Dreaming of long term Marina hopping...

I was thinking of merc cruisers for instance? My family had one in a 1973 formula 23 and it

Your description may not be right for Deepwater. I think they a with are considering long week ends with multi-day gaps when the boat will be unmanned?

Yes, and my question was how many of the Mercruisers on the coast have the Seacore option or it's previous equivalent. 1973 I doubt many did, but today they do.

We have deep-water ports in Canada also, they are treated pretty much the same since boats can anchor in many of them since the term deep-water does not necessarily mean too deep to anchor in (at least for boats that cannot enter shallower waters.)

Another Ken, you're talking Canada and Deepwater is talking Florida and Bahamas and Caribbean. Very different situations.

We've shopped for dockable waterfront property -- on and off --- for the last 30 years or so, without ever pulling that trigger. Initial cost premium, permitting, maintenance, etc. keeps the whole idea in the "interesting but not especially viable for my wallet" category.

Non-waterfront home property, with the boat at a marina -- for a boat with outdrives, maybe that's a boatel/dry stack situation -- always ends up bubbling to the top of our analysis. In some cases, that could also mean the boat wouldn't need to be as large...

Not a recommendation, just mentioning another option.

-Chris

I have no idea what Vancouver Canada has to do with this comletly irrelevant

Here in sofl and the Bahamas you can pretty much anchor anywhere you want for whatever time frame you want. Yes I know there are a few exceptions here and there but it s not a concern.

As to the original question, yes... you can have a boat large enough to live aboard part time and spend a month or more in various areas. This will give you the most feeedon to explore. Most marinas offer monthly or seasonal (6 months) rates and will take reservations. South East Fl does have a dockage shortage especially in winter so planning ahead is important.

I wouldn’t try to do this with an express. Too cramped, no views (stuck in a cave). If you re going to spend quite a bit of time aboard and going to the Bahamas, a diesel is a must. Older sportfish / convertible are perfect for this.

OB

Educate me again: What is the "Seacore option"?

What is your approximate price point and size? There is a nice looking 2000 Post 42 down in Freeport advertised for$155K . Just an example.

Yes a good buyers broker can be very helpful

I d look at Viking, Hatteras, Bertram (pre Ferreti ownership), as well as Post and Ocean. Even if you don’t fish the large cockpit offers great access to the water. Silverton too although not as solid as the above but fine for SoFl and Bahamas

There are ones that can handle some boats up to 42 feet.

Check out Maritimo. While not the quality of Hatteras/Viking, it's pretty good and has the windows and such that you're looking for.

Joe, as for your original question, yes it is doable. My wife and I did just that, but we waited until retirement and moved aboard full time (if you’re gonna go, might as well go whole hog). We really had no knowledge of Florida other than what we saw during an annual vacation. So we cruised the coasts staying for a month or more in various locations. Finally found our home here in the Keys, still living aboard.

It's amazing how many people cruise by or do the loop and end up somewhere in the Keys and just stay. A lot of loopers in Marathon too.

All sportfish have massive windows on the sides and rear providing good visibility. For the past 15 years or so the trend has been to eliminate the forward facing windows

An alternative would be a more traditional MY with either a cockpit or large swimplatform.

Yep. We've had some prior experience renting one house while living in another. For our current situation, we decided that's be too much like work. It was viable, at the time and with those particular sets of property, though.

Some have windows all round, but yes, many of the more current "sportfish" boats don't have a forward "windshield" window. OTOH, more of the "convertibles" do have that. We prefer a forward window, but aside from eliminating leaks, using that space for something else (galley cabinetry, for example) can have advantages for some.

But there could be other options. "Sedan bridge" or "sport bridge" boats (maybe that cross-over thing) usually have forward windows in the saloon. And then there are the "aft-cabin motor yachts" and "cockpit motor yachts" (CPMY). The latter two categories generally have boatloads of interior and covered exterior space (often including a separated "master" stateroom with it's own head), often much more than an equivalent-length sportfish/convertible. A decent CPMY also gives you reasonably comfortable access to water-level stuff...

-Chris

My wife and I originally planned 6 months per year doing approximately what you are considering, with some notable exceptions. We already had the appropriate boat, and we wanted to keep up our New England cruising in summer, so we migrate north-south with the seasons. The other reality is that 5 years ago we put our boat in the first of what we thought would be a series of marinas around Florida. But we liked it so much, we’ve been back every year. Someday we’ll change our home base, but for now it’s the perfect jumping off point for cruising Florida, the keys, and the Bahamas.

One issue that we avoid, but you’ll have to overcome, is satisfying your insurance requirements during hurricane season. This can be costly and more complex for owner/operators who are not local. You may find that you’ll need to contract with a hurricane hole marina and/or a local captain to fulfill your insurer’s hurricane plan covenant. Not insurmountable, but an added cost and level of complexity that should be fully understood.