Has anyone managed to liveaboard while working on their boat in a yard?

[Thatgirl48]

Hi,
new to the forum.
I'm trying to work out logistics, plan is to sell house, buy a boat that is not wreck but needs a fair amount of work and live aboard for a couple of years befoe deciding whether to live aboard longer term or find ahouse again.
Decision is driven by work logistics mainly. I already work in the industry and am a qualified marine engineer so the work needed on the boat doesn't phase me and I have enough contacts to bring in outside help for the things I can't do.
I don't want to pay rent on a flat or a house if i can help it as well as fees to be in a yard so, I was considering approaching a yard to see if theres a possibility to live on the boat whilst working on it? Possibly a stupid question but worth asking while I'm working things out I guess.

 

[Wansworth]

With a proper all over cover that lets you work all year round and you have access to a shower it’s possible

 

[veshengro]

In which area of the Country are you? After 17 years living aboard (Ashore now) I found berths/attitudes differed from area to area.

 

[Thatgirl48]

Thank you, that's really helpful.

Any tips on how best to persuade a yard to let me do it would be great if you've got any. I guess they'll want to avoid a project boat ending up sitting in their yard when an owner runs out of steam but I think if I approach them with an actual plan and timeline that could help.

 

[Thatgirl48]

In which area of the Country are you? After 17 years living aboard (Ashore now) I found berths/attitudes differed from area to area.

Hi,

East Anglia, I need to be in or close to felixstowe.

 

[WoodyP]

I managed to do a lot on weekend stopovers in Brighton, but I was using some of the local providers for specialist work. There were a number who did this at Fosdyke Yacht haven, but that's a bit far from your required location.

 

[Thatgirl48]

Thankyou, helpful to know it can be done!

 

[veshengro]

Understood. The closest to Felixstowe I ever lived, on a couple of occasions,over wintered that is for 4-5 months, was on a mooring at West Mersea and as it was only somewhere to live between foreign voyages I can't give any advice on longer term local possibilities for that area I'm afraid.

It can be accomplished. I fitted out a bare steel hull over spring and summer months while living aboard, but that was in Sussex and back in the 1990's

 

[Thatgirl48]

Thank you,this is really encouraging! I've fou d a couple of local boatyards so I'm going to have a day visiting them and seeing if anyone will have a conversation about it.

 

[Tranona]

While this type of living was fairly common in the past there are very few yards that will permit that now, in part because they are not classed as residential and in part because refitting a boat is not a trivial task, either from the work or money point if view so many such projects get abandoned leaving the yard with a problem. you can only ask, but be prepared to get negative responses.

 

[ylop]

Thank you, that's really helpful.

Any tips on how best to persuade a yard to let me do it would be great if you've got any. I guess they'll want to avoid a project boat ending up sitting in their yard when an owner runs out of steam but I think if I approach them with an actual plan and timeline that could help.

I used to keep a boat in a yard that had a strict no liveaboard policy but there was one notable exception - the guy who helped around the yard, and therefore made sure stuff was locked, loose stuff weighted down in high winds etc. officially he didn’t live there but everyone knew he did.

I don’t fancy living on a boat in a yard long term - toilets? I don’t fancy living on a project boat - dust? I’ve seen the chaos required just to do something like service the engine - getting the spare filters, the oil filter wrench etc from their hiding places means half the boat gets moved around. The companionway is blocked. Needing to clear stuff away to cook food, or find your bed to sleep in would hinder progress. Even a camper van on site at the yard would be more pleasant than in the boat itself.

 

[ducked]

Even a camper van on site at the yard would be more pleasant than in the boat itself.

Camper van off-site near the yard gets you around the yard agreement thing, but would be illegal, if that bothers you.
I lived in trucks and vans in London for a few years around the turn of the century, so it was a possible if parenoid lifestyle, but there is a lot more surveillance now.

If you can find a yard that is administered by a sailing club, rather than by a biziniz, and get yourself "integrated" into the community, you might either get acceptance or a collective blind eye applied.