Prospective, newbie used boat owner wants to speak with current and past boat live-aboarders in the SF Bay area. I live ( on land ) in the SF East bay, a few miles from the Berkeley Marina.
Hi. I have recently become attracted to & curious about owning & living aboard what would be my first, very affordable boat. Given my very small budget as a student, & being self-employed in a financially unpredictable field( body worker - aka massage therapist - & qigong instructor ), I am looking at very affordable boats under $5000, at least for now, which could be relatively comfortable for living aboard. Am open to even paying monthly fees up to this amount toward purchase of a compatible boat in need of no major repairs / work and slip as well.
A couple requirements would be running water ( including hot for stand up - or at least high squatable - showers which do not flow water all over the inside of the boat, dish & hand washing ), indoor toilet, standing room at least in some areas for a bit more than just a pirouette, electricity ( to run a notebook computer, basic lights for reading / seeing, clock,), ability to cook basic, small meals like oatmeal, steamed veggies, toaster oven for small baking, and shelving for the many books i have & enjoy reading, studying.
Am considering living on a boat in part to save money ( if actually possible to pay under $350 / month total for boat situation compatible with my needs & interests ) while in school and building my love of bodywork & qigong into a profitable business, in addition to loving the feel of being around water.
Reading related on-line publications, website and blogs has been a bit useful so far. And it will likely be a while before i can save even $5000 at this point.
But it feels like what could really help in feeling out whether this is what I really want to do & potential used boats that could work for my needs, is to relate in person with individual boat owners who would be open to sharing their experiences, suggestions & physically seeing & feeling various boats insides as well as exterior, meeting & relating in person with people already doing what I am curious about.
( All communications with me, boaters situations & identities will be treated as private & confidential communications - of course. )
Anyone interested & open to this, send me an email?.
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Potential used L/A boat owner would love to meet with SF Bay liveaboarders.
Fri, July 6, 2007 - 5:50 PMI am also open to trading an equal value of bodywork sessions, say 2-hour sessions at a time, at my normal rate, toward purchase of a compatible boat, for anyone with such a boat in liveable / floatable shape who is interested in this. -
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Re: Potential used L/A boat owner would love to meet with SF Bay liveaboarders.
Sat, July 7, 2007 - 6:30 PMYou should be able to buy a boat outright for 5,000 that you can livaboard. I wouldn't give anyone money towards the purchase of a boat, without having the title in your name. I've seen lots of sleazy deals around boat deals. I think it's worse then used car dealings. Keep in mind that if you buy a boat, the slip doesn't neccesarily come with it. A wood boat is a floating tweenkie with everything in the sea ready to eat it. When someone says it sleeps seven, it means that it's big enough for you and your dog. The seascouts sell donation boats and you could look in the classifieds of latitude 38. Everyone seems to get burned on boat deals, it's all part of the learning experience. Five K sounds like a good number, it's not to much money to begin your education. Happy boating and PM me with the boats your interested in, I can probably give you some info. -
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Re: Potential used L/A boat owner would love to meet with SF Bay liveaboarders.
Mon, July 9, 2007 - 8:06 PMTim - thank you for your advice.
That has been something Ive been hearing lately - to be cautious around boat deals for people trying to scam other people with boat sales. Would not have thought it would be anymore so than any other area, though with the potentially less obvious problem areas to a new boat owner i could see how it could be easy to a degree to obscure some issues with boats.
At this point, Ive reconsidered my interest and the motivations for living aboard a boat. especially the cost motivation I am learning is not really so advantageous as i had originally heard. With a slip and live-aboard fee it is already almost as much as what Im paying now for rent monthly. Add of course many additional maintenance fees, cramped living space, dampness which would not be good for all my loved books and health... suppose i will just keep coming to marinas and enjoying boats and the water from there for now.
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Re: Potential used L/A boat owner would love to meet with SF Bay liveaboarders.
Tue, July 10, 2007 - 10:25 PMI've lived aboard for years and enjoy the lifestyle. One could find a smaller glass sailboat and do pretty well. Many people that livaboard have a studio, storage unit or a van for clothes and some of their things. I would look at 27-30 foot glass sailboats that use an outboard for their auxilery. 5K down should get a pretty good boat. If you like it and want to continue to livaboard your first boat can be the downpayment for something in the 34-36 foot range. I like boats and I like living aboard and I've saved some money by doing so I think. Most likely I would have been money ahead by getting a condo or a small house, but that really isn't me. I would keep checking into the lifestyle, it's been a good ride for me, but don't let anyone sell you their problem.
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Re: Potential used L/A boat owner would love to meet with SF Bay liveaboarders.
Wed, July 11, 2007 - 12:14 AMis good to ask for an professional survey
many insurance company want that
and many marinas want the insurance
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Re: Potential used L/A boat owner would love to meet with SF Bay liveaboarders.
Thu, September 13, 2007 - 6:05 PMdon't expect a shower on board! but your marina will have very nice long running hot showers!!!!!
