Living aboard in Florida - What boat?

For slip fees simply call marinas that you're considering and ask them. You also have insurance to deal with, engine maintenance, bottom jobs, divers, and repairs. I would expect $2500 a month going to repairs, maintenance and long term maintenance repairs if you're doing most things yourself. I would also be looking a lot smaller than you are in size. 53' Yachtfish maximum, but would recommend something even smaller. At your ages, you should be comfortable in the low 40' range with the right boat.

Detroits aren't as bad as you make them out to be. The 71 series were pretty good motors. 1000 rpms and under Detroits are actually twice as fuel efficient as newer 4 stroke diesels. At cruise they burn a little more, but the burn rate isn't terrible. A small percentage of yachts you're looking for have been repowered.

Also there are a lot of things that are a pain when living aboard. Grocery shopping and getting groceries onto and into the boat. Getting to your car when it's really cold/windy/rainy. Things breaking in the middle of the night that HAVE to be fixed now. Popping the shorepower breaker at the most in-opportune time. Noisier......

I lived aboard a boat when in my 20’s, best time of my life, but that was a long time ago.

Interior space is not all that important, you spend most of the days outside in the cockpit, under a bimini top, when the weather is good, only inside when raining, or to cook and sleep. (In Florida)
Unless of course you can’t live without air condition and TV, but then you might as well get a condo on land.
Boats are more complex and take more maintenance than you can imagine, especially as they get older: Therefore get a boat as simple and as small as you can live with, and use the money you saved to maintain it good.
(Instead of getting a big boat that will need more money for everything and leave you Boat Poor)
My first boat was 44’ and a bit over my head, but did not know much back then, Bigger is Better was the mantra, and I was Boat Poor, Big Time.
Next boat was 33’ and much easier to maintain, handle, repair and equip.
Should have done the 33’ the first time around, but young people are not know to listen or be smart..
Now, 34 years later I have a 28’ boat, could easily live on it if I was single, but with a spouse I would choose the slightly bigger sister at 31’.
(We don’t live aboard these days, only short cruises between 5 and 9 days.)
Go small and go now would be my advice, but this being a Yacht Forum, folks with bigger boats may not agree.

We waited until retirement to sell everything and move aboard; it’s been 4 years now. We had boats for years and knew that living aboard full time would be different, and that moving to Florida would be different, and being retired would be different . . . . So, we decided to go big to make sure that we were as comfortable as we could be and to have the conveniences and, yes, luxuries that we were used to. Knowing what I know now, and seeing how well my spouse has adjusted, we are looking to move smaller.

My biggest surprise is how living aboard has curtailed our cruising. I expected that we’d be under weigh most of the time. And for a while, we were. But we found a place that we really like, with folks that we like, and decided to make it our permanent residence. We have developed ties to our new community, and we are reluctant to spend too much time away ( since we already travel a good bit to see the kids and grandkids). I can’t imagine that we’ll ever be the vagabonds that I once imagined we’d be.

It’s still the best decision we’ve ever made. I only wish we could have started earlier.

I'm a life long boater and A few years ago had a change in life, and bought a 42' Ocean Yachts Sunliner, lived on it full time for three years in Philadelphia. Winter, spring, summer, and fall. Had a great time. Did and still do a lot of weekend trips on her.
Had to move back on land for my boys sake two years ago.
It's a great boat, two staterooms, two heads with showers, full ,roomy galley and nice flowing saloon. It has plenty of room for two. And it's not to big, but just big enough to maintain completely on your own. But it's still an ass kicker.
I agree, As Capt J said, no more than 53' and no less than 40'.
My boat has great running Detriots 471 TIs which I have put some time into cleaning them up, and proper maintenance. They are not messy nor to loud and get very good fuel mileage, as long as you maintain them and don't run them hard all the time.
Just keep in mind the bigger the boat the bigger the props and the shafts, motors, and the paint needed to paint the bottom and dockage/haul out fees and the parts for the engines, bigger lines, fenders, batteries etc., etc...all.can add up quickly!
And time..it takes a lot more time to maintain a 53 footer versus a 42 footer and so on. Time is hard to come by. You don't want to get a boat with endless projects it soon becomes a life of misery . Find a boat in decent shape, it takes a lot of time just to maintain a clean boat.
Figure the maintenance on your boat is going to be at least double what your house took. Boats have tons of little motors ,pumps, electrical circuits, wiring, leaky and leaking things, and gadgets that always need constant attention.
But it's a lot of FUN !

You happen to live on a 53’?

No kidding, lived without AC in my younger days. Probably why I was skinny,

Man, wish I was..

It all does add up, but it's worth it for the breathing room.

Does everyone realize the OP and his girlfriend are in their early 20's?

We lived aboard a 46 foot sailboat for six months at a time, both in South Florida in the winter and Connecticut in the summer. For those who think interior space is not important, I would suggest you try to stay outside during those hot humid days, rainy days and cold days. Without any good climate control, you can reach dew point inside the boat. You need interior space and enough so that the two of you are not always in the same space. There are sometimes you just need your own space.

Then again, we spent loads of time living in a NYC apartment which had only a little more than 500 square feet!

It also depends on what you are doing off the boat, for example, working. I found the most difficult time was when I had to dress in a suit and tie and commute to work while living on the boat.

My wife claims that the entire process was designed so that when we sold our house, she was really happy to live in a condo! Claims I planned it that way.

Good point.... Hmmmm, when I was dating my lovely bride of 28 years we were a little older than that, but I drug her all over Lake Erie in a J-22 with a 5 gallon bucket as "facilities".... We had a great time so I married her.

Yeah, 28-30 feet oughta do it........