SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Working while living aboard

12K views 46 replies 31 participants last post by  Cruisingdad 
#1 ·
I read a comment either here or another board that went something like this: 'Working while living aboard is kind of like being in prison minus the free weights and library." I'm sure the comment was made in jest, but since working while living aboard is exactly what I'm planning on doing for a couple of years, I would like to hear from anyone that has been living this type of lifestyle.Like most everything, I would imagine there are some pros, and cons? In another year I'll be eligible to start drawing a pension from a previous employer. My plan is to live aboard and work for a couple of years,sail as much as I can, save as much as I can, and then take off cruising full time some time shortly after my pension kicks in.I would appreciate any feedback from anyone that has been on a similar heading.
 
#2 ·
Yes. Never owned a house, moved onto a small boat 18 years ago. Worked and saved, sailed, bought a bigger bought, left the USA 12 years ago. have lived and worked aboard in several different countries as well. Whoever made that comment had their head up their ass. Also most of the time I worked from the boat, so my commute was all of 3 seconds.....I won't get into the pro's and cons'....Worked for me. How bad do you want it? How hard are you willing to work for it? What will you give up in order to get it? Good luck
 
#4 ·
Well said. I lived aboard for 17 years while working as a sales and marketing executive. Since I was in Hawaii, suits were not required except when traveling to the mainland for meetings and such. Other liveaboards in the marina were police officers, airline crews, military personnel, technicians, musicians - a pretty fair cross section, but heavily male. It is a good life. It is better of course, now that I am retired :cool:
 
#3 ·
I don't work aboard per se, but I've taken some conferences and hate it. I don't even like putting on a suit and leaving for work, I prefer to return to my home and change there. The boat is where I go to forget work, as best I can. One thing I absolutely love about my marina is that no one has ever asked what I do for a living and I haven't asked them.

We did have a colleague that spent 6 months of each year on his boat, installed fax, sat phone, laptop, laster printer, etc and called in for every meeting. Connections were often hard and background noise was too. Those he was working with on land absolutely hated him for it. But, he was a jerk anyway so YMMV.
 
#5 ·
We're 50/50. We live at our office 50 and at the boat 50. We love it, but wish we were on the boat more often. That's working itself out though. We'll be full time liveaboards soon.

It's a great life so far!
 
#6 ·
People who live and travel fulltime in RV's use a free service called Workamper. Employers who have seasonal or temporary jobs to offer advertise with Workamper. People who need jobs can apply. Of course RVers can drive to the job site so a liveaboard would have to find a job they can get to. Many are on or near the water. The advantage is that it's temporary employment, no strings attached. What these employers are looking for are people who bring their own housing with them, so many jobs are ideal for liveaboards.
 
#7 ·
Janet, a lot of the Workamper web pages are down (404 errors) and much of the rest is a rather uninspiring diceo saying "give use your email address and subscribe".

Which makes them look a lot like the FTC's generic warnings about "work and make money form home" folks. Maybe they just need to hire a web designer...who could work from anywhere, huh?
 
#10 ·
My wife and I both work while living aboard but we are berthed permanently(for now) in Portland, Maine and have jobs away from the boat although we do telecommute sometimes. We each work about 3 blocks from the boat so it is very convenient. Normal 8-5 jobs. Saving up the cruising kitty for a future trip.
 
#12 ·
I'm not living aboard, so I'm talking completely out of my arse here, but it seems to me that if you have a conventional "job" that you commute to every day, the biggest hassle may be that you have to maintain two separate wardrobes: One casual, and one professional. Additional clothing and footware can take up a lot of valuable room.

Otherwise as i2f says, how is it any different than driving to work from your shore-based home?

I only participated in this thread because it's something that I'm also considering. I had started a separate thread inquiring as to whether or not many marinas offered a small, shoreside storage unit to liveaboards. It was my intention to obtain a small storage unit for things such as heavy tools and different wardrobes (seasonal, professional, casual, etc). I don't want a dock condo, I want my boat to be sea-ready at all times so that means not junking it up with a ton of tools that would otherwise be very handy for long-term boat maintenance or a bunch of extraneous clothing that is required to make a living, but not for sailing.

Savvy?
 
#13 ·
I had started a separate thread inquiring as to whether or not many marinas offered a small, shoreside storage unit to liveaboards. It was my intention to obtain a small storage unit for things such as heavy tools and different wardrobes (seasonal, professional, casual, etc). I don't want a dock condo, I want my boat to be sea-ready at all times so that means not junking it up with a ton of tools that would otherwise be very handy for long-term boat maintenance or a bunch of extraneous clothing that is required to make a living, but not for sailing.

