How many liveaboards are there?

blueglass said:
for the record we spend april - October on board (inc july /august - just swim more if we get hot) and home for winter therefore per say we do NOT think of ourselves as liveaboards,
but I have to say a certain smugness is creeping into the thread from proper, real, genuine,authentic, dyed in the wool, certified salty seadog liveaboards. We all choose our own lifestyles and have no right to regard ourselves as superior to others who have chosen differently.Why get hung up on pigeonholes? I regard my split time between Med and UK as perfect. I have it both ways and therefore miss nothing - I have no desire whatever to go liveaboard - thats my choice. I don't feel superior to folks who only use their boat for short holidays or indeed inferior to livaboards.
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I agree wholeheartedly. We live aboard in the summer and live in the house in the winter. I see very little attraction in living in a port for several months in the winter when I can be at home in UK. Fine for those who want it but it doesn't make their choice in any way superior or inferior to mine.
 
vyv_cox said:
I agree wholeheartedly. We live aboard in the summer and live in the house in the winter. I see very little attraction in living in a port for several months in the winter when I can be at home in UK. Fine for those who want it but it doesn't make their choice in any way superior or inferior to mine.
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exactly.

choice 1 for a winters evening.
couple of pints and a steak and ale pie at a welcoming british pub, followed by a comfortable armchair in front of a roaring log fire back at home.

choice 2 for a winter's evening

a couple of glasses of eurofizz inside a soulless taverna when you find one thats open - (they're just not the same when you eat inside)followed by lurking down below with the rain hammering down on the coachroof.

mmmm......

For me boats are all about the outdoor life.al fresco eating, swimming and cruising. A wet winter aboard holds no delights.

And before everybody piles in with their reports of wonderful winter's days sailing - which I'm sure occasionally happen - lets be honest, most liveaboards I know hole up for the winter somewhere cheap and not very cheerful and wait for spring. Not knocking it - its just not for me.
 
Have lived aboard for many many years and we have no bricks and morter. We sold up and live off my pension.

11 meter solaris sunrise Catamaran

Now cruising the Ionian and then on into the Agean.

The winters are great for meeting fellow yachties who live aboard as there is so much to do and talk about.

Just the two of us

The only thing to stop us would be a health issue and old age/infirmaty. We hope for many more years sailing to come.

Peter
 
I agree with VyV Cox that whatever your choice it is not in any way superior or inferior to mine. But the point made by Blueglass about boat in summer, house in winter and “most liveaboards holed up for the winter somewhere cheap and not very cheerful and wait for spring” does not apply to for example the Caribbean.
 
1. Boat Name: Bejasus
2. Make/Model: Hardin Voyager 45 1980 - Cutter/Ketch
3. Self & SWMBO
4. House sold & boat purchased: 2006 - Moss Point, Mississippi, USA
5. Current location - Near Savannah, Georgia, USA

Had the boat hauled and painted & re-rigged in 2007.
Got stuck here in 2008 when swmbo had nasty compound leg break 3 weeks before Atlantic crossing to Spain. Economy crashed, Barcelona became expensive, swmbo got a job etc, so decided to stay in the US. Intend moving south to Florida in 2011 to be that much closer to the Bahamas. Looking forwards to retirement in 6 years(depending on whether or not the gov't moves the goalposts), and then be full time cruising. Meantime, we just keep fixing/updating improving things until that day comes. We have thought about getting a pick up and camper for touring in the summer months when it gets too hot here and it is hurricane season.
 
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>I have to say a certain smugness is creeping into the thread from proper, real, genuine,authentic, dyed in the wool, certified salty seadog liveaboards.

I don't think there is anything smug about being a liveabord it is just a definition. We certainly don't have any problems about snowbirds, holiday sailors, day sailors, charterers, dinghy sailorsor anyone sailing. However jetskis...
 
1. Boat Name - "Sentinel"
2. Make/model/age of boat - Roberts 38 / 27 years
3. Number on board (adults/children/animals) - 2 adults
4. How long have you been a liveaboard? - 15 years on and off. 6 years on, this time.
5. Where have you been cruising in 2010? - New Zealand.
6. Where are you overwintering? - Winter? What's 'winter'??
7. What are your plans for 2011? - NZ -> Tonga -> Fiji -> Vanuatu -> Australia
8. Any other comments on life, loves and the universe. - Most missed item (other than family & friends): soaking in a hot bath. Dead right, Mrs Mandlmaunder!
 
IanJackson said:
I thought it would be interesting to conduct a little survey on how many liveaboards there are. Sometimes when we are cruising in the Med, there is not a boat in sight, well maybe a tanker or a cruise ship in the distance, but definitely no liveaboards. I know from this forum and the interesting and lively discussions that take place that there must be quite a number. I noticed one member (Binch) said he had been a liveaboard for 35 years – is this a record? This is just for fun and maybe some interesting facts will emerge about the liveaboard community. Here are a few questions I thought of, but feel free to ignore any questions or add any pearls of wisdom.

1. Boat Name
2. Make/model/age of boat
3. Number on board (adults/children/animals)
4. How long have you been a liveaboard?
5. Where have you been cruising in 2010?
6. Where are you overwintering?
7. What are your plans for 2011?
8. Any other comments on life, loves and the universe.


Jenny and Ian Jackson
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I am a full time, live no-where else other than the boat liveaboard!

1. Duetto
2. Macwester 26 built 1967
3. 2 adults
4. Me - over 3 years Crew - 1 year
5. Bristol Channel, Irish sea, Isle of Mann
6. Where I end up!
7. Head south then follow my nose!
8. Sailing is hours of pleasure, interupted by moments of madness!
 
