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I Want to Boat Sit!

6K views 26 replies 14 participants last post by  davidpm 
#1 · (Edited)
I am a freelance graphic, web designer and videographer. I am looking for a situation where I can live rent free while working on my next projects. I heard about living on boats and am trying to find someone who would be willing to allow me to learn about boat care while staying on their vessel.

ADDED INFO:

I have a degree in computer graphics from syracuse university and alot of computer science skills as well. i am currently developing several projects for 2010:

a regional media group in upstate new york:
- TV Show on the CW on Time Warner Cable in Upstate NY, VT & MA
- Several Public Access TV Shows
- Several Radio shows on various local stations
- 2 Monthly print newsletters
- website which includes live webcam shows (not of the sexual nature)

All of the above have been started but need some additional development.

I am almost finished shooting a documentary on gun violence and will need some time to do the post production (editing, etc) on that project as well.

Since most of my work is done over the internet, I am open to locating almost anywhere.

Like most freelancers, I generally find myself having to deal with clients while trying to develop my own projects, in order to pay the bills. At 34 I am looking to change my business model from freelancing on other peoples projects to developing my own. I am here exploring ways to be able to concentrate on the development of these projects.

I have a long list of references from clients that I can provide that will vouch for my ability to make anything happen and my willingness to do whatever it takes to make a project work, from programming the computer network, to shooting the camera or sweeping the floors. I am not scared to work hard and get dirty.

I understand that I don't have any real experience, but I know that noone has experience in anything until they make an effort to learn. This is the beginning of my effort.
 
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#2 ·
Just curious, but what boat maintenance skills do you have that would make it worthwhile for someone to allow you to stay on their boat for free??
 
#3 ·
Experience?

I have none. I am working on some projects (graphics, video, web, radio) and while I am developing them needed a low/free rent situation. I did a search on google and it recommended boat sitting.

I have been on the ocean and didn't get sea sick. I have a degree in Computer Graphics from Syracuse University and I am a fast learner and would be honored to learn some new skills.
 
#4 ·
I am a freelance graphic, web designer and videographer. I am looking for a situation where I can live rent free while working on my next projects. I heard about living on boats and am trying to find someone who would be willing to allow me to learn about boat care while staying on their vessel.
Translation- I have a facebook page and an iPhone and my mom finally kicked me out of the basement.
 
#5 ·
Not even close

I graduated college in 1999 and i don't have a iPhone. i haven't lived with my parents since i left for college and i would appreciate it if you would treat me with the same respect you would want me to treat you. If your not interested in this posting all you have to do is move on.
 
#8 ·
I love that some people "demand" to be treated with respect...

I graduated college in 1999 and i don't have a iPhone. i haven't lived with my parents since i left for college and i would appreciate it if you would treat me with the same respect you would want me to treat you. If your not interested in this posting all you have to do is move on.
OK, lets pretend that this is an interview and you want me to let you boat sit my $250K boat in a nice marina while I pay $1K per month rent. Please tell me what you will bring to the party. It should be a little more than you graduated 10 years ago and are "freelance" aka unemployed. Are you doing a video project on World hunger, Haiti, saving cats/dogs? I assume you are +/- 30 yo so I expect to be impressed.:rolleyes:
 
#6 ·
Respect is earned, it is not a gift.

You wander in here looking to beg a floating couch, and expect to be respected? Tell you what, chuckles, let's start over. Introduce yourself, tell us where you currently couch-surf, what projects you're working on, and explain in 100 words or less why letting YOU occupy MY boat for free is a benefit to ME.

In other words, EARN my respect.
 
#7 ·
This used to be a welcoming forum - not anymore...
This isn't the forum to visit if you hope to receive nothing but constructive responses. With a boat most people would consider a "live-aboard", it is large and therefore expensive enough such that most people would be wary of anyone living on it for free, particularly someone totally unfamiliar with how to take care of their investment - would you want someone living free in your 6 figure condo while you were away, particularly someone you don't know, never met and know absolutely nothing about?
 
#9 ·
Thank you for the positive responses

I apologize for being a newbie, but not knowing how to approach this type of thing I was hoping that any slightly interested party would do what the last 2 people did and ask me what additional info they wanted to know. I won't comment on the negativity.

I have a degree in computer graphics from syracuse university and alot of computer science skills as well. i am currently developing several projects for 2010:

a regional media group in upstate new york:
- TV Show on the CW on Time Warner Cable in Upstate NY, VT & MA
- Several Public Access TV Shows
- Several Radio shows on various local stations
- 2 Monthly print newsletters
- website which includes live webcam shows (not of the sexual nature)

All of the above have been started but need some additional development.

