Frequently Asked Questions

Is it really a dream lifestyle?

     Who hasn't dreamed of chucking it all, moving onto a boat, and sailing to far-away places with strange-sounding names? Sailing off into the sunset may be just a distant dream, but living on a boat is still an appealing lifestyle. It combines the serenity of nature with the promise of adventure - and always offers a waterfront view. As one Connecticut liveaboard who commutes from his New York City job to his home afloat put it: "I am the view they pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for . . . And if people think life aboard is roughing it, they haven't seen my boat — my life is good!"
     Living aboard is a dream many share and more and more are achieving. As jobs become more flexible, home offices become more powerful, and people demand more from their lives, the trend is on the rise. Many thousands of people from all walks of life live on all kinds of boats, forming a diverse community with a wide range of personal interests and experience. It is a lifestyle that transcends economic and social boundaries. A sailor in Seattle described the liveaboard community in his marina as comprised of engineers, nurses, mechanics, naval architects, entrepreneurs and salespeople. There are families with young children who live aboard, there are retired couples, single men and women, college students, and nine-to-five professionals. They live wherever there is water on all kinds of boats — of all sizes and makes. They live on lakes and rivers and oceans, north and south, east and west, in all kinds of climates. Some live in marinas, some live on the hook, some cruise, some stay put, leading different lives in different places. What they hold in common is a fierce independence, love of the water and a spirit of adventure. They are a community, albeit a diverse one, bound by their unique lifestyle.
     So why do people live on their boats? The best way to learn who lives aboard and why is to hear first-hand from those who have dared to realize their dream. There are as many stories out there as there are liveaboards, and here we tell you a few of the best.

How do I choose a boat?

     Buying a boat is a huge undertaking. The search alone eats time and money and can chew you up emotionally. One Living Aboard reader estimated he spent over $16,000 on research materials, telephone and travel costs before he found a suitable boat. Others spend less than this amount on the entire boat. While it is true that the process of finding the right boat for living aboard can be lengthy and frustrating, it can also be loads of fun. As you look at boats — and visit as many as you can — you'll begin to see your dream take shape.
     It is likely that your idea of the perfect boat will change as your search progresses. Keep in mind that a boat that is fine for weekends or short trips may not be a good boat on which to live full time. Give a lot of thought to not only what you intend to do with the boat but how you live on a daily basis.
So where do you start? You can find a lot of help in books, magazines and on the Internet. Best of all, walk the docks, visit boats, talk to other liveaboards. Most boat owners like to talk about their boats and show them off. You will find, by the way, that the boats you tour will start to blend together in your mind. The more boats you see, the harder it will be to remember the particulars of each. If you can, take a video camera to record your visits. You'll not only have a record of what the boat looked like, but also of your comments and the comments of the broker or owner as he or she shows you around.
     Once you start looking at boats, you'll know what you want even if you can't articulate it. You'll be able to walk into a marina and tell by looking which boats you would like and which are not for you. You'll develop a feeling for a certain boat and when you find that boat she'll be beautiful and just the boat for you. You'll fall in love.

How much does it cost?

     Once the dream of living aboard begins to take shape, reality intrudes with the question, "What will it cost?" One answer is, "How much do you have?" It can cost as much to live on a boat as it does to live on land — it all depends on your lifestyle. Some people cheerfully eat macaroni and cheese, others won't leave the dock without a pasta maker. Some live for a month on what it takes another to pay the cell phone bill.
     Living Aboard surveys show that most fulltime liveaboards have retirement or investment income; others, however, choose to begin enjoying their boats while still working, keeping their jobs on land and commuting from their boat. A select few move their office or business aboard. And some take their retirement in pieces, cruising until the money runs low and then dropping anchor and obtaining temporary jobs to refill the cruising kitty.

How will I ever lose enough "stuff" to make the move?

     Making the decision to trade life on land for life on the water is the easy part. The real work comes after you've worked out a budget, bought the boat, and informed your boss. How will you pack a 30-year accumulation of stuff filling a 3,000-square-foot house into a 300-square-foot boat? What will you tell your friends and family? And what will you do with the stuff you can't bear to part with but can't take onto the boat?
Some people do it in stages, moving from a house to an apartment before making the final move onto their boat. Others rent storage spaces in which to keep the things they want to keep, although more than one person has reported being seriously annoyed about paying good money to store stuff they never looked at again. However you do it, however hard it is, the payoff is an exhilarating sense of freedom and lightness of being.

How does living aboard affect the family?

     Moving aboard is a big decision for anyone, but things really get complicated when children are involved. Parents who are faced with that decision have many questions: What will the kids miss? What will they gain? Will closer family ties compensate for leaving behind that best friend? And what about their education? Will college admissions officers understand that the kid who studied biology on a boat has firsthand knowledge that can't be learned in a lab?
     Families who raise children aboard swear there is no other way to do it. These "boat-schooled" kids learn to be curious, independent, responsible, and above all they're not addicted to television. Furthermore, a 1999 study by the Home School Legal Defense Association revealed that homeschooled children score well above the national median on standardized tests. Experts attribute the home-schoolers' success in large part to their family situations. We would add that boat-schooled children have the extra advantage of the rich experiences that come with living aboard.
     Family pets are another issue. Cats generally do very well and, in fact, cats aboard ships are a time-honored tradition. Dogs, however, take some special accommodation, which, if you are cruising, may be a mild understatement. Michael Beattie and his wife, Layne Goldman, cruise with their dogs, Emma and Debs, and he says that there are days when he wants to send the pair of them right off the planet. But most of the time Emma and Debs enrich their lives and their cruise. So who among us could leave behind their best friend and loyal member of the family? Not me, and I bet not you either.