Boat Rentals

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MacDoc said:
Aside from the rare cyclone ( with lots of mangroves to hide in ) - Cairns seems a nice area to live on a boat. Partner did for many years as a couple with her husband at the time and for a while with her kid.
Just curious if this could be lived in successfully.
View attachment 74960

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What would be the added costs for living year round?
Curious more than anything but seems low cost housing.

Seems a thing
www.abc.net.au

Single, older women are selling their homes to live on boats in marinas

Living aboard a boat has many advantages, offering residents a sense of community, security and a flexible lifestyle. For this reason, some women are giving up their homes on land to live on the water.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

this is 350 km south.
www.breakwatermarina.com.au

Living in the Marina | Breakwater Marina

www.breakwatermarina.com.au www.breakwatermarina.com.au
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I knew a couple that lived aboard an ocean going 35 footer in Port Credit. Ocean going meant small ports so gloomy. Built in storage for voyage provisions made it more cramped than a lake boat.

He was retired and wore blue jeans and tee shirts most of the time.

She worked and needed a bigger wardrobe assortment. Mildew was a constant concern. Showering was at the clubhouse as was pooping in winter. Slippery docks.

Not for everyone.
 
Did it yrs ago when I took a sabbatical and spent a yr in the Caribbean. Forty three ft. Groceries on board , garbage off board , it’s hot / it’s cold , it’s raining . I’d do it again . If you can live at anchor it’s one thing , marinas get very expensive quickly . Bahamas now charge seven hundred bucks for a “cruising permit “ . Other islands will follow . I’m happier having a house and going to the boat when I want to .


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Mildew is perennial issue in the tropics anyway
As stated like cozy quarters
Winter is not an issue here
Uncertain on slip cost for a year and insurance
So many living in rv quarters and a liveable one is more than that boat
Seems to have been nicely upgraded. Any thoughts on the equipment provided and things not covered
Cairns forty foot slip cost therefore range from $3,600 to $5,760, plus additional fees like those for electricity

Wonder if that is doable on a single 1500 month pension. Easier with 2
 
MacDoc said:
Mildew is perennial issue in the tropics anyway
As stated like cozy quarters
Winter is not an issue here
Uncertain on slip cost for a year and insurance
So many living in rv quarters and a liveable one is more than that boat
Seems to have been nicely upgraded. Any thoughts on the equipment provided and things not covered
Cairns forty foot slip cost therefore range from $3,600 to $5,760, plus additional fees like those for electricity

Wonder if that is doable on a single 1500 month pension. Easier with 2
Click to expand...
Price comparisons are extremely subjective if we're talking about used. Age is a big factor.

When you say RV I'm picturing a trailer / caravan rather than a motorhome.

In the case of the latter, there's a reason 20+ year old ones are all over the place at a few percent of replacement value. The roofs leak. The motors and transmissions leak. Their weight usually means repairs have to be done by heavy truck mechanics.

Wiring can be complex and well hidden in walls.

Surprisingly insurance rates can be low because people don't drive them a lot.

Park model RV's over a few decades old can have issues with chassis rust. If you try to move them, they fold up like a wet cardboard box. Roofs and windows leak, floors rot out. Upholstery is often not suitable for full time living

The boat needs a very good survey and not all surveyors are good. Things falling off at the wrong time (Masts and keels) will make for a bad day. Everything is expensive.

I don't know why old, good looking boats sell so cheap. When and if you tire of it, you will find out why.

If you're thinking of a DIY fix up there are YouTube videos of couples that did it and the unexpected expenses.

Re the $1500 a month, yes two would be better but does she have a sister ($4500 month)
 
If you buy a cheap boat to live on and you park it on a mooring ball , taking the dingy everywhere isn’t for everyone. Tied to a dock and you have that expense , it’s probably still cheaper than an apartment. If you have mobility issues don’t even consider it .


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What apartment could be bought for $40-50k you could live in.?
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It might appeal to the same crowd up here in the tropics that are living in RVs

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and 1 Bedroom apartments are much much more

I could live with this ...it's ground floor and just enough space but partner wouldn't.
It's her money so I have little say in it.
She lived on a boat even further north for years and with a kid for a while. Has no interest and really would be a chore for me tho a docked boat I might manage....not a moored boat with dingy.
Wants a 3 Bedroom ground floor something but hard to come by under $500k.
We're hoping it all goes through with the kids property adding a decent granny flat.
 
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I don’t think one can really compare living in an apartment building…to living on a boat…

Two completely different things and living on a boat will have its own costs associated with it…but living in an apartment is living like a normal typical situation.

The thought would never cross my mind to compare, but I guess if it’s an option it seems like a decent one.

