Anyone live aboard in Florida on their Sea Ray?

[Handsome Transom]

Was an on the hook liveaboard on a 45ft Irwin in gulfport the municipality made things difficult for us with a bylaw that prohibited dingys on the beach or dingy dock for over 4 consecutive hours and ticketed it stole a few of mine till I started throwing my canoe on the work trucks roof racks every day. Even ended up in cuffs once because I went to court to challenge a ticket and apparantly an unpaid one had washed and blown off in a t storm that I didnt know about . There were also some pieces in the local paper by the mayor who tried to claim we were all crapping in the water . Everyone in the bay got together and contracted the same pump out service to take care if us weekly and we had our invoices published in the editorial every week.
It's a great life and some are jealous I suppose. Word has it the mayor's wife had a fondness for dome of the local sailors and that was were the push csne from lol

 

[sbw1]

We have lived on a boat in the size range you mentioned, but only for 6 weeks at a time, and in northern Michigan not Florida. We have done that for many years. However, one summer a few years ago ago we had record high numbers of days in the 90s. You mentioned being tired of winter. I can tell you summer can be as bad when there is no weather other than many consecutive days of 90 degree plus temps. We ran the A/C more than 30 days that year without a break. Our boat has generous living space for its 39 loa, but we still got cabin fever after 6 weeks. Home never felt so good. And we were retired and did not have to dress for success. Not sure how that could be done on a boat in the size range you mentioned.

 

[my3sons]

I agree, no way I could live on a 39 express, but people do it. Everybody’s different.
To the OP, I have 2 examples right behind my boat of what I would look for if I were you and wanted to keep to the size ranges you stated.
Boat on the left is a 42 Chris craft Catalina. Old, but in amazing condition, well loved With beautiful updates. Ton of room for a 42.
Boat in the middle is a 36’ President sun deck trawler. Well used, been all over, and the amount of livable space compared to that 40’ express on the right is way more than you can imagine especially considering that hard top sundeck. Interesting side note, he added a hinge to his radar arch, see it folded down on top of the sundeck roof. He can do the western Erie Canal with that feature. If those style boats aren’t your cup of tea though, I think you might want a bigger boat.

 

[FootballFan]

Seen these tiny houses on TV. Evidently they are very popular. Guess I could spend the night in one, about the same as a hotel room in Manhattan.

Personally, I like space. Up to you what size of boat you need live on.

 

[k9medic]

We are 1/3 live aboards in Florida. We are on the boat every Friday through Sunday evening. In the summer we usually spend the entire month of July on the boat.

My marina charged $500/ month flat fee for the slip and has metered electricity. No frills though. You get a dock and a parking space. We have 5 or 6 full time live aboards at the marina.

Our boat is a 420AC which is perfect for our family size.


One thing to think about is the Bahamas. I worked out a deal at a marina in Green Turtle where we had metered electricity and we paid $850 in June and July and $600 for all the other months. Electricity ran us about $40/ day but we used the heck out of the A/C. That's Bahamas waterfront living for less than $2000 per month.

 

[Third Edition]

Our 2002 360 Sundancer insurance is $1500/year. The boat is in the water in NE FL year-round docked at our house on a saltwater canal. Full replacement.

If we were to live aboard 100%, I'd opt for a trawler with cabins fore & aft. The salon with its windows beats the windowless Sundancers, IMO.

 

[Ruff Life]

Thanks everyone for the awesome feedback. We are trying to get educated and this helps. Good news is the wife and myself like each other pretty much and can handle being on a boat together. We currently stay on our boat every Friday through Saturday along with some long weekends and a couple 9 day vacations every summer for the last 12 years. Our boat is far from big enough to live on full time as we need way more storage but it's a good test.
Thanks Rick