Which boat would you buy, solo liveaboard, $100k budget

[GoodShipLollipop]

I bought my 34' so we could give it a go. I wanted single diesel engine, full keel with protected prop and rudder. We chose the smallest that fit our criteria and having two separate sleeping areas. We bought ours to learn on, learn boat handling, maintenance and to know what we would want in our next boat. If I were soloing it and needed office space could turn either stateroom into the office if needed. Has the side door right off the lower helm and walkaround decks and I can get from the upper helm to midship cleat fairly quickly for line handling. We use the forward head for storage right now but once we get the boat more organized we will put it back to a functioning head. Again if we were soloing and planned to mostly anchor would consider having the forward head for washer dryer. Also at 34' was able to get insurance pretty easy and getting dock space has not been an issue yet.

This does sound like a pretty good fit for what I'm looking for.



Thanks for the suggestion, I'll add it to the list!

 

[tiltrider1]

I am not trying to be hostile but I am being blunt. I have been a liveaboard for 25 years. I have seen a lot of liveaboards come and go. Non boaters who jump right into living aboard are almost 100% failure. Boaters who turn into liveaboards have a much higher success rate but 50% fail during the first winter.

I can’t recommend a boat to you because I have no idea what your comfort requirements are. I can help you with some questions you need to answer.

Can you sleep on a rocking boat?
Do you plan to shower aboard?
Do you plan to do laundry aboard?
How much heat do you require?
How do you plan to source your electricity?
How do you plan to source your water?
How do you plan to dump your holding tank?
How do you plan to source your groceries?
How do you plan to source your mail?
How much other stuff do you need to store?
What are your refrigeration requirements?
How do you plan to source replacement parts?

There is a lot more to this than “have Starlink, can travel”. The success rate for RV’s is hugely greater than for boaters.

A very determined person can over come these issues but it will take a very determined person.

What made me a successful liveaboard? I started as a boater and one day I decided to stay on the boat every weekend shortly that turned into everyday. I was located at a marina that provided all the services and my boat had enough heat to keep me warm in winter. Unfortunately there is now a 5 year wait list to be a liveaboard at my marina.

 

[bowball]

I am not trying to be hostile but I am being blunt. I have been a liveaboard for 25 years. I have seen a lot of liveaboards come and go. Non boaters who jump right into living aboard are almost 100% failure. Boaters who turn into liveaboards have a much higher success rate but 50% fail during the first winter.

I can’t recommend a boat to you because I have no idea what your comfort requirements are. I can help you with some questions you need to answer.

Can you sleep on a rocking boat?
Do you plan to shower aboard?
Do you plan to do laundry aboard?
How much heat do you require?
How do you plan to source your electricity?
How do you plan to source your water?
How do you plan to dump your holding tank?
How do you plan to source your groceries?
How do you plan to source your mail?
How much other stuff do you need to store?
What are your refrigeration requirements?
How do you plan to source replacement parts?

There is a lot more to this than “have Starlink, can travel”. The success rate for RV’s is hugely greater than for boaters.

A very determined person can over come these issues but it will take a very determined person.

What made me a successful liveaboard? I started as a boater and one day I decided to stay on the boat every weekend shortly that turned into everyday. I was located at a marina that provided all the services and my boat had enough heat to keep me warm in winter. Unfortunately there is now a 5 year wait list to be a liveaboard at my marina.

Great list.

Add, how do I dispose of trash to it. Unforeseen medical emergencies. Do I like being solo all the time. Cooking every meal.

Being on a dock solves much of all the list, given marina facilities and a nearby town.

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

• Can you sleep on a rocking boat?
  • Yes
• Do you plan to shower aboard?
  • Occasionally
• Do you plan to do laundry aboard?
  • Undecided. Infrequent hand washing was the plan for sailing, a trawler seems to give me more options. Washing machine would be nice to have, but it's not a deal breaker.
• How much heat do you require?
  • Probably a substantial amount. I believe diesel heaters are common around here, beyond that I haven't given this a ton of thought.
• How do you plan to source your electricity?
  • Solar ideally, shore power otherwise.
• How do you plan to source your water?
  • Watermaker
• How do you plan to dump your holding tank?
  • Dock and pump out as necessary.
• How do you plan to source your groceries?
  • Dinghy to shore if not in a slip, bicycle or similar to get to the store and back.
• How do you plan to source your mail?
  • PO Box, infrequently checked.
• How much other stuff do you need to store?
  • Aside from the basics, not much. Fishing gear, some books.
• What are your refrigeration requirements?
  • Significant. As mentioned previously I am considering adding an extra deep freeze for long term storage.
• How do you plan to source replacement parts?
  • Haven't given this much thought, beyond stock spares for what is reasonable and have stuff shipped to the marina where I'm docked when necessary.

