Living on a Boat?

[Jared]

Are you now or have you ever been living on a boat? Do you have any insightful thoughts on doing such?

 

[CoryB]

I've never, but I know a fellow student who does. I was think of him as the "sex offender"; he is always greasy, wearing dirty clothing, and rubber boots. I couldn't imagine the limitde space. My living room is the size of his entire home which is shared be 4 people.

 

[Bergdorf Goodwill]

"You Live on a Houseboat" is one of the better songs Anal **** ever wrote.

 

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by Bergdorf Goodwill

"You Live on a Houseboat" is one of the better songs Anal **** ever wrote.

It doesn't measure up to their undisputed masterwork, "Brutally Morbid Axe of Satan".

 

[Quirk]

Originally Posted by Jared

Are you now or have you ever been living on a boat? Do you have any insightful thoughts on doing such?
Depends on the location -- I definitely might if I liked the layout and the view and surrounding area were pleasant. I recently caught part of a television special on houseboats on the home decor channel -- these were quite magnificent. One owner had his constructed with a full basement, including a window and wine cellar. As I understand it, a properly-constructed houseboat should be pretty stable in anything up to moderately-heavy storm conditions, but I'd definitely shop for homeowners' insurance carefully.

 

[tattersall]

Boat or houseboat? Victoria's got both. The houseboats down by Shoal Pt look quaint and appear to be well made. We have a friend who lives on his 45' sailboat in the inner harbour with this wife and dog. They had to substantially limit themselves in terms of which possessions would live on the boat (his wardrobe lived at his work, for example). Despite being in a protected harbour, things were pretty rough for them this winter (we had a lot of rain and a fair bit of snow) and while the boat was tight, you could never seem to escape that feeling of dampness.

 

[skalogre]

OMG. AC!!! IIRC I only have Morbid Florist and some assorted bits and pieces of theirs but exscellent crass entertainment for the whole family...

Now as for the boat, no direct experience but I can tell you that it does not seem uncommon in central and nothern Europe AFAIK. I would assume there are resources online regarding all this but I cannot think of any. Maybe some of our Dutch or German members can direct you towards some English-language resources...

 

[Quirk]

Duh, I misinterpreted the OP as referring to 'houseboats'.
Bygones. Ignore.

 

[Jared]

Originally Posted by Quirk

Duh, I misinterpreted the OP as referring to 'houseboats'. Bygones. Ignore.
I was intentionally vague.

My impression is that, as you and tattersall say, floating homes are a slam dunk if you can afford the high total cost of ownership. Houseboats, such as skalogre finds in Europe can also be pretty nice, but haven't really made it across the Atlantic as far as I know. As tattersal and CoryB note, liveaboards present a lot of challenges: I can imagine keeping my clothes off-site, but I enjoy cooking and entertaining too much to really live in the space.

Thanks for your thoughts, guys! PS: My favourite is "I Became A Counselor So I Could Tell **** Victims They Asked For It".