Livaboard Longevity

[dwhatty]

More power to you Capt. Joe. Approximate same Latitude as you (N 44° 13' 26.23", W 68° 40' 39.16"). No one I know lives on their boat in the winter around here. No marinas to plug into for power if you stay in the water as the few marinas that do exist take their floats out for the winter. Moorings are the rule here and I can't imagine trying to winter over as a liveaboard on a mooring at this Lat.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

We have been up for a few years now in the Great White North. We have seen as low -20º (below) farenheit and were frozen solid into the ice.
Have two 30 Amps coming on board and a diesel heat as well. Love it! The winds blow and the snow falls so the decks need shoveling off in the morning just to get out the door. Very healthy living.
We are currently on Pigeon Lake at 44º34'.492N / 078º30'.395
This image was taken on Lake Simcoe, which is part of the Trent Severn Waterway

dude you have the boat for it! Nice looking vessel! very salty looking. I'd love to see more pictures.

 

[jeffnick]

I guess the reason for moving aboard might determine how long you'd be able to make it work?
If you just want a boat instead of a house in southern climates, pick a marina next to shopping and a hospital and you're golden with the right boat and an electric scooter. If you want to cruise to foreign ports, you're on the other end of the scale. If you want to cruise protected waters, longevity will depend on how your boat is equipped. If you're like me and want to spend weeks (or months) on protected waters from one coast to the other, maybe a trailerable houseboat and a small house are the ticket?

On the water or on the road, Big Duck is our home away from home and provides all the comforts including weeklong visits with family on Lake Powell.

 

[ben2go]

We have been up for a few years now in the Great White North. We have seen as low -20º (below) farenheit and were frozen solid into the ice.
Have two 30 Amps coming on board and a diesel heat as well. Love it! The winds blow and the snow falls so the decks need shoveling off in the morning just to get out the door. Very healthy living.
We are currently on Pigeon Lake at 44º34'.492N / 078º30'.395
This image was taken on Lake Simcoe, which is part of the Trent Severn Waterway

If you see a jolly ole fellow up there by the name of Peter,tell him ben2go says hello and the LPBC is going well.He'll be on his boat "Turtle Bay" it's his creation based on Phil Bolger's Windermere.

 

[FF]

For folks contemplating a real winter aboard , remember "snow shoveling" is usually done with a broom.

After living aboard and being active , a 2 story house might be of more interest than a flat dirt house

 

[Capt. Joe]

More power to you Capt. Joe. Approximate same Latitude as you (N 44° 13' 26.23", W 68° 40' 39.16"). No one I know lives on their boat in the winter around here. No marinas to plug into for power if you stay in the water as the few marinas that do exist take their floats out for the winter. Moorings are the rule here and I can't imagine trying to winter over as a liveaboard on a mooring at this Lat.

We were lucky to find this spot.
No, the only place to do it on a mooring is in the south. Boot Key Harbor was great for that. We spent the nineties on our own mooring that we put down.
Hundreds live aboard in Toronto and we were there for a few years but wanted so much to get away from the big smoke and go north. Most marinas close down north of Toronto and the owners head south so they don't want the liability and hassle of having boats afloat in the winter.
I have dealt with the managers of the place where we are now in my business in the past and we became friends. We have the place to ourselves after haul-out and it is like paradise. We are on a dead-end road with a half of dozen residences. Really quiet but only 5 minutes out of the town of Bobcaygeon, which is Lock 32 on the Trent Severn Waterway.
We make a point of being green; composting incinerating heads and we have a watermaker. So the only thing we need from the marina is shorepower. We have two gensets in case hydro goes out and diesel heat.
Right now wild turkeys roam about on our lawn and deer graze in the back of the marina. Even the odd moose. We have started to haul our garbage can up in a tree because there is a mamma bear with a cub around, looking to fat up for the winter hibernation. Coyotes howl at night.
After the bay freezes over, sometimes packs of wolves are seen crossing over. Bunch vent right under our bow last year, which was our first winter up here. We saw them first in our webcam archives and then caught them a few times in the early morning.

Not much ice movement, so it is fairly safe. There is another 100' and a 65' houseboat in the marina but they don't live aboard. Can't haul them out, so they stay in and bubble.

I'm just thrilled with all this for now. After spending two decades in the tropics, the change of seasons is much enjoyable....

 

[Capt. Joe]

dude you have the boat for it! Nice looking vessel! very salty looking. I'd love to see more pictures.

Thank You Pineapple Girl - lots of pictures on our boat blog: http://www.cruisingdog.com

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Thank You Pineapple Girl - lots of pictures on our boat blog: http://www.cruisingdog.com

Very cool thanks joe.

 

[Pau Hana]

One of my dock neighbors, Tim, has been living onboard his 34' sailboat since 1979. He turns 90 on November 6th, and is currently single handing his boat, crusing the San Juan and Gulf Islands.

He is a spry and agile as somebody half his age, and a genuine gentleman to boot.

 

[AlanT]

All I have to offer is that while wintering over in a marina in Kemer, Southern Turkey we all came out one afternoon to help a new arrival dock. It was a liveaboard couple, aged 80+ who, after engine failure and consequent electrical failure, had sailed their 28' sailboat several hundred miles from Cyprus or beyond. They are an ordinary couple with an extraordinary commitment. He was beginning to suffer from the beginning signs of dementia and this was perhaps the beginning of the end of their adventure. But the message is if you are healthy enough to live "at home" you are healthy enough to live on a boat.

 

[FF]

Your first real winter storm will be a delight !

Snow blowing sideways , wind enough to rock a 30ft wide houseboat , and all is visible to you all snug and warm below!

And no strange folks wandering on the docks!!

PERFECT!!

 

[buzzard]

Response to Old Goat

The wife and I moved aboard in '83 and have enjoyed boat life far more than when we were living as lubbers.

She is 74 and I am 78. We believe exercise and a diet of seafood have kept us very active and healthy.
e love hiking up to remote lakes and fishing for lunker cutthroat (minimum legal size in some lakes 26").

Norma has stated if I ever want to move back to land then I can go but she keeps the boat. We both love our liveaboard lifestyle and intend to stick with until the end.

As one Old Goat to another: Go for it!
buzzard