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

Great list.

Add, how do I dispose of trash to it. Unforeseen medical emergencies. Do I like being solo all the time. Cooking every meal.

Being on a dock solves much of all the list, given marina facilities and a nearby town.

I assumed I could dispose of trash at the same time I was pumping out. Yes I like being solo. Yes I like to cook.


As far as medical emergencies, that's a pretty broad topic. I will of course have a first aid kit, as well as phone/satellite communications to call for help if I can't treat it myself or safely operate the boat to get to a marina.

 

[Retriever]

I did what you're contemplating and it was great! During the summer I cruised north to Alaska, and in the winter I hung around Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands with no permanent slip. I did this for a couple of winters. Now with Starlink it would be much easier.

I was on a Nordic Tug 37. Plenty of room for one person to live on, although not the most spacious 37 footer. I really appreciated how simple the boat was, how little fuel it burned, and how easy it was to singlehand. Having direct and fast access from the helm to the dock made a big difference when running alone. I took that boat through the locks by myself dozens of times without incident.

The key to making living aboard work without a slip was a yacht club membership at a club with many outstations. I probably spent half my time at outstations or reciprocals, tied to a dock with power and water and trash and a pumpout, all for very little cost. Otherwise transient dock fees would have more than outweighed any savings on long term moorage.

I also spent a lot of time at State Parks. A few have power on the docks, like Blake Island.

My boat had good diesel heat, a reliable and quiet generator, and a watermaker. The watermaker was surprisingly useful in the winter, when lots of marinas shut off dock water for periods of time.

Occasionally I'd get a slip at a marina for a month to leave the boat or work on bigger projects. I did this in La Conner a few times. Availability during a winter month was never a problem, though it might be now.

I preferred "full time cruiser" to liveaboard. Liveaboard has all sorts of negative connotations at some marinas. I didn't want to get lumped in with the "hoboats" that come to a dock and never leave. My boat was clean, well maintained, and used as a boat pretty much every week.

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

Thanks for the recommendations. I'd thought about yacht clubs only briefly, seems they have a lot more value than I thought. I'll look around and see about joining one.


State parks sound great, exactly the kind of place I'd like to be. Wasn't aware that some had power, that's very good to know.


I'll be sure to present myself as a cruiser and not a liveaboard when the time comes. I've actually seen that advice in a number of contexts now, like some insurance and banks having problems with "liveaboards", but not cruisers.

 

[Spinner]

I’d like to comment about your plan to live at anchor… in most areas of the PNW (WA) you can’t just set an anchor and stay. You will have to move your boat, I believe every 30 days (please check that interval). In addition, you may find a dearth of sites to anchor adjacent to towns. The waters generally get very deep, very quickly. If you are in a shallower bay, see above. One example is the bay just outside of Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes. The bay really doesn’t have good holding, and is unprotected when high winds blow. Friends who have boats docked at Cap Sante have tried to rescue a number of boats before they drag right onto the docks :-(

I am not saying your plan won’t work, but you will need to do your homework and realize the differences between the SE and NW for anchoring long term.

Best of luck on your plans!!

 

[ranger58sb]

Asking how long one person can stay anchored with X gallons of holding tank sounds a lot like "how long is a piece of string." So is there any way to figure this out aside from doing it and seeing how quick I fill the tank? Number of toilet flushes per day or something like that?

Yes, extremely variable, and largely dependent on the size of the holding tank... in turn largely dependent on the boat (partially size, partially design, partially implementation)...

Can you sleep on a rocking boat?
Do you plan to shower aboard?
Do you plan to do laundry aboard?
How much heat do you require?
How do you plan to source your electricity?
How do you plan to source your water?
How do you plan to dump your holding tank?
How do you plan to source your groceries?
How do you plan to source your mail?
How much other stuff do you need to store?
What are your refrigeration requirements?
How do you plan to source replacement parts?

Good list.

Great list.

Add, how do I dispose of trash to it. Unforeseen medical emergencies. Do I like being solo all the time. Cooking every meal.

Being on a dock solves much of all the list, given marina facilities and a nearby town.

Good additions.

And yep, some marinas can solve a lot.

GSL: you might consider starting at a marina to get the hang of it, then gradually branch out from there as you get more experience with the boat and it's systems.... and all that "list" stuff above. I'm thinking TR's comment about success rates applies...

