Do you live aboard? If so, I have 3 questions.

[MASTERPLAN MIAMI]

Do you live aboard? If so, I have 3 questions.
1. Are you primarily traveling or stationary?
2. How do you make a living and pay your bills?
3. Are you landlocked for any reason?
This video is just a day OFF the boat. But it makes me wonder what I really want to be doing as a liveaboard.

Real estate has been my career for over 20 years. I thought moving onto and living on a boat might be the end of that. But it's not. As much as I love spending time on the boat, I also love selling real estate. It's who I am. It's what I do.
Now we've been doing charters for about a month. Geez. I don't know why I didn’t do this years ago. This might very well be the perfect job. But..... whether I sell Real Estate, or Charter, I'm still stuck in one location. How do I break free?
This video is just a day off the boat. It's not much about being on the boat but the MASTERPLAN is more than just boat stuff. It's about our everyday lives. It's about our MASTERPLAN.


https://youtu.be/6-LYBM44FtY

 

[RonNP]

1. I travel up and down the West Coast of the United States. I am both stationary and mobile depending upon my jobs.

2. I make my living by uploading my youporn videos and collecting money from the clicks. If you see me you will remember . When I'm not doing that I prescribe medications for a living.

3. 70 miles down the river takes me to the Golden Gate bridge so I am not land locked.

 

[MASTERPLAN MIAMI]

1. I travel up and down the West Coast of the United States. I am both stationary and mobile depending upon my jobs.

2. I make my living by uploading my youporn videos and collecting money from the clicks. If you see me you will remember . When I'm not doing that I prescribe medications for a living.

3. 70 miles down the river takes me to the Golden Gate bridge so I am not land locked.

Very funny. A drug dealing pornstar. I would consider that but I think my wife would not be happy about me selling drugs. Hahahahaha.

 

[Westfield 11]

We live aboard and travel. We are retired, so work or earning a living are not an issue. We do not have a land home, but we do have a couple of storage units with the things we couldn’t bear to part with. We keep an old car with a salvage title in Florida for use during the winter and we have a Vespa for a land tender on the boat.

 

[kingsley_oasis]

I live aboard, usually only home on weekends.
Have to travel for work dealing with what people forget about after they flush. Job security though.
Spend free time usually working on my second addiction, a rusty old admiralty fleet tender.
Boating usually restricted to St Johns and near shore here in Jacksonville FL, though did bring the fleet tender from Chesapeake to JAX over last Christmas break.
No land homes for me anymore, and plan is to leave one of the boats in a box, broke so my heirs don't have any think to fight about.
Closest I got to drugs was a tightly plastic wrapped white powder in the bilge. No party though as it turned out to be biodegradable toilet tissue.

 

[Finalee]

Consider building your business while you are still young and enjoy it. Intentionally replace yourself while doing it. Then retire to the "good life" of endless boating. I lived aboard for 11 years, and used the boat several times a week. Now have a smaller faster boat and a waterfront view of the Chesapeake. To me living on land is better. Living on board was fun..

 

[Passages]

We've been living aboard for 2 years. Stationary but why move when you are living at the nicest Yacht Club in Fort Lauderdale.

Wife pays the bills. She has a corporate job which allows her to work anywhere with reliable cell, wifi and access to an airport. (Her boss lives in the Caymans)

My insurance prohibits me from using the boat for any commercial enterprise.

I'm retired so most my time is spent on Boating sites and watching cat videos on YouTube.

edit - I might consider a entry level position as a drug dealing pornstar.

 

[jrbrein]

Living aboard for our family did not mean living on a boat plugged in at the same place all of the time.

For us living aboard meant full time cruising and we did this from 1998 - 2004 with 2 very young children. We home schooled them while taking the boat up and down the east coast of the US from the northeast tip of Maine to the Dry Tortugas, Bermuda and all of the Bahamas. We stayed in different places for as long as we wanted and we were never in any rush to move on. We had the time of our lives!!

Then we returned sold the boat, bought a house and put the kids in school while I went back to work for the next 15 years with no boat.

Our daughters are grown and now we have this Hatteras. Might just do it again!

