If I wanted to live off a boat...

[CZroe]

Living in a boat? Hmmm...

I hear that mooring-line rent in a major city I'd like to live in is cheap. Dirt cheap. Cheapest rent in the city in fact. I also hear that BOAT stands for "break out another thousand" for boat-dwellers and that sewage-holding tanks are a bitch to empty. I don't know if this is a good or a bad idea, so I need some input. In case it's a good idea, there's a waiting line for would-be renters, so I'm not going to talk prices and locations.

Anyway, I'm just wondering what I'm not considering. I read that it's a pain to row on a dingy to get to shore several times a day, but what about a jet ski? I don't know where you'd park it while you did your grocery shopping in-town, but I don't know where you'd leave the row-boat either. Speaking of shopping and jet skis, do they make flaoting "trailer-like" hitches for towing crap with jet skis?

How does sewage work? Where would you take it to dispose of it and how much does that typically cost?

How about power and utilities? I assume everyone uses propane for cooking, but I'm a geek, gamer, and a home-theater guy who really wants to see a kick-ass 1080p mini home theater with surround sound in a boat, but I couldn't imagine running all that off of a generator with the added noise and expense. I can easily see that gas prices could offset the rent savings if that's the only way. Are there power/cable TV/Internet lines for mooring dwellers in major cities? I figure if truck stops have a standard connector for high-speed Internet, power, A/C, etc for their trucker customers that there would be something similar running to the mooring areas of big cities bays.

Those are the major questions I have because I'm not getting into the nitty-gritty details until I can make a preliminary decision based on those (I don't know a thing about boats and boating).

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

I too have thought about this. I believe the mooring fee is very cheap but the waiting line can be horrendous. As for your questions about sewage. They have services that come out to the boats to drain it. I'm not sure of the costs but I'm sure a quick Google search for your area would suffice. As for all your electronic needs, they have electric hookups at the slip.

I wouldn't even consider living on a boat without having it docked in a slip, you're asking for trouble.

 

[Rogodin2]

Most of your expenditure relates to your location. Where are you? I'll be moring a fairly large boat on banks lake within a few months. I won't be living on it so I've not researched the costs.

Can't you piss in the ocean and crap in a restaurant?

Rogo

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Rogodin2
Most of your expenditure relates to your location. Where are you? I'll be moring a fairly large boat on banks lake within a few months. I won't be living on it so I've not researched the costs.

Can't you piss in the ocean and crap in a restaurant?

Rogo

No, you can't piss in the ocean and crap in a restaurant, well at least not here. Well, i'm sure you can but why pollute the water with your feces? The facilities here in Bellingham WA have facilities for showering and shitting if people do not have them on their boats.

 

[JulesMaximus]

My Mom and her husband lived on a 43' sailboat for 10 years. They had a slip though with shore power so they pretty much had all the comforts of home just with a very small home. Still, a 43' sailboat is cozy for two people.

They actually sailed it from upstate NY to Brazil and back spending many months out at sea. I think you can dump your waste at sea but you have to be a certain distance from shore to do that.

If you have a slip you can have all the comforts of home...just on a smaller scale. Slips are more expensive than moorings though. I wouldn't count on driving a 1080p mini home theater on batteries for very long.

BTW-Having a slip in a marina will generally give you access to bathrooms/showers on shore.

 

[Rogodin2]

I was just in Bellingham (a kayaking trip) last week. Chukanut was where we launched.

I wouldn't drain a hold into the ocean (though our navy has no problem evacuating).

Were you born rich?

Rogo

 

[KillerCharlie]

Living offshore would be a horrible idea. I have a friend though that lives in his 25' sailboat at a marina north of Seattle. Rent is $150/month and includes water and electricity. The marina has a really nice restroom with showers.

 

[NiteWulf]

Not exactly cheap, but solar panels for electricity. You can use satellite for internet access (upload through modem connected to cell phone). Of course, your home theater is going to be a power hog, so I wouldn't recommend using it unless you have an electric hookup while you're docked. Sucks to run out of juice half way through a movie. I would think you can use the boat's engine as a generator, but then you're burning gas again

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Rogodin2
I was just in Bellingham (a kayaking trip) last week. Chukanut was where we launched.

I wouldn't drain a hold into the ocean (though our navy has no problem evacuating).

Were you born rich?

Rogo

Born rich? Moi? Not at all. Is it because all those nice homes in Fairhaven off of Chuckanut?