What type of boat do you live on?

[TonyMS]

Wife and I, summer on our Dazcat 9.2 in the Med - fast and comfortable, but a bit cramped if we have to stay indoors.

Winter on a 57' motor barge built by my son and his partner, and fitted out by us, on the Great Ouse. No performance, but bags of space, and cosy with a solid-fuel stove.

Tony

 

[joha]

I have no doubt this question has been asked many times in the past but it would be very interesting (to me at least) to know what type/size of boat you live on and how many people on board. eg xxx45 with a crew of two.
And - based on your experience what type of boat you would like to live on?

Hi
I have lived aboard a Carter 30 from May 2003 till April 2011 Was a great little boat had good stowage sailed nicely and proved to be a very dry boat in winter with one fan heater at half power. Now got a Trident Voyager 35 deck house saloon which is very comfy sails ok and has even more stowage, she was one of the last built and only been in the water for about six seasons.

J

 

[OldBawley]

We sail a 1946 build Bawley. ( Sailing fishing boat ) Wood was in those days the material, the very rich builders had lots of it, only the best, they traded the stuff. Twenty-eight feet on deck, twenty-seven waterline, thirty – nine over the sticks. At launching a five page article was published in “ Sur Léau” a French nautical magazine. Among the calculations, the designer ( Hebbelinck ) claims better length / displacement ratio than Genesta, a former Americas cup contender. That was theory. Flooded and sank three times, rebuild 1970. Rebuild means replankt and doubled. The hull sheeted over with ½ inch glassfiber, all the rest doubled up with teak and solid mahogany. Weighs 8 ton, extreme big long keel, transom 3,5 inch thick. Two point three foot free-board,a not self draining huge cockpit, no guard rail. Very wide, fishing boats needed form stability.
The boat ( Is it a yacht ? ) was neglected when I bought it. Had a new Perkins 4108 and no spars, was used to fish shrimps of the Belgian coast. A working boat with a small cabin. No standing height except in the galley. I had never before seen a real boat, had never sailed, had never being on the sea.
That was 25 years ago. Learned to sail ( by error ) learned to maintain a varnished piece of antique furniture in all whether. I now have the maintenance down to three weeks a year. I live on the boat since 23 year, full time ( also winter ) cruising the Med since 2000. The wife comes and goes, 50 % home, rest here, wherever that is.
It is not a good boat for cruising. It is slow because short, and slow is dangerous. I sail two times longer over a distance than say a average 54 feet yacht ( The new norm in charter boats ) Hard work with 4 sails, and our cabin has the size of a car interior. A long and deep keeled yacht is no good at the anchorage. Side waves make it roll and it behaves totally different from my neighbours light build no keel comfort castle. They move over the anchorage, we don’t. We do not fit in.
Still, we are here among the very rich. Some supermobo just anchored next to us. They come for the weekend, we have the place for ourself all the time. That yacht costs the owner so much, I can not even comprehend it. He has to work to pay for it, I don’t. They have servants, we don’t. We eat better than them, simply because we had the time to learn cooking and enjoy it.
Cruising in the Med can be extremely low budget. Having a string and stick technology yacht helps.
Being a mechanic helps also. After 23 years of fiddling with space I have the boat now comfortable for one person and almost for two.

 

[Stingo]

i live on 49ft catamaran, partly because I met up with that guy further up the thread at a boat show and told he me in simliar very certain terms NOT to buy a boat other than a catamaran. So i did, and um, it's fine.

How long ago was that? Anyway, now that we know what sort of sailing you've ended up doing, what you need is your catamaran stationed permanently in the Carib and you need another one stationed permanently in the Med and you need a zoomy, racy, fast monomaran for nipping across the pond twice a year. Sorted, proper sailing and proper performance at anchor.

5 years onboard 33' monohull. Having spent some considerable amount of post sunset research time onboard that fine vessel in the second post I can agree wholeheartedly, performance at anchor is a major factor. Perfect boat would be one that sprouts a second hull just as the anchor digs in.

When you find such a vessel, let me know because I am in the market for one too. Psst, when are you headed back this way? There are some beers in my fridge that still have your name on them.

