From the liveaboard where nobody seems to live

ST840 said:
An 11-12m motorboat that my wife and I can moor relatively easily in or around the Hamble/Beaulieu or Cowes/Folly area, and live aboard. Not looking for a modern plastic fantastic, but a solid Grp boat that's 20-25 years old and around £100-120k. Twin engine shaft drive.
This is a 5-6 year plan for us so starting to look at options.

Thanks in advance.
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Tranona said:
Perhaps that is because very few people live aboard motor boats - at least with a view to long term cruising lifestyle (except perhaps in European inland waterways). Leaving aside choice of boat, living aboard any boat in the UK is becoming increasingly difficult so you may find actually getting a berth more challenging than choosing a boat - particularly in your chosen area. Marinas are not residential and most specifically ban living aboard on a permanent basis, although many accept longish periods interspersed with periods cruising - for example winter only contracts.

Most MOBOs are designed for short term use - weekends and holidays in nice weather so while they have good accommodation for their size they are difficult to keep warm and dry in the winter months plus they usually have lots of machinery and equipment that is not designed for long term use which invariably means high maintenance. Displacement or SD types are the most suitable, but the choice is not good in the UK because the market is dominated by planing boats.

You have a healthy budget and although the absolute numbers of boats available at any one time might be small, the variety will be high, so perhaps the best thing is to have a look at boats you think might suit and assess how you might actually live on each of them. Doubt you will get much feedback on the living side, but likely to get some on the qualities of the boat itself.
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Agree with Tranona ref the Marinas - that's your biggest hurdle.

Assuming you can find somewhere to keep the boat - regarding the boat type - you've said 11-12m, GRP and twin engines, shafts. In terms of living space per foot of length, you should look at aft cabin boats, eg Broom, Atlantic, Haines, Hardy, or some Sealines have an excellent aft cabin eg the F43. Or, breaking one of your rules, check out the myriad of Dutch steel cruisers, many of which are well insulated and used in Europe as liveaboards, often with single engines and designed for over / inland waterways use.
 
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Have you planned it carefully ?

We recently moved up from a 24ft to now 37ft and are blown away by space and comfort , can even imagine to make a winter on it as an adventure but a true liveboard , no way .

Are you ready to permanently live without a washing machine , without any separating space for eg your hobbies etc ?

You will face most marinas will shutdown water and maybe electricity in winter . Is your genset ready for a 24/7 use all offseason ? Where you get fresh water ? Where will you go when the boat needs a haulout for repairs ?

where will your official residence adress will be for official mail ?

While it sounds for me very exciting to "battle" winter conditions onboard while having it warm on cozy onboard please be careful to not run from a dream to nightmare should you experience that you are completely exhausted by fighting all day long preventing engines , pipes and more from freeze damage , removing moisture etc and at night you find yourself laying sick , cold and wet in your cabin because the webasto quit when you need it most .

Imho no 35-40 ft recreational cruiser is ready for a true liveaboard .

If really serious about it for a budget take a look for a permanently moored houseboat , i know some marinas offer special mooring spots with separate all year water and electricity supply .
 
Sticky Fingers said:
Agree with Tranona ref the Marinas - that's your biggest hurdle.
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Don't know where he posted that, but it's clearly from someone who knows absolutely nothing about living aboard, most certainly not a motor boat.

I've been living aboard for almost 10 years, the last 3 with my new partner (she loves living aboard as much as i do) on a Princess 45. Winter poses no issues in terms of keeping warm and dry.

We know lost of people who live aboard, many of them on motor boats, one couple have lived aboard for the last 20 years.
 
Sticky Fingers said:
Posted in the OP’s linked thread that nobody read…

AFAIK there are no marinas in the Solent and around that allow permanent liveaboards. Maybe that’s wrong, happy to be corrected.
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Virtually every marina i've worked in has had liveaboards, official or "blind eye". But my reply wasn't directed at that part of Tranonas post. It was directed at his description of motor boats and their suitability to live aboard. No idea why you can't live on a planing boat either. Bizarre.
 
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Sticky Fingers said:
Posted in the OP’s linked thread that nobody read…

AFAIK there are no marinas in the Solent and around that allow permanent liveaboards. Maybe that’s wrong, happy to be corrected.
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There are a few liveaboards at an MDL marina in Southampton, I think they have special permission and are discreet, yes the policy does say no liveaboards but it does happen.
 
PaulRainbow said:
I've been living aboard for almost 10 years, the last 3 with my new partner (she loves living aboard as much as i do) on a Princess 45. Winter poses no issues in terms of keeping warm and dry.
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Wow ! Ok , maybe its easier than i thought and finally boils down to organize yourself properly . Amazing you actually did it so can tell out of experience .

