Living in a small sailboat?

[vanvanvanvan123]

I have another thread here, that has led me to a deadend... then I thought of living on a boat. maintenance, storms, mildew security comes to mind
But my question is about "just dropping anchor" in a cove, as a boat owner from another part of the world suggested.
I live in a rather "anal" corporate city, San Diego.. I have to be here for business reasons.
Where in San Diego County could I feasibly live rent free, just drop my anchor?

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Ahoy
I had a sailboat for about 5 yrs in Fla/Gulf Coast. I often found free anchorage where I could use my "dink" it get to the "hill". Mine was a shoal draft (shallow draw), so I was able to get in closer in many cases...depending on tide levels. Sometimes I could find "honey holes" (deep spots) just offshore or by barrier islands and even swim in with a drybag containing town clothes. (on the boat was most often nude...no tan lines, LOL).
I also found lots of places I could dock (with permission) for a few hours to shop, etc. Some bars in coastal areas have docks and will even bring drinks/food right to your boat. A word with the shift mgr and off I'd go for supplies. (often I could rent a bike from an employee for a few bucks, if any....tips and drinks go a long way). I've spent the night tied to many of those docks....mostly NOT alone *wink wink* :angel:
Like an RV, there are dump (actually vac pumps) that suck waste tanks on city and some private docks and marinas for a small fee...fill fresh water tanks too
I ported out of Apalachicola, Fla (best oysters in the world, yum). I had a deal with the dock owner and did a few maintenance things for slip rent. I paid about $7-10/mo for shore power to run my battery charger.
I replaced a dock board once in a while and go along and bang in loose nails sometimes. (a friend looked out when I was gone). One year I ran all new city water lines (PVC) under the dock with connections at each slip. ("Dink" made a perfect work platform). Anyhoo, that got me in good graces for quite a while around there.

I haven't done any boating in SD since '65, so I have no idea how things are there now. I suggest you make an effort to meet up with a few boatdwellers and ask some questions. They might have some "hidy holes" that the landlubbers have no clue about. (not all are willing to share, but a few beers go a long way sometimes).

Working while traveling the coast...I wasn't looking for work, but sail boaters sorta stick together and info floats around waterfront bars. Being in the Deep South (hail Dixie), I had many offers to work on Antebellum homes, which is my craft. (accepted 1 that was mostly lathework and some detail chisel reproductions of gingerbread of the era) I also had space on "the hill" in Apalach where I did restoration on old stained glass panels when I wanted to hang around for a while.

Ok, I'm prolly boring the crap out of everyone about now, so I'll just say that I really enjoyed that time in my life and would do it again, BUT....I'm the type that does something faithfully while I'm doing it for a few years, then I move on to something else. I feel I've been fairly successful in my travels and staying afloat financially (barely) and I wouldn't trade my adventures for anything.

I'm open to any questions and will be as upfront as possible. There are many boating sites out there, but I haven't found any that aren't all snooty about their hole in the water.
So, in the spirit in which Bob began this site I'm pleased to do what I can for this mobile way of life.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I owned a 31 foot yawl and lived aboard in Vancouver BC, over a 6 year period, I lived aboard the first winter but found shore rooms over the others, It got too damp and smelly, summer was great, I imagine SD would be great all year round however I think it would be difficult to anchor out in SD because it is so close to the Mexican border and also it is a major city with a bunch of bylaws, I used to anchor out amongst the islands in the Pacific North west with no issue but I rented a slip in town for work, it still was pretty cheap living, rowing back and forth would get old in short time. I also think you would be playing cat and mouse with the authorities, in an open field. I think you would struggle with this idea but you should look into moorage cost because living on a boat is a great experience

 

[WheelEstate USA]

You can check around marinas for part time jobs in trade for a slip, but, believe me, marina mgrs have heard all the wannabe stories, so watch your rapp.
One buddy lives on a 45' boat, as a sitter, that stays tied up till the owner comes to use it a couple times a year. They put him up in a motel when the boat goes out for the week. They call, boat is made ready, and tip in pocket...thank you very much.

Margie has a brother that lives on a 60' and he goes out as a cook when the owner comes in 3-4 times a year. He's had some wild parties at the dock...even had the cops called once (nobody arrested). He gets a check all year.

 

[Patrick46]

I've heard that slips anywhere in SoCal are outrageously expensive, and even so, are extremely hard to come by.

It's gotten so bad down there, that many boat owners have actually taken their boats out to sea, and let 'em drift off. (tell the insurance company that the boat sank, collect your insurance $$, and no more boat or slip payments.)

then, apparently, there are guys who go out in powerboats, gather up these abandoned drifters, and tow 'em back to a work facility. Once there, they part 'em completely out, and either burn or cut up the hulls. (I haven't heard if they notify the insurance companies of their finds or not.)



personally, I'd LOVE to live on a sailboat in Hawaii, or Tahitti.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Maritime laws allow for salvaging, even floaters.
On the other hand, insurance companies will pay to expose fraud.

Old hulls make good reefs.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Vanvan, you don't mention any boating experience. In that case, unless you can afford to live at a slip and never cast off, forget about it. We used to belong to the Coast Guard Auxiliary and, more than once, rescued people who thought the Gulf was just a big pond. Boats are not the cheap way of living they might have been 40 years ago. Too many inconsiderate slobs tried to do it in a way that made everyone living aboard unwelcome - just like some conversations about rv/van dwellers.

