Looking to buy 22-28 ft boat to live aboard- any advice ?

[louisderry]

Hello all - I'm looking to buy my first boat ideally anything up to 28ft- I plan on living aboard at Brighton marina as I'm currently living in Brighton already.
Can anyone point me in the right direction to any websites with advice about buying your first boat, things to consider- living aboard. Any threads on here that will make for good reading?

And hello all

 

[louisderry]

oh and to make things more interesting my budget is only £4000 maximum

 

[ribrage]

oh and to make things more interesting my budget is only £4000 maximum

well that £4000 takes care of "parking" your boat for a year

 

[Kelpie]

22ft... luxury! This guy did it in a foot less than that:
www.onkudu.com

 

[rustybarge]

If you're looking for a motorboat look no further than the Albin 25', very cheap to buy and cheap to operate at 15nm / gal, super seaworthy and built like a tank.

Transatlantic: no problem!

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/any-super-economical-motorboats-out-there-40560.html

should be plenty available at your budget.

 

[V1701]

Hi,
Have a read of the famous & lengthy Jimmy Bobby thread here, enjoy:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219743

If you get to the end of that & are still interested you can perhaps ask more specific questions...

 

[louisderry]

Thankyou for all the responses so far - these are great I'll give them all a further read and keep you all posted with my progress.
I think I've come to that conclusion that it's mostly what space you as an individual are prepared to live in

 

[Wansworth]

The weather is a great factor in living aboard.In the summers small boat is great but come the long winter nights size matters.A good cockpit cover will add on a shed ,essential for staying put l8ve aboard living.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Hello all - I'm looking to buy my first boat ideally anything up to 28ft- I plan on living aboard at Brighton marina as I'm currently living in Brighton already.
Can anyone point me in the right direction to any websites with advice about buying your first boat, things to consider- living aboard. Any threads on here that will make for good reading?

How do you plan to get around this:

12. No Living Aboard Boats

12.1 No one is permitted to reside aboard a Boat in the
Marina and Boats may not be used as houseboats.
This restriction does not prevent residence aboard a
Boat during a holiday. In any event, no one is permitted
to reside aboard any Boat for more than forty days in
any twelve month period unless with the express
written permission of the Marina Manager. At no time
should a Boat be hired out or rented to third parties for
residential purposes.​

which you can find at https://www.premiermarinas.com/~/media/downloads/marina regulations/brighton marina regulations.ashx ?

 

[V1701]

How do you plan to get around this:

12. No Living Aboard Boats

12.1 No one is permitted to reside aboard a Boat in the
Marina and Boats may not be used as houseboats.
This restriction does not prevent residence aboard a
Boat during a holiday. In any event, no one is permitted
to reside aboard any Boat for more than forty days in
any twelve month period unless with the express
written permission of the Marina Manager. At no time
should a Boat be hired out or rented to third parties for
residential purposes.​

which you can find at https://www.premiermarinas.com/~/media/downloads/marina regulations/brighton marina regulations.ashx ?

Most marinas have at least a few liveaboards, be subtle in your approach to them (i.e. don't tell 'em!) & after you've moved in be quiet & respectful of others, don't make it blatantly obvious you're living there full time...

 

[7htas]

Say hello to your new home. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sailing-Y...ng_Goods_Sailing_Boats_ET&hash=item46324b812f

 

[louisderry]

Had a look already it does look ideal- it's a Maybe ! haha and thankyou

 

[louisderry]

Most marinas have at least a few liveaboards, be subtle in your approach to them (i.e. don't tell 'em!) & after you've moved in be quiet & respectful of others, don't make it blatantly obvious you're living there full time...

What I was told from the staff that work there aka the person manning the phone bookings and the know-er of all that they do have some live aboard's at the marina but to bear ( in mind officially they don't. Aka it's fine they don't care - but they can't provide all the official legalities of a permanent place of living. For example if one day the water is cut off for a short period - they are not legally obliged to sort it out within a time frame. They are also looking at creating a new contract for permanent live aboards.

 

[abraxus]

I spend a fair amount of my time on my 26ft motor cruiser which, although not living aboard, gives me an idea of some of the challenges. Most are just inconveniences rather than deal breakers, but worthy of consideration.

In the summer months there is very little of concern, but in the winter the easiest of things can be a pain, but can be mitigated if you're staying in marina and plan in advance. The key things I would say are as follows:

1. Get a berth with electricity, so you have no problems with heating, cooking etc. I'm not sure what independent methods of cooking and heating are available on smaller boats, but I do know that being cold and having a limited diet soon wears thin.

2. Try and get one very near a water hose. Topping up water is no problem in the summer but more of a chore when it's freezing cold.

3. Get a berth close to the toilet/shower block. Whilst you have a shower and toilet on board, both water and holding tanks will be small on a small boat, and topping up one and pumping out the other are much less fun in the depths of winter, so it's easier to use the marina facilties. A long walk to those facilites may be appreciated as good exercise in the summer, but in the cold and rain the novelty soon wears off.

I'm sure there are lot of other things, but those are some of the mains ones in my experience.

 

[louisderry]

I spend a fair amount of my time on my 26ft motor cruiser which, although not living aboard, gives me an idea of some of the challenges. Most are just inconveniences rather than deal breakers, but worthy of consideration.

In the summer months there is very little of concern, but in the winter the easiest of things can be a pain, but can be mitigated if you're staying in marina and plan in advance. The key things I would say are as follows:

1. Get a berth with electricity, so you have no problems with heating, cooking etc. I'm not sure what independent methods of cooking and heating are available on smaller boats, but I do know that being cold and having a limited diet soon wears thin.

2. Try and get one very near a water hose. Topping up water is no problem in the summer but more of a chore when it's freezing cold.

3. Get a berth close to the toilet/shower block. Whilst you have a shower and toilet on board, both water and holding tanks will be small on a small boat, and topping up one and pumping out the other are much less fun in the depths of winter, so it's easier to use the marina facilties. A long walk to those facilites may be appreciated as good exercise in the summer, but in the cold and rain the novelty soon wears off.

I'm sure there are lot of other things, but those are some of the mains ones in my experience.

Cheers abraxus very good advice I will definitely be taking all of this into to consideration- as long as everyone's not had the same idea then we should be good to go, I guess the majority of people are using there boats for holiday purposes and like you say in the summer so they aren't massively bothered about being by the facilities. Visiting the marina today so I'll have a snoop

 

[Niander]

Had a look already it does look ideal- it's a Maybe ! haha and thankyou

Maybe?
What's wrong with it ..its £4000 and where you want it!

 

[louisderry]

Maybe?
What's wrong with it ..its £4000 and where you want it!

So I went to view it Niander as I thought you had a good point.
It was a great racer at a great price but it wasn't suitable for me. The owner was an interesting chap as well!

What I've been looking at so far are these-

Foxhound 24
Jaguar 25 / 27
Tridant 24
Sailer 23
Sailer 23
Seamaster 23

They seem to all have more of a live aboard layout and utilize the space a bit better.

 

[V1701]

Bear in mind you'll pay significantly more for a 27 footer than you will for a 25 footer, and they measure from whatever is sticking out furthest. People have been known to saw bits of stainless steel off the front of their boats!

 

[louisderry]

Bear in mind you'll pay significantly more for a 27 footer than you will for a 25 footer, and they measure from whatever is sticking out furthest. People have been known to saw bits of stainless steel off the front of their boats!

I can definitely visualize me doing that- so yeh the 27' is probably off the cards

 

[7htas]

Let us know how you get on