Hello from Las Vegas!

Hi everyone!

We (my husband and I) don't own a boat yet, but have been researching and learning for about a year. As soon as the pandemic is under control we hope to start physically looking at live aboards.

Can't wait to learn from all of you experienced folks

Mrs. Rogue, welcome to TF. Your comment about a liveaboard and your location in the middle of a fairly dry area begs the question of where are you going to live on it?

Lake Mead? Or do you have your sights on a more distant horizon?

Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard and happy hunting on the new boat? Were from LV ourselves, but seem to spend a great deal of time on the boat and little time back home.

Cheers

Welcome to the Forum!
The only piece of advice that I have from the info you have given, is to just be aware that finding "live aboard" moorage can be very difficult. So, once you have a good idea of the size of boat you are looking at, maybe find the moorage then the boat??
In some locations, the wait list for "regular" moorage (no live aboard) can be several years depending on the boat size and of course location.
I guess you could be a "mobile" live aboard, meaning moving frequently, at least for a while.
Anyway, Good Luck, and enjoy the process.

Brokers are happy to show boats during covid. In fact reportedly the market is strong. I second the comnents about checking on liveaboard slips. Almost a unicorn in SoCal. Sacramento delta might be possible.

Thanks everyone.

We plan on exploring the east coast and Caribbean in depth, maybe even the Great Loop. It depends on the boat we end up with. Mostly we want to snorkel and scuba, and Lake Mead greatly lacks in those areas lol. We would schedule viewings but we don't feel comfortable flying to Florida yet and I would hate to waste a brokers time on the West Coast, knowing we won't be buying on the West Coast.

Neither of us have any "real" boating experience, so we aren't opposed to a sailing vessel or a motor yacht. We will need training no matter which we choose. We have done the basic safety course online, and are in search of more online training while we wait

Probably sounds silly to uproot and sell everything to adventure when we have no experience, but when else will we? At least that is the conclusion we have come to during these weird times.

Rogue One:
As you will see reading many similar threads there are some fairly common suggestions before you sell it all and go live aboard. Especially if you don't have much boating experience as a family. For me some of the important ones are:
1) As you are already doing take classes (hands on as soon as Covid is past) and learn as much as you can from "real world".
2) Talk to people that have done this before. And that means you need to find some of the less public folks who tried it and did not continue. Unfortunately there is the media bias towards those who have continued in the lifestyle but there are probably an equal number of those (or more?) who for one reason or another (financial, family/friends, comfort, lack of options or any number of other reasons) decided the dream was not quite what they expected.
3) Charter multiple boats and do so in various times of the year. Find friends who will take you in their boats. Presuming you plan to continue working, DON'T take vacation time during the charter. Find out what it is like to live aboard and keep working. That is very different vs. just cruising around on a vacation.
4) Put together your budget and share it with a number of people with relevant experience. You don't need to disclose the income side, just what you think it will cost for your liveaboard lifestyle. Truth is (as you probably see from all the YouTube videos) is that the cost can vary widely so you will have to realistically adjust this for what you intend to do (rice and beans, anchoring out 90% of the time, etc).
5) Spend some time thinking about your contingency plan if life gets in the way. What will you do in case of a serious illness (you or a close relative, sibling, parent, etc)?
6) Whatever you do you should enter this with a clear agreement with your significant other about what you will do if one decides this is not what you expected. Set an agreed time frame and action plan (ieNo decisions for the first x days but if after 6 months one of us wants to move ashore then...)

I have owned more than a dozen boats (various sizes but all power) over the 38 years of marriage. My wife enjoys boating but in a very different way than I. We have found a common ground over the years and I am sure you will as well.

I am in no way trying to discourage you from doing this but unfortunately it is very hard to really separate the dream from reality. So all you can do is be open to all sorts of input and in the end decide what is right for you two.

Wow, thank you Ready.

We really appreciate your advice and suggestions. We have done some of your suggestions and have not done an equal amount. Frankly, didn't even think about a few.

We won't be working. I came from the convention industry and think this break is more like early retirement. Mr. Rogue is still working but we are prepared thus far I believe. Part of what draws us in, is that we both like busy work and projects. It seems a boat has plenty.

Finding other people with boating experience is going to be the tough part given that we are land locked. But, we hope to glean a wealth of others' experience via this forum.

We are by no means in a rush. We have already worked out a budget. I think it's pretty realistic, I'm not a dreamer easily fooled by the pretty drone pictures posted by youtubers

We value your input and appreciate it very much. We still have MUCH work to and are gradually working toward our end game.

RogueOne said:

Wow, thank you Ready.

We really appreciate your advice and suggestions. We have done some of your suggestions and have not done an equal amount. Frankly, didn't even think about a few.

We won't be working. I came from the convention industry and think this break is more like early retirement. Mr. Rogue is still working but we are prepared thus far I believe. Part of what draws us in, is that we both like busy work and projects. It seems a boat has plenty.

Finding other people with boating experience is going to be the tough part given that we are land locked. But, we hope to glean a wealth of others' experience via this forum.


We are by no means in a rush. We have already worked out a budget. I think it's pretty realistic, I'm not a dreamer easily fooled by the pretty drone pictures posted by youtubers

We value your input and appreciate it very much. We still have MUCH work to and are gradually working toward our end game.

Click to expand...

We hope to have Pairadice in a safe harbor down in Panama by May, and back home in Vegas shortly there after. We can hook up over the summer and share our experiences if you want some help.

Cheers!

Thanks Crusty! That would be awesome

Crusty Chief said:

Welcome aboard and happy hunting on the new boat? Were from LV ourselves, but seem to spend a great deal of time on the boat and little time back home.

Cheers

Click to expand...

Crusty has a good reputation with the lock operators from Lake Mead to the Pacific.

Lol

RogueOne,
Our son was also working in the convention industry until that came to a screeching halt. Fortunately he has found a new job in a different industry.

Best of luck as you continue to formulate your plans. The TF forum is very supportive so don't hesitate to reach out. Post Covid many will be happy to even take you along for a boat ride if you get to the coast. Just prior to covid I hosted a couple from Italy for the day and we had a delightful day. It was great to compare and contrast our boating experiences.

Screeching halt indeed.

Thanks Ready! This community seems to be very nice and friendly. It's refreshing