I am almost finished shooting a documentary on gun violence and will need some time to do the post production (editing, etc) on that project as well.

Like most freelancers, I generally find myself having to deal with clients while trying to develop my own projects, in order to pay the bills. At 34 I am looking to change my business model from freelancing on other peoples projects to developing my own. I am here exploring ways to be able to concentrate on the development of these projects.

I have a long list of references from clients that I can provide that will vouch for my ability to make anything happen and my willingness to do whatever it takes to make a project work, from programming the computer network, to shooting the camera or sweeping the floors. I am not scared to work hard and get dirty.

I understand that I don't have any real experience, but I know that noone has experience in anything until they make an effort to learn. This is the beginning of my effort.
 
#10 ·
On the question of Respect...

I was taught growing up to treat everyone with respect until/unless they do something to make you treat them otherwise. When someone treats someone they don't know with disrespect, it reflects more on their negative character as it is witnessed by ALL of those around the situation.

So unless I did something disrespectful to you, I would expect to be treated with the same respect you would expect to be treated with, EVEN IF I don't know you.
 
#12 ·
Perhaps you shouldn't take every thing you google at face value. I have moored boats in marinas for close to thirty years and I've never heard of anyone loaning their boat to a complete stranger so they can live aboard rent free. You were badly miss-informed if you thought this was the case. Perhaps you can google real estate boards to see if someone would give you free use of their house. Have you tried the banks? Maybe they will give you free use of a foreclosed property? About the only chance you are going to get a rent free use of a boat is if your parents own that boat. Good luck on your search for a free living situation!
 
#13 ·
musa - from what you've laid out, there's a lot of "quid", but not much "pro quo".

In other words, what's in it for the owner? I think that's what you're being asked - and it's a perfectly valid question. And your listed credentials don't help answer that very well.

Reading through your posts - the only "pro quo" I see would be the case of a boat owner that had a personal mission to help young creatives who he/she believed in, or who's work he/she believed in. In that case, you might actually find a benefactor because financial gain or true assistance with labor is not that important.

Apart from that, if you've got no skills or money to help the owner with the boat (even though you're willing to learn them) what is the "something in return"? The "pro quo"?

Maybe those creative benefactors are out there - and it definitely never hurts to ask. But it sure seems like a hard sell.

Personally, I'd sue Google.

(PS - welcome to SN dude.)
 
#14 · (Edited)
Musazwana,

There is a thread here at Sailnet about renting boats to people and even in that thread the overwhelming response is that it isn't a good idea, so even if you were offering to pay rent you'd probably receive a cool response.

You have to understand, besides having a lot of money invested in their boats, people are also paying money, sometimes lots of money, just to tie their boats up to a dock. In a place like New York City you could be talking hundreds, maybe even a thousand a month or more just in marina fees. Then on top of that if the owner of the boat wants to live aboard the boat then they often have to pay even more over and above the fees they are already paying, a special "live aboard" fee. Then if the boat is going to be a live aboard there are the usual electrical and cable bills, etc, just like with a house. So, the obvious question is, if someone is going to pay all of those fees to make the boat capable of being lived on, why wouldn't they be living on it themselves ? You wouldn't pay a live aboard fee if you weren't going to live on the boat, right ? So at the very least you might think about offering to pay the live aboard fee and utilities.

The only time I could think of that something like what you want would work is if there is someone who comes in with a boat and wants to spend a few weeks or months exploring the United States and they would like to have someone watch their boat for them while they are wandering around the country. In that case you'd probably be called "crew", and you'd be better off finding situations like that in a place that has classifieds looking for crew. We do have a forum like that here.

The reason they're giving you a cool reception is because you've kind of asked the equivalent of "Hey, that's a great car, I love all the work you did restoring it, would you mind if I drive it around for a few months for free because I'm a great person ?"
 
#15 ·
Thank you...

Unfortunately I was born with a bold spirit and am willing to ask questions because I want to know the answer, or at least get closer to it. If all it takes to explore the idea of boat sitting is posting a question on a forum and getting some REAL answers from experienced people, I JUST LEARNED SOMETHING! Sorry if I ruffled any feathers but I appreciate those who honestly gave me their thoughts into the situation.
___________________________
Learn More. Do More. Be More.
 
