Good Morning!

[SSGPlatt2018]

Hello All!

I am Len, very new to boating. I have wanted a boat for as many years as I can imagine, and now that I am in my mid 40s, the kids are leaving, the income is increasing, and the expenses are dwindling. I don't own a trawler yet, as my first boat is my 26ft 1978 Pacemaker purchase about a month ago. My wife and I still have 2 kids at home, and are seriously contemplating making the move to a trawler live aboard as the last 2 kids start to transition to college/adult life. Figure sell the house, use the equity to buy a boat and live off of it for a few years to save $$ and do something different.

It is great reading all the stories here so far, I've been reading the articles in the "live aboard" section about the pros and cons.

I joined the "Long Island Sound" Group, but it seems pretty quiet there. If there is anybody that could help me out finding places to go, it would be appreciated. We dock our boat at the Groton Sub Base, an advantage to being in the military still.

Thank you all for having me,
Len

[ktdtx]

Congratulations & Welcome--this forum has a wealth of knowledge about boats and specific locations--often right down to the specific marina level.

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Welcome

[BandB]

Originally Posted by SSGPlatt2018

Hello All!

I am Len, very new to boating. I have wanted a boat for as many years as I can imagine, and now that I am in my mid 40s, the kids are leaving, the income is increasing, and the expenses are dwindling. I don't own a trawler yet, as my first boat is my 26ft 1978 Pacemaker purchase about a month ago. My wife and I still have 2 kids at home, and are seriously contemplating making the move to a trawler live aboard as the last 2 kids start to transition to college/adult life. Figure sell the house, use the equity to buy a boat and live off of it for a few years to save $$ and do something different.

It is great reading all the stories here so far, I've been reading the articles in the "live aboard" section about the pros and cons.

I joined the "Long Island Sound" Group, but it seems pretty quiet there. If there is anybody that could help me out finding places to go, it would be appreciated. We dock our boat at the Groton Sub Base, an advantage to being in the military still.

Thank you all for having me,
Len

Welcome aboard, but you need to do a lot of boating and spend extended time on some trawlers, possibly through chartering, before jumping into water way over your heads.

It's a huge decision in two ways. One is LIFESTYLE. The other is FINANCIAL. Right now you only know the romance side of the lifestyle difference but have a lot to do to learn the whole picture. As to financial, you're moving money from an appreciating asset, or one that at least retains value, to a depreciating asset and from one that requires minimal maintenance into one that requires regular and costly maintenance.

Hope you find it is the way for you but look very carefully before you leap. Also, listen to current liveaboards, but keep in mind that they are very biased. They include only those for whom it worked out well.