[Nostrodamus]

I am trying to write a blog about being a liveaboard with a humorous twist and am looking for a few ideas.

When we started muting the idea of living aboard we were told to move from a house and live in a small car for a week. After that a boat would seem huge.

Any other suggestions?

 

[chuck53]

You might want to give us some idea of the size/type boat you are talking about.

 

[Nostrodamus]

You might want to give us some idea of the size/type boat you are talking about.

Any size... I was just wondering how those living ashore could understand what it is like living on a boat.

 

[chuck53]

Living aboard a 25 footer vs a 45 footer is like night and day. Yes, some things will be the same no matter the size of the boat, but many aspects will be determined by the size and creature comforts the boat offers.

 

[Philzy3985]

I tell people to imagine sitting on their bed and looking around their spacious bedroom, now imagine everything in your entire apartment or house and all the walls and countertops and shelves those things belong to, to be brought to an arms length. Now negotiate walking around, getting ready for the day, making dinner and having people over. That's what it's like living in a boat... at least part of it.

Another thing is when people ask, "Why don't you buy that?" (clothing, bicycle, luggage, blender) and my answer is always that there's no room left in my boat.

 

[svzephyr44]

Charter a boat for a week of the appropriate size and configuration. See how it feels after a week.

Without getting into a long post:

1. "Living aboard" in a marina in a temperate climate at a dock with shore power, heat, air conditioning, access to fresh water, WiFi and/or cable, a pump out station and a vehicle is about the same as living in a small apartment.
2. Living aboard on a mooring ball or at anchor without shore power (no heat, no air conditioning, great care in the use of electricity, some days it will be too rough to take your dinghy to shore, great care in the use of water would be the next step.
3. Actually sailing the boat from place to place adds all the joy and fear of sailing - weather, running aground, etc.
4. Offshore coastal sailing - when you might get "caught out" in some bad weather if you are not careful is the next step.
5. "True" cruising (my words) - crossing oceans etc. is a world unto itself.

If you are willing to put up with a small space and occasional discomfort "1" above is pretty easy. Most boats are not insulated hence the comment about temperate climate - very hot or very cold and your HVAC will have difficult coping. Also I think you have to be an "outdoor" person. Bugs, mosquitoes, occasionally getting wet are all par for the course.

Hope this helps...
Fair winds and following seas

 

[ebs001]

I always tell people that the living space may be small but I have the world's largest swimming pool.

 

[Puddin'_Tain]

"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned ... A man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
-Samuel Johnson

More to the point. Try locking yourself in a small bedroom (or large closet) with a port-a-potty, and enough food and water for a week's stay; don't forget to turn off the heat or AC; and make sure that you have to walk a couple of blocks to take a shower.

 

[MikeGuyver]

rent an efficiency apartment , pile your luggage inside the front door so you have to climb over it every time you enter or leave. Now cut the room in half so you'll have 3-400 square feet to use. Now pile everything you own into what's left of your space making sure whatever you need next will be on the bottom. Buy 3 or 4 humidifiers and run them constantly, oh and turn the ac to 50 deg. Arrange your bed so you have to climb in then turn around to sleep or turn around to get out of it. Hang a bunch of heavy objects just below head high and take half of the light bulbs out and throw them way.Cover the bottom half of your windows with tin foil so you have to be 6'6" to see out.
Now, put 74 dirty socks and a banana in a bag and hide it somewhere you can forget. Move the smoke detector within 10' of the toaster.Put a large ice chest in the fridge and only use it, you'll have to take it part way out to open the top with one hand while trying to balance it on your knee with the other.
Now, after all this if your partner of choice gets to feeling frisky, crawl into your rack and remember not to bang your head (or your ass)on all the crap hanging from the over head.
............enough?.....I've got more.....We've been aboard for a year and a half...

 

[Nostrodamus]

Well thank you everyone for your suggestions.
I did manage to write something. Have a look and see if you agree or add a few more suggestions to it.
Thank you again.

Cygnus III | How to liveaboard a boat

 

[socal c25]

I like your blog.

 

[Nostrodamus]

I like your blog.

Thank you for taking the time to look.

Now I have a complaint... I have just noticed that I am a senior member on Sailnet.. can I change this to the village idiot?

 

[Puddin'_Tain]

... I have just noticed that I am a senior member on Sailnet.. can I change this to the village idiot?

Click on "User CP"
Click "Edit Your Details"
Enter your new title under "Custom User Title"

 

[Nostrodamus]

Click on "User CP"
Click "Edit Your Details"
Enter your new title under "Custom User Title"

Brilliant... i will have fun with that ... thanks

 

[Dirtyfloats]

I'd say, get yerself a 10 foot dinghy, rig it simply. Spend a week sailing around and sleeping on the beach, eating whatever food you brought, and being cold and wet.
If after a week you think to yourself, "i hope this never ends" then go ahead and become a live aboard on a larger boat...
If however you cant wait for the week to end, so you can return to whatever existance you have on land, then dont bother. you'll just end up paying moorage on something that you dont really need.

 

[miatapaul]

Well had I known you were talking about living aboard an Oyster 45, I would have said move into a luxury apartment. I bet you have a lot more room than I had in my last apartment!

Enjoyed the blog, but the "scroll down" windows are kind of slow, not sure if it is your host or an issue with the coding. It would refresh too with the scrolling yin and yang symbol a lot on Firefox(at work) I just noticed it was slow at home on Chrome.

 

[Donna_F]

Brilliant... i will have fun with that ... thanks

When people here learn they can customize that title, why is "village idiot" the most frequent choice?

 

[Nostrodamus]

Well had I known you were talking about living aboard an Oyster 45, I would have said move into a luxury apartment. I bet you have a lot more room than I had in my last apartment!

Enjoyed the blog, but the "scroll down" windows are kind of slow, not sure if it is your host or an issue with the coding. It would refresh too with the scrolling yin and yang symbol a lot on Firefox(at work) I just noticed it was slow at home on Chrome.

Thank you miatapaul for your contribution and you are right. I did a theme update and it has caused problems with Chrome and firefox. IE is fine and a lot faster. I am trying to resolve the conflicts as we speak.
Thank you though as any feedback really does help me try to improve things.