Old Hand at boats...... but Living on?

No problem. In NYS you only need a "Boater Education Card (Not an operator's license) if you were born after May 1, 1996. https://www.boat-ed.com/newyork/boa...T1dA2dq3wM014WNJenV50pjddy1qBVLwwQaAvRB8P8HAQ

The course is one day, 8 hours including breaks, and cost $60. (Call me a skeptic, but I'm pretty sure that the $60 more important than what you learn in those 7 hours. I prefer people to take the USPS or USCG Auxiliary Basic Boating course, but any education is better than none.

Where you may be getting confused is that, although there is no legal requirement, most insurance companies will require you to run with a captain for your first season or so when you first get a boat over about 50'. But again that all depends on your experience and how much your insurance company likes you.

The key being experience. If you have the experience, then they are fine with you. And many now just want a Captain to sign off that you know the basics so typically a one or two day session with a Captain gets you that.

Or if you pay enough.

I know some marinas require you to be insured, but I don't know if that's the exception or the rule.

If it is only you, or a couple that can handle living full time in what is essentially a small RV, stay at about 36 feet/22000#, no further north than N. Florida or the Gulf Coast (winter is tolerable but can get cold - 23 degrees in Destin a couple of years ago) & look for a marina that can dry rack your boat & let you live aboard - not very many (North Light Yacht Club in Niceville, there's one in Venice but no slips for live aboard, Snook Bight in Ft. Myers Beach). We live in Denver, keep a 36 Carver at North Light, unlimited launch & retrieval w/ wash down & flush, nice facility, great laundry/restroom/shower facility, pool/hot tub, on site restaurant, 140 mph rated building which is our hurricane plan, could live aboard full time if we wanted, when we travel or are in Denver, they pull the boat & rack it. $630/ mo lease w/ option to purchase but we've been there a long time, ins. is $1400/year, I believe they charge for water/elec. for full time live aboards, cable is free, wifi is sketchy. Snook Bight in FMB is $800ishy, they charge a slip fee when the boat is in the water, have limited slips, esp. in the winter, nice facility, pool, large restaurant, on site maintenance. Disadvantage to this live aboard scenario is it limits the size of boat. I figure $1200/mo. just for the boat & related expenses. Other living expenses are on a par with land based EXCEPT you have NO place to store anything. I have a small garden shed in the barn for a bit of boat stuff but if was living aboard full time would need to rent a climate controlled storage space. That's about another $600/mo in Niceville for 24 hr. access & large enough to hold the stuff of life. So....., round it up to $2K/mo. plus your current budget for vehicle, food, clothing etc. We use the boat as a second home & it works great. Downside to the Panhandle is it is not reliable warm in the winter. Ft. Myers is warm in the winter & downside to Snook Bight in FWB is it is considerably more expensive esp. since they now charge an additional slip fee when the boat is in the water & the management seems a bit snotty to me but I've only visited & not berthed there. A larger boat means in the water so added to your expense is exterior maintenance & bottom cleaning & prorated over time increased expense for replacment of lines, canvas, etc. from full time exposure to the elements. I could live full time on our boat, wife will have nothing to do with it but as a second home in semi-retirement, this scheme works great. We get to the boat every 6-8 weeks or so for anywhere from 5 - 14 days & if we drive around to explore for more than a day or two, have them put the boat away. Hope this helps.

One more suggestion, absolutely get some didactic education. US Power Squadron is excellent, structured curriculum & on the water courses available. My Carver was my first boat after 30 years of racing for a hobby & with careful baby steps & guidance from my USPS buddies in Ft. Walton Beach, I got the hang of piloting well & safely fairly quickly - took a good two years. Much bigger than 36 feet or so, find a Cap't. to help you get started. Boats are like racing, hugely fun, neat toys to play around with, great community of friends but both can bite you if you don't get skills developed & under control. And practice, practice, practice.

Voila...
http://passageyacht.com

Nice barge, but no price included in the ad...?

You have to call I think for price as I understand it... the gentleman starting this post lives near to the owner so I am sure they can get together... suppose not too many potential purchasers. I know some really nice boats in Europe for likely less money but the transportation would be prohibitive for him. I own a couple businesses in the US nearby that area but have no idea of boating situation around there, though I do visit often.