Live aboard and where to do so

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.
Stay away from Gulfport Florida I was a liveaboard there and experienced hardships imposed by the municipality . No dingies parked more than 4 hours in beach or dingy dock to deter luceaboard. Big fines . The city workers stole my canoe even .
 
If I were to consider living on a boat it would HAVE to be a sedan type boat and not an express. For my current lifestyle I love my big open cockpit and few stairs to get into the cabin but we spend very little time in the cabin because you're so isolated down there. Even with the newer bigger side windows it's still very enclosed. And when tied to a pier or next to another large boat those windows will be blocked anyway. When it's raining, and it does rain in FL, or when it's super hot and humid, you'll enjoy being able to sit in your open salon and watch the world go by in comfort.

As far as where to go, I have no clue but am enjoying hearing everyone else's opinions.
 
If I were to consider living on a boat it would HAVE to be a sedan type boat and not an express. For my current lifestyle I love my big open cockpit and few stairs to get into the cabin but we spend very little time in the cabin because you're so isolated down there. Even with the newer bigger side windows it's still very enclosed. And when tied to a pier or next to another large boat those windows will be blocked anyway. When it's raining, and it does rain in FL, or when it's super hot and humid, you'll enjoy being able to sit in your open salon and watch the world go by in comfort.

As far as where to go, I have no clue but am enjoying hearing everyone else's opinions.

Have you seen the express the OP is talking about.....a 61DA has a lot of "above grade" space that is enclosed and A/C'd
 
Have you seen the express the OP is talking about.....a 61DA has a lot of "above grade" space that is enclosed and A/C'd

Now that you mention it, yes, I've seen that boat and you are correct, the upper salon is beautiful and has panoramic views.
 
In my opion:

Jacksonville is a good choice. We live an hour south in between St. Augustine and Daytona. This area has, historically, a lower incidence of hurricanes. Though the last two years have been active. Jacksonville is colder than other places farther south or west in Florida. It also has the St. Johns River which is the longest in FL and very much liked by some boaters. Georgia and some fun port cities is just a short hop north. Unlike the west coast, though, there are not many anchorages outside of the Intracoastal. Some nice marinas, though. St. Augustine is a nice destination, as are New Smyrna Beach and the Canaveral/Cocoa area farther south.

Jacksonville is HUGE. It is the largest land area of any city in the US and lots of jobs. Traffic is not so bad. Lots of active duty and retired military. NE FL has been sort of a backwater and as a result, outside of Jacksonville, is not very built up. The swamps and lowlands are still there. They were not drained for housing like other areas of FL. Lots of big parklands.

The entire NE FL is pretty right wing. Other parts of FL are more left wing.

Tampa and the Gulf Coast are much more humid, warmer and the Gulf water is saltier. It is also calmer than the Atlantic, and there are very nice islands right off the Intracoastal. From Tampa southward it is very congested on land, and nearly wall-to-wall stripmalls. Very nice marinas, and the cruising destinations are better than NE FL. The calmer water helps, too.

From time to time there is red tide in areas of the Gulf Coast. It can cause respiratory problems in some. It has not been a problem on the Atlantic coast that I'm aware of.

Good luck with your choice. If you come to Jacksonville (abbreviated JAX) we'd love to show you around on a weekend.

Eric
 
Our 47DB was on the east coast of FL, between Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

This boat is on the west coast, Clearwater area. Going north in a couple of weeks, but will return to same area.

Couple of observations.

We definitely prefer the west coast. Yes Bahamas take an extra couple of days. But the amount to destinations that you can bounce to with 20-40 mile moves is outstanding. So much to see.

Winter time is not good boating in south of Florida unless you only stay in the ICW. Weather is great, but many days from November to March you don't want to go outside. Prime time boating in this area starts around the end of march and goes into the warm months.

The culture, people, and overall environment are night and day between South Florida and the west coast. Everyone has their preference - just when evaluating - visit both.

On the west coast slips for a 60' boat are much tougher to find than on the east coast. St Pete has a few options - Clearwater very limited.

Anna Maria island, Long boat Key, Marina Jack's has options.

Further south, options around Ft Meyers area.

Live aboard - my personal preference would be a fly bridge boat.

Mark
 
If it were me I would consider even farther south. Pretty much all air travel is available in the islands. St Croix or St Thomas. Slip fees will be 50% more but well worth it. Go big or go home I say!!!
 
You have already discovered mostly positive Florida considerations. Here are some on the other side of the coin:

Slips in some locations for a boat like the 60/610DA are scarce due to the beam. Some Florida locations are declared no discharge areas. Not that you would dump a holding tank in the harbor, but No-Discharge also gives the water cops, DEP, local sheriff, etc. the right to board and inspect your plumbing, when they choose. Sailboats and live-aboards get "special attention." Some of the higer end marinas don't allow full time live-aboards.....you just have to be sure you read the slip's lease carefully. Most marinas on the Florida coast have a hurricane plan, but it general puts the responsibility for your boat and their docks on the slip lessee.....again, read all the dociuments.

I also think that the proximity of your live-aboard to various services, restaurants, airports, shopping, etc. is an important consideration. The Corrp of Engineers and TVA lakes along the Tennessee River Valley affords some of the best inlnd boating in the world. The lakes are not puddles either, some are 100 miles long and have huge shore lines. The problem is that the Chattanooga area is the only part of the system tht is near a major city and while there is an airpost there, it is small with limited flight schedules.