-Chris

 

[Simi 60]

One that has a lot of roof real estate or ability to put up an alloy tube framework to cover boat

Being able to have big solar (cheap if buying very near new panels)
And big battery (lifepo4 is cheap if building yourself)
Has meant we have not needed a marina or shore power for over 6 years on the water.

For us, in Australia, that saving on marina and live aboard fees covers the cost of a bigger boat, fuel, mostly paid maintenance, insurance and a goodly part of everyday living expenses


If your cruising grounds are sheltered, I would be looking at a houseboat.
Big tender for fishing.
I have seen several over the years that do actually do sizeable coastal miles on nice days

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

I’d like to comment about your plan to live at anchor… in most areas of the PNW (WA) you can’t just set an anchor and stay. You will have to move your boat, I believe every 30 days (please check that interval).

I'm planning to move around fairly often, so this is fine with me.

In addition, you may find a dearth of sites to anchor adjacent to towns. The waters generally get very deep, very quickly.

I picked up a 2022 Waggoners cruising guide a couple months ago, it's got pretty good info on anchorages I've been told.

I am not saying your plan won’t work, but you will need to do your homework and realize the differences between the SE and NW for anchoring long term.

Best of luck on your plans!!

Thanks! And thanks for the advice, too.

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

One that has a lot of roof real estate or ability to put up an alloy tube framework to cover boat

Being able to have big solar (cheap if buying very near new panels)
And big battery (lifepo4 is cheap if building yourself)
Has meant we have not needed a marina or shore power for over 6 years on the water.

Very nice, I'd like to replicate this feat some day.


I had originally planned to build my own LiFePo4 bank, but saw lots of people talking about problems getting insured? Seemed like it was a lot more smoke than fire, people concerned about it without actually having firsthand experience. But if it's not going to be a problem down the road, I'd much prefer to build my own. For one to get a bigger bank at a lower cost, but also just for the satisfaction of having built it myself.


I'm a pretty aggressive DIYer, have done a fair bit of amateur electronics design over the years. Used to etch my own circuit boards before you could send off for small batches at a reasonable cost and timeframe.

If your cruising grounds are sheltered, I would be looking at a houseboat.
Big tender for fishing.
I have seen several over the years that do actually do sizeable coastal miles on nice days

I don't think a houseboat would do so well in the waters I'd like to cruise around in. But fishing out of the dinghy is definitely something I've been thinking about. As a kid I did tons of fishing out of an inflatable dinghy on the Alabama river. We didn't even have an outboard, just a trolling motor, deep cycle battery and a couple of paddles for backup.



We'd go up creeks with just a couple inches of water in sections, and have to carry the boat for a bit to get back to deep water. Come back to camp with the battery nearly flat and a stringer full of fish. Good times.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Good,
Appreciate you keeping your ears open on this stuff.
Anchoring in Puget snd and the islands: the game (for me) is often finding good bottom on the Lee side of local geography, so I can sleep at night in a blow. There are lots of places to anchor, but many have exposure to the weather and lee shore concerns. A classic example is top of East Sound, a long fetch semi fjord. If northeries, not bad. But if it becomes a southerly, look out!
Waggoner is good start, but daily local weather rules on weather a given anchorage is safe. Windy and Predict wind will become your new best friends!

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

Thanks for the tip, it hadn't occurred to me that Windy and PredictWind would still be so useful to a trawler. I'd of course had them on my radar from my sailing planning, but now I know to keep them in the plan for trawlering.


Thanks!

 

[Portage_Bay]

I haven't read this entire thread so my apologies if I'm repeating anything that's already been said. You've gotten some great input. Pay particular attention to what Pau Hana wrote.

I'll give you a few other things to consider coming from someone who has lived aboard full time at different times in his life. With an eye towards your original post and you wanting to live away from the dock as much as possible.

Think about endurance.

• How long do you want to be away from the dock, especially away from resupply and re-provision.
• Think about food storage. Especially if you want better than processed, packaged and frozen.
• Water capacity. How much will you use? How big will be the tank(s)? Will you need / want a water maker. Water makers are a good solution to extend potable water range. But not necessarily an easy one, they require maintenance and repair.
• Fuel.
• Sewage. This is often the weak point in endurance of recreational boats. If you want to be a responsible boater you will need to go to a pump out facility.
• Think about electrical needs and your desire not run a gen set. Do a winter time estimate of heating, refrigeration, lighting, electronics (to manage your work) load. You'll need to run the gen in winter. There is just no way around it. Other than be plugged in.

Think about comfort. You say you will be working aboard.

• Do you need a separate living and working space?
• Do you desire a lot of natural light?
• Heating. For Columbia River and north year round nothing, absolutely nothing beats hydronic.

Think about safety. Your OP implies away from the maddening crowd. Remote-ish areas.

