O'Day 302 As A UK Liveaboard?

[CaptainBob]

Having recently split up with my (now ex) wife, I find myself without a place to live. I would love to return to life afloat and have found a nice example of an O'Day 302 for sale nearby which looks about perfect for me. I'm going to view it on Sunday.

What should I be checking for?

And do you think it would make a suitable liveaboard? It has shore-power, fridge-freezer and water heater already fitted.

Thank you!

 

[duncan99210]

Don’t see why it shouldn’t be ok for a live aboard. Bit on the small side but for one person no problem. Reasonable layout but I’d be looking carefully at the aft cabin headroom, as that seems to be then main sleeping cabin.

 

[Daydream believer]

Bit too small. I do know of someone who lived aboard a 35 ft boat for several years though. That is a lot bigger. But when you realise that it will have to contain all your possessions & will be your soul living space, 30 ft * 10 ft( with thin ends) is a very small area. Can be cold in the winter so you need heating. If you need a couple of suits for work you need to prevent dampness & that means condensation. You cannot just screw them up & shove in a locker under the bunk. Does it have a shower?
You may need alternative living space when laid up ashore for maintenance- ie antifouling, anodes, etc.
Sailing about in it might be awkward with all your gear stowed all over the place, so that might be a no no.

 

[Pete7]

Think about adding insulation inside and having a full canopy fitted to create an extra room, especially for wet stuff.

 

[Daydream believer]

Think about adding insulation inside and having a full canopy fitted to create an extra room, especially for wet stuff.

If one were to look at the pictures of the inside of one of those, one would quickly realise that adding insulation would not only be a difficult task, but would ruin a particularly nice interior.

 

[fredrussell]

I could live on that very happily. As DD notes above it very much depends how much clobber you have though. If you travel lightly through life though ( I do), should be eminently doable. Put a Chinaspacher heater on it and get on board!

 

[V1701]

Assuming you'd be marina-based you'd use their facilities, most of us FT liveaboards do. Dehumidifier to keep dry and electric rad for heat, electric blanket, cockpit canopy makes a huge difference, the smaller the boat the bigger the difference. Only you know whether you can live happily on this size boat, I've lived happily on smaller...