Alberg 30 liveaboard

[daveyjustin]

Hi there

I'm considering an Alberg 30 to liveaboard. They have a great reputation, but I'm worried about the accommodations. Does anyone have any advice about living on an Alberg 30?

Can you install hot/cold water shower?

Cheers

[sailingdog]

Davey-

There is a blog about a boat named Strathgowan that is a liveaboard Alberg 30, and a couple and their toddler is living aboard one. The URL is We Live On A Boat , IIRC.

Installing a shower on an Alberg is a bit difficult, since there really isn't an appropriate space for it in the cabin. You could install one in the cockpit..but that isn't what you're probably looking for. If you were living aboard a boat, most likely, you'd have use of the marina's shower facilities.

[daveyjustin]

thanks

I know this blog. Thanks for reminding me about it. They live in my neck of the woods. I thought they lived on a houseboat too.

Yeah the Marina... that's true. I guess a shower is one more mechanical nuisance anyway.

[sailingdog]

No, I think they'd shoot themselves before living on a houseboat...

[sailboy21]

Small boats are great liveaboards, since they don't permit gathering too much stuff... however it doesn't look good on you when there are flower planters on deck, a couple old bicycles, and all the other crap permanently docked live-aboard types get.. most marinas don't appreciate that either. If your personal habits will result in a boat that isn't sail-able don't do it. Now if you can live on it and still take it sailing every weekend more power to you! I did over a year on my Rawson 30 with my wife and cat, and 6 months on on O'Day 25 by myself

[Andy125]

I'd upgrade a bit to an Alberg 35. A friend of mine has lived on one on the hook for over 3 years. It's comfortable enough to have guests over for a few beers, has a proper head and shower, is small enough to be inexpensive and not accumulate clutter...and they're beautiful.

[Oldsalt_1942]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

No, I think they'd shoot themselves before living on a houseboat...

I've lived aboard boats for a great deal of my adult life as a captain of yachts and small commecrial craft. And living on a houseboat isn't like being trailer trash or banished to some outer ring in nautical hell.

I've never been into the sail/power debate. They each have a lot to offer, especially if you're getting paid to play on them. Let me tell you, living on a 65' Hatteras for three years wasn't shabby.

I was skipper of an 85' ketch on the French Riviera and the Costa del Sol for another three years and sailing across the Atlantic with wine served at the evening meal every night was pretty special as well.

I loved the three years and three trips on the ICW from Cape Cod to Ft. Lauderdale that I had on a 47' Grebe. She creaked and moaned in a pleasant manner when underway at cruising speed of 10 mph.

I lived for 6 years on a 26' sailboat and enjoyed every minute of it.

But I also cherish the fond memories I had of the two years I lived on my shanty boat on Bayou Bienvenue just outside of New Orleans back in the early 80s. It (it didn't qualify to be a "she") was essentially a shack on a pair of 36' pontoons made out of well casing and it cost me all of $1,500.00. Not one day of being mate on a 176' Feadship in Nassau, Bahamas, which were fantastic, was better than a day I spent in my shack on the Bayou.

Juet remember, the view of Paradise is exactly the same whether your on a 26' sailboat or a 176' goldplater.

[kwaltersmi]

The cabin on an Alberg 30 would do for a single person to live aboard, but much more than that would feel cramped, at least by my standards. Albergs typically aren't very beamy boats and I don't believe the 30 (or Triton) have an aft cabin for storage/extra sleeping capacity.

If it's just you...go for it! If you've got others who will live with you, I'd look for something else.

[tristanhayes]

If you cannot depart in 15 minutes, then why live on a boat. Instead, you are simply living in a cheap shack.

[Valiente]

The couple on the Alberg 30 in Port Credit referred to above *did* move to a houseboat after the arrival of a second baby. But I believe they've kept the Alberg 30 for sailing.