• Ground tackle. Typical recreational boat ground tackle is woefully weak for wintering over in the remote areas where it will be all too common to experience winds of 30, 40, 50 and occasionally 60 kts. It takes a helluva an anchor and the rode and winch to handle it. Fussing about with a typical 12 volt electric windlass and an anchor bridle is not the way to ride out winter storm after storm after storm.
• Communications. What to you do when you need help. The boat isn't capable of moving. You're in a remote area. Cell and VHF may not work. Starlink hasn't been around long enough to prove itself.
• Dingy. You're gonna need a hellforstout dingy to get to shore and back in winter. Best on davits so launch and recovery is not too difficult.
• Boat handling. I don't normally recommend thrusters. For you, your goals and your experience I recommend bow and stern thrusters with remote controls. You need to be able to get it to the dock and keep it there while you safely handle lines during winter winds.

Consider bureaucratic obstacles

• A dirt address. You're gonna need one and they get harder to fake each year.
• Insurance. You want to be north for the winter? Better be sure insurance will cover it.
• Live aboard. Dock or on the hook. Many if not most marinas have limits on live aboards and looooong waiting lists. You're a Wash State resident? If you want to keep that and stay mostly to Wa State be aware that in my opinion the Dept of Ecology seems to be out to cancel all liveaboards. They're limiting so many things and have a new tool in their arsenal. Property tax for the land over which you live even though it is under water.

None of these considerations are unsolvable. But your time line of "in a month or so" is not realistic. The days of being able to buy a boat, step aboard, call it home and figure it out on the fly are if not long gone dying fast. And that's too bad. I learned a helluva lot that way.

Good luck! I envy your enthusiasm, energy and go-ahead attitude. And I assume youth. You're in for the adventure of a life time whether you succeed or not in your dreams.

One last word. Beware old boats. They will be project boats no matter how good they look. Living aboard a project boat, especially at anchor, is not something I care to repeat in this lifetime.

 

[tiltrider1]

• Can you sleep on a rocking boat?
  • Yes
• Do you plan to shower aboard?
  • Occasionally
• Do you plan to do laundry aboard?
  • Undecided. Infrequent hand washing was the plan for sailing, a trawler seems to give me more options. Washing machine would be nice to have, but it's not a deal breaker.
• How much heat do you require?
  • Probably a substantial amount. I believe diesel heaters are common around here, beyond that I haven't given this a ton of thought.
• How do you plan to source your electricity?
  • Solar ideally, shore power otherwise.
• How do you plan to source your water?
  • Watermaker
• How do you plan to dump your holding tank?
  • Dock and pump out as necessary.
• How do you plan to source your groceries?
  • Dinghy to shore if not in a slip, bicycle or similar to get to the store and back.
• How do you plan to source your mail?
  • PO Box, infrequently checked.
• How much other stuff do you need to store?
  • Aside from the basics, not much. Fishing gear, some books.
• What are your refrigeration requirements?
  • Significant. As mentioned previously I am considering adding an extra deep freeze for long term storage.
• How do you plan to source replacement parts?
  • Haven't given this much thought, beyond stock spares for what is reasonable and have stuff shipped to the marina where I'm docked when necessary.

Again, not being hostile but continuing to be blunt. Most marinas in the area are not going to let you sleep aboard for more than 3 nights in a week. This is not to say you can’t beat this by being transient and moving every 30 days. It will however take planning. Yes, it can be done it’s just going to take determination and attention to detail. Be aware, the state park docks are all pulled for the winter. Many anchorages that work great in the summer are dangerous in winter. Some one suggested a Yacht Club membership. This was very good advice, just don’t tell the Yacht club your plan, they are not interested in liveaboard members at their docks in winter and many of the clubs have rules against this.

My boat is completely self contained. I could sit at anchor for 10 weeks in the middle of winter, showering, cooking, internet, making water, processing sewage, life just like in a condo but then I would need to source another 750 gallons of diesel. Not saying it can’t be done cheaper. Just pointing out the realities of my situation.

 

[FlyWright]

Admittedly I haven't read the entire thread so apologies of this has already been mentioned...

If you really want to fish, you'd probably be happiest with a sedan style trawler. It allows closer and easier water access and can be set up with minimal to no overhead obstructions and no lateral interference with a fish on. My criteria when I bought FlyWright was that I wanted to be able to walk 360* around the entire perimeter of the boat with a large sturgeon on the line.

Wide sidedecks with high side bullwarks adds to the security and easy access.

There are lots of boats to suit the bill. For me, my 1977 34 LRC Californian checked all the boxes.