 

[jordanbasset]

We've been living on board for just over 2 years now. Rampage is a Bavaria 38, 3 cabin layout. One aft cabin is now given over to storage: you just accumulate so much stuff!
What would we move to if we had the dosh? Something about the same size but centre cockpit with a 'proper' bed in the aft cabin. Frankly, anything bigger just adds to costs without dramatically increasing anything else.

We have the same boat but would not swop for a centre cockpit. Much prefer the pace in the aft cockpit so both of us can lay out full stretch. Most centre cockpit boats of our size don't allow that

 

[Sandyman]

We sail a 1946 build Bawley. ( Sailing fishing boat ) Wood was in those days the material, the very rich builders had lots of it, only the best, they traded the stuff. Twenty-eight feet on deck, twenty-seven waterline, thirty – nine over the sticks. At launching a five page article was published in “ Sur Léau” a French nautical magazine. Among the calculations, the designer ( Hebbelinck ) claims better length / displacement ratio than Genesta, a former Americas cup contender. That was theory. Flooded and sank three times, rebuild 1970. Rebuild means replankt and doubled. The hull sheeted over with ½ inch glassfiber, all the rest doubled up with teak and solid mahogany. Weighs 8 ton, extreme big long keel, transom 3,5 inch thick. Two point three foot free-board, no self draining huge cockpit, no guard rail. Very wide, fishing boats needed form stability.
The boat ( Is it a yacht ? ) was neglected when I bought it. Had a new Perkins 4108 and no spars, was used to fish shrimps of the Belgian coast. A working boat with a small cabin. No standing height except in the galley. I had never before seen a real boat, had never sailed, had never being on the sea.
That was 25 years ago. Learned to sail ( by error ) learned to maintain a varnished piece of antique furniture in all whether. I now have the maintenance down to three weeks a year. I live on the boat since 23 year, full time ( also winter ) cruising the Med since 2000. The wife comes and goes, 50 % home, rest here, wherever that is.
It is not a good boat for cruising. It is slow because short, and slow is dangerous. I sail two times longer over a distance than say a average 54 feet yacht ( The new norm in charter boats ) Hard work with 4 sails, and our cabin has the size of a car interior. A long and deep keeled yacht is no good at the anchorage. Side waves make it roll and it behaves totally different from my neighbours light build no keel comfort castle. They move over the anchorage, we don’t. We do not fit in.
Still, we are here among the very rich. Some supermobo just anchored next to us. They come for the weekend, we have the place for ourself all the time. That yacht costs the owner so much, I can not even comprehend it. He has to work to pay for it, I don’t. They have servants, we don’t. We eat better than them, simply because we had the time to learn cooking and enjoy it.
Cruising in the Med can be extremely low budget. Having a string and stick technology yacht helps.
Being a mechanic helps also. After 23 years of fiddling with space I have the boat now comfortable for one person and almost for two.

Excellent stuff. Good for you. Thats just as it should be. IMO

 

[GrahamM376]

Moody 376, 38ft. Centre cockpit. Two double cabins with en-suite heads so good if guests on board. Unlike many modern boats, the saloon seats make good sea berths with lee cloths and there's also a quarter berth. Good secure galley at sea.

 

[capnsensible]

We have lived aboard our 1977 Moody 33 for 14 years.

During that time we have cruised the West Indies twice and stayed in Gosport, Estepona (Spain), Gibraltar 4 times and Lanzarote.

The boat is absolutely top banana!

 

[rosssavage]

Princess 385 flybridge mobo on river Thames, 5 years in. Love it. Three days off starting tomorrow = three days of going somewhere... dont know where yet tho, and that is the beauty!!

 

[Simes]

45 foot LOD (63 foot LOA) Gaff Stay'sl schooner.
Lived on board for 6 years Me, My Wife and the Dog. Would not have it any other way.

Simes

 

[Catweasel]

a 26 footer - Contessa 26 - only been on board for about 4 months now.

Would i change up to a larger boat? god yes!! I love the way she handles but would love something a tad faster - say about 7 knots instead of the 5 she makes - that extra 10 miles makes a surprising bit of difference (but then doesn't it always).

