Liveaboard - in New Zealand?

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Tam_Hazan

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Does anyone have any experience of living on one's own boat in New Zealand waters?
What are the authorities attitudes towards such enlightened people?
Where are the best places to go for [NZ] winter berths?

Did think of buying a retirement home in NZ, and then buying a boat to sail during retirement. Then I thought 'why not cut out the middle bit, and just enjoy the afloat bit - if it's feasible'.

Any guidance appreciated.

[Off in November to have another look around - mainly South Island, due to family links.]
 
There are lots of liveaboards in the bay of islands area - mainly on anchorage. I stayed a while in the big marina in the bay beside Auckland. There were liveaboards there as well although it was crowded. Bayswater marina had liveaboards but the management is not too friendly - in all cases you should say you are there for a few months then forget to move....
Really cannot remember what the visa restrictions were - try the embassy - you will need to obey the rules if ever you move on as this is an area where they ask to see you clearance 'pratique' from your last port!

Michael
 
My son lives on a 31ft yacht in Westhaven Marina in central Auckland. This is literally a few minutes walk from the downtown area. There are less than 20 live-aboards in Westhaven out of 600 odd berths. It is quite difficult to get a live-aboard berth in central Auckland (which really means Westhaven, Half Moon Bay or Bayswater marinas) and you need to apply 6 months in advance at least to be sure. Another Auckland marina Westpark has many live-aboards and is a lot cheaper than the others, and is a 20 minute ferry ride from the central city (or 30mins by car). Moving further away from Auckland there is Opua marina in the Bay of Islands and Bridge or Sulpher Point marinas in Tauranga, and Waikawa Bay at the top of the South Island all with quite a few live-aboards - and they are generally welcomed in those places.

The daily rate on a 12m berth is in the range of NZ$16 to $25 (£6 to £9) with a bit less for long term. Some marinas charge an extra $1 a day for live-aboards to cover power, showers etc.

Opua in the BOI is probably the best climate for a winter berth (daytime average winter temp of about 12-15 C) , but as said above, you really might as well be at anchor there as there are hundreds of sheltered bays and you can easily go into a marina or dock when necessary for a few days.

Cheers
Peter
 
Our home is in NZ but we have also lived aboard here. We keep both a home and a boat set up for periods on board and is the way to go, in our view, if money allows.

Generally living aboard is not a problem although marinas generally limit numbers and their policy may become more open when they have gotten to know you. Our own marina likes to have liveaboards for the security they offer (also liveaboards keep an eye on my boat's lines, etc for me when I am away). Often the marina policy is different to the scuttlebutt, as is often not made overtly known, and I believe it helps if you are known to them (the marinas do swap info on previous tenants/visitors) so maybe you will get a different answer after you have held a temporary ("Just visiting, yer know") visitors berth there for a while.

Wherever you are heating is essential, but not usually a problem if electric as you will either not be charged for the power or the charge will only be nominal.

Others have covered the North. For South Island the only marinas of consequence are Waikawa at Picton (around 600 berths and I don't know their live aboard policy but I believe they allow them) and Nelson (around 500 berths) - there is a marina at Havelock but shallow access makes it undesirable for larger yachts. I don't know Waikawa very well.

Both these marinas give immediate access to what is by far most extensive cruising area in NZ with 1,000's of square miles of sheltered water with alot of animal and fish life (seals, penguins, etc and if venture to Cook Strait many of the soaring seabirds including albatross, and whales) and many hundreds of bays, etc being all of the Marlborough Sounds, Tasman Bay and to a lesser extent Golden Bay - but is a bit colder than Northland. As is so for all of NZ cruising areas, if you are a marina hopper, pub crawler or need towns to anchor by every night you will be very disappointed.

