5 Reasons NOT to buy a live aboard sailing boat - (Watch before you buy!)

After three years of living on a sailing boat full time, we've learned the hard way about some of the genuine difficulties in living on a sailing boat that we really were not prepared for. If you're thinking about buying a liveaboard sailing boat to venture off on this way of living then be sure to watch this first so that you can make an informed decision about boat life.

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[furiousscotsman]

Lived on a boat for a decade sailed around the world from age 9 on, guess who's job it was to check the anchor was set every time Downsides are definitely outweighed by the upsides, i will forever remember waking up at anchor on an uninhabited island in French Polynesia, swimming ashore while staring at stingrays and fish at like 7am and helping myself to fresh fruit on the island and just sitting on the beach for an hour eating away .

[islandman]

Good to keep it real. I'm going. Already bought the boat 2 mo ago and I'll go through hell or high water before admitting that it was a mistake. I'm perfectly willing to lie to myself for the rest of my life. On we go!

[stephenburnage]

Very accurate! I would add that the way to avoid (or minimize) these downsides is to: (i) don't buy too big a boat (a 40 ft sailboat requires 2x the maintenance of a 30 ft sailboat); (ii) don't buy too new a boat (unless it is an exceptional boat). Modern production boats have a fraction of the build quality of older boats; (iii) regardless of your education and background, learn every aspect of your boat systems; (iv) recognize that the best advice comes from old time cruisers, not dockside mechanics, who never go to sea and just want to bill you for their time; (v) cruise in a low cost location (like Mexico or Central America); (vii) when you have the opportunity, buy used parts from boat exchanges and/or other cruisers. The probability is that it is of better quality than any new part. I have been full time cruising for ten years now and have seen many give up. The few, true, long term cruisers, are exceptionally versatile and cruise in well built, 1970's or 80's boats, 35 to 39 ft long, living on the hook in out of the way places. They are also very willing to guide new cruisers, provided that they are willing to listen and learn.

[davidsowens]

Totally agree with everything you're said. We've been living aboard full-time for 3 years now enjoying it. It was tough initially. We brought a steel Ketch. Its a great yacht. Brought it as is where is. Very risky but it came with a survey report which was positive on the vessel. Motor was dead when we brought it due to salt water ingress. After inflated costs by mechanics to repair it. Decided to managed all the parting out myself. I dismantled the engine piece by piece. Ruined my wife's lovely thick beach towels in the process getting the heavy 6 cylinder engine block out on deck(she still hasn't forgiven me) Took the entire engine in pieces to an engine builder had them sand blasted the motor. It came up like new. The motor was fully rebuilt with new pistons rings. Bottom end crank was fully reground. Over hauled the gearbox and heat exchanger unit etc. While the engine was out built a I beam gantry to install the big motor back below deck. Bolted the gearbox to the engine. Did most of the prop alignment. Have since, completely re wired the ships 240v and 12v myself. Put an electric anchor winch in with 1.280kws of solar and 3x enerdrive DCDC chargers. 2x 60amp enerdrive Smart chargers A victron phoenix 3k inverter-100amp charger. 400amps of lithium in the front forward anchor well linked with 400 amps lithium for the domestic battery bank which are both linked via a 4 way isolator switch. This allows me to run all the domestic 12 equipment of either battery bank. It was a huge undertaking something I'd never done before. Am still suffering PTSD from the stress, hahah. I am fortunate to possess skills which allowed me to do 95% of the work saving me a lot of money. We recently got our yachts passport so we are getting ready soon to set sail over seas. Am not here to blast my horn or say what a smart guy I am. Others think that when they see what I have done. Its more about identifying the risk. A yacht carries risk its whether you can manage the risk. Being fully reliant on tradies to perform work on your yacht is not good. I was shocked at how many complaints I received from others about bad workmanship taking your money and running leaving you worse off. Learning to do as much of the work yourself will enable to you manage it more effectively. I do love living aboard full-time. The peace and tranquility is awesome. Along with the comradery of others living near by. I highly recommend live aboard life on the anchor or mooring to anyone and not living in a marina fulltime.

[PeterPazucha]

A good friend once cautioned me that owning a sailboat is like standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills.

[zooluwarrior]

People often only discuss beautiful aspects of a liveaboard, but the truth is that there are many unappealing aspects as well. I appreciate your honest evaluation of the difficulties of life on a boat.

[peterjordan-turner]

Every sailing channel has a 'why not to do it' episode, and yours is the best I've watched.