Without the kids this time! But they will visit.

Jon

 

[Briankinley2004]

The decor on my boat is the "Early Porno"style. I rent my boat by the hour to various vintage film makers to pay my slip rent. My insurance company is unaware of this.

 

[Byresch]

For us meant living aboard in the Washington DC area when I worked. Originally at the Gangplank and then in Solomons, MD from where I commuted to DC. We moved to Solomons so we had the weekend free to cruise on the Chesapeake. When I retired we sold the boat and bought a house in Florida but were not happy so we bought a boat in San Diego, CA and moved back aboard. We cruised out of San Diego for about 4 years and loved it. Being stationary while you work doesn't mean you can't do local cruises and enjoy your boat.

Now for health reasons we have sold the boat in San Diego and are back in Florida and are close to our daughter and son-in-law so they can help me with my wife.

 

[Pascal]

Been living aboard for 16 years. Love it. No traveling with the Hatt though, just day or week end stuff, because of work. Since we running an 84 footer incl some charters , we get to spend a lot of time in the Bahamas so when we have time to travel it s classic car road trips to the mountains.

 

[krush]

I think one has to be clear to define what he calls live aboard because I feel there is a big difference between living aboard a boat that is moored in a marina vs living aboard a boat as one cruises. The former doesn't seem much different than living in an apartment complex.

 

[Pascal]

As long as you use the boat and treat it like a boat and not a floating condo, it makes little difference. I don’t keep loose junk and everything is always stored or secure. It takes me less than 10 minutes to get out of the slip incl ER checks Lines, cords etc are all setup to be able to leave with minimal work.

 

[Westfield 11]

I think one has to be clear to define what he calls live aboard because I feel there is a big difference between living aboard a boat that is moored in a marina vs living aboard a boat as one cruises. The former doesn't seem much different than living in an apartment complex.

Well, you do still learn a lot about maintenance of the “hotel” systems, everything but the propulsion and navigation stuff. Those folks have a lot to contribute here as far as troubleshooting and repairs go.

 

[jim rosenthal]

I lived aboard for years. Did it in Tidewater, VA, in Baltimore, and in Kent Island. All told, I probably have eight or ten years in various locations and boats.

My last live aboard was my current boat, my Hatteras. Best of the lot and still the best boat I've ever had.

I used her as my home, but also took her out, although not as often as I would have liked. Most of the big updates on her occurred when I was no longer living on her, because I couldn't both live on her AND repower her, for example. I found that having a storage locker was essential.

Now I have way too much stuff to live aboard. But sometimes I miss that simple life I had.

 

[Byresch]

As long as you use the boat and treat it like a boat and not a floating condo, it makes little difference. I don’t keep loose junk and everything is always stored or secure. It takes me less than 10 minutes to get out of the slip incl ER checks Lines, cords etc are all setup to be able to leave with minimal work.

We always did like Pascal, kept our boats free of junk so we could go out anytime we wanted to. You don't have to go far to have an adventure and enjoy yourself. When we lived on the Chesapeake we spent many a weekend exploring different areas. When we lived in San Diego it wasn't as big as the Chesapeake but we still had a lot of fun going to Mexico and other places. Of course by then we were retired.

 

[Passages]

We live on our 63 MY here in FLL. We do not go out as much as we like because my wife & I find docking and undocking such as chore.

All the engine checks, water/power/line disconnects and (worst of all) disconnecting the gangway stairs make it a 45 minute process. By the the time we are ready to back out of the slip, We have both worked up a good sweat.

For bar hopping and short trips, we usually just fire up out tender (13' Boston Whaler w/40hp). I sometimes miss the simple days when I owned a 42' Post. I could do everything alone and be on my way in 5 minutes.

 

[lake of the woods]

We live on our 63 MY here in FLL. We do not go out as much as we like because my wife & I find docking and undocking such as chore.

All the engine checks, water/power/line disconnects and (worst of all) disconnecting the gangway stairs make it a 45 minute process. By the the time we are ready to back out of the slip, We have both worked up a good sweat.

