Choice of Livaboard

[whitepj]

Hi all. I am looking for a little advice, and if anyone could give me a little help I'd be very grateful..

Have finally got naffed off with trying to purchase a house. Prices here have escalated to the point of stupidity, and there is no way I am going to be able to afford anything in the near future. Therefore, I have gone back to the idea of livaboards (discounted a few years ago due to a sudden wave of sanity!)
My initial thoughts led to contemplating a motorsailer - and the is a very good artical on these in this months PBO. However, as a livabord, I need a decent amount of living space - I anticipate at least 30' to be comfortable, and sadly the article in question only covers up to 25'
So, in no particular order, this is what I am looking for:
* Seaworthy - quite likely to go to the Med.
* I'm single, so have to be able to handle he comfotably alone.
* Instinctively tend towards some sort of MotorSailer.
* Steel (or Alu.) hull ?
* Decent sized accomodation.

As a side thought, I have contemplated a second-hand merchant fishing vessel, on the grounds that I don't particularly want it to look good (externally) and therefore a target for break-ins, and can fit out the inside to my every whim... Except that here I am totally out of my depth. It is also a non-standard question to ask of a mainly yachting community.

Advice, and especially suggestions of vessels to consider, would be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Phil.

 

[MedMan]

If your instincts favour a motor sailer then go for a motor sailer and never mind what we folk have to say. If you find a boat that feels right for you then it very probably is. Just a few thoughts though:

The main advantage in steel is brute strength - important some would argue if world-girdling but not in the Med. Every time a charter boat gives you a knock in harbour (an all-too-regular occurance in some areas) you will be rushing for the epoxy to keep back the rust and no-one will want to be your neighbour in crowded anchorages.

30 feet is possible, but tight on storage space. You may be sailing alone but you will still need tools, extra tankage, spares galore, books to read and swap, charts and pilots by the ton etc etc. My wife and I live aboard a Trident Voyager 35 for most of the year and we are one of the smallest boats on the circuit.

If you head for the Med you will need to think about a decent sun canopy, a good swimming ladder, a fridge and the means to provide the power to run it. In addition, if you are to be a 24/365 liveaboard, you need to think about TV, video, Hi-fi or whatever else you feel you might appreciate during long winter evenings. They all cost money, they all use power and, of course, they all take up space!

Good luck

 

[ccscott49]

I liveaboard, I have lived in Holland and UK, but now in the med. If you are thinking of the med eventually, a motor sailer is the ideal choice, if you want to go anywhere, you will be doing a lot of motoring, no matter what anybody trys to tell you. 30' is a bit small, I would be looking more towards 34-37' not much bigger than that, or you will be unable to handle her on your own, unless you motor all the time you don't have help/crew and mooring charges, when needed, start to get expensive, There are a multitude of boats in this size range, nauticat, fisher, watson etc, or you could consider a cat, (high mooring charges). As Medman says, you will want some of the comforts of home, so should consider, an inverter, for mains and or a genny, I have both and the system works very well, gennys' these datys can be obtained, very small and efficient, so don't think the boat won't be big enough, you will be surprised. Room inside is needed, for stowage of all the stuff you will carry about, which most of it you won't need. I have a rule about clothes, if I haven't worn an item for 18 months, then I don't need it and get rid! You will find you dump a lot of stuff,(only to be replaced by something else useless), Look around some of the more liveaboard friendly marinas and ask some of the long term liveaboards, they will help, we are a friendly bunch (most of the time) good luck.

 

[MapisM]

No leaveaboard experience so far - just fantasized about that, now and then.
But I did sleep in fiberglass, steel and wooden boats.
If the onboard confort is a concern (as it should be!), there is simply no substitute to wood IMHO.
More care/maintenance is required, though.
Which isn't that bad, if you have time to do it yourself.
All the very best.

 

[anthony_t]

Hi whitepj!

I am in exactly the same boat as you (pun intended!)
I too am looking at living aboard because of horrendous house prices, but i can only stretch to around £6000, if i`m lucky!
Have been considering a 25` yacht as it seems to be the right price and i fancy a proper boat with sails!!
Does anyone have experience of living on a 25` boat? I know it`s a bit on the small side but it`s all i can afford! Fitting it out won`t be a problem as i have my fingers in a few pies!! I will be living on my own so do you think that i would get away with 25`??
Any views appreciated!!
Cheers, anthony.

 

[Guest]

Phil,
I am, like you, looking for a vessel to live aboard. The ex-fishing vessel option has been recommended to me by a friend who was a skipper on the BT Global Challenge (a sailing man at heart) and also a Marine Surveyor. He has approved some ones I have seen that are somewhere between 54 and 66 foot in length, massively constructed in larch on oak, with good reliable engines like Gardners.

