Live aboard and where to do so

Zach312

Zach312

Active Member
SILVER Sponsor
Jan 23, 2011
825
Nashville, TN
Boat Info
2008 Sea Ray 47 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Cummins QSC-600
Kicking around the idea of relocating to an area we could live aboard full time.

So for those of you who are doing it or live in the southern part of the country

1. Suggestions for good citys/towns/marinas/location to live aboard. We will be working full time at least to start. I have been thinking FL, Carolina's, maybe even TN rivers?

2. Boat suggestions? We have the 610 sundancer on our short list.
 
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I think you will find it difficult to have a 60'+ boat on an inland lake.....there are some lakes large enough in the SE but finding docking and access to diesel/pump out docks could be challenging.....I would suggest either a coastal location or on the eastern intracoastal waterway.....

there are many very nice coastal cities in the SE that have excellent boating year round.....I am sure some members that live in those areas will chime in....

good luck.......and I am very jealous....:)......

cliff
 
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If I were going to live aboard, just my wife and I, with that kind of budget I'd be looking at a single stateroom Sport Fish / Convertible in the 50' range. Wide open, big galley, huge cockpit and fewer stairs to deal with on a daily basis.
 
I would think n '08 47DB would do the job!
 
+1 - Having a hard time understanding why you would dump the boat you have - it has a great master stateroom/head - I have not spent a ton of time on a 60DA, But I know the 47 pretty well and it seems like a great liveaboard for a couple.....plus yours seams in great shape and you already own it - move it to Ft Lauderdale (great weather year round and a very accessible airport with direct flights to just about anywhere) and enjoy!
 
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I'm with Ducky on that. If you wanna be in the south, Chattanooga or even a little further up river like Chicamaugua would be Ideal. There are a pantload of Marinas there. Also there is Watts Bar Lake. There are a couple of Nice Marinas on Guntersville Lake, but I don't know what the live aboard rules are. Alred, Guntersville Marina, and down river to Ditto or Lucy's Branch are some of the major players.
I really like the boat you currently have now, looks like plenty of boat to live on, and has a great layout.
Gotta warn you though, some of us Southern Boys will just come over uninvited and bring Beer, Whiskey, and steaks...Just to see how y'all are..
 
First consideration for me would be a place where you don’t have to winterize.
Second woul be a place that hurricanes aren’t a frequent occurrence.
Can’t imagine it being a lot of fun living on a winterized boat or worrying about losing all your belongings a couple of times a year if a hurricane rips through your marina.
Proximity to a decent sized airport with frequent flights back to where family is would be on the list.
A state with either no income tax, or very low income or personal tax would be most desirable for me. Especially a place that doesn’t beat you over the head in tax for your boat and cars every year.
Lastly, I’d look for a place that has some good destinations within a few hours cruise radius so you’d be able to have a nice change of scenery on selected long weekends or vacations. That would probably be good for you and the boat. Even living on a 60’ Boat might feel a bit monotonous if you don’ do something to change things up a bit every once in a while.
 
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CliffA said:
I think you will find it difficult to have a 60'+ boat on an inland lake.....there are some lakes large enough in the SE but finding docking and access to diesel/pump out docks could be challenging.....I would suggest either a coastal location or on the eastern intracoastal waterway.....

there are many very nice coastal cities in the SE that have excellent boating year round.....I am sure some members that live in those areas will chime in....

good luck.......and I am very jealous....:)......

cliff
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Agreed inland lakes are off the list. Options are SE coast, East coast of FL, or southern part of the river system. We don't know much about the west side of FL but are open to learning more.
 
Ididntdoit said:
+1 - Having a hard time understanding why you would dump the boat you have - it has a great master stateroom/head - I have not spent a ton of time on a 60DA, But I know the 47 pretty well and it seems like a great liveaboard for a couple.....plus yours seams in great shape and you already own it - move it to Ft Lauderdale (great weather year round and a very accessible airport with direct flights to just about anywhere) and enjoy!
Click to expand...

It is an option and not off the table. For my work flights would be important. We will keep FT Lauderdale on the list. The east side of FL appeals to me due to proximity to the Bahamas
 
DarkJester said:
I'm with Ducky on that. If you wanna be in the south, Chattanooga or even a little further up river like Chicamaugua would be Ideal. There are a pantload of Marinas there. Also there is Watts Bar Lake. There are a couple of Nice Marinas on Guntersville Lake, but I don't know what the live aboard rules are. Alred, Guntersville Marina, and down river to Ditto or Lucy's Branch are some of the major players.
I really like the boat you currently have now, looks like plenty of boat to live on, and has a great layout.
Gotta warn you though, some of us Southern Boys will just come over uninvited and bring Beer, Whiskey, and steaks...Just to see how y'all are..
Click to expand...


I will put this on the list as an area to check out. Looks like in a long weekend trip we could see most of it?

Are there covered slips here?
 
