Hello from Dallas, TX-I thought this was Illegal!

[rhr1956]

My wife and I are low 50's and hoping to become full time cruisers in 4-5 years. In the meantime we are landlocked and working. We have been thinking of getting a 40-something foot Catalina, Benneteau type boat and put it on one of the local lakes around here. We would spend weekends etc getting it ready for the eventual haul and transport to the gulf for a salty launch.

I stopped by a local dealer/marina operator last week and we visited. The conversation got around to liveaboards and marinas. He told me that most Texas marinas have full time liveaboards, even though it's supposedly against the law. Although I've not been able to verify it, he said there is a law prohibiting anyone from spending more than 20 nights in a row in a boat on a Texas lake. I asked him..."You mean there are real full-time liveaboards at this marina?" His answer was yes. He went on to say the marina operators really don't have a problem with it, as long as the folks keep quiet and don't hang their laundry all over the place. Besides, the full time presence adds to the security factor for the entire marina.

If this is true, I am looking at the option for us to become lake liveaboarders.

Does anyone have experience living aboard on an inland lake in Texas. Please share your thoughts and opinions about this. I am intrigued!

Merry Christmas and Hello to all.

[smackdaddy]

Hey rh, welcome to SN dude. You'll love the place.

I'm in Texas on a lake. There are no full-time live aboards. And I'm pretty sure the 20 day thing is part of the contract. Maybe it's a don't ask don't tell kind of thing.

One of the issues you'll run into though is utilities (water, electric, etc.). If the marina offers this for free, you can get them pretty steamed up if you live aboard (and use a lot of it). So be careful.