[colaoliver]

In the late 1970's friends of my father retired and decided to do a 2 year trip to Greece and back. He was a hydrofoil engineer. His wife had been a test pilot in WWII. They also had money. Father and I were part of the trans Atlantic crew. What he learned was living on a boat coat much as owning a house if not more and they did most of the maintenance. Note: He appealed to the US Tax people, the IRS, to be a able to deduct the costs since the boat was their home. The appeal was denied.

[Loopy_Boat_Skipper]

I been living on a moored vessel for near 3 years, i down graded from a 35 foot aft deck cruiser with 240v gen set to a 34 foot clipper all 12v & gas, I have my 3 little dogs and were more than happy.
I loved watching your video, great work 😇

[richardjagoe]

I've been a liveaboard for 12 years now. There's an old expression, "everything on a boat is broken, it's just a matter of when you find out" 😜
I stay at anchor 100% of the time. Having the right dinghy for the job is critical. Inflatables are not a good choice. Try and make it look as crappy as possible. To avoid it being stolen.
Good luck, have fun 😊
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

[markbuskens]

This is probably the best honest explanation of what living on a boat is like.living aboard at the dock is totally different, you have power and water and can drive to town in your car.The being able to work on and fix things that break is very important.Also you’re going to get caught in bad weather and storms.Very good information 👍👍

[russellwaite]

I once read an article that described a boat as " A hole in the water into which you pour most of your money " . I found it amusing but guessed it to be true. So unless you're loaded you have to learn to be thrifty. best wishes from Yorkshire England.

[McLoven-vmck]

Ive long had an obsession with sail boats and have been giving serious consideration into buying a used boat for $50-$150k rather then buy a small house. Ive been trying to educate myself on all the practical considerations of boat life before I make a commitment to either and these sorts of honest videos help provide food for thought and sometimes some direction.

I've always enjoyed working with my hands and dont see any issue with performing maintenance beyond my limited knowledge. im creeping up on 50 and fear if i put it off to much longer that my window will close and ill never get to live this dream, im so keen to own my own ketch but we'll see.

[over-there]

and owning a house, and living in a tiny apartment, and living in a cabin in the woods, and living in the desert, and living in a van, pick your pain

[jimjenkins]

I’ve got plenty of sailing channels I’ve followed for years. Never a patron, never bought a thing. Watched these three for a couple weeks, …my Rottweiler gets walked with a Cadoha leash and I check the date on a cadoha calendar every morning. 👏👏👏👏👏

[braedynhoward]

The funny thing is... having lives years and years in a large 5th wheel rv, I can say that pretty much all of these points directly apply to RV living as well XD. Obviously, it's a lot easier being on land, but these points are the same. You basically become an electrician, plumber, repair man, etc. Every time we traveled, things broke, like slides and the underbelly and so on. We also had to let our dog AND cat out several times a day when traveling. Also finding RV parks that fit our rv, were cheap, and that had reliable restrooms, electricity and plumbing took a lot of time to find. We also had to give up reliable internet, a nice shower, big beds, and most of all any space for the whole family. But the payoff, for me at least, was well worth it. We wen tall over the US, from the Keys in Florida where we scuba dove, to the massive redwoods in Northern California.

I really hope I can get a live aboard sailboat someday. I already had my dream of RV living, now I want to live my dream of living on a sailboat.

[johnace]

I am 18 years living aboard at anchor. I can't imagine giving it up. Had a dog for seven years. Taught him to go aboard. Never had to go what you went through.

[elinor]

8 years blue water sailing. No marinas. 57' three mast schooner, just two of us. Those were the days. Glad we did it when we did. In the days before internet and just got gps near the end. Proper sailing, proper navigating. No push button sailing. Big anchors, big engine, seven sails, 26 tons she was a dream.

[BlackheartCharlie]

Greetings from Key West! Thank you for showing some of the challenges and trade-offs that the live aboard cruising life can demand. This is perhaps the most honest look at this lifestyle I've seen on YT. Liked and subscribed! I've been living aboard and cruising si ce 2004 and my only regret is that I didn't start sooner. :-)

[mangore]

Having been on both sides on this equation, life on a boat is far and away preferable. You get to choose your neighbours; You aren’t tethered anywhere indefinitely; It’s far, far less expensive; It’s a far more rewarding experience; The people you meet are far more congenial; It’s far safer than life in a city. I lived in Vancouver, and in a tiny village in Nova Scotia. They were identical experiences: No one wanted to know me, and my neighbours were absolutely awful. However, when I was a liveaboard in a marina, we were all comrades, and they wouldn’t even pause to weigh the matter for a second if you needed a hand.