Living on a boat in a marina part-time

[eddystone]

My daughter is doing an MSc at Plymouth next year and was thinking of living part time on a boat (she expects to inherit enough money to get say a 15-25 year old 31-34ft AWB with amenities like shore power AC circuit separate heads etc)
I can’t reconcile fact that annual berthing contracts usually preclude permanent residence yet clearly people do liveaboard in marinas. Her occupancy would probably be 3/4 nights a week
Do some marinas allow this - or turn a blind eye?

 

[colind3782]

I would have thought that 3-4 nights a week is similar to what many people do over the weekends and isn't full-time liveaboard.

 

[scruff]

Staying aboard 3/4 nights a week with a "permanent" bricks and mortar residence else where? Doesn't sound like living aboard or breaking rules to me - that said I would pay monthly and not 12months upfront...

 

[PhillM]

I would talk to Charles at Mayflower. I think if he knew the circumstances he would be perfectly happy to allow it.

 

[eddystone]

Well assumption is parents will be within 30/40 miles and provide a gaff the rest of the time

 

[Biggles Wader]

I dont see how a marina can dictate how many nights per week a bertholder is allowed to sleep aboard providing they dont live there permanently. The definition of that would be that they have an address where thay actually live where mail is sent and goods are delivered.

 

[TiggerToo]

And maybe don't start growing potted plants ON the pontoon, or nailing a Welcome Home mat on it either

 

[Mataji]

Plymouth Yacht Haven have several liveaboard residents, it is a bit awkward to get to though. I think Mayflower also have liveaboards.

 

[Bristolfashion]

I suspect that, unless a specific number of nights aboard is specified, you could get away with 3/4 nights a week - make a point of your "permanent" address and, as others have said, make the boat look less like a live aboard - taking it out wouldn't hurt. Avoid hanging out the washing & suchlike.

 

[Never Grumble]

I've seen a couple of marina agreements one states 10 nights a month and the other talks about a leisure mooring or a high usage mooring with the latter being 4 nights a week and incurring a higher fee. As they say the devil is in the detail.

 

[asteven221]

We stayed on our boat for 6 weeks after selling our house whilst waiting to move into our new one. Nobody bothered and we didn't try and hide the fact we were on board. I think I did mention that we were staying on board to the marina master who wasn't concerned.

As an aside, I loved staying on board and was genuinely disappointed when the day arrived to move in to our new house!!!

 

[ryanroberts]

Due to lockdown I was straight up asked if I was living aboard, so I just explained that I spend a lot of time on my boat but have a primary address, they know and they know I know they know, but if you can provide an address then things are usually fine. This is a big group too.

 

[stranded]

Don’t know what their formal policy is but Sutton harbour acknowledge they have liveaboards in their (very sensible) Covid communications. Very central for partying!

 

[Daydream believer]

Bradwel did have 3 liveaboards & they were distributed to one per set of pontoons. They acted as unofficial watches, which the marina owner appreciated. One owner used to handle late visitor arrivals on the VHF , until a couple of years ago when age & health prevented that.
I know of another marina where a student lives aboard in the summer & does part time marina work late at night, after the HM goes home. has done this for a few years now. Works well during the sailing season, so the marina might come to an arrangement on a similar basis which could assist your daughter with a few £'s

 

[V1701]

I think many people with marina contracts would be surprised how prescriptive some are with respect to how many nights you are theoretically supposed to spend on board in the marina. Your daughter will be fine doing what you propose but I'd suggest not mentioning anything whatsoever or asking any questions...

 

[Northern Star]

I stay on my boat whist working away from home and have found it by far the best way to do it rather than renting a room or a flat as i was paying for lots of facilities when I was pretty much only sleeping or staying there a few nights a week.

I bought my boat outright and on a secure marina in London with parking and 12 miles away from my office it also works out far cheaper than a single room but the real advantage for myself and the wife has been over five years of holidays cruising the non tidal Thames and having a lot of joy with boat ownership.

 

[lustyd]

"For the avoidance of doubt, a Boat shall be regarded as being used for residential purposes if, amongst other things, the Owner or anyone else with the Owner’s knowledge:i. uses the Boat as his principal or main place of residence; orii. stays on board the Boat in excess of an average of three nights per week over a twelve week period; oriii. uses the Company’s offices at the Marina as his mailing address. "

Looks like women are fine at my marina. The terms only apply to males as apparently they are unaware of gender neutral pronouns ?

 

[Laysula]

You have to ask the marina.. No point in going to all that expense to get chucked out after a couple of weeks. I'm guessing that most marinas couldn't care less as long as you keep your boat and surroundings tidy..

 

[Adios]

You have to ask the marina.. No point in going to all that expense to get chucked out after a couple of weeks. I'm guessing that most marinas couldn't care less as long as you keep your boat and surroundings tidy..

I'm not so sure about that. A thorough read of the terms might be better, if it doesn't exclude it why would they chuck her out. If you ask, especially if by phone, it's more likely to be no and might depend on the mood of the person you ask while if she sails in (I think thats important) is friendly, pays on time, doesn't hoist laundry up the mast to dry, and they don't have a written rule against it why would they chuck her out. I think a lot of living aboard is by tacit consent, its quite normal for people to spend considerable time on their boats, if its not all week she should be fine if its not explicitly forbidden.

 

[Stemar]

You have to ask the marina.. No point in going to all that expense to get chucked out after a couple of weeks. I'm guessing that most marinas couldn't care less as long as you keep your boat and surroundings tidy..

Quite a lot of marinas have planning restrictions that don't allow liveaboards. If you ask, they'd have to say no. If you don't ask, for someone who doesn't make a nuisance of themselves and isn't there 24/7 they're highly likely to take great care not to find out it's your home.