If you don’t like your neighbours…you just leave…
 
MacDoc said:
What apartment could be bought for $40-50k you could live in.?
View attachment 74984
It might appeal to the same crowd up here in the tropics that are living in RVs

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and 1 Bedroom apartments are much much more

I could live with this ...it's ground floor and just enough space but partner wouldn't.
It's her money so I have little say in it.
She lived on a boat even further north for years and with a kid for a while. Has no interest and really would be a chore for me tho a docked boat I might manage....not a moored boat with dingy.
Wants a 3 Bedroom ground floor something but hard to come by under $500k.
We're hoping it all goes through with the kids property adding a decent granny flat.
Click to expand...
You can't directly compare prices for buildings and land. Land is most of the money and an appreciating asset. Buildings/boats/campers are depreciating assets. Amazon in the US sells tiny homes for $10K. I'd rather live in that than a derelict boat. Finding a place you can put it and legally live it in is very hard. I think municipal resistance is more political than practical/h&s related.
 
Not talking derelict boat - talking a livable boat.
Doesn't matter appreciating asset if you don't have 300k to buy in.

So for mental exercise and you lived in the mild climate here.
What would you do with $50k to find a place to live not renting? Say you got a sudden inheritance and you are jobless and homeless.
The campgrounds around here are full of families with no assets other than an RV/house trailer or tent so this is not far fetched. Most will have a small income source from the Aus safety net.
Many are living in a car. Is the $40k boat viable?
Is a $40k RV/Trailer a better approach

I like tiny homes as well but NIMBY rules....hell some people can't even put them on land they own.
Boats at least have a viable place to park with facilities and seems a built in social milieu.
 
MacDoc said:
Not talking derelict boat - talking a livable boat.
Doesn't matter appreciating asset if you don't have 300k to buy in.

So for mental exercise and you lived in the mild climate here.
What would you do with $50k to find a place to live not renting? Say you got a sudden inheritance and you are jobless and homeless.
The campgrounds around here are full of families with no assets other than an RV/house trailer or tent so this is not far fetched. Most will have a small income source from the Aus safety net.
Many are living in a car. Is the $40k boat viable?
Is a $40k RV/Trailer a better approach

I like tiny homes as well but NIMBY rules....hell some people can't even put them on land they own.
Boats at least have a viable place to park with facilities and seems a built in social milieu.
Click to expand...
Some jurisdictions are clamping down on people abusing mooring out on a cheap boat. The yacht clubs and condo owners don't appreciate the boats blocking the view.
 
MacDoc said:
Not talking derelict boat - talking a livable boat.
Doesn't matter appreciating asset if you don't have 300k to buy in.

So for mental exercise and you lived in the mild climate here.
What would you do with $50k to find a place to live not renting? Say you got a sudden inheritance and you are jobless and homeless.
The campgrounds around here are full of families with no assets other than an RV/house trailer or tent so this is not far fetched. Most will have a small income source from the Aus safety net.
Many are living in a car. Is the $40k boat viable?
Is a $40k RV/Trailer a better approach

I like tiny homes as well but NIMBY rules....hell some people can't even put them on land they own.
Boats at least have a viable place to park with facilities and seems a built in social milieu.
Click to expand...
It's hard to compare Canada and Australia but a lot of problems eventually go global.

Here a live aboard sized boat, ~40 years old, could be had for $30K-$40K where a new one of that size would be ten times the price. Keep in mind, fiberglass gets weaker as it ages and how it was handled is also a factor.

If the oldie looks shabby and you have reasonable skills a DIY paint job does wonders for a modest outlay but is it safe to put in the water?

Anything underwater has to be solid, intakes and the keel. A lot of keels are basically bolted on. Then there's the propulsion system, sails, rigging and auxiliary power.

Having a beer or two on board doesn't take much but to live aboard means refrigeration, cooking and sewage systems, all expensive to fix or replace.

Recreational house trailers have similar problems up here and the industry is known for shabby construction and poor warranty service. I'd trust a 40 year old boat more than I'd trust a 20 year old RV.

Parks are changing as well. Private equity is buying up parks, upping rates and pushing out older units. Since most parks here are seasonal, the landlord tenant act doesn't apply.

Nimby applies to RVs and boats. People don't want an outdated unit next to their posh model.

There are links between mental and physical health. If you aren't happy it seems to affect your body. Add living in compromised conditions and it gets worse. In Toronto, full CPP and OAS pays for a so-so apartment, food extra.

If you had a $30K-40K windfall here, you could buy a used Sprinter van and go van life but where do you park it and winter sucks.

I can think of several ways the various governments could make things easier for those struggling to get a foothold on life but the nanny staters, and system abusers would pollute the efforts.
 