For bar hopping and short trips, we usually just fire up out tender (13' Boston Whaler w/40hp). I sometimes miss the simple days when I owned a 42' Post. I could do everything alone and be on my way in 5 minutes.

Hi if you ever want any help to go out for a day-trip or a few days my wife, Caroline and I (Mark) spend our winters (Dec 1 to March 31) in Fort Lauderdale (recently retired - rent a home in River Oakes) and would love an opportunity to get out on the water sometimes. We have a 1989 40 DC so we have some boating skills.

Mark and Caroline
Lake of the Woods

 

[Pascal]

We live on our 63 MY here in FLL. We do not go out as much as we like because my wife & I find docking and undocking such as chore.

All the engine checks, water/power/line disconnects and (worst of all) disconnecting the gangway stairs make it a 45 minute process. By the the time we are ready to back out of the slip, We have both worked up a good sweat.

For bar hopping and short trips, we usually just fire up out tender (13' Boston Whaler w/40hp). I sometimes miss the simple days when I owned a 42' Post. I could do everything alone and be on my way in 5 minutes.

You need to review your set up at your home slip. Sometimes it s the little thing that make a big difference. I ve never had to spend more than 10 minutes to be out. Even with the boats i ve run, bigger than mine, it never takes me more than 10’ between pulling the first dipstick to getting the boat in gear

For instance, we tie a line around the top step of the stairs, wrap it around the rail. This way I can just pull the pins while holding on the line then lower the the stairs on the dock. Reverse procedure when we get back. If we need to take the stairs with us, it s an extra couple of minutes but for quick day trips the stairs stay on the dock.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

You need to review your set up at your home slip. Sometimes it s the little thing that make a big difference. I ve never had to spend more than 10 minutes to be out. Even with the boats i ve run, bigger than mine, it never takes me more than 10’ between pulling the first dipstick to getting the boat in gear

For instance, we tie a line around the top step of the stairs, wrap it around the rail. This way I can just pull the pins while holding on the line then lower the the stairs on the dock. Reverse procedure when we get back. If we need to take the stairs with us, it s an extra couple of minutes but for quick day trips the stairs stay on the dock.

Always good to remember that everyone's situation, therefore set-up, is different. If you've ever stood in line to pick-up a script and overheard the DOB of the guy ahead of you, you may be as shocked as I sometimes am. Hell, maybe I look that bad to the guy behind me.

Me? It used to be I gave not a thought about jumping on and off docks like Cheetah (careful). Then I got a nasty letter from my knees. Sometimes the dock isn't even there anymore thanks to bifocals. Looking before you leap or creap takes time, you know.

If you've seen my ER pics, you might infer that Aslan is pretty well squared away. And while the ER might have checked out fine last week, ER checks have a 12 hour expiration for me. So that's 6 dipsticks, 4 breakers, 3 seacocks, 2 fuel valves and partridge in a ... Always good to take a flashlight and look under and around things. Time to start the generator for a 5 minute warm-up.

Then there's the flybridge. Seats and helm to be uncovered; cushions put out; circuit breakers to close and time to power up the electrons. Takes a bit of time to test the shift/throttle controls as well as the steering (manual and A/P). When that's done, time to snap to and hoist the colors and strike the jack-staff. Then it's MESAW (that's NASA-speak for main engine start and warm-up) and back to ER to verify raw water. Shift the electrical load and take in the umbilicals. Taking in 85' of power, cable and water, even with a cablemaster, takes time.

Time to set the special sea and anchor detail (someone get on the bow) and bring me a Gatorade. Aslan is docked in a poorly protected and strong tidal area; SOP is 10 lines. The forecast today (10/19/19) is 20-25 with 35 Kt. gusts and 2-4' INSIDE the harbor. Not unusual to get 3' on my T-head. Takes a while to single-up and then cast her off.

All of the above is generally preceded by a good washing of the boat which is finally succeeded by a good washing of the captain and a fresh uniform before welcoming guests aboard. I do catch a break--the stewardess clamps down the interior spaces.

That's my set-up, and it takes more time--a good bit more. No right or wrong or need to review what works for you or me. On the plus side, I can drop #10 of water weight, just not in 10 minutes.