Just left the Boston boat show and was totally blown away by some of the boats out there. Just curious if anybody here lives aboard or has ever lived aboard? Was thinking about it. It would be just me and my wife boat would be kept in south county to. mostly weekends at block and occasional cape/ north shore or Maine trips. If you have lived aboard or currently do, what has been your expirience? Positives and negatives. Also what type of boat/ accommodations? This is several years out for us but I am enamered by the possibilities

I lived aboard my boat for a summer before I moved to RI. Was interesting. Two biggest problems were lack of a real kitchen and having to put everything away and secured before I could leave the dock.

My childhood was pretty much living aboard a 60 foot steel ketch.
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My wife's concern was total lack of storage not having enough clothes or pots and pans or food storage
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Totally valid but it depends on the boat.
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My wife's concern was total lack of storage not having enough clothes or pots and pans or food storage
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We have this problem in our house.

Carrying groceries down icy, snowy gangway at low sucks.... Know your heating system intimately after choosing from available systems. I would suggest heading to the Keys by late October.....

Another big deal is staying on a dock vs a mooring.
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Another big deal is staying on a dock vs a mooring.
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Yes! moorings suck!

If you and your wife can tolerate each other in a very confined space I say go for it. The only thing stopping me from doing it is the kids. You could have a waterfront condo for a fraction of the price of a real condo and if you don't like your neighbors you just drive away.
We use my boat like a traveling beach house in the summer and we love it. I also have everything we need to stay aboard (full bathroom, kitchenette, bbq, heat, a/c etc.) When the kids are with us it gets a little crowded but that's all part of it.
If I was going to "LIVE" on a boat It would be a big ole tugboat and I would also have a second boat at the ready to fish on.

Freak that has been the thought process we loved the tug boat style the wife even said ooooo" this is nice. We would have a permit residence and the boat would be a summer thing at first. The thought of the freedom to just go anywhere you want is what is driving me. I would love to just pick up and check out all the newengland port towns. I would also love to do a cruise down to the keys for a winter just once in my life. This whole thing is many years down the road but I am completely obsessed with the thought and the freedom. We have a parker 1801 now and we love the time we spend fishing and hanging out. I think there will be a few boats I between the ultimate live aboard
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I know a lobsterman who takes his boat south for the winter. always thought that was pretty cool. good luck with this poncho. my wife and I talk about this stuff

Another thing to consider is that a lot of marinas will not permit live aboards, especially during the winter.

Ok the albin and cut water boats look perfect. The cut water looks a bit better for fishing because of the steering In the back. Don't think we would live aboard in the winter. The more I research this the more I feel like I want to be a part time live aboard full time seems to challenging. Confined space could be a tough thing
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I feel like I can add a lot more here as I have done this and am great friends with many who are doing it now, although on sailboats.

Newport harbor hotel and marina in Newport has an incredible situation for living aboard from October to May. You get full use of the hotel pool, bathrooms, sauna and coin op laundry and most importantly parking. I'd do it in a heart beat if I didn't work out of town. If I was retired I'd live at anchor in the salt pond on block island and do excursions to cuttyhunk and other islands, possibly Maine for summer and winter in Newport or run the gauntlet to the Bahamas. I will say if your wife is worried about space for clothing I can see issues arising down the road due to confinement issues and lack of space. As a kid doing this I sometimes felt like I was imprisoned when stuck on a boat at anchor and couldn't get off.

The biggest threat facing a live aboard person is the lack of anchorages and time limits for being at anchor- Newport is 14 days and then you have to leave town for 4 days with the boat before you can return if you are anchoring or rent a mooring for big $$$
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IMHO the ideal boat for live aboard living is a houseboat. But that requires a second boat for fishing, and many marinas/harbors do not permit houseboats. But they are built for maximum live aboard convenience. I'm thinking about buying one in FL for a winter place to stay.

This is my retirment plan. Sell everything. Buy a 50' SF, Live in NPT for the summers and BVI's in the winters.

This seems like a more realistic retirement for me at the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nhgfjrKi0o