. The beauty of living aboard is that you have all of your **** with you. Just pick up some groceries, untie the lines and go!!!! But we are likely in the "less than 3 percentile".

To give you an idea....

Our boat note(for Prairie 29)....400 bucks
Slip rent....300 bucks(this includes a 75 per month liveaboard fee most marinas charge)
Electricity.....75 bucks(worst case scenario)
Insurance....150 bucks
Storage unit(Yep, everybody has one)....100 bucks

I know I am forgetting something obvious but we are over a thousand bucks for a 30ft $45k boat. You can get a 600ft2 apartment for alot less....but that is apples and oranges....but not really.

Rick go to the forums at livingaboard.com. Spend some time reading and searching, I suspect all of your questions will be answered .

The real question is weather you will be stuck requiring instant land access and a power pole to make the boat work.

A job or some other Land commitment causes high prices for marinas.

Less instant access , say a town mooreing in Marathon FL with access to the dink dock, garbage disposal water and pump out is perhaps $250 a month.

It is as expensive as your lazyness quotent demands.

Simply anchoring is FREE!

FF

Owning a boat and a house is more expensive than living on a boat alone, as well as a house alone.** Whether living in a house is more/less expensive, depends on the particular circumstances.* As a rule, however, a house would be cheaper than a boat*for a given level of*physical comfort and facilities.

A boat is useless unless you have land access.

The question is how much you will be paying for the access.

Go cruising , shore access (very limited time) at public docks and its almost free.

Tie up in a primo marina , pool tennis perhaps golf near by , 24/7 armed? security , private parking spot and boodles of electric will cost.

Boat maint costs will depend on the boat if not cruised and on ongoing costs like fuel if cruised.

Most folks aground in their own coffee grounds , the I'll be cruising soon" liveaboards seem to find living dock space for $600 to $1000 a month .If you are willing to be Nowhere , $300 month is possible.

IF you desire insurance , that costs too.

If you base the costs per square foot ( as most living costs are based )* living on a boat is the most expensive option I can think of.

Provided the boat and house are simular in value.

Its Apples and Oranges, if a boat costs 25k and a house 500k how can you compare?

JohnP

But then again all the houses I own are each worth less than my boat.
It's all about priorities.
I own houses for other people to live in.
I live & cruise on my boat.

Benn

How will you access the boat , how will you power the fridge , stove , and in GA or FL the required air cond?

This is where your money will go , IF you allow it.

The more convienant the answer , the more it will cost.

With some proper gear selection the costs can be almost zero, bur some work is required.

As usual you pay with time or currency.

Tidahapah wrote:
But then again all the houses I own are each worth less than my boat.
It's all about priorities.
I own houses for other people to live in.
I live & cruise on my boat.

Benn

Click to expand...

*I'm in exactly the same boat, pun intended, as Benn. Two houses rented out, living aboard. I have lived on land on and off, and it costs roughly $1000/month more to live in the house. Much higher electrical bills, water and sewer bills, gas for heating, pool supplies, yard work, etc. etc. The boat costs about the same whether I'm living aboard or not, so I don't have lower boat expenses when I'm living in the house.

*