JVM225 said:
First consideration for me would be a place where you don’t have to winterize.
Second woul be a place that hurricanes aren’t a frequent occurrence.
Can’t imagine it being a lot of fun living on a winterized boat or worrying about losing all your belongings a couple of times a year if a hurricane rips through your marina.
Proximity to a decent sized airport with frequent flights back to where family is would be on the list.
A state with either no income tax, or very low income or personal tax would be most desirable for me. Especially a place that doesn’t beat you over the head in tax for your boat and cars every year.
Lastly, I’d look for a place that has some good destinations within a few hours cruise radius so you’d be able to have a nice change of scenery on selected long weekends or vacations. That would probably be good for you and the boat. Even living on a 60’ Boat might feel a bit monotonous if you don’ do something to change things up a bit every once in a while.
Click to expand...

Yes, We don't want to be winterizing and accept that if we are in FL or other hurricane areas we will have an emergency budget prepared to handle secure boat storage and getting us out of the path.

Any place we can find a tax advantage would be great. I know FL doesn't have state income tax but I am not sure about any specific taxes on boats/cars. For some reason Jacksonville, FL seems to meet a lot of these requirements. I want to get a long weekend there to check it out. Seems like there would be decent cruising options for north and south via ICW and the option to hit the bahamas? I could be totally off but just a guess... but if i had all the answers I wouldn't have asked the question :)
 
St. Petersburg FL, Harborage Marina handles mega yachts and I know of at least one 60’ Sea Ray already there. Hurricanes are really no big deal, and granted we just had the one the direct hit was way down in Key West, full 5 hours from here) but literally no damage to any boats of any significance. My boat survived on a rack, in a building with just a roof. We have had basically zero direct hits. Hard for hurricanes to go around the tip of FL, then circle up and go back east to hit St. Petersburg directly, No taxes, no winterization, year round boating, trips to local destinations like longboat Key, Anna Maria island, Venice, Ft Meyers, key west (one captain told me he just goes out a 5 miles into the gulf, turns on auto pilot, and in the morning he is nearing key west, sounds crazy to me, but maybe the bigger boats can do this). Tons of live aboards here as well, there are other marinas nearby that do live aboards as well, most would handle 60’, none that handle mega yachts.
Harborage is protected as well, it is on the east side of the peninsula, so there is at least some land between you and a hurricane, but again, just not a big deal.
You are also right near downtown st pete, so easy access to whatever you would need business wise, and a great nightlife.
 
As far as taxes on boats/cars/etc, I am not aware of anything specifically. My registration is peanuts. My wife is a CPA tax accountant, I can ask her, but pretty sure there is not much. Property taxes? Absolutely, but you will not have any land, so you should be golden. Jacksonville is nice, but the Atlantic is pretty rough, but the inter coastal, if not busy, would be great. In Tampa/st pete, the bay provides great protection, and we have ICW as well.
 
Todd320 said:
St. Petersburg FL, Harborage Marina handles mega yachts and I know of at least one 60’ Sea Ray already there. Hurricanes are really no big deal, and granted we just had the one the direct hit was way down in Key West, full 5 hours from here) but literally no damage to any boats of any significance. My boat survived on a rack, in a building with just a roof. We have had basically zero direct hits. Hard for hurricanes to go around the tip of FL, then circle up and go back east to hit St. Petersburg directly, No taxes, no winterization, year round boating, trips to local destinations like longboat Key, Anna Maria island, Venice, Ft Meyers, key west (one captain told me he just goes out a 5 miles into the gulf, turns on auto pilot, and in the morning he is nearing key west, sounds crazy to me, but maybe the bigger boats can do this). Tons of live aboards here as well, there are other marinas nearby that do live aboards as well, most would handle 60’, none that handle mega yachts.
Harborage is protected as well, it is on the east side of the peninsula, so there is at least some land between you and a hurricane, but again, just not a big deal.
You are also right near downtown st pete, so easy access to whatever you would need business wise, and a great nightlife.
Click to expand...


That's one heck of an ad! :) Great info. I will discuss with the wife. I think we are going to have to make some trips.
 
Todd320 said:
As far as taxes on boats/cars/etc, I am not aware of anything specifically. My registration is peanuts. My wife is a CPA tax accountant, I can ask her, but pretty sure there is not much. Property taxes? Absolutely, but you will not have any land, so you should be golden. Jacksonville is nice, but the Atlantic is pretty rough, but the inter coastal, if not busy, would be great. In Tampa/st pete, the bay provides great protection, and we have ICW as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks this is obviously one reason a FL location keeps coming back to the top of the list
 
Ididntdoit said:
+1 - Having a hard time understanding why you would dump the boat you have - it has a great master stateroom/head - I have not spent a ton of time on a 60DA, But I know the 47 pretty well and it seems like a great liveaboard for a couple.....plus yours seams in great shape and you already own it - move it to Ft Lauderdale (great weather year round and a very accessible airport with direct flights to just about anywhere) and enjoy!
Click to expand...

Another note on the possible boat change is with some of the job changes we are looking at that would allow for relocation it makes sense to make a boat change now vs move it then change. Also debating sedan vs sundancer or other style boat again. If we make a change we feel this would be the time to do it. Our minds don't have to be made up tomorrow but want to start doing the appropriate research.
 
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