MacDoc said:
What apartment could be bought for $40-50k you could live in.?
View attachment 74984
It might appeal to the same crowd up here in the tropics that are living in RVs

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and 1 Bedroom apartments are much much more

I could live with this ...it's ground floor and just enough space but partner wouldn't.
It's her money so I have little say in it.
She lived on a boat even further north for years and with a kid for a while. Has no interest and really would be a chore for me tho a docked boat I might manage....not a moored boat with dingy.
Wants a 3 Bedroom ground floor something but hard to come by under $500k.
We're hoping it all goes through with the kids property adding a decent granny flat.
Click to expand...
Some do it, even up here in the frozen north year-round. The yacht club here in Hamilton has a few all-year liveaboards that make their way through winter. A few other clubs and marinas around the GTA have the same.

I think it's cheaper than traditional housing, but comes with so many headaches and compromises that it's very much only for a certain type. You have to be savvy about boats and boat maintenance, etc, plus it's just not very comfortable. Cramped quarters, pumping out sewage, tiny shower, all adds up to basically camping all the time, with an added threat of drowning. Old boats are cheap but need constant maintenance, new boats are often badly made and can cost as much as a house. Maintenance and parts are eye-wateringly expensive, and in the case of older or rarer boats, parts can be impossible to find, requiring expensive custom machining etc.

It's far from ideal, especially as you get older and things like crawling into an engine compartment to repack the stuffing box while you hang upside down and backwards start to become harder to do. Or climbing what is essentially a 3-4 step ladder every time you enter or exit the cabin, or navigating around stays while on deck. Doing it as a couple is even more challenging, as finding your own space when someone is being irritating is all but impossible. Like any close-proximity living, tiny irritations can add up to murderous rage when compounded over enough time.

To me, it makes most sense to do it somewhere warm and cheap in your early retirement years, when you can up sticks without a care, and use the novelty of new surroundings to offset the challenges of living on a boat. Plenty do exactly that by cruising the Caribbean, where an entire economy exists to service liveaboards. But it gets harder and harder to manage with age. My parents are members of a yacht club in Toronto, and 10 years ago could probably count five couples they knew who were liveaboards, some full-time in the Caribbean, some who would sail back and forth seasonally. Now, all of them are back in Ontario and living on land.
 
Priller said:
Some do it, even up here in the frozen north year-round. The yacht club here in Hamilton has a few all-year liveaboards that make their way through winter. A few other clubs and marinas around the GTA have the same.

I think it's cheaper than traditional housing, but comes with so many headaches and compromises that it's very much only for a certain type. You have to be savvy about boats and boat maintenance, etc, plus it's just not very comfortable. Cramped quarters, pumping out sewage, tiny shower, all adds up to basically camping all the time, with an added threat of drowning. Old boats are cheap but need constant maintenance, new boats are often badly made and can cost as much as a house. Maintenance and parts are eye-wateringly expensive, and in the case of older or rarer boats, parts can be impossible to find, requiring expensive custom machining etc.

It's far from ideal, especially as you get older and things like crawling into an engine compartment to repack the stuffing box while you hang upside down and backwards start to become harder to do. Or climbing what is essentially a 3-4 step ladder every time you enter or exit the cabin, or navigating around stays while on deck. Doing it as a couple is even more challenging, as finding your own space when someone is being irritating is all but impossible. Like any close-proximity living, tiny irritations can add up to murderous rage when compounded over enough time.

To me, it makes most sense to do it somewhere warm and cheap in your early retirement years, when you can up sticks without a care, and use the novelty of new surroundings to offset the challenges of living on a boat. Plenty do exactly that by cruising the Caribbean, where an entire economy exists to service liveaboards. But it gets harder and harder to manage with age. My parents are members of a yacht club in Toronto, and 10 years ago could probably count five couples they knew who were liveaboards, some full-time in the Caribbean, some who would sail back and forth seasonally. Now, all of them are back in Ontario and living on land.
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Depending on yc rules, you may be able to solve some of your issues by buying a boat that is no longer self propelled. Boat with no viable propulsion equals cheaper to buy. No mast means no stays. No propeller means you can semi-permanently (or permanently) seal most or all of the below water penetrations which are far less likely to leak than penetrations which allow movement and motion. If the yacht requires boats to be able to move under their own power, a few hp outboard is more than enough to maneuver around the harbor. Many yc will shut down this path as they want beauty queens not boats in the twilight of their careers.
 
The last time I moved to CA, I lived on a 34' trawler in Marina Del Rey. I loved it!
Priller said:
Some do it, even up here in the frozen north year-round. The yacht club here in Hamilton has a few all-year liveaboards that make their way through winter. A few other clubs and marinas around the GTA have the same.