#17 ·
Unfortunately I was born with a bold spirit and am willing to ask questions because I want to know the answer, or at least get closer to it. If all it takes to explore the idea of boat sitting is posting a question on a forum and getting some REAL answers from experienced people, I JUST LEARNED SOMETHING! Sorry if I ruffled any feathers but I appreciate those who honestly gave me their thoughts into the situation.
___________________________
Learn More. Do More. Be More.
I think you could get somewhere if you were offering to pay part of the marina fee on a boat. There are people out there, with the economy like it is, who own boats and are finding themselves in difficult situations, they don't want to sell the boat, but they also need to cut their expenses, so if you were offering to help cover part of their marina fee I think you might find something. It isn't free, but it also probably isn't much when compared to paying rent, marina fees can range anywhere from a few hundred to many hundreds, and even higher in a large city. Then the owner is getting something from your offer, they might have been paying say 400$us/month in marina fees and you come along offering to cut that in half, if you can convince them you were not going to cause any harm to their boat, or better, that you might actually keep it clean, etc, for them, then yeah, maybe you could find something.
 
#16 ·
Looks like you figured out that you're not likely to find a free couch here, but you might be able to share expenses with someone in distress.

Another option is to find a part time job in a marina that would get you some experience; I'll bet you could do some pretty awesome graphics work as most of the work from your SU studio is simply amazing*. Then, you could learn more as you go.

However, you might do better by purchasing an old boat and learning by trial if you can find a cheap place to anchor. Unfortunately, your work is typically centered around NYC and LA and neither of these places are anywhere near cheap. I did knew a guy in Austin that used this approach. IRC, he helped out at the marina in exchange for reduced rent. He also acted as the unofficial night watchman. OTOH, maybe that's more of an asset in the NYC area...

Happy sails.
/ed

* When I was at SU Computer Graphics involved soldering irons.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Okay - so here's a question...what kind of situation would make something like this attractive? For example, let's say it's some kid with killer handyman skills (fiberglass work, painting, plumbing, mechanic, etc.) and you had just bought a floating trainwreck of a boat in need of TONS of work.

The kid is willing to put X number of hours per week doing a great job of cleaning, fixing, etc. - under your general supervision. The kid's also willing to pay some portion of the slip fee for stupid cheap rent. Does it become attractive then?

Seems to me, as you mention wind, that at some level it could start to make sense.

I mean, forget all the legal/insurance crap for now. I'm just trying to see what people think WOULD work in such a situation.
 
#20 ·
As pointed out above, a boat big enough for you to live and work on comfortably, is going to be a fairly expensive asset for the owner. As far as I can see, you have NO real skills that make you desirable as a boat sitter. You don't have any woodworking skills, varnishing skills, fiberglassing skills, plumbing or mechanical skills from what you've said. So as SmackDaddy put it...there ain't much quid pro quo there...so what exactly is the incentive for anyone to allow a complete stranger, who is not capable of maintaining much less upgrading the boat, to live on it rent free?

The internet says a lot of things, but not all of them are anywhere close to being real-world accurate. Boat-sitting is not a viable option in 99.9999% of the marinas that I can think of. I'd point out that having someone living aboard actually costs the person who owns the boat money, as many marinas have a liveaboard fee. Also, the electrical and water usage for the boat will go up if someone is living aboard. Yet, you're expecting someone to absorb these extra costs for the privilege of having you mooch off of them.

Now, paying part of the marina fees may not be an option... since accepting money to let you live on their boat may move them from a personal boat to a commercial venture. That gets into a lot of money for commercial insurance and also requires that they have a USCG license, since they might be considered chartering the boat in effect.

Of the ideas offered in this thread, the only one that might even be close to reasonable is you buying an inexpensive boat to liveaboard. If the boat was outfitted properly, say with a decent solar panel, small refrigerator, a shore power setup with hot water heater, etc... you could probably live aboard it for far less than your rent would be in many locations. My marina charges about $2700 for a boat to sit at a slip from April until November...if you figure that's almost eight months... that is less than $350 a month... There are not many places you can rent your own place, on the water for that amount.
 
#23 ·
At two marina's I've been to recently, one in CT and one in San Diego there was a company offering powerboats as condo's. The deal was the renter did not get the key but they did pay several hundred dollars a month in rent but it was a little cheaper than a hotel and more private.
The Boat owner got a cut the marina got a cut and of course the rental company got a cut. Far from cheap but I might try it some day instead of a hotel.
 
