Give the Liveaboard Life a Try (Rent Ours in the Beautiful Bay Area)

My husband and I have recently bought a 50-foot Kha Shing trawler in the Bay Area, which we're living aboard in the beautiful East Bay town of Alameda. We could not be happier. That said, it has required some getting used to here and there, which made us think that perhaps other boaters considering going liveaboard might like to give it a try before making the leap.

We're expecting our first child in June and planning on spending two months in my hometown before and after the birth, which means we're looking to sublet our boat during that two-month period (roughly May 4-July 4, though dates are somewhat flexible/negotiable). Ideally, we'd rent the boat to a person, couple or family that is already familiar with boats and will, therefore, take really great care of our beloved home while we're away.

For a sense of the boat and the surrounding area, check out our AirBnB listing. We're still considering what we'd charge for rent, but we want it to be comparable to monthly rent for homes in the area (not the significantly higher per night AirBnB fee listed here).

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5014486

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

This looks a lot like an advertisement. Is this appropriate on the forum?

Re: Trial Liveaboard

Hi Lutarious,

I assumed since there were boats (and all matter of equipment) being advertised on the forum, offering to rent the boat for a two-month trial stint was equally appropriate.

Having just bought a boat for liveaboard myself, I would have loved the opportunity to give it a try beforehand (we love it!). So I figured this situation (my husband and I being off-boat for two months to have our first child) might be win-win for forum members. Ultimately, if no one from the forum is interested, we'll find boat-sitters/renters through Craigslist or elsewhere, but we'd sure love to see a Trawler lover on "Red Headed Stranger" while we're away.

I'm happy to take down the "ad" if the community thinks it's inappropriate.

Thanks,
Freda & Tim on "Red Headed Stranger"

I don't think it should be taken down. However, if people are bothered by it, perhaps moving it to the classified section may be appropriate.

Agree with Nsail.
Doesn't really read like an ad to me either.

Sound's like a great opportunity for someone considering the lifestyle, to give it a shot at a reasonable cost, and an opportunity for the owners to have a (hopefully) trustworthy person here watching their baby while they are watching the new baby

Thanks for chiming in, y'all. Definitely wasn't trying to get away with anything sneaky. My logic was that the "trial liveaboard" arrangement would really only be relevant to those thinking of making the transition (as opposed to the classified section, which is mostly for those buying-selling). Happy to move it over, of course (though I confess I have no idea how to do that). Happy boating!

You can't move it. If need be, only the moderators are able to do it.

This raises an interesting (to me) proposition regarding the concept of dock side time share/boat swaps. ....I trade you for a week of two in a different city on a different boat. Two weeks in a cool little resort town in Michigan for two weeks in San Diego or Seattle for example. Strictly live aboard @ dock side...no cruising. Could something like that work?? (Sorry for the thread hi-jack).

You may want to check with your marina and insurance as sub letting normally disqualifies coverage on both sides.

Great idea

I think the ad is a great idea. We just signed up on this website to learn more about the live aboard lifestyle and we are trying to figure everything out ourselves. Had you been in Florida instead of CA, we would probably take you up on your offering because my wife is not sure she could live on a boat.

Second the concern for insurance and marina coverage. I know the marinas in San Diego have come down hard on the B&B boat operations.

That said, hope it works out. You'll love living aboard!

Leave the thread here. It's not just an advert it's an interesting concept for us all trying to survive against the rising cost of boating. I'd love to do the same here in the UK but there's too much legislation /insurance issues to overcome. I think that's why we see so few hire services for boats.
I'll be watching this idea keenly.

Good luck Ms Moon. I would be very wary of airbnb though.

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Re: AirBnB

I'm a travel writer, so I've used AirBnB a lot over the years, both for finding fun places to stay on the road and for renting out our apartment in Brooklyn (and, most recently, the spare stateroom on our Kha Shing) for a night or two to make a bit of extra money. It's always been a great experience.

The only problem we've had, which we didn't anticipate, is our marina is cracking down on AirBnB. I checked our lease agreement and I don't believe the language actually prohibits it (though they claim it does), but it's not worth it to us to challenge them and get on the bad side of our harbor master. It was a disappointment, but we just decided to stop hosting AirBnB guests (plenty of other yachts in this and other local marinas do).

Instead, we're looking for a person, couple or family to live full-time on the boat while we're away for two months. As far as I understand it, that's no different than having friends, family or crew aboard your boat.

The link to the AirBnB listing was only informational.

Ms. Moon said:

I'm a travel writer, so I've used AirBnB a lot over the years, both for finding fun places to stay on the road and for renting out our apartment in Brooklyn (and, most recently, the spare stateroom on our Kha Shing) for a night or two to make a bit of extra money. It's always been a great experience.



The only problem we've had, which we didn't anticipate, is our marina is cracking down on AirBnB. I checked our lease agreement and I don't believe the language actually prohibits it (though they claim it does), but it's not worth it to us to challenge them and get on the bad side of our harbor master. It was a disappointment, but we just decided to stop hosting AirBnB guests (plenty of other yachts in this and other local marinas do).



