Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

[cadunkle]

I'm considering getting a live aboard. I think it would be a fun experience for a few years. I'm thinking mainly Chris Craft. They are beautiful boats and it seems like you can get a lot of boat for your money. Also a plus is the 427 engines, as I'm a Ford man. I've seen some 35' and 36' boats for very cheap, but I'm thinking that might be a little on the small side, particularly if its a tournament fish model without the aft cabin. I was looking at one on eBay that looks pretty clean and solid, a 42' aft cabin. Looks reasonably well taken care of for a decent price. Would something like that be suitable?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Boats___42-CHRIS-CRAFT-TWIN-300HP-6-5KW-GEN-MOTORYACHT_W0QQitemZ270314595961QQddnZBoatsQQddiZ2831QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPower_Motorboats?hash=item270314595961&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A727|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1308

Also what are some things to consider for a live aboard? A good marina I'm sure helps, with power and fresh water, as well as a pump out station.What are typical costs for a slip for a boat this size? What considerations are there in the winter for heating the boat, keeping pipes from freezing, etc.? What about keeping the boat from being frozen in? We don't get real harsh winter here outside of Philadelphia, but I don't imagine a freeze around the boat would be a good thing.

What other pros/cons and considerations are there?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

you first need to find a marina to dock it. some do not allow live aboards. find their slip fee, water, elect, pump out fees. etc. here a boat that size is around $1,000 a month. the boat needs a lot of tlc. survey would be a must. it will need bottom paint before re launching.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

Location: Westmont, NJ

quote; TD,
here a boat that size is around $1,000 a month.

Ayuh,...

In Philadelpha,...
I doubt they'd let you tie up next to a Garbage Scow for that....

You should be doing your research on Dockage 1st,....
Old boats, sure enough are Cheap,....
The Expence is in Where you have to tie the other end of your Lines.....

I bought a 34' Nauti-line Houseboat for a mere $500.00....
I've dumped about $100,000.00 on the piece of concrete I tie it too...

 

[mphy98]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

if you cannot do all of the work that this boat needs yourself, pass. It will cost a ton for you to have someone else do the work.. just in the pictures i see a lot of sanding and varnishing, replacement of alot of stainless. refit of the galley. living aboard a boat is no longer a cheap way to go. in the 70's while in the service i lived aboard a connie, it was cheap, but the salt is unforgiving. the amount of work is almost overwhelming. think twice about it now. no cheap date.

 

[oops!]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

that link didnt wokr for me so i havent seen the boat....


as far as a live aboard........different strokes for different folks.......


personally........id live aboard another boat in a second........we had a 43 footer antique m.v. in fact.....faster than a second

we were in the inner harobur of victoria bc......best experiance of my life.....i love it....life is so simple.


IF you can get a private slip...on a private dock.... do it......its just that they are rare..........in fact id buy waterfront land to put a dock at......rent the house to pay the mortgage and live on the boat.

yeah.....ya gotta meke sure the salt is washed off the boat and the seagull do-do is scrubbed off....the brass is polished and so on.

as far as the water freezing......just keep a open hose dropping into the water next to the boat.....moving water wont freeze.

keep yer pipes wrapped.......

 

[lucid484]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

Chris Craft commanders are some of the best fiberglass boats ever built.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840

alot the the early hulls were over 1" thick....and almost never have blistering and most still have flawless original gelcoat....Someone on the forum found a 35' that the engine compartment was under water for 3 years......covered in 4" or barnacles.

well they scraped it all off and the gel coat was fine and had 0 blisters!!!

if you do some research the commanders were some of the first fiberglass boats they built.they used only the best resin and cloth available (that had to prove people a reason that fiberglass was better than wood) and alot of the older 60's,70's boats blow away many modern ones!

this is another amazing site.

http://www.commanderclub.com/

Some of the guys even go as far a buying a beat up commander and putting 80-100k in restoring it...their hulls are that well built!

 

[seven up]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

Hi,

Great idea.

I've looked at The Piers marina in Philly as a possibility because friends are close by. For your 42 footer it'd be about $375.00/mo plus electric on a yearly contract.

For winter you might consider shrinkwrap although I couldn't stand it myself being wrapped up like that.

The best advice I can give is check out the forums at Living Aboard.com. There are many great people there that actually live on their boats.


Enjoy

 

[lucid484]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

theres no need to shrink wrap...my grandfather always had portable electric heaters on his boats when he would spend weeks at a time...but those CC's were 50 and 60 feet long!...but alot of people with the 30'+ CC will add heating to their boats....I think theres alot of heating options on westmarine.