Also, I added 400W of solar cells on the fwd rails since I lacked the real estate for affordable and easy access hard mounts. I run with them lowered against the rails and propped into position when at anchor like wings. I also have a 5th 100W panel that I can move around when needed to maximize output.

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

• Ground tackle. Typical recreational boat ground tackle is woefully weak for wintering over in the remote areas where it will be all too common to experience winds of 30, 40, 50 and occasionally 60 kts. It takes a helluva an anchor and the rode and winch to handle it. Fussing about with a typical 12 volt electric windlass and an anchor bridle is not the way to ride out winter storm after storm after storm.
• Communications. What to you do when you need help. The boat isn't capable of moving. You're in a remote area. Cell and VHF may not work. Starlink hasn't been around long enough to prove itself.
• Dingy. You're gonna need a hellforstout dingy to get to shore and back in winter. Best on davits so launch and recovery is not too difficult.
• Boat handling. I don't normally recommend thrusters. For you, your goals and your experience I recommend bow and stern thrusters with remote controls. You need to be able to get it to the dock and keep it there while you safely handle lines during winter winds.

Good points, thanks for your advice. For communications, it's an "all of the above" plan. Cell, Starlink, Iridium, VHF. The dinghy is something I haven't done much research on, beyond knowing that I'll need one. Have been planning on oversizing the anchor, seems like a fairly small expense for some peace of mind when it gets rough.

• A dirt address. You're gonna need one and they get harder to fake each year.
• Insurance. You want to be north for the winter? Better be sure insurance will cover it.

Dirt address has come up before. The plan was to maintain my current address for the next several months, then give up the lease once I've successfully transitioned to full time liveaboard. What sorts of problems am I going to run into when I give that up? I was thinking a PO box would solve most of my problems, but apparently it's not that simple.

None of these considerations are unsolvable. But your time line of "in a month or so" is not realistic. The days of being able to buy a boat, step aboard, call it home and figure it out on the fly are if not long gone dying fast. And that's too bad. I learned a helluva lot that way.

I should clarify a little. I'm planning to buy the boat in a month or so. The transition to liveaboard will take longer than that. Hopefully not that much longer, but I'm sure it'll take at least a few weeks to get settled in the new job, set up the boat for work, finish any refit items, etc..

Good luck! I envy your enthusiasm, energy and go-ahead attitude. And I assume youth. You're in for the adventure of a life time whether you succeed or not in your dreams.

Thanks! I don't feel that young anymore (37), but yeah, I suppose I am still pretty young.

One last word. Beware old boats. They will be project boats no matter how good they look. Living aboard a project boat, especially at anchor, is not something I care to repeat in this lifetime.

This is something I'm fairly concerned about, actually. I'm looking at the 70s and 80s vintage boats mostly, but taking a full day in the middle of the week to fix something isn't always going to be doable. If I have to pay people to do work for me occasionally, that's no big deal. But if I'm on anchor that's not always going to be an option. My only solution so far is "use sick days or have the boat towed", but I'd rather that not be a regular occurrence.

 

[mvweebles]

I haven't read this entire thread so my apologies if I'm repeating anything that's already been said. You've gotten some great input. Pay particular attention to what Pau Hana wrote.

I'll give you a few other things to consider coming from someone who has lived aboard full time at different times in his life. With an eye towards your original post and you wanting to live away from the dock as much as possible.

Think about endurance.

• How long do you want to be away from the dock, especially away from resupply and re-provision.
• Think about food storage. Especially if you want better than processed, packaged and frozen.
• Water capacity. How much will you use? How big will be the tank(s)? Will you need / want a water maker. Water makers are a good solution to extend potable water range. But not necessarily an easy one, they require maintenance and repair.
• Fuel.
• Sewage. This is often the weak point in endurance of recreational boats. If you want to be a responsible boater you will need to go to a pump out facility.
• Think about electrical needs and your desire not run a gen set. Do a winter time estimate of heating, refrigeration, lighting, electronics (to manage your work) load. You'll need to run the gen in winter. There is just no way around it. Other than be plugged in.

Think about comfort. You say you will be working aboard.

• Do you need a separate living and working space?
• Do you desire a lot of natural light?
• Heating. For Columbia River and north year round nothing, absolutely nothing beats hydronic.

Think about safety. Your OP implies away from the maddening crowd. Remote-ish areas.

