Could I really do this?

[KevL]

After another wonderful weekend on the boat my wife has come home with the idea that she wants to sell everything and buy a boat to live on. It's funny really, it was me who wanted to buy a boat originally but my wife has really been bitten by the bug and I must say that the idea of selling the house and moving onto a boat really scares me. I don't know, perhaps I am a little stayed in my ways but to think that I wouldn't have a house to call home doesn't seem right some how.

Don't get me wrong I love the idea of a nice big boat but I'm not sure what I should be looking for so I'm hoping that you folks may be able to give me a few pointers. Is it really all a bed of roses or is there a down side as well? What sort of size of boat should I be looking at bearing in mind that I can't sail a sailboat for toffee so it needs to be a stinkpot. I don't intend to go out of UK waters in it as my wife will want to be within driving distance of the children. Is it true that bigger is better or is there an optimum size, cost not only to buy but also to run being a factor. Oh and it must be something that is seaworthy, we want to still be able to cruise the coast and move where and when we want to. How do you cope with post? Where do I go from here?


--
Tides - Never there when you need one.
Wind - Always there when you don't.

KevL

 

[heerenleed]

Of course you can do it.
In october 1999 I came home from a business trip to Italy. Even before I had my drink my partner told me: we have been doing it all wrong. Now I heard that before so I was not really chocked so I sat down, had a cigarette and said: tell me all.. And there it was.. Do you know how much we spend on the house each month? I said yes, my complete salary. Ah, you know then.. And what for? to get rid of it as soon as we stop working. Cause we wanted to go and sailaway at some point. So, it went on, why wait? We can go liveaboard now. No more double costs, no more double maintenance. So this is what we did. By december the house was sold, mid january the new boat was bought (only to arrive in june), by mid april the old boat went...... and there we were, living under the bridge.... (Thank heavens we had friends who borrowed us their motor boat until the new boat arrived)

We spent a lot of time (and money) doing up the actual boat (Nicholson 48) but we have never, ever regretted the move.

Here's what you need to consider.
Buy as big a boat as you can handle (and afford). You must be able to entertain and you must be able to have overnight guests. No more than two I should think, in my opinion this is enough. We never had more than two overnight guests in the house, so why have more on board. I understand that it's going to be motor boating for you, so space will not be an enourmous problem. If you hate dish washing, make sure you can install a dishwasher (we did). Try and make a list of all the things that you really like doing at home and see how far you can get on the boat.

My partner loves playing the piano. We have no piano an board (not yet) but the plans are ready to install an electronic one. Don't settle for dropping things that you really like doing. Apart from that, it really is no big deal. Have a look on my posts on heating and on dry beds. That is a necessity in winter. And make sure you have a good spot for winter, with shore power and WATER. Water is a problem in many marinas in winter.

For now, we are still working and we will need to do so for at least some 8-10 years. So we still participate in shore life, and need more space than we would if we would be off cruising. Clothing for work is quite something else than closing for a leasure life.

One last word of advice. Once you live aboard you are at risk. People that hardly ever visited you at home will look upon you in your boat as an excellent weekend destination when the weather is fine. If you let them, you will end up as a floating hotel. We simply made a selection. Everyone who came to see us at the house is welcome on board. Everyone who never came to the house is simply not welcome. Don't tell them however, but when they phone you, tell them no, not this weekend, we have obligations but why not on wednesday-evening. (or any other weekday) They won't come, 'cause that is not what they wanted to come for.
You'll see, it works.

If you need specific information, just ask.

Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbeergen, Netherlands

 

[kgi]

dont sell the house!!!!!!! if at some time in the future you decide cruisings not for you, you will find it virtually impossible to get back in the housing market. we rent our house out and we do very nicely out of it, if you do this go with one of the companies that specialise in letting property, that way they can take a lot of the strain. if your going to buy a powerboat get a displacement hull as they are more economical to run.i cruise on a thirty foot sail boat, and like most people i thought of getting a bigger boat, then i met some people who had been doing it longer than me, and here is what they said, and i now agree with them. a bigger boat costs more to haulout/antifoul marina fees are higher engines are bigger and can cost more to service/repair,and another thing that i thought was a peice of insight if your caught aganst a dock or harbour wall the smaller boat you can stillpush off to get fenders in!!!! food for thought.........aw hell, go cruise!!