Nelson is a favourite place for retirement including many Europeans settling there. The marina allows liveaboards (we have lived on board there) but has a strict but public policy. From our own time visiting and living aboard there we have found it to be a very friendly city as far as the yachting community is concerned, making many lifetime friends, and the suppliers there I have dealt with have been very helpful. There is no designated parking for marina berth holder cars as far as I am aware. As I understand their current policy they allow a limited number of live aboards per pontoon and there is usually a waiting list, but if you arrive there you would be allowed a berth (assuming availability) for a reasonable amount of time in any event I would expect as the marina gets alot of cruising visitors. Think they charge liveaboards about NZD60 (say GBP20 roughly) extra per month but electric heaters are prohibited (and from our own experience some of the older pontoons have poor power supplies). You also pay for use of showers (but we use our onboard shower). Is very handy to the city, shopping, supermarkets, etc (very easy walk on pretty riverside walkway made for the purpose) and getting boatwork done there is both cheap and a doddle. Nelson has probably the best equitable city climate of anywhere in NZ, lots of scenic attractions, but again, a little cooler than top of North Island.

So, if you are considering South Island I would suggest checking Nelson out when you visit - the marina office is in Akersten Street opposite Dickson Marine, or the city council offices in the main street (Trafalger St for reasons obvious to any Nelson fans) will set you on the right track with information. This would be my pick of the whole of NZ by far. Nelson is isolated however as far as land access is concerned (4-1/2 hour drive to Christchurch or drive to Picton then 3 hours ferry to Wellington) but has excellent air service by turboprop aircraft and easy to sail.

Wellington has 4 main marinas but only 3 are floating so I will ignore the other. Also, although we live in the region ourselves I would not fancy nor recommend retiring on board here due to the frequent very severe winds (although we know those who do). For the marinas in Wellington Harbour you have to contend with the worst part of Cook Strait if venturing further afield but this is not a great problem if used to heavy weather and have a capable boat.

Seaview marina (around 200 berths with recent additions) allows liveaboards but is isolated in an industrial area (but has an ok bus service and no problem if have a car for which it has extensive parking). Recently new facilities have been added and benefits such as putting your car in a secure fenced storage if sailing away for more than a few days.

Chaffers Marina is right in the heart of the city and includes a supermarket a few moments walk away. Is less exposed to the wind than Seaview but is a bit rocky and rolly due to having a floating breakwater. I am uncertain of their liveaboard policy but suspect it is allowed if they like the look of you. There is dedicated parking and if one wants to live in a city with the weather worry only being of small concern then this is the pick in NZ as the marina is integral part of the city's downtown heart (the national museum is also right next door).

Mana Marina is on the Tasman Sea coast (is in Paramata) around 30 km (roughly) north of central Wellington and the weather is much less severe there. While there are good services I personally would regard it as a bit isolated for liveaboard (it being a dormatory area). I do not know their liveaboard policy but suspect they are allowed. However, last time I enquired they had no 12m or larger berths free. It has the advantage that it is a far easier sail across to the top of South Island being at the sheltered end of Cook Strait, but is only a bit more than a metre depth at outer entrance on Low lows and that with only around 1.5 m of tide so is limiting for a larger yacht if fin keeled - we actually live around 30 km north of this marina (even better weather again /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif) but keep our boat in Wellington because of this draft limitation.

The Northerners have not mentioned Tauranga which is the only place between Wellington and Auckland with a significant marina (there is a small one at Napier - a very pleasant but isolated city with nowhere close to sail to). There are 2 marinas in Tauranga each around 500 berths and both are modern and plenty of facilities. You would need a car, even though both are relatively close to all facilities, and both have dedicated parking. Tauranga has a nice climate and is a very boating oriented city (more so than Auckland). After Nelson it would be my next pick but I do not know their liveaboard arrangements, however, they are both well used to long term stay visitors. Maybe I should add that Nelson and Tauranga would be my only picks for retirement - but would not be so if one was driven to have to work as fewer opportunities in that direction compared to Wellington or Auckland.

For all the marinas I have mentioned you can expect to pay around NZD4,000 per year to lease a 12 m berth (some maybe a bit more, others a bit less - we pay NZD3,800/annum, no other charges, for a 14m berth) with no extra charges for power, water, etc except perhaps a nominal charge if living aboard.

If anything I can add (gulp /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif) send me a PM. I assume that you have the immigration side covered?

John
 
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