What You Have to Give Up to Live Abaoard

Stay realistic when you are deciding if you want to live aboard. There are a lot of sacrifices you have to make whether it be downsizing something you love, not being able to soak in a bath, not being able to host your family of 12 people, or for me it's not being able to bring my precious pup with me.

I have give away my dog Tillie for the next two years because a boat is too small for her. She needs exercise and hates being confined so I cannot leave her on a boat when I am at work and school.
It's going to be sad to not have my cuddly pooch at the foot of my bed, but luckily I have a family member who has offered to take her in while Sam and I are on the boat.

All this to say, do not go into live aboard life lightly. Think about what you can and cannot live without and make the decision with the knowledge of your gains and losses, because you will have both.

Where do you keep your stuff on a boat?

So this question comes up a lot. Yes, I am going to live on a 35 foot boat. Yes, that means downsizing. But it also means getting creative. In my internet searches I have found a lot of ideas.

Here are a few:

• Drawers in your stairs

I love these drawers in the stairs. It is such a good use of space and looks awesome. Unfortunately, this would not work on my boat because I have a latter, not stairs,

I would need to do some renovations to make the drawers work, so maybe I will use this idea in a future boat.

• Drawers under the benches. 

This one is great for those big bulky items like blankets. I also hate the idea of having to remove cushions to get to storage. Pulling out a drawer is so much easier and so convenient.

• Pocket shelves

This one isn't boat specific, but I thought the design would be great for a boat because the pockets keep things contained when the waves start rolling when your out sailing.

• Food Hammocks and Hooks

This one is cute and nautical. Food hammocks work great for fruits and veggies. The hooks are great too with the limited cabinet space for mugs. Just make sure whatever you rig up is secure enough to hold the mugs when you are healed over far. 

**Where do you keep your stuff on your boat?

3 Additional Costs When Buying a Boat

So you want to buy a boat and you want to know what you can afford. There are few immediate additional costs besides the price tag that you need to consider.

1. Registration fees: Like a car, there are state fees when you transfer ownership from one person to another. There is no set price on registration as it will change from state to state, so be sure to look it up when making your budget.
2. Tax: When you register the boat under your name, you also pay the sales tax on the purchase at the same time. This can get pricey depending on how much you are spending on your boat, so don't forget to get out the calculator and be prepared.
3. Transporting the Vessel: Nine out of ten times, when you buy a boat, you then have to transport it to your home marina. To budget for this you need to decide if you will sail it yourself, which possibly means time off of work and docking fees and gas along the way. Or you could hire someone to make the sail for you. If this is your plan, make sure to get a quote before buying the boat. The last option (depending on how big the boat is) is trailering. This you can attempt yourself depending on the size or hire a professional, who usually charges by the mile. Either way, put it in your budget!

Buy this jar here.


**Comment the costs you weren'y planning on!

Found a Boat!!!!

Can I say one thing? FINALLY!!!!!! After months of looking, Sam and I have found our first home! It is so exciting and such a relief. 

We found a partially done project boat in Maryland this past week and have agreed on a price with the owner.

It is a 1972, Chris Craft Caribbean in excellent condition. Less than 100 hours on the engine!!! It has new ports (soon to be installed windows), new custom carpets, new black bamboo floor in the main salon (living room area), new custom sail cover, new sink for the head (bathroom), new electronic equipment, new stove, new custom cushion covers, a generator…and there is definitely more that I am not remembering right now!

We decided not to haggle or play hard ball on this one for two reasons: 1) because the boat was priced reasonable low considering its condition and features and 2) because the owner was so nice and offered us additional things that he had originally bought for the boat, if we met him at his price (i.e. generator, electronic equipment).

I’m sorry I don’t have a lot of good pictures, I have been informed by Sam that taking pictures is not my strong suit. Anyway, consider these the before pictures and check in throughout the next couple of weeks and months to see the progress. 

This is the layout

 This is a booth (table needs to be installed). Look at those bamboo floors and white B-board!!! 

I'm in love!

This is the v-birth cabin. To the right is the head (bathroom).

This is the aft (back) cabin. To the left is a head (soon to be made into a walk-in closet and pantry).

Instead of having the two small beds on each side, we might do a couch that folds into a queen bed. 

3 Things to Ask When Looking at a Boat

Buying a used boat is not easy. There are so many things to consider and internet advertisements are not always so forthcoming.  So here are some questions you should ask along the way.

Okay, so while scouring the internet you found this gorgeous boat and it looks perfect for you. What now? There are a few things you should be sure to ask about. Among others, these are three questions I always ask when I contact a seller.

 1.Does the boat have a recent survey?

Having a recent survey is gold! It is a report about the boat written by a professional. As long as the survey isn’t too outdated, you should be able to get a good idea of the value of the boat and what kind of shape it is in and what you should keep your eye out for.

   2. Are the advertised pictures recent and do you have more?

Some sellers will post pictures from their boats glory days in the advertisement. There will probably be a picture of a beautiful sailing excursion, with the boat heeled over, shining in the sun. However, the sad fact is a lot of these pictures may be several years old and not too accurate.

I like to think that people do not post these pictures in order to deceive. Maybe that picture, that looks like it came from a magazine, is how they still see their old beater boats. Either way, before you spend time and gas going to see the boat, make sure to ask when the pictures were taken.

The other question I always like to ask is: do you have more recent pictures. You want to see every nook and cranny of the boat to make sure it’s worth your time and energy. So be sure to see as much as you can before planning a showing.

   3. Is the engine running well?

The engine can be a source of a lot of headaches and drain your wallet fast. Unless you are ready to possibly put thousands of dollars into fixing up or replacing an engine, be sure find out if it is running well.

Follow up questions to this could be: How many hours does the engine have on it? Has it had any recent maintenance? Is it the original engine or has it been replaced as some point?

*There are no hard and fast rules for what to ask, but these are what I generally use. Let me know what you would ask!