• Ground tackle. Typical recreational boat ground tackle is woefully weak for wintering over in the remote areas where it will be all too common to experience winds of 30, 40, 50 and occasionally 60 kts. It takes a helluva an anchor and the rode and winch to handle it. Fussing about with a typical 12 volt electric windlass and an anchor bridle is not the way to ride out winter storm after storm after storm.
• Communications. What to you do when you need help. The boat isn't capable of moving. You're in a remote area. Cell and VHF may not work. Starlink hasn't been around long enough to prove itself.
• Dingy. You're gonna need a hellforstout dingy to get to shore and back in winter. Best on davits so launch and recovery is not too difficult.
• Boat handling. I don't normally recommend thrusters. For you, your goals and your experience I recommend bow and stern thrusters with remote controls. You need to be able to get it to the dock and keep it there while you safely handle lines during winter winds.

Consider bureaucratic obstacles

• A dirt address. You're gonna need one and they get harder to fake each year.
• Insurance. You want to be north for the winter? Better be sure insurance will cover it.
• Live aboard. Dock or on the hook. Many if not most marinas have limits on live aboards and looooong waiting lists. You're a Wash State resident? If you want to keep that and stay mostly to Wa State be aware that in my opinion the Dept of Ecology seems to be out to cancel all liveaboards. They're limiting so many things and have a new tool in their arsenal. Property tax for the land over which you live even though it is under water.

None of these considerations are unsolvable. But your time line of "in a month or so" is not realistic. The days of being able to buy a boat, step aboard, call it home and figure it out on the fly are if not long gone dying fast. And that's too bad. I learned a helluva lot that way.

Good luck! I envy your enthusiasm, energy and go-ahead attitude. And I assume youth. You're in for the adventure of a life time whether you succeed or not in your dreams.

One last word. Beware old boats. They will be project boats no matter how good they look. Living aboard a project boat, especially at anchor, is not something I care to repeat in this lifetime.

This and Pau Hana is why I'm a bit snarky. There is an old saying that you cannot tell a tadpole what it's like to be a frog. "Oh, I've already budgeted for a watermaker." Going from $5k in parts to an installed unit that operates on solar power in PNW in winter is a helluva leap that cannot be imagined until you've done it. There are a dozen pain-in-the-ass steps that take time and money before the first ice-cube clinks. Thru-hull in and out so you gotta haul. Wiring and breaker for unit and boost pump. Drilling a hole in a tank for the product inlet. Similar exercise with a diesel heater - getting diesel to it, wiring a Walbro, etc. Solar/LiFePO4 - pretty sizeable project in and of itself. Adding a dinghy of decent size - is the lift/crane/davit system adequate? Etc. Adding ground tackle of decent size - if not already there, is an up-sized gypsy available?

That's why I say none of the stuff is particularly hard, but it's time intensive and without a lot of prior experience, it will take 5x as long and runs a chance of going backwards, not forwards. But until you've been-there/done-that, tough to imagine what it takes - what seems easy gets bogged down in details and logistics.

That said, we all have to start somewhere. But "I'm buying a boat next month --- i just need to figure out what boat I want" is, in my opinion, attacking the problem from the wrong direction. Getting the boat is the easy part. Making it work can take a long time and has a very steep learning curve.

Peter

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

Again, not being hostile but continuing to be blunt. Most marinas in the area are not going to let you sleep aboard for more than 3 nights in a week. This is not to say you can’t beat this by being transient and moving every 30 days.

When reading about this, I got the impression that spending a week or two at a marina in a transient slip wouldn't usually be a problem, so long as you're tidy and quiet. If that's not a valid assumption, then I'll need to change my planning.

Be aware, the state park docks are all pulled for the winter. Many anchorages that work great in the summer are dangerous in winter. Some one suggested a Yacht Club membership. This was very good advice, just don’t tell the Yacht club your plan, they are not interested in liveaboard members at their docks in winter and many of the clubs have rules against this.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

This and Pau Hana is why I'm a bit snarky. There is an old saying that you cannot tell a tadpole what it's like to be a frog. "Oh, I've already budgeted for a watermaker." Going from $5k in parts to an installed unit that operates on solar power in PNW in winter is a helluva leap that cannot be imagined until you've done it. There are a dozen pain-in-the-ass steps that take time and money before the first ice-cube clinks. Thru-hull in and out so you gotta haul. Wiring and breaker for unit and boost pump. Drilling a hole in a tank for the product inlet. Similar exercise with a diesel heater - getting diesel to it, wiring a Walbro, etc. Solar/LiFePO4 - pretty sizeable project in and of itself. Adding a dinghy of decent size - is the lift/crane/davit system adequate? Etc. Adding ground tackle of decent size - if not already there, is an up-sized gypsy available?

Are you expecting me to lay out all the steps in installing every piece of equipment I mention? Yes, I know that the installation on these things is nontrivial. Assuming I don't know that because I didn't state it is a little strange.

