want to live-aboard, but how do i repair?

[businessonly805]

i was wondering if anyone knew how live-aboarders go about repairing the bottom of their boat or painting it? do you go on craigslist and look for someone with a truck to haul your boat out of the water? i heard that there are cranes to lift the boats out of the water, but then what, do you need a truck after they lift it out for you? or do they place the boat somewhere where you can work on it or where they can work on it? im talking about a 25-30 foot sailboat btw. Also, if they place the boat somewhere, i can imagine they charge per day to place your boat somewhere on their property? how does this all work? i wont have any vehicle if i am going to liveaboard, so any help would be appreciated.

[CorvetteGuy]

some marina's have a travel lift which will haul your boat and locate it in a boat yard where work can be done and possibly still live aboard it while the work is in process, depending on the marinas policies. A couple hundred for haul and the same for launch. Cranes charge a considerable amount more as the must travel to and from and set up. Good luck

[Minnewaska]

I've been at marinas with and without travel lifts. I much prefer knowing that I can be hauled for repair if necessary. Props, cutlass bearings, thru hulls, bottom paints, stuffing boxes, etc, etc.

It's becoming harder around my parts to find a yard that will let you do any of your own work that creates an environmental issue, such as painting. Harder still that would let you live aboard on the hard.

There are usually two rates. One for a quick haul, where you are pulled out and stay in the slings on the travel lift, do you repair and are dropped back in on the same day. Some try to get hauled last on a Saturday afternoon, so they get all day Sunday before relaunching on Mon. Many yards have a safety problem with this. The other rate is for a maintenance haul, which puts the boat onto stands and then comes back to pick it off and relaunch when the work is done. The later being much more expensive, as it's essentially twice the work.

[my900ss]

Not sure where you live although there is most likely a hint in your screen name I am missing. I know of a Boat Yard in Richmond, CA that will haul the boat, put it on stands for you and let you work on it. I am not sure about living aboard while on the hard as I had no reason to ask.

[capttb]

You only need to haul out for 3 or 4 days every 3 years for paint in So. Calif, usually any repairs can be acomplished at the same time.

[peterchech]

I have several friends living in their boats while doing major renovations on the hard. If it is a liveaboard marina, it is very likely you can live on your boat while it is out of the water. These friends have been living for months in the boatyard. The problem, as pointed out above, is finding a liveaboard friendly marina that lets you do your own bottom paint.

[businessonly805]

well i guess if they d most of the work, then it does seem doable...and if its only like once every 3 years down around so cal, then better yet. thanks for the responses you guys.....by the way, if i get a 25 foot with a removable keel, would it be cheaper to just hire somene off of craigslist who knows what they are doing, to do the repairs?

[Barquito]

You will probably find a 25' boat is a bit small to live aboard. Plenty have lived and cruised on 25' ers, however. If you are going with a boat that small, you might be able to borrow a trailer and use a regular public boat ramp. Then you can trailer the boat anywhere to do the work. This would especially be do-able if the boat is a swing keel (as opposed to a fixed keel boat). You should also learn to do basic boat work yourself. Saves a ton of money.

[JedNeck]

If you don't know what your doing, it is almost always cheaper to have it done right the first time rather than have someone else undo and redo what you tried to do.

Sign in a machine shop:

"Our rate is tripled if you attempted the work and failed."

Use a reputable contractor for repair and maintenance work, with references. Seldom is Craigslist the best place for these. It would really suck to wake up knee deep in water(or worse) because you wanted to save $50 on a thru-hull replacement.

[Minnewaska]

If you are buying a 25 footer, you might want to look for one that has a trailer. Although, marinas may charge you to store the trailer. Some don't, if you're a tenant.

That would even make it much easier to travel with the boat, as it could be repositioned with the trailer very easily. However, as mentioned, living aboard a 25 ft boat would be difficult for most.