Assuming you define "liveaboard" you had no residence on land but just the boat out of curiosity :

- how do you sorted out to have an official residence adress ( which i guess you must have in europe )
- where did you get your freshwater in winter
- was running the heating enough to provide any space freeze protected , also the seawater valves , every part of the freshwatersystem , engine room .

Did you experienced serious frost with freezing up of the mooring spot ?
 
aerobat said:
Wow ! Ok , maybe its easier than i thought and finally boils down to organize yourself properly . Amazing you actually did it so can tell out of experience .

Assuming you define "liveaboard" you had no residence on land but just the boat out of curiosity :

- how do you sorted out to have an official residence adress ( which i guess you must have in europe )
- where did you get your freshwater in winter
- was running the heating enough to provide any space freeze protected , also the seawater valves , every part of the freshwatersystem , engine room .

Did you experienced serious frost with freezing up of the mooring spot ?
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Most marinas if not all in the UK, are open all year round. Freezing does very occasionally happen, but only to about 25mm depth.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Virtually every marina i've worked in has had liveaboards, official or "blind eye". But my reply wasn't directed at that part of Tranonas post. It was directed at his description of motor boats and their suitability to live aboard. No idea why you can't live on a planing boat either. Bizarre.
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Ah ok. Fair point. I agree with you, no reason why a mobo should not suit, certainly has more comfortable living spaces than most similar size / price yachts. AIUI the issue with boats with big machinery installs is that these need costly maintenance and if as a liveaboard you rarely go an anywhere, that likely won’t get done.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Virtually every marina i've worked in has had liveaboards, official or "blind eye". But my reply wasn't directed at that part of Tranonas post. It was directed at his description of motor boats and their suitability to live aboard. No idea why you can't live on a planing boat either. Bizarre.
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Suggest you read my original post on the liveaboard forum so you understand the context. The vast majority of posters on that forum live on cruising sailboats so not surprising that there were no responses - even when it was more active doubt there would be many who know anything about living on MOBOs in the Solent,

Note I used the word "few" and suggested some of the reasons why MOBOs are not common "for a cruising lifestyle". but that does not mean some use them as essentially houseboats, nor that some of the negatives cannot be overcome. However the fact remains that what the OP seems to want is difficult to achieve. Of course he tells us little about what he real objectives are - for example what sort of shore life is he expecting? does he own a house as well, budget expectation (berths are typically over twice the price of what you are used to) etc?

While it is quite possible to be a "part time" liveaboard in a Solent marina - that is spend long periods in the warmer months on board, perhaps undertaking short cruises, it is extremely difficult to live all year round on a boat as your only home. The OP needs to think about what is involved and decide whether he can live with the compromises in his personal situation. As I suggested the choice of boat is way down the list of things to worry about.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Don't know where he posted that, but it's clearly from someone who knows absolutely nothing about living aboard, most certainly not a motor boat.

I've been living aboard for almost 10 years, the last 3 with my new partner (she loves living aboard as much as i do) on a Princess 45. Winter poses no issues in terms of keeping warm and dry.

We know lost of people who live aboard, many of them on motor boats, one couple have lived aboard for the last 20 years.
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Agree wholeheartedly with this….well said that man!
Over the years on here there has been some absolute tosh written by people who have no idea about this subject.
I personally know and have known over the years plenty of extremely happy people who live aboard mobo’s full time.
 
Flynnbarr said:
Agree wholeheartedly with this….well said that man!
Over the years on here there has been some absolute tosh written by people who have no idea about this subject.
I personally know and have known over the years plenty of extremely happy people who live aboard mobo’s full time.
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Suggest you read the specifics of what the OP was asking. While it is true that in the past many people have lived on board their boats, some of which are motor boats. However the OP wants to do that in the Solent where every single marina has a "no liveaboard policy"

The advice given was that choice of boat is secondary to finding somewhere that he can berth the boat and use it in the way he intends. He also needs to consider the practicalities of living on board during the winter in a boat that was never designed for such use.

So, not "tosh" at all - just recognising that in the last few years (particularly since Covid exposed marinas flouting their non residential status) has changed the liveaboard environment significantly.
 
Tranona said:
Suggest you read the specifics of what the OP was asking. While it is true that in the past many people have lived on board their boats, some of which are motor boats. However the OP wants to do that in the Solent where every single marina has a "no liveaboard policy"

The advice given was that choice of boat is secondary to finding somewhere that he can berth the boat and use it in the way he intends. He also needs to consider the practicalities of living on board during the winter in a boat that was never designed for such use.

So, not "tosh" at all - just recognising that in the last few years (particularly since Covid exposed marinas flouting their non residential status) has changed the liveaboard environment significantly.
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How many liveaboards do you think come on here (or any forum for that matter) and shout whooo hooo look at me and what I’m doing ?
 