Maybe before I added a watermaker to the budget I learned more about them than "makes water". Maybe I spent a considerable amount of time reading about how they work, and how to install/maintain them. Maybe you should have found out if I did instead of assuming I didn't and then snarking at me based on your assumption.

And yes. I did.

That said, we all have to start somewhere. But "I'm buying a boat next month --- i just need to figure out what boat I want" is, in my opinion, attacking the problem from the wrong direction.

It's also not what I said?

This thread did not say "All I need to know is which boat to buy." It asked for suggestions on which boats to look at given some criteria. If you decided that means this is the only piece of information I think I need, then sure, fine. Thank you for your help, I will now consider more information than just which boat to buy.

And now with snark met with more snark, can we just not anymore?

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

Admittedly I haven't read the entire thread so apologies of this has already been mentioned...

If you really want to fish, you'd probably be happiest with a sedan style trawler. It allows closer and easier water access and can be set up with minimal to no overhead obstructions and no lateral interference with a fish on. My criteria when I bought FlyWright was that I wanted to be able to walk 360* around the entire perimeter of the boat with a large sturgeon on the line.

Wide sidedecks with high side bullwarks adds to the security and easy access.

There are lots of boats to suit the bill. For me, my 1977 34 LRC Californian checked all the boxes.

Also, I added 400W of solar cells on the fwd rails since I lacked the real estate for affordable and easy access hard mounts. I run with them lowered against the rails and propped into position when at anchor like wings. I also have a 5th 100W panel that I can move around when needed to maximize output.

Some of that had been covered already, but thanks for your advice all the same.

 

[tiltrider1]

When reading about this, I got the impression that spending a week or two at a marina in a transient slip wouldn't usually be a problem, so long as you're tidy and quiet. If that's not a valid assumption, then I'll need to change my planning.




Good to know, thanks.

Transient status will usually buy you up to 30 days but you need to be aware that there are some marina’s that won’t allow you to do more than 3 nights. These are usually in big cities like Seattle and Vancouver. They allow your boat to stay but not necessary allow you to stay on the boat. I am adamantly against this policy but have seen liveaboards run afoul of it by accident.

 

[GoodShipLollipop]

Thanks for clarifying, very good to know.

 

[markpierce]

Single handling? Have quick access from helm to boat deck, close to dock level.

 

[Sna]

I believe liveabord slips are available today at Duwamish Yacht Club in south Seattle today for relatively cheap. You’ll be sitting on silt at anything lower than a -2 tide, but a good option other than that. Also gives you reciprocal rights to other yacht clubs for short term stays.

 

[Jmarsh203]

