Living on a boat - idiots long term dream may become a reality

So, this had been a longtime dream of mine. To buy a small boat, cabin cruiser or whatnot and live on it. I guess have it parked in a marina on weekday and venture out on weekends. Commute time from some of the marinas near Lanier to my job would be under an hour and I can handle that.

I don't have many things. Everything I own is payed off, and I can handle small spaces.

So I was looking and doing initial research for a small cabin cruiser to pay cash for. What would one expect to pay for a used older one. Needs to have shower, kitchen, bed and a toilet.

Anyone knows about boats? I am a complete newb, but you have to start somewhere.

Ideas, or words of advice?

 

I know this about boats.

BOAT. bring another thousand.

two happiest days of a boat owners life. the day he gets it and the day he sells it.

BOAT. hole in the water you throw money into.







have fun!

 

Yeah, I have heard that before ))

Heard a lot of sayings about why not to get into motorcycling as well.

Owning a house was a huge money pit as well.

 

boats are more expensive than motorcycle, to fix, and maintain.

once you have a reliable boat, docking isn't cheap, moving marina to marina will be expensive since most charge per season, and have expensive day to day rates for people passing by (could be anywhere form $10-30 per day)

also, fuel, at least in my area is 16-18% higher at marina's than it is at the street pumps

 

I hear you. I was thinking pre-paying for a year in a marina with power and water and staying in the same place but short trips on weekends with fuel financed by new friends that would all of the sudden be found )) Should that be 200 - 300 a month for a Marina?

I just accepted a new job that is paying reasonable money. I don't have any other expenses and can most likely afford the docking fees and upkeep.

 

i think i misread that about the marinas... i read it as moving around.

with a full service boat, electric, water, pump out.. can be anywhere form $40-50 per foot for the season (may-oct) or depending on where you are, it will be higher, but paid monthly if you go year round. year round docking could be anywhere from $1500-2000

 

i think $200 a month is a max you should be looking at.... unless you are at a high end marina

 

2K for docking doesn't bother me at all. I am more concerned with some of the unknowns (I only drove a small boat on a few occasions before) of operating / learning / picking a right boat. Maintaing shower / ac / kitchen...

Imagine someone getting into motorcycling for the first time, it's just like that but with boating.

 

Ok so I have been on boats my whole life and have a few buddies that own boats. If you are rich as hell you buy a power boat, if you are just a normal guy like the rest of us you buy a sail boat. I have a few friends with sail boats and they are very cheap to maintain if you are mechanically inclined, also extremely cheap to cruise around on. Docking is not always expensive. My buddy docks his 32'er for under $500 a month in a very nice marina in long beach. Obviously could be different wherever you are but around $1k for your place of living IS NOT expensive. You can find a very nice sail boat for under 40k around here, not sure how the market is over there. But depending on what you have to sell and what not you can get something even nicer or something more humble. Paying to have the bottom cleaned isn't too expensive either, I think per month my buddy pays like $100 or so. Boats can be very expensive if you buy one that needs a lot to be fixed. So spend the extra money and getting a nicely maintained one, it'll be better off.

So depending on what you are looking at I would say grab a well kept sail boat that is 32+ feet. My buddies 32' you might be able to live on but there is no shower (his marina does have a nice shower facility though). Do some research on what marinas around you allow live aboard (some do not), and get a price for docking then you can walk around on the dock and make lots of new friends and find very good deals on the underside cleaning and everything else you will ever need. The boating community is pretty tight knit just like the motorcycle community. Lots of friends to be made and help you finding a good boat.

PS I would never own a sail boat, took us 5 hours to go 26 miles from long beach to catalina, while the guy next to us it took him an hour in his power boat. Cost him $500 round trip in fuel though compared to our $3 haha

 

Thanks, good info.

I have considered a sail boat. But am worried about the learning curve. Power boat may be easier in that regard. I don't anticipate any far trips, just want a place to call home that is payed off. And if I am out of town can just be put in a dry dock for storage. 30K - 40K would probably my top budget.

I am far from calling myself rich, but I compensate for that by not having any debt. No car payments, no credit cards. Financially I know I can swing it, just a matter of getting a right deal and knowing more about what I am getting into

Hanging out at some of the marinas would be the next step.

 

and now no property taxes for being a live aboard!

 

I dunno, around here, even for a small slip, 450.00 per month is min. plus add about 250.00 if it's a live aboard. And that's in low rent marina..

Call the marina's and get some prices, they will want to know the footage on the boat, I'm sure

 

I have spend last two months on my bike traveling through mexico. Three months before that in Russia with brief visit to Turkey.

Having a permanent bed and a small shower / toilet would be plenty for my needs. Just need to be to office in a presentable condition )) But working in a creative department that is a very loose term.

Docking fees and upkeep should be way under what renting an apartment downtown Atlanta would be, or a mortgage payment. Just need to find a right setup and somehow learn the ropes.

 

No the Happiest day is when you get the title in the mail and it still runs great after 10 Years...

And you obviously bought a piece of shit or dont use it except on the holidays.... I have had the same V8 in my boat for 22 years with ZERO Issues... Same could be said for bikes too I guess....

If your planning on living on lanier you would be better off renting a house or Summer House ect... The DNR Sucks to deal with....

 

Good Luck with that.... Your looking at about the same...

 

Who is DNR and why they are a pain? I have no need to rent a house, otherwise I can just get an apartment in ATL. Currrently staying in my friends basement is also fine. Just wanted to try and live a long term dream, if it fails... well it fails.

 

I am more worried about what size boat, type, learning curve... funding a condo, house, apartment is just another way to have a place to live. Money would be spend either way.

 

Another though, check with marina's that have lien sales, I've seen some great deals on boats, but make sure you have someone with good knowledge check whatever boat your interested in check it out.

Oh, CL is where I saw them.

 

Ok...

Scenario 1:
Rent one bedroom apartment downtown/midtown ATL - $1,000 month
Bills - $300 month

Scenario 2:
Marina fees: ?
Boat upkeep: ?
Gas to ride my bike 60 miles a day - $120 month
I can do a lot of mechanical work myself
Boat depreciation: ?

Ultimately it's not about the money. Hoping to gather advice to help me get a good start.

 

I'm curious about this thread. This is also something I always thought about doing...