Instead, we're looking for a person, couple or family to live full-time on the boat while we're away for two months. As far as I understand it, that's no different than having friends, family or crew aboard your boat.



The link to the AirBnB listing was only informational.

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As long as you don't receive remuneration in any form you will be fine, even if they just covered your boat sIip rental you are technically in violation.

Similar to the USCG when you hold a Captains license if we are taking friends out and they want to pay for fuel etc it then becomes a charter and all the USCG rules must be followed.. I know some are saying who would ever know but when an issue arises such as an accident or an injury Murphy has always had impeccable timing......

gwkiwi said:

As long as you don't receive remuneration in any form you will be fine, even if they just covered your boat sIip rental you are technically in violation.

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What's your take then, on my earlier thoughts regarding simply swapping time on one another's boats.

Swapping time on another persons boat, of similar size temporarily is not an issue (usually) as far as dockage agreements go as the slips are generally rented to the person. Where we are a company rents a bunch of slips and moves boats in and out as business dictates,the marina doesn't really care as long as all the boats are fully insured.

My only thought is that I would call your marine insurance carrier to see if they will cover you operating someone else's boat in the case of a claim as most policies are written specifically to a particular boat and a specific operator.

The small print on the policies can be interesting, in reading mine I found out that I am not covered if I tow someone and so when doing the loop I was asked by a stuck sail boat to help pull them off a sandbar. I told them I couldn't but was happy to call a Towboat for them. They weren't happy but even if my insurance would have covered me I still wouldn't have helped in this situation (unless it became a life safety issue) as they were in a very narrow shallow part of the Georgia ICW and with my draft it would have caused both of us to become stuck or worse.

Good luck

gwkiwi said:

As long as you don't receive remuneration in any form you will be fine, even if they just covered your boat sIip rental you are technically in violation.

Similar to the USCG when you hold a Captains license if we are taking friends out and they want to pay for fuel etc it then becomes a charter and all the USCG rules must be followed.. I know some are saying who would ever know but when an issue arises such as an accident or an injury Murphy has always had impeccable timing......

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Insurance wise, it depends on the policy and its specific wording of the policy.

In general, any commercial usage of the vessel (including renting) not endorsed by the underwriting company will void the policy. This is a bareboat charter, and jumping thru the hoops to get the endorsement is meticulous and exacting- especially for power boats.

For this type of risk, the one offering the rental must realize that any "hold harmless" or other agreement signed by the renter removing the risk from the vessel owner holds no water if the renter is either injured or causes property damage to others during the course of the rental.

I'm always amused at these insurance discussions - I'll bet most of us do things that violate or take us outside our policy coverage all the time and don't even know it, and most of us have never even read our policies, and yet just as often we use "liability" and insurance limits as the great American excuse not to do things.

gwkiwi said:

As long as you don't receive remuneration in any form you will be fine, even if they just covered your boat sIip rental you are technically in violation.

Similar to the USCG when you hold a Captains license if we are taking friends out and they want to pay for fuel etc it then becomes a charter and all the USCG rules must be followed.. I know some are saying who would ever know but when an issue arises such as an accident or an injury Murphy has always had impeccable timing......

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Sharing costs has been accepted by the USCG for at least a decade now. It just can't be a pre-trip condition.

Money exchanged for being only at the dock might be a different story, but that would take some research as some floating but never underway places like casinos I believe do fall under certain USCG regulations, but I am not sure that all floating structures do.

Interesting concept, but I don't think I would be overly happy with someone else living on my boat knowing all those little things that can go wrong (like head/holding tank/shower sump etc).
All the best with the birth of your child.

Very interested in Renting your tawler!

Ms. Moon said:

My husband and I have recently bought a 50-foot Kha Shing trawler in the Bay Area, which we're living aboard in the beautiful East Bay town of Alameda. We could not be happier. That said, it has required some getting used to here and there, which made us think that perhaps other boaters considering going liveaboard might like to give it a try before making the leap.

We're expecting our first child in June and planning on spending two months in my hometown before and after the birth, which means we're looking to sublet our boat during that two-month period (roughly May 4-July 4, though dates are somewhat flexible/negotiable). Ideally, we'd rent the boat to a person, couple or family that is already familiar with boats and will, therefore, take really great care of our beloved home while we're away.

For a sense of the boat and the surrounding area, check out our AirBnB listing. We're still considering what we'd charge for rent, but we want it to be comparable to monthly rent for homes in the area (not the significantly higher per night AirBnB fee listed here).

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5014486

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

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Hello,
my wife and I are have been searching in the Bay Area for a liveaboard Trawler. We are both familiar with boats and I actually used be a boat machanic. As we are unsure if the lifestyle is right for us. We have been pursuing a temporary situation similar to what you have posted/offered.
We are very interested in discussing the opportunity with you to rent your trawler as a temporary live board. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. My email: Toddzien@gmail.com or 414.807.7160.
Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.
Todd & Dina