Hmmm very interesting thread, wanting to stay at anchor for extended periods comfortably while living full time aboard is much easier easier said than done. I quantify comfort for full time livaboard by unlimited hot water, electricity, and climate control. According to the 80/20 rule The easiest way is to have a nice generator with heating loop to the hot water heater and large fuel tanks, greater than 400 gallons will allow you to stay out for over a month with comfort running generator less than half the day. That will allow you the ease and comfort of adding lithium, inverters and solar at leisure, also allows for a great backup for extended periods of shade, rain, snow which the area your wanting to cruise in is known for. I’d add lithium and a good inverter before solar and that would bring down generator usage to few hour a day. After that I’d do solar and it may, but doubtful in that area be able to bring down generator usage to almost nothing. Prob would only need to run generator a few hours or every other day for making water and charging batteries, but I would still want to run the generator every day for an hour or two to make some water and make some hot water even if I didn’t need to charge the battery’s. Starlink if that’s your idea for staying connected is power hungry so all but the sunniest days or largest solar arrays you will prob need to be on generator if you want to use it for extended periods. Don’t know the pacific north wests requirements on black water but at least on the vast majority of the east coast a lectrasan marina sanitation treatment plant will allow you to not have to worry about having to pump out in a marina and allow you to pump treated sewage overboard. A water maker also greatly extends the ability to stay at anchor. I carry 200gallons of water and it lasts me and my gf a solid 4 days sometimes 5 of long hot showers every day, which is not something I would be willing to give up under any circumstances, just me I could stretch it to over a week easily, prob closer to 10 days since she uses more hot water than me. As for boat needed trawler specific I’d parrot what others are saying, kady krogen 42, roughwaters, Willard 40s are amazing and if you want to stay sub 40ft the Willard 36s if you don’t mind living small are awesome and they really hit outside of there size class in capability, the kk36 is a nice sheltered water boat but the Willard 36 if stabilized is a fairly heavy hitter when it comes to offshore capability hell even unstabilized I just had my Willard 36 pilothouse in confused 10 footers a month ago felt completely safe, gf was uncomfortable and sick but she felt safe lol and while the kk36 and Willard 36 are the same length boat are nothing alike and the Willard is a boat that could comfortably do all the americas with the exclusion of maybe the west coast of South America, but to do that you would need a true ocean capable boat. I like the kk36 for something like the great loop and for the size boat it is has an absolutely amazing interior but it is not a practical boat to take offshore in anything but perfect conditions. Also add hatteras Long rang cruisers the 42 model along with choy Lee 46 trawler if you can find one. All would fit the bill nicely There are plenty of one off boats that would also fit the bill nicely as well so don’t be afraid of buying something you have never heard of but do your due diligence. Do you have plans for world travel at some point, or extended costal cruising or just poking around that area? Will you ever take your boat out in more than 3 foot seas? If so stabilization is very nice, not a requirement by any means but nice. Down to Mexico, through Panama Canal and into Caribbean? If so boat list gets smaller larger fuel tanks become quite nice being able to skip questionable fuel sources and the majority of Sub 40ft GB boats boats may not be the best fit. Not saying they haven’t made the trip but i doubt they are going back and forth a ton. Docking station controls on the stern and easily walked decks from bow to stern on at least one side of the boat would be a requirement for me if I were going to consistently be operating alone, exterior walkway all on one deck would be preferred or one and a half decks with good stairs fore and aft would also be a requirement for me. Interior steering station with good forward visibility would be a very large requirement, preferably good 360 visibility if possible. a true pilothouse boat is super nice to have. . extended periods of time outside even in perfect weather is suprisingly taxing compared to being inside, being comfortable in all weather will allow more days moving comfortably. You have or want a dog, if so a fishing style cockpit is amazing compared to needing to lift your dog into the skiff. You like fishing, stern davits get in the way of fishing lines, but they are much easier lifting a skiff by yourself. Towing the skiff also gets in the way of fishing, also much harder towing skiff single handed. If fishing is important roof mounted skiff is preferable if not required. Closer the stern/ cockpit is to the water the easier it is to fish, the list of trawlers with true fishing cockpits is very small, and generally you don’t start seeing them until the boat is over 50ft, not all but most so that’s prob out. Gf in the future? If so bedroom with plenty of clothing storage for both of you is needed, if not the next relationship will be the end of the boat or gf whichever you decide to keep. You want a king/queen bed or can you survive with a full? Lol Can possible future gf survive with a full size bed? How much money can you afford for fuel, what speed do you want to run and what speed do you want to be capable of running? Do the math maybe a 40-48 foot sport fishing boat would fit the bill nicely, most especially the older hatts are quite seaworthy and if you go with the smaller engines they installed they can be extremely reliable and at slower trawler speeds can almost be considered efficient and at medium speeds can be quite affordable if you make a reasonable living.

 

[Simi 60]

wall of text.

My eyes hurt
Couldn't get past 80/20

 

[ranger58sb]

I didn't even get that far...

-Chris

 

[ranger58sb]

One last word. Beware old boats. They will be project boats no matter how good they look. Living aboard a project boat, especially at anchor, is not something I care to repeat in this lifetime.

This is something I'm fairly concerned about, actually. I'm looking at the 70s and 80s vintage boats mostly, but taking a full day in the middle of the week to fix something isn't always going to be doable. If I have to pay people to do work for me occasionally, that's no big deal.

I wouldn't normally post info like this... but just a reference point, in case it helps:

We bought a 2006 boat last June. Not a project boat. So far, I've spent $117,506 more on it, not counting my own labor hours.

Of that, $54K was engine rehab, $31K is maintenance (service, repair, replace non functioning), $18K is voluntary upgrades, and $13K was for Spring launch prep this year -- addressing all of the POs deferred underwater maintenance. My own labor would probably add about $15K if I paid myself in money. So far, I've "fixed" something on almost every day I've been aboard... and now that we're back in the water after Winter, I'm aboard 4-5 days/week at least.

Some of the issues have simply about the boat's (and it's system's) time of life; for example, a previous owner could have replaced an AC or two since 2006.. but didn't. IOW, it's not just the age of the boat... system life cycles are a thing, too. Some of the issues are specific to the most immediate PO... who didn't seem to maintain anything, especially engines. Some are because the marine surveyor seems to have missed a "few" problems. Some of this because I "want to get it right" and "everything on the boat needs to work" and I'm not always very happy with "good enough."

Voluntary upgrades were relatively minor: some new electronics, an inverter, a better anchor, some interior window tinting.

My point is only: keep your eyes wide open.

-Chris