I think it's cheaper than traditional housing, but comes with so many headaches and compromises that it's very much only for a certain type. You have to be savvy about boats and boat maintenance, etc, plus it's just not very comfortable. Cramped quarters, pumping out sewage, tiny shower, all adds up to basically camping all the time, with an added threat of drowning. Old boats are cheap but need constant maintenance, new boats are often badly made and can cost as much as a house. Maintenance and parts are eye-wateringly expensive, and in the case of older or rarer boats, parts can be impossible to find, requiring expensive custom machining etc.

It's far from ideal, especially as you get older and things like crawling into an engine compartment to repack the stuffing box while you hang upside down and backwards start to become harder to do. Or climbing what is essentially a 3-4 step ladder every time you enter or exit the cabin, or navigating around stays while on deck. Doing it as a couple is even more challenging, as finding your own space when someone is being irritating is all but impossible. Like any close-proximity living, tiny irritations can add up to murderous rage when compounded over enough time.

To me, it makes most sense to do it somewhere warm and cheap in your early retirement years, when you can up sticks without a care, and use the novelty of new surroundings to offset the challenges of living on a boat. Plenty do exactly that by cruising the Caribbean, where an entire economy exists to service liveaboards. But it gets harder and harder to manage with age. My parents are members of a yacht club in Toronto, and 10 years ago could probably count five couples they knew who were liveaboards, some full-time in the Caribbean, some who would sail back and forth seasonally. Now, all of them are back in Ontario and living on land.
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My last club at the bluffs had 2 year rounders. It’s cheap, but not easy. The annual slip fees were about $3500 for a 12’ beam and included power from April till October. $100/mo for winter hydro, so add another $500.

No property tax.

Our clubhouse was open year round, members had access to locker room restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, and TV room, wifi pretty much to themselves over the winter).

So, that part is cheap.

If I were to do it, I’d pickup an older Roamer (steel hull) or Marinette(aluminum hull). Well sorted 34-40 footers come and go for $20k or less.

Overwintering requires a good bubbler, and a decent aux diesel heater.
 
GreyGhost said:
Depending on yc rules, you may be able to solve some of your issues by buying a boat that is no longer self propelled. Boat with no viable propulsion equals cheaper to buy. No mast means no stays. No propeller means you can semi-permanently (or permanently) seal most or all of the below water penetrations which are far less likely to leak than penetrations which allow movement and motion. If the yacht requires boats to be able to move under their own power, a few hp outboard is more than enough to maneuver around the harbor. Many yc will shut down this path as they want beauty queens not boats in the twilight of their careers.
Click to expand...
Some clubs also have minimum tabs. TBH I'd get tired of a berth neighbour that constantly complained about fuel prices, pump out costs, insurance costs, etc. To most boating is a hobby and money makes it fun.
 
nobbie48 said:
Some clubs also have minimum tabs. TBH I'd get tired of a berth neighbour that constantly complained about fuel prices, pump out costs, insurance costs, etc. To most boating is a hobby and money makes it fun.
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I forgot the $200 mo tab. No biggie as the prices for food were a relative bargain. Big Breakfast for $10, decent supper $25.
 
I just stayed overnite at Cathedral Bluffs Scarborough , cheap restaurant, terrible service . Nice place otherwise .


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Mad Mike said:
I forgot the $200 mo tab. No biggie as the prices for food were a relative bargain. Big Breakfast for $10, decent supper $25.
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When or where was this? A friend was looking at one and the monthly tab was $500. Your prices are pre Covid.

The club is great if it works for clients. You're hooked for the fee anyways.
 
My club is one fifty per quarter , eleven hundred per yr membership Dock is thirty five hundred and winter on hard is two K . By parking winter at the club I save fifteen hundred over municipal rates which pay my annual membership. Drinking a couple hundred a month is no issue with my social circle. I budget ten k a yr since the boat is raced a lot .its usually twelve plus but we don’t talk about it a lot at home .


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crankcall said:
My club is one fifty per quarter , eleven hundred per yr membership Dock is thirty five hundred and winter on hard is two K . By parking winter at the club I save fifteen hundred over municipal rates which pay my annual membership. Drinking a couple hundred a month is no issue with my social circle. I budget ten k a yr since the boat is raced a lot .its usually twelve plus but we don’t talk about it a lot at home .


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Click to expand...
My club was $3500 for my 34x12 beam and included winter on the hard. Cradle was my expense and lift/launch was $400 if I did it on lift day. Boats were craned out, no launch, and ther was a set in and out day each season.

Shrink was another $1000, I tarped.
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