Liveaboard

Domino Tew

New member
Joined
Aug 20, 2012
Messages
3
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Buying Ranger next year
I can afford an R25 or an R27 but I'm not sure if either are large enough to accommodate a single (with dog) liveaboard. Does anybody have any experience? For the same amount of money I could buy a different boat, older, bigger with unknown problems, even after a proper survey. An R27, two or three years old should be trouble free unless it was involved in an accident or run aground too many times. Am I correct? I would appreciate your knowledgeable input. Thank you.
 
Domino,
Just how BIG is that dog?
And, looks like you like in Ontario, Canada. You're not planning to live aboard year-round there, are you?
Where do you think you will live aboard an R 25 or R 27. I do have experience in that domain, but first I need
answers to those two important questions: size of DOG and location of living aboard in Winter.
Charles
 
When I first joined Tugnuts I was exploring the same topic, and am experimenting. I moved aboard with Gus, a 12 yr. old lab on May 15th, deciding to begin in the gentle season of warm weather and sunshine.

I am at a marina and am retired, and both make it very easy. I swim at the community pool regularly, then eat a hot meal weekdays at the senior center which also simplifies the need for cooking. Our local library is another place I visit regularly. So far, for me, living aboard has been delightful.

(More storage and the oven on the 27 would be nice, and a storage unit is going teo be important for me, including for hanging clothes.)

Wintertime will bring new challenges, but I am planning to ship the boat and live on it in San Diego this first winter. I will reevaluate next spring, but so far it has been lots of fun, and easy to take off with very short notice!

Having activities away from the boat, being comfortable in a somewhat small, although luxurious space and enjoying dock life and the coming and going lifestyle all are factors for me, as well as my dining practice with others is positive.

I live on a 25SC and do not want to pay higher moorage fees. The 27 would be nice but what I have works very well. My Seattle liveaboard friends all live on significantly larger boats, but most have partners as well as do not travel much on their boats.

For now, things are working well!
 
First off Anne you are living my dream , wish you continued success with that Sounds like your plan is working 🙂
Dominio I am headed in the live aboard direction . I have a 29 and have a bit more room and my biggest problem so far is getting rid of stuff I don't really need , and deciding what those things are . I am in Ontario also and the winters will be a challenge . Search out live aboards on line and start asking questions you will find friends there willing to share their experiance. It is do able but is costly for hydro in the winter to keep all things working. Also Insurance is avalible but not all want your business for winter live aboard in the north. I looked at larger boats and found the extra room comes at a big price More storage fees . More to heat/ cool . And if you are going to use it .. More fuel.
You are off to a good start ask around here and other forms . Most of the live aboards have time to share their knowledge and are happy to help. I suggest if you plan on doing this year round in the cold find a comunity where you will have neighbors . That way you watch out for each other and help each other. There are many doing this and enjoying it.
Good luck
 
Thank you for your very helpful information. I plan on moving to the west coast and wintering somewhere slightly north of Campbell River. I want to become as self sufficient as possible. I prefer seafood to meat so I am off to a good start in the provisioning. Charles; my dog will be (not yet found) a small mutt, cocka something or other from the animal shelter, about 25 lb in weight , small and active and able to get on and off the boat without my assistance (but with me being present).

I see that Anne and Charles already live in God's country and have experience with living conditions and the weather. I lived in both Victoria and Vancouver many years ago and traveled around the Province on my job. I fell in love with the PNW then and have remained smitten all these years. This will be like a homecoming. I have already bought suitable clothing for the long dull days, rain gear and layering pullovers etc. for warmth. I don't mind bad weather (in dock or anchored) I see it as an excuse for doing nothing. Cold drab weather doesn't worry me, being cold does so, I will plan for staying warm and dry. Who knows I might even buy an umbrella, one of those ones that the manufacturer claims don't turn inside out, it should be a good science project.

Anne you are right about luxurious, I can afford a boat or a row house 🙁 . Which to choose has been easy to decide. I wake with the thought of my boat and go to sleep working out the problems I may have, very enjoyable!

I have never seen a Ranger Tug, just on the internet. I have come by my decision after literally hundreds of hours studying the types and boats available and reading everything I can find about their faults. The Ranger Tugs seem to almost fault free, I like their appearance , size and frugality. I need to see one to confirm my decision so I'll seek out an Ontario dealer. Irish Mist you seem to be most happy with yours, have you had any problems?

Thank you all for you assistance.
 