#24 ·
I cant figure out how you are making a living working in so much dying/non revenue generating media... Might be a clue as to why you are looking for a free place to stay.
 
#25 ·
Making Me Cringe

My first reply to a post. I did a little searching around and there are indeed a few people in the world who want boat sitters. I would suggest that in future you don't talk all about what you want and how you have nothing to offer otherwise. You are not being bold or honest here. Just stupid. There are people who need someone to watch their boat for them while they travel, just like house-sitting. Eventually, they should know about how much time you will be spending on your projects and how little time you plan to spend learning to care for the boat. It seems here as if you really have no interest in doing that whatsoever. Your video/graphics career is directly orthagonal to the typical boat-lover begging to be allowed to take care of somebody's life dream so they can be around the boating community and learn other boating-related skills and make boating industry connections. It is very similar to crewing IMO, but a crew with no experience or desire other than their own completely unrelated career isn't crew, it's a house-sitter on a boat. So, that is what you are looking for, and you really should just be telling people the things they need to know for that. IMO. Keep in mind, too, that most boat owners absolutely believe that the world is what you make of it, but they also hate people who think they can get what they want just by asking someone to do it for them. For this to be anything more than a temporary arrangement, you will have to do something in return, or hop from boat to boat as the owners travel for short periods, IMO. Good luck. So, don't lead with your lack of experience and relatively little interest in doing any real work for the owner. Lead with your value, which is, I will make sure it doesn't sink or explode or burn while you are away; I will take care of any other simple tasks as can be done by an unskilled person, if you list them for me and tell me what is required. I am nice and trustworthy and driven to achomplishment in my own life (translation, no crazy crack parties while you are away).
 
#26 ·
Nice post... but I'd point out that the OP probably doesn't have enough experience on boats to make the claim of:

I will make sure it doesn't sink or explode or burn while you are away; I will take care of any other simple tasks as can be done by an unskilled person,
There is a base level of knowledge that is required to keep a boat safe, and a person who knows nothing about boats is a hazard when living aboard one.

For instance, things like the way the galley stove on a boat work are usually a bit different, at least on most sailboats I've been on, than they are in a terrestrial situation. If the boat has a propane stove, while superficially similar to a natural gas stove, it has some key differences. First, there's usually a propane solenoid and sniffer. If you don't know how to use this, there's no chance you're going to light the stove. Second, most marine use propane stoves have a flame detection safety system of some sort, so that if the flame on the stove goes out, gas doesn't flow unimpeded into the cabin. If you don't know about this, and do manage to get propane to the stove, you'll have trouble lighting it... since you have to hold the knob in for a few seconds until the burner heats up.

Another example: using the head on most sailboats is considerably more complicated than just flushing... and if you're living aboard a boat and using the head on it, you have to know how to arrange for pumpouts on a regular basis. Yes, using the flush and pump valve on the marine head is simple, once you know how...but most people who don't sail, have never dealt with a marine head-and this applies to most powerboaters, who usually have an electric head. Leaving the head pump in the flush position can actually sink some boats...

My first reply to a post. I did a little searching around and there are indeed a few people in the world who want boat sitters. I would suggest that in future you don't talk all about what you want and how you have nothing to offer otherwise. You are not being bold or honest here. Just stupid. There are people who need someone to watch their boat for them while they travel, just like house-sitting. Eventually, they should know about how much time you will be spending on your projects and how little time you plan to spend learning to care for the boat. It seems here as if you really have no interest in doing that whatsoever. Your video/graphics career is directly orthagonal to the typical boat-lover begging to be allowed to take care of somebody's life dream so they can be around the boating community and learn other boating-related skills and make boating industry connections. It is very similar to crewing IMO, but a crew with no experience or desire other than their own completely unrelated career isn't crew, it's a house-sitter on a boat. So, that is what you are looking for, and you really should just be telling people the things they need to know for that. IMO. Keep in mind, too, that most boat owners absolutely believe that the world is what you make of it, but they also hate people who think they can get what they want just by asking someone to do it for them. For this to be anything more than a temporary arrangement, you will have to do something in return, or hop from boat to boat as the owners travel for short periods, IMO. Good luck. So, don't lead with your lack of experience and relatively little interest in doing any real work for the owner. Lead with your value, which is, I will make sure it doesn't sink or explode or burn while you are away; I will take care of any other simple tasks as can be done by an unskilled person, if you list them for me and tell me what is required. I am nice and trustworthy and driven to achomplishment in my own life (translation, no crazy crack parties while you are away).
 
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