Flynnbarr said:
How many liveaboards do you think come on here (or any forum for that matter) and shout whooo hooo look at me and what I’m doing ?
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If you read the Liveaboard forum lots. As I (and many others) have said, while historically it has been possible to live aboard permanently on a boat, it has become increasingly difficult, particularly in the places the OP wants to go. Many marinas now allow living on board for extended periods, but not permanently as an alternative to on land living. There are of course many places where people do love on boats permanently such as canals and rivers but not Solent marinas. The £10k+ annual mooring fee might also have something to do with it.
 
Tranona said:
If you read the Liveaboard forum lots. As I (and many others) have said, while historically it has been possible to live aboard permanently on a boat, it has become increasingly difficult, particularly in the places the OP wants to go. Many marinas now allow living on board for extended periods, but not permanently as an alternative to on land living. There are of course many places where people do love on boats permanently such as canals and rivers but not Solent marinas. The £10k+ annual mooring fee might also have something to do with it.
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You are talking rubbish about something you have zero experience of.

Have you ever lived aboard ?

Have you ever owned a motor boat ?

Thought not.
 
Tranona said:
Suggest you read my original post
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You said

"Most MOBOs are designed for short term use - weekends and holidays in nice weather so while they have good accommodation for their size they are difficult to keep warm and dry in the winter months plus they usually have lots of machinery and equipment that is not designed for long term use which invariably means high maintenance. Displacement or SD types are the most suitable, but the choice is not good in the UK because the market is dominated by planing boats.Most MOBOs are designed for short term use - weekends and holidays in nice weather so while they have good accommodation for their size they are difficult to keep warm and dry in the winter months plus they usually have lots of machinery and equipment that is not designed for long term use which invariably means high maintenance. Displacement or SD types are the most suitable, but the choice is not good in the UK because the market is dominated by planing boats."

That's nonsense. We are perfectly warm and dry in the Winter, we have 8kw of blown air diesel heating and comfortably sit around in a tee shirt in the depths of Winter, no sign of damp or condensation.

"lots of machinery and equipment that is not designed for long term use which invariably means high maintenance." The engines are 7ltr Volvo truck engines, designed to run all day everyday. The galley is all electric, fitted with the same appliances as you'd find in any home. Showers are Hans Grohe, same as top of the range domestic installations. Both heads are electric, not needed any maintenance since we bought the boat. What else are you claiming that needs lost of maintenance ?

"Displacement or SD types are the most suitable" more utter nonsense, ours is a full planing hull, but i fail to see how SD, semi SD or planing have any bearing on living aboard.

"Note I used the word "few" and suggested some of the reasons why MOBOs are not common "for a cruising lifestyle". but that does not mean some use them as essentially houseboats"

We live on a boat. It's a 45ft twin engined, planing hull, motorboat. We live onboard full time. We use the boat on a regular basis. We can put to sea at the drop of a hat, 27/365
 
PaulRainbow said:
You said

"Most MOBOs are designed for short term use - weekends and holidays in nice weather so while they have good accommodation for their size they are difficult to keep warm and dry in the winter months plus they usually have lots of machinery and equipment that is not designed for long term use which invariably means high maintenance. Displacement or SD types are the most suitable, but the choice is not good in the UK because the market is dominated by planing boats.Most MOBOs are designed for short term use - weekends and holidays in nice weather so while they have good accommodation for their size they are difficult to keep warm and dry in the winter months plus they usually have lots of machinery and equipment that is not designed for long term use which invariably means high maintenance. Displacement or SD types are the most suitable, but the choice is not good in the UK because the market is dominated by planing boats."

That's nonsense. We are perfectly warm and dry in the Winter, we have 8kw of blown air diesel heating and comfortably sit around in a tee shirt in the depths of Winter, no sign of damp or condensation.

"lots of machinery and equipment that is not designed for long term use which invariably means high maintenance." The engines are 7ltr Volvo truck engines, designed to run all day everyday. The galley is all electric, fitted with the same appliances as you'd find in any home. Showers are Hans Grohe, same as top of the range domestic installations. Both heads are electric, not needed any maintenance since we bought the boat. What else are you claiming that needs lost of maintenance ?

"Displacement or SD types are the most suitable" more utter nonsense, ours is a full planing hull, but i fail to see how SD, semi SD or planing have any bearing on living aboard.

"Note I used the word "few" and suggested some of the reasons why MOBOs are not common "for a cruising lifestyle". but that does not mean some use them as essentially houseboats"

We live on a boat. It's a 45ft twin engined, planing hull, motorboat. We live onboard full time. We use the boat on a regular basis. We can put to sea at the drop of a hat, 27/365
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As above, 45 Sedan with full amenities.
 
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