 

[Don S]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

If you plan on living on a boat in the winter, you have to have comfortable heat. I have had 2 different boats that I lived aboard, boat had Webasto Diesel Heaters installed. The best one for your location and size boat is the DBW2010 or one similar to it. It's a hot water system and is also handy for a lot of other things.
I lived aboard for 15 years, and boats are not insulated like houses, so don't expect those air heaters to keep you warm in the NJ winter. Also don't expect the common 30A power sourse to be enough to keep your boat warm with a little plug in heater. That might be fine for weekends on the boat, but not as a livaboard.
I graduated the livaboard school of hard knocks. Had lots of problems and got thru them, miss it today, but not enough to go back to it. Costs too much anymore. And I never paid anyone to fix my boat. They pay me to fix theirs, it's what I do.

 

[Varago]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

My wife and I lived on 30'/33' sail boats back before KIDS (80's) and loved it, Columbia river. I would like to make a few statements about heating that I had to learn the hard way.

#1 as a rule of thumb every gallon of fuel you burn, a heater puts one gallon of moisture in the boat.

#2 because of #1 you should always use a heater that has a stack this will draw the moisture out of the boat and keep it dry. There is a HUGE difference.

3# propane heat is very very bad, leaks will sink to the bottom of the boat, CNG will not sink to the bottom but it still will cause a moisture problem same as propane.

4# oh one more little thing every place where you have exposed fiberglass moisture will condense on it, we had to have a rug glued to all exposed fiberglass.

As Don said look for a good diesel heater its the ONLY way to go.

Dave Lee

ps I have seen people without proper heating forced to save everything in baggies.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

Wow you guys sure about those slip prices?

$1,000 seems way high.

Around here they run $11 a foot with around another $100 in charges for live aboards (electric, water and cable etc).

I love those Chris Crafts.

 

[kaferhaus]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

I'd think through this very carefully. You have to live a very "minimalist" lifestyle. It's more expensive than you think even after you shop for dockage space...

Boats are not built like houses, the bathrooms are tiny and they're not made for constant use... things break relatively often. The shore power system is also dodgey for liveaboard use... you'll be stuck with a tiny fridge and maybe a microwave. If the boat has a propane stove that's a small plus but propane is expensive and you'll be running to refill tanks regularly.

Washing clothes is another issue as it's a pain in the butt.

Pump out stations are never located at your berth... you'll be moving the boat often to pump out the tanks.... pita.

and unless you find a 50+ foot aft cabin it will be cramped even for one person.

My wife and I lived on a 42ft sloop for 2 years, but not "docked". We traveled the bahama's, keys, carribean and central/south america. We never stayed one place more than a few weeks and usually were on a mooring even then. Dock time was for big time laundry and very long showers....

I'd never take those two years back but it was the travel that kept us interested. We'd never have made it tied to a dock for that long.

Sold that boat many years ago and bought a smaller sloop for weekending.

Most folks that we met that were actual "live aboards", were odd ducks... don't know what it is about that lifestyle but it sure attracts some "different" people. Mind you we met some quite normal folks too but most were odd ducks....out there types.

Also most marina's that will let you live aboard will require that the boat be kept in sea-worthy running condition at all times... used too they'd let you tow a pile of junk into a slip and set up house until folks just started abandoning them there once the "adventure" wore off.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, but I'd ask you to think long and hard about it. It isn't all it's cracked up to be by a long shot.

 

[lucid484]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

Yeah I hope to one day live aboard also...but I wouldn't do it unless I had a 50-60' yacht.My grandfathers had 2 1/2 bathrooms with showers,8 beds,good size galley with full fridge and a washer and dryer...But boats like that now go for 150-250k on yachtworld....and the wood ones especially require constant maintenance...

 

[seven up]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

Cadunkle,

For heat you can use the marine air conditioning systems with a heat strip. The reverse cycle system will loose some or all of it's heating capacity when the harbor waters cool down to around 40 degrees farenheight. Different systems will give different results. With this system you may require a 50 amp dockside service. Check on the amp draw if you are going to use them. More money.

I'd go with the diesel heater with an air circulation system to create even heating throughout your boat. You'll need a tank and easy access to service parts.

I've saw the Chris Craft you're looking at. The open bridge will require some sort of protection from the snow unless you like to do alot of shoveling. Asking your canvas enclosure to withstand a heavy snowfall is a large task. They are usally replaced in the thousands of dollars. I like that full sized fridge she's got.

Those are a few ideas.


Enjoy

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Considering a live aboard... Thoughts?

Man I just found a house for rent with a dock for $900 that I could use and rent the house to friends making my slip fee right around nothing.

Now if I only had the boat I want to live on!