So, how about a few definitions?
True Liveaboard: has no other home, on land, just lives on boat year round.
Partial Liveaboard: owns home on land, or rents apartment to retreat to, when boat gets too small.
For about 9 months, I was a true live aboard. In fact, I stored the family possessions ( I had 2 daughters in
college at the time, so I was also an "empty nester") in a mini-storage rented garage, and what didn't fit on the
R 25 for daily use, I stored in the back of my F-350 pickup, locked inside the camper shell or cab.
My idea was to be moving from one body of water to another. I was inspired by Bill and El Fiero, whom I met and
boated with, on Lake Powell that summer of 2008. Even Bill and El had a piece of land in Nevada, and later purchased
a Condo in Colorado which they called Safe Harbor. I had no Safe Harbor, and that was fine with me.
Until a mid-November week in Benicia Marina, California, when it rained for three full days, night-and-day. There
I was, stuck in a very small cabin, roughly 7 feet wide and about 15 feet long. It kept raining. To get to another dry place, say a restaurant, I would have to walk several blocks in the pouring rain and strong wind, and arrive totally wet.
I left the boat anyway. One can only stay locked up inside a dark closet for so many hours......
At roughly the same time, my insurance company, Safeco, issued a formal letter saying they were canceling my
Umbrella liability policy. It had taken them 6 months to realize that I had no home on land. The only way you get
Personal Liability in the USA is with a Homeowners Policy. The R 25 was too small a boat, according to ALL insurance
companies, to be considered a home (sic). I asked many, many insurance professionals. A larger yacht, say, 40 feet long, can have Personal Liability which extends off the boat itself. While I did have Boat Owners and Automobile insurance policies----which covered Liability while operating the boat or truck----if an at-fault accident, or incident, occurred away from the boat or truck, then I could be sued and lose everything I had saved, all my life of work. This gave me pause.
So, I pulled the R 25 out of the Marina that December, stuck it in a dry warehouse for RV's, and visited friends
for a couple of months, while the Winter storms blew. This is in California, not Canada or Washington state.
Finally, I concluded that life without an Umbrella was too risky, and I rented a small cottage in the Delta, slid Blue
Bayou into the Sacramento River, and resumed life with BOTH a house on land and a boat in the water. In other words, I retreated from being a true liveaboard to being a partial liveabord-----discretion is the better part of valor.....
So, Domino, my conclusion is that if you can afford either a Ranger Tug or a row house, buy the row house. Satisfy your boating dreams with a runabout or skiff, or charter a Tug now and then. You will find a whole year confined only
within an R 25 or R 27 is not what it's appears to you to be, right now, when you're without a dog and haven't yet even seen
a Ranger Tug in the flesh.
I wish you well with your boating dreams. BUT, be careful out there !!!!
Charles
 
Rent a single room from some congenial couple or single mom, etc. with the stipulation that their home will be your land address and telephone number and that they will gather your mail and forward it to you and handle any stray calls (say from an insurance agent)... Then you purchase some renters insurance and now you have satisfied the requirement for your yacht policy...

The rental can be structured in more than one way - actually your room with your clothes, etc. stored in it.. Or an arrangement where they can rent it out to others and that you will only be around to stay there once in a while (by arrangement)... Etc...

With a bit of searching around you should be able to set this up at minimal cost...
Just a thought...

denny-o (slippin' by on the edges)
 
I am finding this thread more and more interesting 🙂

Clarifying what degree of living aboard is desired does need to be part of this conversation.

My home is for sale with an offer that just came in. Financing a boat and another home is not part of my plan.

It sounds as if I will need to do more research on personal liability insurance as this journey unfolds, although many people do not have the resources for a boat such as a Ranger Tug, let alone a home.

I agree that downsizing to living aboard is very challenging. It has been a gradual choice I am pursuing and now the reality of needing to make monthly storage unit payments is here. Smaller is better according to liveaboard friends who report they have items in storage they have not laid eyes on in years. Those are the ones who embraced living aboard and seem to have the resources and wits to succeed. Choices, choices, and more decisions...

Maintaining a boat with all the systems and in salt water is not the most economical lifestyle! I am learning more and more maintenance challenges that arise regularly! This is certainly a choice with trade-offs.

I have made arrangements with an indoor storage facility to transport my leftover items to the unit I rent. This evolving experiment comes with twists and turns that invite more reflection.

One never knows what is out there until getting out there seems to be a good mantra.
 
Anne,
Sounds like you're getting close to being a true full-time live aboard !!!
Congratulations, and I applaud your courage.
Denny-O did have a solid suggestion: one can rent a small room or apartment,
most anywhere, and claim it as your land base, thereby qualifying for renter's insurance, a
form of Homeowner's Insurance for renters, which includes Personal Liability.
Of course, there are no requirement to have Personal Liability insurance, other than
when operating a car on roads. Operating a boat on the water without liability insurance might
be nuts, but it would still be legal-----good luck, when there's a collision or sinking, and others suffer.
It all comes down to what you have to lose. Those with significant assets, bank accounts,
homes, stock portfolios, businesses or rentals, they have a lot to lose. If your assets are small,
you can be sued, but they can't collect. You cannot squeeze blood from a turnip. Then, too, there's
the question of your legacy---what you leave to others, such as your children, your spouse, a charity or
two.......all that will be lost, in the event of a lawsuit you can't defend or pay for.
So, yes, the Liveaboard Dream has its twists and turns----but it can be done. Charles
 
Thank you all for your very good advice. The advice on liability insurance really caused me to sit up and pay attention. I'll have to sort that one out. The more I read about Ranger Tugs the more I like them. I don't think space, or lack of it will be a problem. I can recall, quite clearly, when everything I owned fitted in a kit bag. Those were much simpler days when a person had to be self supporting and not rely on others, something like living on a small boat.

My overall impression is that Ranger Tugs are somewhat special, not run of the mill. The same seems to be of the owners, helpful, informative and also something special. I hope to join you as soon as possible.
Domino.
 
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