It'd also be rather nice to be able to stand up inside, and maybe something with a bed rather than a bunk.

 

[Bobobolinsky]

Colvic Northerner 27' three cabins, gaff rigged

 

[simon barefoot]

1981 Princess 37S (flybridge). 5 years, at first me and my 2 kids, now with a SWMBO! Huge amount of room (for a boat) beautifully light and airy, but desperately cold and lots of condensation in the winter. So, seeing as the Mrs has a cottage up the road, the boat is going to have some money spent on her this winter and go on the market, so I can downsizeto a 24' ish displacement fishing boat....Cant believe sometimes that I'm going back to the land... but I'll be back fulltime on the water soon...

 

[V1701]

I live happily on an Albin Vega (27 feet), comfortable for one, especially if under 5'8" which I am. Sails brilliantly and loads of space for stowage, I have full dive kit, 8 sails, etc, etc. There's an Overseas 40 (didn't know they existed until one turned up on the pontoon a few weeks ago) that looks the business but would require a huge lottery win. Realistically if I were to upsize I'd think about an aft cabin Moody or just maybe steel, with the space for a small dive compressor...

 

[maby]

Currently one built out of bricks and concrete - about 70 miles inland :-(

The floating one should be delivered in three weeks! Waiting impatiently...

 

[ccscott49]

57' wooden motor sailer, lived aboard permanently for 16 years now and in no hurry to go ashore. Two of us and happy. Based meddy, eastern at the moment.

 

[Niall1975]

We live aboard a 47ft Beneteau Oceanis 473 in Greece just now. Just the 2 of us and love the boat. Wouldn't go back to shore life again if possible.

Niall

 

[Nostrodamus]

Me, my wife and two teenage boys on our Oyster 45.
Need I say more!

 

[mikeinkwazi]

1 ok, 2 good 3 better

Personally I can't do without three hulls and shoal draft. The look of horror on other yachties faces as I enter their crowded anchorage and park on the mud is worth the complete refusal of marinas to have anything to do with me!!

SNAP! 6 out of the 12 years I had Inkwazi

 

[Tranona]

Thanks all - surprising so far is the size of the boats, I assumed they would be bigger sort of averaging out at 45ft or so. Also surprised at the number of solo sailors.

Perhaps the reason why you are getting such a variety is because there is no one definition of "live aboard". People "live" on boats for a variety of reasons and have a variety of lifestyles - just like living on land in a way.

The boat chosen will depend on your objectives, approach to life and budget. So many people are quite happy living on a small boat because that is what they can afford and fits their style - which could be an alternative to living in a bedsit or as a platform for voyaging. Others buy a boat as an alternative to maybe a holiday apartment to spend a few weeks or months of the year enjoying an open air lifestyle in somewhere nice and warm. Yet others only have a boat for a home, and then there are those intrepid voyagers who are only interseted in sailing and visting new places so need a boat to do it.

There are probably even more variations on the theme, but what is clear is that each of these different approaches requires a different kind and probably size of boat, so the trick is to identify what your main objectives are and choose a boat accordingly.

In my case, when I was (much) younger, I lived on a 26 footer for a year because that was the only way I could live doing my then job - but I still had a home to go to for the weekends. Much later my objective was to have platform for enjoying a few weeks at a time drifting around the Med so I bought a Bavaria 37. This type of boat is very popular for that lifestyle for a retired couple with no great voyaging ambitions as it is simple, easy to handle, has lots of space for living in and out and relatively affordable.

My choice has been a success, but if I had a bigger budget and wanted more home comforts for longer term on board living, I would be tempted by a centre cockpit boat, probably a Bavaria Ocean 40 - sacrificing some of the easy handling for a bit more down below living space, and probably better passage making. On the other hand, if I were on my own, and fancied a bit more "sailing" I would be more than happy with something like an HR 29 or 312.

So, no one answer - only a range of possibilities. Perhaps the best advice is to try out boats you think will suit what you want to do. Easy in the Med as you can charter (which is what we did) before you take the plunge, but less easy if you have the desire to sell everything and sail off into the sunset!