You can read Pardey and Bradley and Hiscock and dream, but that was a couple generations ago. It's not like that anymore.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Jean, the Coasties are my heroes. Having been trained as a rescue swimmer by the Navy, I am very much in awe of their efforts.
Just wanted to say

True, things are different now, but I wouldn't call it a no go everywhere, tho I have no recent Calif experience.
When I got my boat (Hunter 32X) I had never sailed...except for a little Sunfish on a lake. I learned a lot along the Gulf Coast, including some Mexico. As a result, I'm pretty proficient single-hander and have ridden out a few hurricanes as well in that 5 yrs.

I'm not going to say it can't by done by even a beginner. I was only warned 1 time that I'd dropped my hook where I shouldn't have.

I think skydiving is nuts, why jump out of a good working plane :huh:
But....if someone wants to jump I'll wish them all the best.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Bindi&us, there are a few places around Tampa and St Pete where you can still drop a hook for a couple days. But even the ICW is not a good place for a newbie unless he gets some training. Heck, even Lake Michigan can kill you (almost did us in when we were newbies) if you don't know how to handle you yourself. But finding a place where you can anchor out for an extended periods and safely land a dinghy and keep a car and work would be tricky. Too many boaters dumping waste directly overboard, trespassing on or abusing private property, anchoring rundown wrecks and hanging out the laundry in front of million dollar condos, etc, etc, etc. The marinas that will allow liveaboards are getting fewer and they are raising prices. Townships are regulating liveaboards out and closing anchorages that used to be open and free.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Likewise, things are getting tougher for those of us on wheels too.
I don't see that stopping us from living the life.

We were all newbies the first time we took on any challenge.
Did that stop us from learning??

 

[jeanontheroad]

Training is not that hard to get. There are many orgs that offer some basic classes. Joining one, like the Auxiliary, will give vanvan access to experienced people to help him on a regular basis. When we switched from sail to motor, DH and son hired a licensed captain and sent DIL and me out with for the day. Both DH and son are too quick to get nervous and grab the wheel. We had to get rid of them for a while. DIL and I came back at the end of the day able to anchor single handed, dock the boat better than the guys did, judge how the boat was going to handle in wind and current, and generally be capable with our craft. DIL discovered the joy of tearing along at full throttle, hair and spray flying. She has been campaigning get to get rid of their pokey old sailboat and get a cigarette boat ever since.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Tell DIL to get her own fuel dock to go with that ciggy boat.

 

[jeanontheroad]

I think difference between learning as you go with rv'ing and boating is the potential consequences of screwing up. If you end up in a ditch at dusk in a cold rain in your van, you get out, cuss your bad luck, and wait for the tow truck in shelter. The kid we found at dusk, exposed on the turtled catamaran, being taken out to sea in a cold rain, was already hypothermia and would have died if we had not found him.

---

Bindi&us: get her own fuel dock

Me: you have that right!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

There's danger everywhere and death lurks in our paths somewhere.
Its good that it wasn't that fellows turn to go, but nothing could have stopped it from happening if it was meant to be.

 

[helinwheels]

I can't speak for San Diego, but I've sailed in Portland, Oregon for 7 years while living in a floating home which gave me more familiarity with people living on their sailboats. Liveaboards are kind of like van dwellers. Some people got their toes in the water by going online to crew in a race, which just takes a "suit up and show up" attitude around these parts. Some people took sailing lessons or sailed with a friend then worked up into buying a boat. I don't believe sailing is as exclusive as it once was. There are far more women and minorities taking the helm. And remember, the spendy yachters always need crew; preferably non paid.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

when I bought my sailboat I had zero knowledge, I sat for three hours looking down on it at the brokers trying to muster the courage to move it across to my newly rented slip which I could see on the other side a couple of hundred meters away. I knew how to start it and engage the gears. I managed, I got the training shortly after,' so much so, that I became certified advanced sailing instructor, Once you have a boat you are motivated, at the time, 1987, there was a lot of talk about no liveaboard marinas, impossible, bylaws, not like it used to be etc etc.. I managed to live aboard for the next 6 years for at least 8 months of the year at five different marinas, I worked and had a shore vehicle, despite some not allowing it officially and logged thousand of knots, many singlehanded. Once you want to do something you find a way.

 

[akrvbob]

flyng kurbmaster2 wrote:
Once you want to do something you find a way.
= = = = = = = = = =

Now that is the vandwelling attitude! :shy:
Bob

 

[helinwheels]

Yep, it's the old saw: when there's a will there's a way

 

[johnd]

If you register your boat outside of sd county can use the a9 anchorage for 3mts a year
Save that for winter , the rest of the year you can harbor hop between la playa , glorietta
, mariners cove in mission bay and behind the break water at the entrance to sd bay .
No rent no insurance no problem.The great thing is that in so cal ones boat neednt be all that sea worthy

 

[spd2918]

I just picked up a 17 foot sailboat called a Lofland Picnic ( http://www.rvharvey.com/picnic.htm ). It's the red and white one pictured towards the bottom.

I plan on a cruise down the Mississippi with a kicker motor. Living in such a small space will give me lots of ideas on how I will set up my van.