techmitch
Well-Known Member
- May 1, 2008
- 8,396
- Boat Info
- 1999 270 DA
- Engines
- Twin 4.3s W/Alpa I Gen II's
BTW, Love the 47DB.
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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 .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.
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.
definitely could see it all in a long weekend. There are Covered slips at all the Marinas I mentioned.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?
I have a guitar, and a Bass. Not the fish. No Banjo. If I hear Banjos I tend to go with instinct and run.Can't forget the banjos.
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
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.
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,
Where are you keeping your boat?