Living on a yacht in the UK - Advice Please

[Tim Good]

I currently live in Bristol but considering living on a yacht mostly in the UK. Could anyone offer advice if you have any experience in the matter?

My situation:

I have funds to purchase a boat (sailing yacht) up to £120k and I have an internet company that allows me to work from anywhere providing I have a phone and internet which is easy in this day and age. I was considering something like a Moody 425 or similar.

Things I'd like help considering are:

• Depreciation

• Marinas that allow you to live aboard

• Hidden costs of living on a boat

• Heating in winter

• Insurance & Security

• Moving around

Additional Notes:

Have plenty of sailing experience and plan to complete my YM next year some time. Havent done any large passages yet but plan to soon. Basically i like the idea of being able to sail and live in different places each year. Sometimes around the UK maybe across to France etc.

The end goal once i have by business fine tuned is to go further afield for longer trips such are Baffin, Patagonia, Baring Sea, the Med and so on. So i thought for the time being it would be a good exercise to live on the boat in the UK for a year or two and run my business from it before going further afield.

In terms of boat owning yes I currently only have a 21.7 Beneteau and so have no experience of living aboard for more than a week at a time. I have chartered large boats but only on holidays.

 

[JerseyDevil]

Cannot really answer much as I am new to sailing myself, however as for the internet my father uses a "dongle" which clips into his laptop like a USB memory card and gets his internet via that when he is on the road.

Funnily, he has better internet connection with that than a landline

 

[nimbusgb]

Don't buy new, depreciation worse than a Ferrari, buy now it's a buyers market ( someone mentioned there were some Bav 50's for sale well within your price bracket - oodles of room for an office and separate living space ) might hold their value over 5 years or so.

Officially very few marinas will actually let you live aboard. That having been said lots do it, keep your nose clean.

Hidden cost - you don't use the boat as much - once you are settled in it is a pain to disconnect the services, stow everything , just for a couple of hours sailing. Boats deteriorate if not used. If you buy a real sailing vessel you'll be paying for a lot of gear that you only use infrequently. Might be better to buy a commercial vessel ( trawler or such ) capable of moving about occasionally and renting a boat if you want to go sailing

Heating - Plug in to the mains or fit a couple of westabos or similar. Most liveaboard boats are quite cosy in winter. Adds to the cost.

 

[prv]

I believe a number of people live on board at my marina in Southampton. Another yard with pontoon moorings that I also looked at certainly allows people to live aboard (they say they quite like it as having people about improves security). Both sites are a little rough and ready - drying berths, etc - rather than slick shiny MDL establishments. I suspect this is a common theme in places that let you live aboard.

Pete

 

[ridgy]

You aren't very clear on your motives.

Do you want to buy a new boat and since you want a big one you think you might as well live on it, or are you just looking for somewhere to live?

If you want a yacht to sail then buy the boat that suits your sailing. Anything over 40ft is good for living on I would think, I mean they're mostly pretty similar below decks unless its an Oyster with a magnificent aft cabin.

If you want somewhere to live then renting a small apartment or house near the sea would be far superior in every respect I would have thought. Your marina fees would be getting on for 40-60% the annual rental charge of a small house, before you even get in to depreciation and insurance etc. Just the little things like, unless you have a holding tank fitted, you have to sh!t in the marina toilets etc. Even if you do then you have to empty the thing every few days. Then no proper fridge or freezer etc. I could go on. Actually I will, let me throw in no hot water as well.

The fact that you have that much money available yet need to ask the question suggests that you maybe have not owned a boat before and you fancy the idea of it, and that is understandable. But a dreadful waste of money and likely to be unsatisfactory in the end.

If there is a woman involved then forget it, unless it's her idea.

 

[AliM]

Have a look at the Liveaboard forum - first look through the last few pages - this (or a similar) question is asked very regularly. Then post a question on that forum, slightly more focussed on your actual situation than this one is. Answers from those guys will be pretty definitive, since most are already living aboard, and many have done so in the UK.

 

[mattnj]

Don't buy new, depreciation worse than a Ferrari,

There is very little depreciation on Ferrari's, not the best comparison, maybe change it to Ford Mondeo

Think you should add to this Thread how much (if any) boating/sailing experiance you have to help get some sensible comments, assuming you have no experiance, then be very careful, it is not as great as it may sound, although i am a sailor, i think if i was to ever go full time live aboard i would look hard at a nonsailing vessel, motor boat, trawler etc for practicality/space point of view

 

[Tim Good]

Thanks guys.... I've added a little more info to the bottom of the original post.

 

[Kelpie]

Your marina fees would be getting on for 40-60% the annual rental charge of a small house

Then get off the south coast! If the OP is really after mobility he can look further afield for a UK base. Some of the cheaper marinas charge less than £1k a season for a berth.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

going back to the practicalities of living aboard... my pal does it in a 29' Elizabethen...... how I really wonder.
His biggest problems in the winter are the cold and condensation. Cooking anything is a problem if the boat is not well insulated or if you don't have an extractor over the hob.
Therefore whatever the quality of the boat I would consider riunning a dehumidifier from November to April incl'.
best of luck
S.

 

[fireball]

Actually I will, let me throw in no hot water as well.

Er - really? We have hot water on our boat ... got this little immersion heater see! Although 15 minutes of running the engine under load seems to produce just as much!

If there is a woman involved then forget it, unless it's her idea.

Couldn't agree more ...

 

[V1701]

You're in a fantastic position, with that sort of money you can have whatever you want, within reason. Personally I wouldn't spend all your £120k on a boat, you can get something very comfortable for way less. I moved from Bristol to Brighton, where they allow liveaboards, though official policy is that they don't. I live on a modernish 30 footer which has diesel (Eberspacher) heating, wind generator, 2 separate double cabins, comfortable saloon. Use the marina toilets/showers but have a decent sized heads. I sit at the chart table a lot to use laptop, etc. Mobile broadband (3) is better than I had in Bristol, mobile phone contract with lots of minutes. I am very comfortable and can get ready to go for a sail very quickly, but not everyone would be with the same set-up.
As long as there are no major expenses likely to come up anytime soon (so engine replacement, sails, standing rigging, replacing electronics, etc.) then it's less than half what I was paying for my rented flat in Bristol...

Enjoy yourself...

 

[Lakesailor]

Something that many people don't cotton on to until it becomes an issue is the mooring fees that are based on length in categories. Like "up to 12 metres" etc.
If you are a few cms over you will pay the higher price for very little benefit.

Get something short and fat and sea kindly.

The opposite of your benie in fact.