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Bandit240 · May 5, 2006, 12:02 AM

Well ive been planning this for years, but never had the balls to go ahead and do it. Well the right boat found me and the price was hard to beat. Found a 1972 36' Pearson sloop for sale at a local boat yard for cheap. Turned out the boat had no motor, hence the reason it was cheap. That was about the middle of march that i found it. Within 1 week of making a deal with the owner i had an outboard mounted to it ready to be set in the water. We,ve been living onboard since April and loving it. Frist week on was at anchor, had to dingy back and forth everyday. Next 2 weeks were at a local marina that we anchored next to wile we fit a larger motor on the back. Now were at a nice high class(but ****ty) marina. Might be going back to the frist one soon(at least they had cable). Enough typing, PICS........

Our slip at the frist Marina. Slip D13, long walk but not too bad. Cool guy in the trawler next to us.

At the fuel dock where we are now. Didnt get in untill 7pm and the marina had closed, so we tied up at the fuel dock for the night.

Our current slip, I11, 1/4mile walk to the fuel dock, bath house, parking, and ships store.

Sailing last weekend. When this pic was snapped, we had full jib sail out doing 10mph with the startboard rail in the water.

The galley. Home cooked meals everynight.

Nav station, otherwise known as my office right now.

Veiw of the main cabin from the nav station.

The sunset i get to watch everynight. This one was tonights.

d4nth3m4n · May 5, 2006, 12:09 AM

that's awesome. where are you/ what body of water is that?

greenamp · May 5, 2006, 12:10 AM

Very cool, grats!

waxcrash · May 5, 2006, 12:12 AM

That's awesome. Cool pics.

Bandit240 · May 5, 2006, 12:15 AM

We're on Bohicket Creek, behind Seabrook Island SC. Right on the other side of the island is the ocean.

Bandit240 · May 5, 2006, 12:17 AM

The sailing pics was taken in Botany Bay, right next to Seabrook Island. The frist pics from the frist marina were on the Stono River, between James Island and Johns Island.

nredman · May 5, 2006, 06:12 AM

cool floating home

dcmacdaddy · May 5, 2006, 08:26 AM

NICE!

I spent a year living on the waterfront here in Washington, DC. Nothing beats waking up
to a chorus of quacking ducks or going to sleep listening to the wind humming in the rigging.

Enjoy!

Bandit240 · May 5, 2006, 09:18 AM

I dont mind the ducks quacking, or the humming of the rigging, but a line slapping on the mast will drive you nuts. Theres an abandonded boat down from me that was slapping real bad one night in a storm. 3am, rain and stong winds didnt stop me from tieing off that line. Trying to see what it would take to get that boat as an investement.

cjrivera · May 5, 2006, 09:25 AM

Very, very cool.
Congrats.

abe · May 5, 2006, 09:42 AM

You are a hero (to some degree or another) to THOUSANDS who would love to live your lifestyle.

I can read it in your posts that you KNOW how fortunate you are. And that's nice to behold. In fact, it's the thing that allows me to feel happy for you. Nice guy who was smart and worked hard and had a dream and the courage to take the step!

GOOD FOR YOU!

Thanks for sharing your joy.

I wish you "fair winds and following seas!"

ghporter · May 5, 2006, 09:57 AM

How are marina fees? I looked at that sort of thing once (a long time ago) and fees were killer!

And what's your broadband connection? Freedom at sea is one thing, but I gotta have the Internet!

euphras · May 5, 2006, 10:40 AM

Very cool thread! *GORGEOUS*
Did you skip land based home completely?
And pls more pics

DeeKat · May 5, 2006, 10:51 AM

Félicitattion!! (congrats in french)

Well I must say I envy you. Here in Montreal (Canada) we cant'n leave our boats in the water for winter. My dad always had a sailboat (Odyssey 35') and now Me and my girlfriend are taking the relay as he's getting to old to do all the maintenance. I love sailing so much! If I could live on a boat I would.

Enjoy!!!

Dr Reducto · May 5, 2006, 10:56 AM

Care to give us a breakdown of the costs you've encountered so far?

Im curious what kind of outlay it is to buy the boat, and keep it afloat in a classy marina

BigBadWolf · May 5, 2006, 11:37 AM

I have one question that I have always wanted to ask someone who lives solely on a boat. What is the allure of not having a house and living on a boat? I fully understand owning a boat and going sailing or boating, but I just do not understand not having a house. if this came off as curt, that is not my intention, I am genuinely curious.

cjrivera · May 5, 2006, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by BigBadWolf

I have one question that I have always wanted to ask someone who lives solely on a boat. What is the allure of not having a house and living on a boat? I fully understand owning a boat and going sailing or boating, but I just do not understand not having a house. if this came off as curt, that is not my intention, I am genuinely curious.

"Wow! A houseboat! You know the great thing is, if you don't like your neighbors, you can just pull up the anchor and sail some place else! Heheheheh! ..." - Homer Simpson

...also, you wouldn't have to mow the lawn.

Judge_Fire · May 5, 2006, 12:27 PM

Cool

Drop by sometime, the Baltic Sea is nice for sailing - no tide, tens of thousands of islands, excellent maps, nice cities and endless sunshine almost around the clock*.

J

*available as a time limited offer between may - august

Bandit240 · May 5, 2006, 01:22 PM

Right now its costing me about $700/month for rent(boat payment and marina fees). Really not a bad price since the decent apartments in our area go for $1500/month. Yea i pretty much skipped a real house and went right to the boat. Im 21, my wife is 23 and our kid just turned 1. Right now the biggest cost ive got is fuel back and forth for the trucks. Its a long way to the marina we are at right now, hence why we are going back to the frist marina. As for my internet connection, its not bad, but its not great. Ive got a Verizon LG VX8100 that i use as a bluetooth modem to connect. My wife is doing a work from home thing so she is going to have my computer. I plan on getting a 17'' Powerbook G4 and the verizon aircard for it.

Spliffdaddy · May 5, 2006, 01:47 PM

Me and my wife lived on our boat for about 8 months while we remodeled a house. It was a great experience, although not always fun or convenient. I don't know if I would do it again. Those cold, early morning trips to the bath house...the storms that kept us awake all night....dropping car keys, books, etc into the water while trying to board the boat....the weekly trek to the dump station in order to empty the waste tanks. Looking back, it seemed like a lot of bad stuff. Yet I still remember it as being worthwhile. At least it was a cheap way to live. I think the slip rental was about $250/month including water and electric, and the view alone was worth more than that.

climber · May 5, 2006, 02:14 PM

Very cool,

Back in the late 70's we had a Pearson 44 ketch we used to sail on in Lake Michigan outside downtown Chicago. I learned to love sailing on that boat. Pearsons' always had such nice lines for a cruising sailboat.

Now I own something much smaller and much faster, an Ultimate 20. It's an asymmetrical sport boat similar to the Melges 24.