Savvy?
There are a number of Marinas that offer "dock boxes"
 
#14 ·
I have no problem fitting all my work and play clothes aboard. My wife swaps hers out each season. Our marina offers no storage but we do rent a unit locally.

For us it is really not much different than when we were shore based. Except, we only own 1 car now, walk to work and our home is where we decide to park it.
 
#15 ·
Get a van, or minivan.
My Volvo wagon works well for me.
And I prefer hook ( mooring ball) to marina - I can burn as much wood in my stove as I like :), also paddling my kayak to a car gives nice boost of energy every morning.
 
#16 ·
I read a comment either here or another board that went something like this: 'Working while living aboard is kind of like being in prison minus the free weights and library."
I see this thread is fairly old but has been revived.

I have no liveaboard experience, yet. However; I suspect like most things, the answer is, it depends. I can imagine where living at anchor and having to wear a suit to an onshore job everyday would be miserable. I can equally imagine that doing the same thing from a dock might be just fine.

I am hoping/expecting to be living and "tele-commuting" aboard my 34', fairly well equiped Hunter (while moored in south Florida) in the next year. Again, I have no actual experience but this seems reasonable to me. I believe the mooring will provide a reasonable shower/bath, dingy dock, and WiFi - none of which are very "reliable" when at anchor. I doubt this would be very enjoyable on a 20' vessel (for example).

My point is that there seems to be alot of variables that need to be considered.

JD
JdFinley.com | Sailing, software development, and life…
You can observe a lot just by watching.
 
#18 ·
"the biggest hassle may be that you have to maintain two separate wardrobes: One casual, and one professional. "

I must be dense. What's living aboard got to do with wardrobes? You put on a three-piece suit to work in an office, do you lounge around at home watching the tv or mowing the yard in the same wardrobe?

You jerk burgers at McD's and put on a different color "suit"...Do you wear that one at home too? Crash pad, crib, or boat?

If you need "working cloths" it doesn't matter if you're a banker or a painter, or where you live, you still need work cloths versus the fuzzy bunny slippers that some folks can wear all day.

And hey, do you have any idea what those genuine antiskid marine grade fuzzy bunny slippers COST?!
 
#19 ·
I rather enjoy the row to shore, although for the last year and 1/2 I've gotten spoiled by having a very dependable ouboard. The only issue I have presently is that my child and first mate have not yet chosen to master the dinghy and all it's nuances, leaving me to pay the big marina fees when I find 40hr. The flip side is the relative feeling of safety of the craft and crew while away at work, knowing all is well.
 
#21 ·
If your going to have problems managing your work clothes and casual clothes, how will you ever face the challenges of sailing, especially offshore, visiting, oh my golly, "foreign countries...."

Best thing to manage for me is my toys..hum, well today do I scuba dive? Snorkel? Ride bikes? Kite sail? Play my drum? Watch movies? Hike in the rainforest? Read a book? Go kayaking? Brew beer? Play golf? Go fishing? Walk on the beach.....The possibilities are endless when your barefoot....Yes the Armani suit is getting a bit musty......
 
#22 ·
As seasonal small-boat liveaboards who still have full-time dirt jobs, here is what we have learned.
1. You wake up earlier. When the shower is a dinghy ride away, rather than just off the bedroom, you're not slapping the snoozebar as often.
2. The order of the morning ritual changes. Instead of stumbling out of the shower and surveying the closet, you have to figure out what you are going to wear, take it with you into the shower and hang it off the back of the door to steam out the inevitable wrinkles.
3. You don't need 8 pairs of shoes.
4. No one notices that you only have two sport coats.
5. If your clothes are black, khaki and beige, you don't need to have as many clothes because everything goes together.
6. As a salesperson, I find you can get away with guyaberas and flowered shirts when you tell people you live on your boat. It's also a great warm-up. In fact, if you don't wear flowered shirts and guyaberas, prospects look at you suspiciously. Dress too well and they think you are living on a 60 ft motoryacht, whicvh meas you are making waaaayyy too much.
7. Tight on storage? Underwear,socks, t-shirts and shorts go in pillow cases, your good clothes go in the drawers/bins. Voila- extra pillows, and less-wrinkled workwear.
8. When doing laundry, let everything spend extra time in the dryer. You want your clothes DRY. Mildew is not your friend.
9. Keep a package or two of silica gel and a sachet of pot pourri or at least a dryer sheet in your clothes storage bins. Your clothes will stay mildew free and smell good.