Freshbreeze said:
I am a full time, live no-where else other than the boat liveaboard!

1. Duetto
2. Macwester 26 built 1967
3. 2 adults
4. Me - over 3 years Crew - 1 year
5. Bristol Channel, Irish sea, Isle of Mann
6. Where I end up!
7. Head south then follow my nose!
8. Sailing is hours of pleasure, interupted by moments of madness!
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Duetto was for many years based on the River Deben in Suffolk
 
mike_bryon said:
I agree with VyV Cox that whatever your choice it is not in any way superior or inferior to mine. But the point made by Blueglass about boat in summer, house in winter and “most liveaboards holed up for the winter somewhere cheap and not very cheerful and wait for spring” does not apply to for example the Caribbean.
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hands up to that one - was thinking med.
 
1. Boat Name Brea Vean
2. Make/model/age of boat Van de Stadt Seal steel sloop hull 20 years old in commission 10 years
3. Number on board 2 adults
4. How long have you been a liveaboard? since April this year
5. Where have you been cruising in 2010? From Brighton to Chichester...! but in all fairness we have been renovating including out of the water for blasting, moving the galley from one side of the boat to the other, and we're still working
6. Where are you overwintering? Brighton, as mentioned above still working
7. What are your plans for 2011? Hopefully leaving june for long term cruising
8. Any other comments on life, loves and the universe.We do think of ourselves as liveaboards, even though we do have a house nearby that is currently occupied by offspring- still it's handy for laundry, baths, X Factor, post.A room became available recently when my daughter left for Australia, but we chose to get a lodger and continue living on the boat. I'm finding it a bit tough at the moment, mainly because the boat is a complete shambles of a building site, and as the days tick by it seems impossible that we will manage to sort the kids/ parents/ an income out in time to go...
 
1. Boat Name: Rampage
2. Make/model/age of boat: Bavaria 38, 10 years old

3. Number on board: 2 adults

4. How long have you been a liveaboard? Since July 2009

5. Where have you been cruising in 2010? Last year from Menai Bridge to Barcelona, this year to Gouvia, Corfu via Balearics, Sardinia, Corsica, Italy and on to here.
6. Where are you overwintering? Gouvia, Corfu

7. What are your plans for 2011? Cruise Ionian and then onwards – no firm plans as yet.

8. Any other comments on life, loves and the universe. Life ain’t a rehearsal and seeing as the kids are all now self-sufficient(ish), the mortgage is paid off and there’s enough money in the pot to make it all work, this is the life for us! I know why we didn’t do it years ago (no money, kids too young) but now we’re doing it we can imagine no other life.
 
1. Boat Name Rhumb Do
2. Make/model/age of boat Trident Marine Warrior 35 Mk III.....32yrs old
3. Number on board (adults/children/animals) One (usually)
4. How long have you been a liveaboard? June 2006 on permanent basis
5. Where have you been cruising in 2010? Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, Oman, India, Malaysia.
6. Where are you overwintering? Winter???
7. What are your plans for 2011? Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia
8. Any other comments on life, loves and the universe. It's a hard life!
 
We are really enjoying reading your replies and all the discussions that it has generated. Keep the replies coming. If there is enough info, I will carry out some statistics, i.e. longerst liveaboard, most unusual pet, best quote, smallest boat etc. May be difficult as we are such a diverse group of individuals!

For the purposes of this survey (which is only for fun) the definition of a liveaboard is,
'IF YOU THINK YOU ARE A LIVEABOARD, THEN YOU ARE A LIVEABOARD!'

Jenny
 
What does live-aboard mean?

Having been outed, first, thanks for the complement.
What is live-aboard?
IMO, it is one who has no shoreside home or base, and lives in a boat that is mobile.
It does not include house-boats that run aground on their own debris.
It does not include those who sail in summer and go back to bricks and mortar in winter (aka "swallows" or in USA "snowbirds".
The world of live-aboards has changed since 1975 when we started. We encountered very few others in those days. A few on the intra-coastal, a few in Majorca. Very few elsewhere.
Most real live-aboards then were ocean sailors.
In the eighties, there was a big influx of people who started off cruising the Med, eventually found a nice free nook in the Greek islands, got a local job, and now scarcely ever move. I think this all started when facilities started to be provided for people wintering aboard in marinas.
Well, we are not very fit these days, and have had to give up sea-going at least for the time being, so we have shacked up for a while on the French canals. We hope to start again soon but as I have passed 80 a few years ago now, the runes are not that auspicious.
But none of this matters in boating. Anyone who loves boats is my friend.
And the great joy of the cruising life is the tot in the taverna with people you have never met before, but with whom you feel "at home". This still happens inland, especially with passing boats
 
'IF YOU THINK YOU ARE A LIVEABOARD, THEN YOU ARE A LIVEABOARD!'

Jenny

Thank goodness you posted that..because I am in fact a Sherpa, well I think I am anyway..The only problem is when I go in El Supermarcado they chase me out because my crampons ruin the floor... apparently..:D :D :D
 
I was'nt going to post in this topic, because we are not liveaboards now, having a house to see to. It's really a long term plan for if we become less mobile at some future time. We do spend several months on board including in winter when the weather is much better in Spain than where the house is.

However we have twice sold houses, furniture and cars to live on boats. The first time being in 1969 when we bought an old wooden motorsailer in Malta and ended up in Falmouth 2 years later.
MaltaGregale.jpg


The second time, 12 years ago, we had a 70ft narrowboat built and spent 4 years on the British canals, although we did winter in Spain and Portugal in a motorhome.
TanyaNo9.jpg
 
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