 

[challenge]

I am a member since a few days and I am reading the liveaboard discussions with great interest. My wife and I really love sailing and recently we have decided to sell the house, order a 44 ft to be delivered latest March 2003. My wife is 52 now and I am 56, both healthy and sportive and we feel that if we don't do it now, we will never do it. So, we decided to follow our dream and we can hardly wait!
Our profession is consultancy/interim management and executive search and we will install adequate communication equipment to work from our ship. It will be an enormous feeling to have the opportunity to sail at the end of the working day or find a place to berth free and prepare dinner.
For longer assignments we will berth as close to the location as possible. It will be fairly easy because we are living in The Netherlands. The marina's in Rotterdam, The Hague/Scheveningen, Amsterdam and in many area's offer our bases close to our clients.
We will sell both our cars and we are signing a contract with a company named Mobility Mixx. As a client they organize and arrange our travelling schedules after ordering via internet, including taxi pick up's, train and other means of transportation. Renting cars will be done by the same organisation and a car will be waiting at the marina at the moment of arrival and they will pick up the keys at the harbour master when we leave. It will be impossible to carry all our books aboard. We will store these at a 24 hour service to enable us to change books because of the study of the subject we are working on at that moment.
There are so many practical things we have found a solution for but there are a number of details related to living aboard in The Netherlands.
Heerenleed, your kind words to Kevl and your invitation for additional information brought me to ask you whether it would be possible to communicate directly with you to ask these specific questions. Honoustly I don't know how this works via this community. I would really appreciate in case you would response. Thanks in advance.
Dick / Driebergen-The Netherlands

 

[heerenleed]

Absolutely.
Just give me a ring at 06-53593606.
I am Dutch as you can gather from the name Heerenleed, so easy communication in out mother tongue.
Speak to you soon


Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbeergen, Netherlands

 

[heerenleed]

You are right there! If one can afford to AND keep the house and rent it AND buy the boat you need, do it. It's always nice to have a source of income that doesn't give you the need to work. We could not do this, and had to sell the house. It was not scary to us. About the larger boat: of course, big boats have their drawbacks. But in our clime we felt we needed ample space for those months that keep us indoors. And we have a lot of them. Surely, if we could have cut the ropes and be off to some nicer weather, we could have kept our Nic35. Also, marina prices are not that rediculous in the Netherlands yet. Our annual mooring costs us about 2500 Euros. If we cruise during weekends, the many marina's in our parts never charge us more than 12-13 Euros a night. And we anchor a lot when the weather is fine. As for maintenance, yes, larger is more expensive, but there's a lot you can do yourself once you put your mind to it.

Anyway, it does not really matter how you do it. Everyone his own preferencies. As long as you just do it.

Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbeergen, Netherlands

 

[challenge]

I very much appreciate your reaction and your invitation to call. I will do so today.
Tot later!
Best regards,
Dick-Driebergen NL

 

[tcm]

Re: sail or power

What a fab wife you have!

Howver, I would strongly recommend sailboat rather than stinkpot for long term permanent liveaboard cos

1. It doesn't roll all over the place as much at anchor
2 It's cheaper to go a long way.
3. it's cheaper to maintain as the whole kaboodle can't knock itself to bits whislt planing/semiplaning.
4. Even large powerboats are still dayboats. they have morebedrooms, but not as much useable space.
5. Sailbioats are more usually built with the idea of going a long way,m being stayed on for a long time.
6. For a laugh and spped requirements, get a decent jetrib. This limits exposure of daft/fun speed thrills to 10 grand or so.
7 even when not at anchor, the motion of a powerboat is queasy when at sea, after a while.

If you can steer a powerboat, a sailboat is an absolute doddle. Sailing at speed is not easy, but just wafting along is easy peasy. Also, it sound boring at 5 knots but blinking well isn't. Also, youcan go to distant places in long hops instead of going in and out the porrts for diesel. Also diesel may soon get v expensive.


Okay, if you did get a stinkpot which one? Discuss!

 

[jonic]

Yes you can.

We are setting off in two weeks and can't wait. We are renting the houses, don't sell if you can. I sold an old cottage in the shires to pay for the boat, then bought a brand new house in a marina off the plans for a very good price and rent it out. In less than a year, as it was a brand new home it has gone up about 40%.
The rent covers the mortgage and the capital appreciation over the next five years will be my "earnings". We are lucky enough to have a London flat which will generate a small income from rental as well, but that is a big bonus. (we met fairly late in life so had our own homes)

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/yacht/serafina/

 

[AndrewB]

Not always true!

We sold the house in early 90's and stuck the dosh somewhere reasonably safe to accumulate. Bought back in at the end of the 90's, houses were no dearer and we had more money. And with none of the hassle renting sometimes brings.

Had we done that in the last couple of years it would have been disasterous, of course. So it depends on the times.

 

[DiverTitch]

We are going to live on a converted trawler which will hopefully sail and provide room for everything you normally find in a house and room to earn a euro or two. You can find 60-70' boats for a lot less than a yacht. DONT sell your house until you are sure your not coming back! The lifestyle will mean that every day you live will only take half a day off you life!! Go for it.

 

[heerenleed]

Re: Not always true!

You're absolutely right. That's why we decided to sell the house. I was only agreeing to the other option. However, it seems to me that the option of keeping and renting the house is for those that do not feel completely confident about moving aboard. Or else, for those wo need the extra income out of renting the house. Surely that brings along some hassle, but there's money on the plus side.

happy sailing

Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbergen, Netherlands