10. Keep your bilge and engine bay/ room CLEAN. I like the nautical funk of diesel, icebox runoff and stuffing box drippings as much as the next sailor, but your clothes will pick up the smell, and it ain't as provocative in a client's office.
 
#29 ·
1. You wake up earlier. When the shower is a dinghy ride away, rather than just off the bedroom, you're not slapping the snoozebar as often.
Why not take quick showers on your boat?

I'm a newbie here obviously, and I've never owned a sailboat. If you are in a slip and plugged in, couldn't you just leave your hot water on constantly, and then all you would need to do is flip on the pressure in the morning?

Thanks,

Kevin
 
#25 ·
My current boat (C&C 30 MK1- insert shameless plug here- good condition- great price) is for sale. I've been doing lots of boat shopping. Contemplating renting my house and giving it a go here in New England. brrrr.

My problem is that I must wear a suit and there is no way around it. The only solution I can think of is to keep my suits hanging in my vehicle. There is no boat in my price/size range that offers that kind of hanging space. Thankfully, the rest of my wardrobe consists of a couple pair of Levi's, shorts, sweaters and T-shirts.

The good news is that my employer has an on site gym w/ nice showers. I could work out every morning and take a shower there :D
 
#27 ·
Our first yacht was a small 30' so I can fully understand your situation. We now have a larger yacht where we dont have to compromise anywhere near as much - however, will always need to decide on what to compromise when living on board.

I've never lived aboard full time, but every time work sends me on a road trip, I look for the nearest body of water. Is it close enough to commute? If so, the boat goes on the trailer, and I spent a week or so camping aboard and commuting to work.

It was fun, but I did have some difficulty managing my wardrobe. In my line of work I need to "look professional," and comfortable sailing clothes just don't.
You are either cruising and your work gear is stashed away (vacu-bagged perhaps) or you are working and the work gear is hanging up awaiting ironing!

I prefer cotton shirts and trousers, have to get past the scrutiny of the boss each morning as well. People are understanding of their staff's situation - if not, move on - you are on a boat so just go to the next town! I have done this.

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/saintanna/P9180064-1.jpg
 
#26 ·
I've never lived aboard full time, but every time work sends me on a road trip, I look for the nearest body of water. Is it close enough to commute? If so, the boat goes on the trailer, and I spent a week or so camping aboard and commuting to work.

It was fun, but I did have some difficulty managing my wardrobe. In my line of work I need to "look professional," and comfortable sailing clothes just don't.
 
#28 ·
Living aboard with a dog... and on the hook! Let me warn that if you have a dog and she/he doesn't swim to shore him/herself to do their business it gets to be a bit of a chore to shuttle them back and forth, especially in the middle of the night. No dog? Living aboard, job or no, can be heaven if you want it to be.
 
#34 ·
If the boat has Air-Conditioning, steaming up the inside shouldn't be a real problem with a shower. It knocks the moisture out of the air pretty fast.

I don't think I could get up at 5 a.m. and walk to the bath house to poop and shower every morning. I would want to have a shower on board and a pump-out service that emptied my holding tank on a weekly basis.

Maybe I'm just soft.
 
#36 ·
from 1990 until i became disabled in 2005, i worked and lived aboard. i did intensive care, post anesthesia and emergency room nursing. pacu i was manager. is not difficult to work and live aboard. i also spent much of the time ilived aboard at anchor or moored, and i was 130miles from work when on board. was not a difficulty.
have fun and work it ou tin your best manner--is doable. enjoy and have fun with your lifestyle.
 
#37 ·
I work full-time in business casual attire - cook breakfast then do 12 minute dinghy ride followed by 1/2 mile walk to work out and shower/change. 1/2 mile walk to car. In a downpour, I put on my foul weather gear and keep my clothes dry in a backpack, which is the only "inconvenience" I think of as suffering. Now I'm on the hook in Salem/Marblehead Harbor - the winter, I'm at the dock.

The absolute bliss I feel with that first cup of coffee in my cockpit, watching the sunrise, the families with 9 ducklings, the Terns dive-bombing the bait fish next to my boat, casting for Stripers while still in my pajamas, etc. etc. etc. - far outweigh the rainy day(s). It's not for everybody, but it IS for me.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top