His advice is to check the main struts are sound, check that the bilge water is salty, and to run up the engine. Also try to go for one that doesn't smell too fishy as it will take ages to get rid of the smell!

The main problem for me is not finding the right vessel it's finding somewhere to put it. I am restricted to the Solent area although I am starting to look at Weymouth as an option.

Anyway, I'd be interested to know how you get on and will be watching this forum with interest.

 

[whitepj]

OK. Update, for anyone following this thread.

Thanks for all the comments so far. This is a major step for me, and all comments are received with interest.

Because I started this search around 2 or 3 years ago, and really havn't progressed, I have decided to employ a buying agent to give me a helping hand. So far, Lighthouseyachts have seemed very helpful, and keen to help me get moving quickly.

So far, specs have moved to the 30-35' mark, trying to remain in the original budget of approx £20k.
i still remain cautious about wood hulls, due to the maintenance required. But a F/Glass hull has been added to the list.

Will post every now and then to let you know how I am getting on!

Phil

 

[dk]

Anthony

My girlfriend (now my wife so it can't have been all that bad), her 10-year old daughter and I lived on board a 24ft 6in wooden Falmouth Pilot for the best part of a year, going from the UK to the Med via the French canals, and staying in France & Spain variously over the following six years. A small boat like that was no real problem in the sunshine, showering in the cockpit from a camping shower - but back in the UK it is more difficult when you're shut off down below whilst it pours and howls up above.

The boat ran on the KISS principle (mainly due to lack of hard cash!) but the best investment was a fridge that ran off AC/DC/gas, from a camping shop for £150. We used to hit a marina once a week, during which time we charged up the batts and super-cooled the fridge, which we filled with bottles of frozen water and milk to act as a 'holding plate' over the next week.

Water was a 10 gal fixed tank and 4 x 5gal plastic jerries, hand pumped. Electrics were supplied by 2 x 85Ah truck batteries (which, incidentally performed excellently for just over 7 years) charged by a 10A cheap car charger or a naff dynamo on the hand-started engine.

We loved that boat and shed a tear when it went. Rarely did we ever pine for more space.

For one man on his own 25ft should be no problem - just try to get one with full headroom or you'll end up stooped over forever!

Good luck, Duncan

 

[philmarks]

Maybe not a problem for a motorsailer, but steel generally considered too heavy under 40 feet for sail.

Miller/Fifer pretty nice wood Scottish fishing boat style motor sailers, also Inchcapes.

Good luck

 

[charles_reed]

Have a look at www.setsail.com, especially the logs by Dave & JaJa Martin.

They had 2 kids on a 25' and moved up to 33' when the third came along.

 

[Katman]

Hi
I'm like you i've just thought how stupid it is paying nearly 200k for a small flat in london or 100k for studio apartment. I've done so much research on liveaboards and would recommend going to your local marina find out if anyone there lives aboard and speak with them. Also what i've done is arranged weekends on boats, so far i've stayed on a 55ft barge in oxford with 5 other people(including our 3month old) and a 33ft catamaran in southampton and have several charter holidays booked for october (it's so much cheaper at the close of the season) in Balearics.

I've found that i never realised what i wanted until i was actually aboard. One thing that was pointed out to me by a liveaboard was a lovely big sailing yacht will not be able to cruise down many rivers - you have to be careful of the draft, the keel size and also consider the fact that to go down most of the thames you'll need to de-mast. These are things i didn't even consider until someone pointed them out. What i'm trying to do now is realistically decide where i'm going to sail to and how often. If you're not going to do much sailing get a motor boat - you might not be able to cross the atlantic but with a few modifications you'll get across the channel and from there port hopping/cannel cruising down to the med.

I know very little about sailing and i'm speaking from a beginners point of view. The conclusion i came up with is there is no right way to do it. I've decided to build my own catamaran and have even began to organise training so that i can do a professional job. It seems a little stupid but eventually i'll get what i want.
Most people have advised against a cat but the difference between a 33 cat and 33 boat is incredible - more than twice the interior. To get the same inner space you'd need a much bigger yacht. Recently i went to the southhampton boat show and spent the whole day comparing - i literally spent hours just sitting in one boat chatting to everyone else who came to look at it and then doing the same with another and so on.

Now i've narrowed it down - i've built a mock interior-reducing the size and shape of my living room to roughly match that of my chosen cat. Sounds drastic but i'm determined to get it as right as possible. I did this with cardboard and a staple gun and i think it really helps.

I hope this helps - best of luck and i hope you get what you want