Liveaboard Info/Help?

Creepin:
My post was not to show you how cold the weather was, it was to get you to look at what it looks like at a marina in the winter time. The basin all iced in, the bubblers working and the bone chilling cold you would have to endure to keep up with the maintenance at the dock. Can you handle living on the water in these conditions? It is much more enjoyable in a warmer climate to keep up with a boat's maintenance than in the frigid North. If your wife is in the pharmacetical industry have her check out the jobs in Puerto Rico. I just finished a delivery there and the owner worked for one of these companies, and apparently they have a huge pharmacetical industry there.

Just a quick scan on Pharma. in P.R. shows that as good advice. The cold bucket of water wasn't bad either. You'll find very few people living on board year round up here except a few marina workers and/or those fueled by alcohol. Extremely few families. There is a reason for that. When you live on a boat you really need to follow the sun.

Creepin, your worries will be over when your bride gets a dream job in Phoenix.

Would love to see pictures of your Mathews.

So are you still thinking about living aboard or staying a dirt dweller. Personally I prefer living aboard and love it. Between Annapolis and Solomons there are lots of great places to live aboard. Deale is very reasonable and has some good marinas that take live aboards. You should check into them and call Paul Bowers at Calvert.

Small Yacht Living?

I've been working on and driving large boats for quite a while. I've also been to a few yacht driving and maintenance schools. I'm interested in buying and living on a 50-60ft. twin diesel yacht. I'm single and am looking forward to doing a lot of maintenance on the yacht. Any ideas/ pro and cons about living and/or buying/ maintenance cost?

It sounds like you're properly prepared, have a good size in mind and you're in a decent location. DK how your tastes or budget run, but CapVal has a nice Matthews for sale on YF
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/m...matthews-voyager-motor-yacht-1971-2002-a.html
as do several others.
Good luck and have fun.

Their ad states it is fiberglass reinforced, I always thought Matthews were wood hulls, is this one wood, wood covered with fiberglass, or a fiberglass hull?

Might want to ask that on that thread or PM them.

You are correct, sorry.

Hi YF's

I figured I'd introduce myself here rather than make a new thread, because this one closely follows my purpose. I've been lurking here for a long while, and I must compliment you on your invaluable forum.

I'm working on becoming a live-aboarder, and have zero experience with the nautical world. I've always wanted to do it, simple as that.

So from time to time, you may see me chime in with a question or two, and as the time approaches, I may indulge myself in making a thread where I can hold court and fire at will with all of my noob questions, which no doubt many of you've heard a thousand times.

To cover the basics, I'll be looking for a battlewagon of the 40+ variety, and I'll probably summer it in the Chesapeake, winter it in the Keys. Nothing fancy here, I've narrowed it down to an older Chris or Hatt, but may deviate depending on the deal. (no specifics yet, its just those designs suit my purposes and the yards are familiar with them)

I hope to make this a reality in the next two years, which I'll be spending my time aground researching the stuff I should know. When I pull the trigger, I may try to arrange here some Captaining lessons, depending on where she sits. Maybe some advice at the time of sale, if any locals with their hat on straight want to earn a few bucks, take her on a test-run checking for problems. But thats a long way off.

Anyhow, once again, my compliments all around on your fine forum. Its a refreshing and valuable resource, a very admirable presence on the web.

Safe journeys-

Thank you, Joe.

Interesting, in fact your area is one of my focus places. I have relatives on the west coast of Florida, and friends on the NE coast, near the GA border. I may decide to register her in Georgia and take up legal Georgia residence. Everybody's gotta have a home port, right?

I like it quiet, and because of my skill level, find the thought of piloting around all the Florida Mega's a little intimidating. It'd be a nice mid-point between the Keys and the Chesapeake. (my kids are a few hours from the Chesapeake, which is why I tagged my location there, and plan on spending summers).

Thanks for your reply.

Welcome Blackthorn. There are 2 stupid questions: the first and most aggravating is the one that's been asked and answered 20 times so definitely use the search function. The second is the one that you fail to ask. With that in mind I think you'll find a wealth of experience here whatever your size or plans. Good luck.

Yes indeed, good sir.

Been lurking a while, as I mentioned. I probably wouldn't have registered yet, because theres plenty for me to dig through, but the search function is disabled for guests.

So search I will, with my new search buttons. (I'm pretty familiar with netiquette, I'm a mod on a different forum, completely unrelated to boating)

I was looking for data on generators, as boats in my league will probably have gennies that are either fubar, or soon will be. Pricey little buggers, aren't they? I'm hoping my boats current owner (whoever he may be) is slightly green, and has a windmill to augment the batt's, to keep the hours low on the genny.

I see them used frequently on the gypsy's, but not so much on the average Joe's. Are they considered a sign of "less than desirable's"?

You will rarely find a motor yacht with a wind genny. Sail boats will sometimes have them because they may stay off the dock (unable to plug in) for extended periods. As for gennies being expensive, so is just about everything involved in boating.

In my extensive on-line travels (lol), I've seen several tied to mooring balls that looked like windmill farms, but they look like they don't go anywhere.

Never much on the "for sales" that I've been combing through, though. One older gentleman had a windmill on his "for sale" and thats about the extent of it, through hundreds of advertisements.

As far as expense goes, I kind of shrug my shoulders at it. Its a vital component, just one I don't relish replacing, like a furnace in a house. I don't expect to get away scott-free, and in doing my due diligence have come to this chapter of investigations: Generators.

I work in the energy industry, so its a topic that attracts me. I shall carry on with my investigative journey into the production of watts, btu's, space heating, refrigeration, light production, and so forth. I have a full compliment of data to cross-reference against off-the-grid applications on land. Mostly I was just wondering if they (windmills) were frowned upon by the salty dogs, considered trashy, or generally indicate that you're riff-raff.

I'd rather not give that first-impression to a tight-knit community such as this, and face the challenge of new introductions at each new marina with a pre-conceived notion that I'm a vagrant, especially since I'll not be piloting the pride of the fleet, waving at admiring passers-by and looking like JFK Jr.