We are Florida residents, but also live part time about 50 miles outside of Nashville TN. An interesting area because Nashville is near 4 major lakes that are clean and managed by the Corp Of Engineers. There are a fairly large number of boats over 50ft in the area. Nashville has excellent local services, lots of shopping, an international airport that is a hub for Southwest, American and Delta. Boats that stay in the water don't winterize if they can run their heat. One gotcha, however, is that Tennessee is also a no income tax state, but they have the "Hall Tax" which is a 6% tax on dividends and interest paid by non-Tennessee sources. There is taalk of repealing it, but for now the Hall Tax is just an income tax on the yield from your invested capital.
 
Have you seen the express the OP is talking about.....a 61DA has a lot of "above grade" space that is enclosed and A/C'd

In our most recent purchase, early on we targeted the 60 Dancer as a possibility. Love the enclosed helm area, looked like an outstanding place to cruise.

Our challenge was the cockpit, knowing on a Dancer that had to be part of the living space. We have owned a Dancer before and love them - but our challenge was 12 nights in a row.

We were in the upper gulf coast area looking at a couple of 60 Dancers and having dinner with @fwebster and his wife for dinner. Frank took us over to a 60 Dancer in his marina that had added a canvas cover to his cockpit. Talked with the owner some, he loved it. His only downside was he wished the cover extended a few inches further to the stern to change the drip line. That is a minor adjustment when doing the next one.

If we had bought a 60 - we would have added the same cover.

There is so much personal preference involved in the Bridge vs Express decision. I would encourage you to climb on a few boats, evaluate in person.

Mark
 
You have already discovered mostly positive Florida considerations. Here are some on the other side of the coin:

Slips in some locations for a boat like the 60/610DA are scarce due to the beam. Some Florida locations are declared no discharge areas. Not that you would dump a holding tank in the harbor, but No-Discharge also gives the water cops, DEP, local sheriff, etc. the right to board and inspect your plumbing, when they choose. Sailboats and live-aboards get "special attention." Some of the higer end marinas don't allow full time live-aboards.....you just have to be sure you read the slip's lease carefully. Most marinas on the Florida coast have a hurricane plan, but it general puts the responsibility for your boat and their docks on the slip lessee.....again, read all the dociuments.

I also think that the proximity of your live-aboard to various services, restaurants, airports, shopping, etc. is an important consideration. The Corrp of Engineers and TVA lakes along the Tennessee River Valley affords some of the best inlnd boating in the world. The lakes are not puddles either, some are 100 miles long and have huge shore lines. The problem is that the Chattanooga area is the only part of the system tht is near a major city and while there is an airpost there, it is small with limited flight schedules.

We are Florida residents, but also live part time about 50 miles outside of Nashville TN. An interesting area because Nashville is near 4 major lakes that are clean and managed by the Corp Of Engineers. There are a fairly large number of boats over 50ft in the area. Nashville has excellent local services, lots of shopping, an international airport that is a hub for Southwest, American and Delta. Boats that stay in the water don't winterize if they can run their heat. One gotcha, however, is that Tennessee is also a no income tax state, but they have the "Hall Tax" which is a 6% tax on dividends and interest paid by non-Tennessee sources. There is taalk of repealing it, but for now the Hall Tax is just an income tax on the yield from your invested capital.


Frank the TN area is by no means out of the question. I agree we will need to be in relative close proximity to a decent sized air port and would like to be close to other services as well. We have some time and are just starting to research. Are they are city's/Marina's that you would suggest we put on the list? We would like to start visiting some over the next year in preparation.
 
Last edited:
In our most recent purchase, early on we targeted the 60 Dancer as a possibility. Love the enclosed helm area, looked like an outstanding place to cruise.

Our challenge was the cockpit, knowing on a Dancer that had to be part of the living space. We have owned a Dancer before and love them - but our challenge was 12 nights in a row.

We were in the upper gulf coast area looking at a couple of 60 Dancers and having dinner with @fwebster and his wife for dinner. Frank took us over to a 60 Dancer in his marina that had added a canvas cover to his cockpit. Talked with the owner some, he loved it. His only downside was he wished the cover extended a few inches further to the stern to change the drip line. That is a minor adjustment when doing the next one.

If we had bought a 60 - we would have added the same cover.

There is so much personal preference involved in the Bridge vs Express decision. I would encourage you to climb on a few boats, evaluate in person.

Mark

Mark, Thanks for more great advise. This will take some time to get figured out and getting on a lot of boats will be part of it. Our 47 isn't out of the question either but this may be a worthwhile time to explore options. We will be getting on a 60 and 58 dancers next week on a trip to Chicago.

Also considering making the move and looking at a smaller sundancer and an apartment for a short period until we get adjusted and can find the right boat. Lots of variables and keeping all options open at the moment. Lots of great people here you have knowledge of different areas and boats.

Was the canvas cover a traditional 'Slant Bank" or a camper canvas style?
 
West coast would put you close to Tampa and Fort Meyers airports. Of the two, Tampa will have more flight options. Either will work, just not as many options out of Fort Meyers.

Now, I may be biased about airport traffic based my Airline preference.

Mark
 
Mark,

Where are you keeping your boat?

In a private slip I found, Clearwater, FL. Different than keeping it in a marina. But has worked well.

Current plans are to return there when we get back to FL in the fall from the trip north.

Mark
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,871
Members
60,932
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top