Help & Advise Zero Budget Liveaboard Essex

[potentillaCO32]

More likely to achieve your aims ashore with a caravan on one of the many sites on and around the North Kent and possibly Essex coasts..
In the past a very blind eye has been cast regards folks being there 24/7/12 , despite the known caveat of only a 10 month occupation.
However this is flux at the moment with local councils realising that thousands of folks were using the local srvices ie. medical facilities while not being actually being "residents".
This finally come to head on Sheppey where the owners of two large caravan sites are attempting to clear all the caravans and replace with new mobile homes.

I'm not sure the OP will see this he hasn't looked at the forum since last thursday and has only posted twice.

 

[Tranona]

Not sure a caravan will have space to keep his Ohlson 38 though

 

[potentillaCO32]

Not sure a caravan will have space to keep his Ohlson 38 though

Put wheels on the ohlson?

 

[Plum]

Hello everyone.
I'm brand new to sailing, only sailed a one man Pico boat about seven times and went on a Competent Crew course for five days after buying my Ohlson 38 back in July. I'm soon puting my 38 feet yacht in the water for the first time since I bought her, and I want to live off grid with zero cost. I hoped to find somewhere in, or near, the Blackwater in Essex where I could leave it anchored all year round and close enough to paddle to a local town where I would leave the car for a few days in a side street.
Does anyone know if this is remotely possible, and if so, where I could achieve it please?

We would be able to provide better help if we knew how you intend to use your boat. For example, do you just want to moor it and never go sailing or do you want to moor it and be able to go sailing whenever you wish?

 

[jezjez]

Surely, this is possible! I often dream of doing the same. As long as you put yourself right up the far end of a river when the wind is 80 knots and keep the engine running and pray when it is, and you stock up on beans, cheese and water, with a kindle and a dream, a believer can do anything if they want it enough.
The biggest question mark in my mind is, if you’ve never even sailed a yacht, how do you know this will make your life better and not worse? I think you should spend a few weeks of the summer on board and see if you really want this life after all. It’s not for everyone. In fact, some people hate it more than seems justified by the privations and constant moving about that are inherent. Not to mention bashing yourself on the sticky out bits of the boat.

 

[potentillaCO32]

Surely, this is possible! I often dream of doing the same. As long as you put yourself right up the far end of a river when the wind is 80 knots and keep the engine running and pray when it is, and you stock up on beans..

I agree with your second point around not knowing if you would like any of this but the surely, the "this is possible bit" I think is no. Given the number of 'van life' people parked on the side of the road near me, if it were possible to anchor up a uk river and not pay anybody anything
, the rivers would be full.
The winter we have had shows how utterly,utterly miserable , damp, mouldy and unhealthy doing so would be. Sitting in the rain looking out through cracked prespex windows, the odd drip landing on your damp bed, the nearest shops an hours row against wind, chop and tide across a freezing river. Just not doable.

There are plenty of liveabords at the marina I use on the crouch but they are plugged in to electricity, heating and water. Most are on dutch barges that never go anywhere and cosier than a cosy thing with wood fires and trendy shabby chique decor.. Hugely different proposition.

 

[jezjez]

Perhaps that is why the sailing boats decide to head south and keep moving on.