The most important suggestion to buy a boat to live aboard
July 27th, 2009
My wife and I made our decision to live aboard our 33 ’sailboat csy when the downturn in the economy as a way for our little family of three to reduce our cost of living and most importantly, meet with a sleep and live a life uncommon. No doubt this was the best decision we made and did not regret leaving terra firma for a minute. The experience has made our relationship stronger and if our young daughter a few can understand.
It is not an easy lifestyle. Each task has twice if not three times as much to achieve that if you live in the land. Buying food, washing clothes, even the gas stations can have a whole day in front of the life on earth. Living in a boat offers the chance to slow down, escape the rat race and see what really matters to you in this short life.
If you do not have a boat, now, there are many resources on the web that can provide guidance to find a strong sea worthy vessel. BUT, I have a very important suggestion for you. This can save tens of thousands of dollars and much frustration in the future.
Buy the boat smaller and cheaper you can find.
Why? Well, for its part, a vessel of any kind is a terrible investment. May be the best investment that lifestyle every time you hope, but not to break even, much less make money used in the sale of a boat. In case you bought a yacht and $ 200,000 after a year of life on board this lifestyle that you choose is not really for you, after paying the fee of the corridors, taking into account the costs of maintenance, add the insurance fees, and then, after the total loss from the sale of your boat, you might find that you have taken a serious financial blow. On the other hand, is a small but decent boat in the sea 30 ’range for about $ 30,000. After a year, you decide the shipping is not the lifestyle for you. Not only are the fees, insurance, maintenance costs and much less expensive, but there’s a lot more people out there to buy the boat in the range of $ 20-30,000.
Here’s another great reason to buy small and cheap. If that really LOVE living the lifestyle on board, I can almost guarantee their will not be your first boat last boat. You will start accumulating a "wish list" of options or features that, as in a boat.
While our csy 33 ’sailboat is an excellent boat, which has a V berth forward and feared before crawling up to the berth in each night. I dreamed of getting a sailboat with a "Pullman" berth that can be reached from the side and is rectangular, like a normal bed. This is just one example of many small details that are after the experience and pleasure of living aboard a boat.
When we realized that my wife was pregnant with our second child while in Key West, Florida, we knew it was time to update yachts to meet the needs of our expanding family. In a matter of 2 months, they had sold our sailboat csy 33 to 1979 and negotiated a reasonable price to buy a 1993 Gemini 3400 Catamaran. The years of owning the csy we have provided the first hand experience on what is important for living aboard a ship. Our Gemini 3400 catamaran has many of the items on our wish list, including a Pullman berth!
Bigger is not always better. A larger boat always costs more to maintain, insurance, ports, and finally sell. Best, finding the smallest boat that thinks it can find and then live in a just a bit smaller. Then you have found the perfect first live aboard boat. Everything is a compromise on a boat. The only definitive way to determine what works for you is to ask lots of questions, and then to try that size.
If you are truly committed to living aboard a sailboat, the experience can have a profound impact on how you see the world. We have been fortunate to run into (and has been the beneficiary of) the friendly people of the land or water that you can imagine.
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