Living on the hook forums?

[Bob Quinn]

Just wondering if there are any forums out there dedicated to folks living on the hook?

I know that lifestyle has it's difficulties, and it would be interesting to gain knowledge from people actually doing it.

With the price of dockage down south I'm questioning if we would ever be able to afford a live aboard lifestyle and actually have a dock. I would like to learn more about the feasibility of this potential lifestyle.

Anyone know of any groups or forums dedicated to this?

Thanks!

 

[Pascal]

Most are really camping aboard… people with little old sailboats trying to make their 5 ice cubes last longer

 

[jmooney]

I have heard that the most important thing to have when living on the hook is a temperate climate. South Florida in the summer is anything but that . I can’t imagine what it is like to live in those conditions when I see all the boats on the hook around us . I don’t hear hardly any generators. The humidity onboard would be stifling without air conditioning. It will take a big recession for dockage to be affordable again.

 

[Boatsb]

We have customers with solar and inverters who live like they're at a dock. They run the generator 2 x a day for about an hour and a half. Making water and cooking while on the genny. One spends 4 to 6 weeks between landings tor resupply of food and such.

One has 5 ac systems. Another 7 smaller ones. A 3rd has chillers and no solar yet.

It's all about designing the system to the needs. Running air conditioning on inverters is no big deal for a properly designed and installed system.


As for forums. The ones I see are usually people who have crap systems telling everyone who will listed how great the system is as long as ...

Successful installations on vessels with owners enjoying the lifestyle usually don't have someone on a forum trying to convince everyone how smart they are.


Ask Addy cat or zigzag what can be done away from the dock.

 

[rwaldrop13]

Here in Ft Myers we have a serious post-Ian shortage of marinas, not just slips. One of the contributing issues issues is the current city council who are content to just leave the Municipal Yacht Basin rotting behind temporary chain link fences. There was a huge soap opera between the first restored marina's owner and the management company that actually runs it, because the owner only wants annual contracts with a big up-front payment and the managers want to resume their regular bread-and-butter rentals to the snowbirds and transients as well as a couple of open slips for the on-site restaurant.

 

[Pascal]

I have heard that the most important thing to have when living on the hook is a temperate climate. South Florida in the summer is anything but that . I can’t imagine what it is like to live in those conditions when I see all the boats on the hook around us . I don’t hear hardly any generators. The humidity onboard would be stifling without air conditioning. It will take a big recession for dockage to be affordable again.

Dockage cost is out of control down here. My slip just jumped from $1300 to $1850 and it’s a bargain. I ve seen slips advertised at $60 to $90 a foot!

One issue is that marinas haven’t kept up with the increase in boat size. 20 years ago a 50 footer was a big boat, now 50 footers are average size.


As too living on the hook in temperate climate, I don’t think there isn’t such a thing. Most of the east coast is hot and humid June - September

 

[Freeebird]

I still kick around the idea of selling everything and doing the full time liveaboard thing.

Seems to me it could be an interesting comparison in extended generator time vs dockage. If cruising is part of the plan, keeping the boat in livable temperatures with limited need for AC/heat would definitely cut down on run time and help subsidize such an undertaking.

I see many boaters going the loop route, which IMO is boring as hell after one loop. I would be a back and forth guy and stay WAY north in summer and head south for the winter. Seems having two gensets, one being smaller, quieter and more efficient to address stateroom AC and battery charging duties would be ideal.

The cost to live comfortably in that scenario would be less expensive, so I would think, than going the marina route. You could dinghy in for provisions etc.

 

[zigzag930]

Try Trawlerforum.com or cruisingforum.com. They are both packed with information that may be helpful.

 

[Scarlett]

We have a large community of what we call derelict live showers here in San Diego. We have that year round temperate climate. People get mostly very cheap sailboats which start out with sail covers and working engines but very soon the covers are gone and they are moving the boats with outboards. Problem is you have to move around because the anchorages are 72 hours only and heavily enforced. Part of the time these guys have to anchor behind a submerged breakwater in the ocean and roll their brains out. About 3 to 4 boats a year break loose and end up on the beach at a naval base and our tax dollars are used to destroy them.

 

[Bob Quinn]

I have heard that the most important thing to have when living on the hook is a temperate climate. South Florida in the summer is anything but that . I can’t imagine what it is like to live in those conditions when I see all the boats on the hook around us . I don’t hear hardly any generators. The humidity onboard would be stifling without air conditioning. It will take a big recession for dockage to be affordable again.

That's a very good point. Not being from there, and only having visited during the nice February, March & April month's it's real easy to overlook and underestimate the heat that is in Florida.

Maybe there are better areas to consider. Maybe along in the Carolinas or somewhere along the east coast?

 

[brettportzer]

I mean, in upstate NY it was 90 degrees all of July this year... It is hard for me to imagine boating in FL.

 

[Bob Quinn]

Sounds like I just need to figure out how to do the snowbird thing.

 

[Pascal]

Yes sofl is very hot and humid but at least there is usually some breeze and when anchored breeze flows thru nicely. Obviously you need AC at night but most days the main salon is ok with doors and windows open. I ve been all Over the east coast and it doesn’t get much better until you hit New England and even then it can be hot and humid.