My wife and I are seriously considering purchasing a sailboat to live aboard. We live in Seattle and there are lots of options in the area for marinas and a lot of great boats at a great price right now.

I understand it would be a BIG lifestyle change which is why we're not rushing into anything. I have a guy I work with who lived on a boat the past 10 years or so and he's a big help.

Just wondering if there are any others here who do live on a boat or have in the past.
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I think it would be cool...Do you have kids? It might be tough for them.
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No kids yet, which is why we want to do it now. No house or mortgage either, so it's a good time.
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Go for it!! No kids,no house, might as well..
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This article from the Seattle Times was the inspiration - http://bit.ly/97yrYn - though it's something I've always wanted to do and it's surprisingly affordable.
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I did it for a year in Key West. It is a lifestyle, thats for sure. I just wish I could have done it longer.
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Larry, what size boat were you on? Sounds like the experience was good?
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If you're able to, spend a solid month in an rv first to give you an idea of the closeness. After the fire, we bought a 27ft pull trailer to live in. lasted 3 weeks and we were stir crazy. Just me and my wife. Now we rent our neighbors 28ft 5th wheel which gives us 30ft inside with two slides. Better, but still craaaaaampped.

We always wanted to do the sailboat thing to. Still do...kind of.

You can't realize how different it will be. I really recommend a trial run. Hey, maybe see if you can rent a moored boat from someone for a few weeks and see what you think.

Things to consider:

Hot water capacity. 4 minute showers are NOT fun and that includes turning shower wand off while soaping.

Toilet facilities: We have ours hooked up to our sewer, but that tiny little water closet and pretend-a-potty is not much fun either.

Storage: Not just clothing, but dishes,food, refrigerated goods. You'll learn to shop nearly daily.

Climate extremities: Seattle's not bad, but consider a lot of rainy days locked up inside depending on where you go.
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Note the look of intense jealousy in my eyes...




Actually, it's more like envy!
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Great Lifestyle but a few experience notes to share. Powerboat designs offer tremendous more open space and ammenities than sailboats.

I lived on our 55' Ocean Sportsfishing Boat for several years but maintained a small land based home and that is a good option to consider, a very small condo would work too. Good friend moved on his 45' crusiser for a few years and rented a warehouse space for all his permanent belongings. He stayed on the water full time for about 10 years. It is a great life to enjoy but does get old after some time so I would not recommend totally giving up land based life all the way. Boats have very limited space for clothes is one of the little things you have to adapt to.

Overall I think it is a great thing to do but best to go in planning on it not being "forever" and if you decide it is then you can always liquidate the landside interests.
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Did it for 3 months on a 46 foot Viking and fished my ass off. Best tan and longest hair I ever had.
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Very nice!!!
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<----- jealous of the fishing and tan. Not jealous of the long hair :-)
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Thanks for the advice. We live in an apt now so if the boat doesn't work out, we could just move back to an apt. We would keep all our stuff in storage and only plan on living on the boat for a couple years, until we're ready to have kids, buy a house, etc. We were at a boat show yesterday and did notice that the powerboats were a lot bigger but we just love the freedom of a sailboat. We're headed back to the boat show today to spend a little more time aboard the couple of sailboats we're considering, so I think I might spend a more time considering some of the powerboats. We also have a mountain cabin that we spend a couple weekends a month at, I feel like that will help us get away from the cramped quarters a good amount.

Thanks again for the advice, I realize there are some negatives but everyone so far I've spoken with has loved the experience.


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