If you are planning to leave the bricks and mortar for good and willing to live on a boat, you are planning to enjoy your days with skyline views, romance with nature, and the dewy smell of the air on the waters. Living on a boat gives you various benefits like closeness to nature, less spending, home security, supportive community, and living off the grid.
Even though you will be enjoying nature, some endeavors bring you out of your comfort zone. Living on a boat means that you will be having a floating home. It brings a lot of challenges. It involves complexities living on a boat.
Boats For Living in Waters
Houseboats
Houseboats are constructed specially for residential and marine vessels. The unique feature of houseboats is that they are self-propellant. They are cable of moving from one place to another without a helmsman. If you plan to fulfill your dream of living on a boat, you can look for houseboats that come with large apartments and flat decks.
The houseboats are not designed to moor permanently with an ability to disconnect from marina facilities such as electricity, water, and sewer lines. A houseboat still makes living on a boat a memorable period.
Floating Homes
Floating homes are designed on a floating foundation of buoyant material and permanent mooring. The size of the floating homes is almost a medium-sized house or multi-storied house. It gives you the enjoyment of living on a boat. Some come with an underwater basement to give you a view of aquatic life. You can make moments memorable by being close to aquatic nature.
There are a lot of considerations to understand before moving to houseboats or floating homes. You will be a full-time water resident and there are necessities for living on a boat. The cost of living on a boat should be within your budget.
Considerations
Space
Different houseboats and floating homes are distinguished from one another based on the space that is available within a boat. Some boats are suitable for a single person or a family. The extra space is invaluable because it comes with an additional cost of living and maintenance. The yacht or boat you are using for cruise only should be maintained by a single person. It required a lot of determination, experience, physical fitness, and strength.
Budget
Look for a houseboat or floating home that is affordable in your budget. You will find new boats or used boats but the new boats are comparatively expensive than the used ones. New boats are customizable and they come with a manufacturer’s warranty. On the other hand, when you look for a used boat, you will be looking for the tear and wear of the boat and maintenance done by its owner.
By determining the factors about the new or used boat, you can set a budget for your boat. It will help you to know the cost of the lifestyle you will be adopting for living on a boat. The lifestyle of living on a boat comes with the cost of regular maintenance with amenities.
Maintenance
As compared to automobiles, boats require regular maintenance. You have to make a maintenance plan to avoid any expensive repairs and costly overhauls. Your enjoyment will be interfered with because of poor maintenance if you are a full-time resident. Before you decide to live on a boat, make sure that you are making a maintenance plan to avoid any kind of hazard.
Guide To Living on A Boat
Decide Where to Keep Your Boat
The first mistake that people make when they decide to live on a boat, they don’t know the place where the boat will be stored. In some of the cities, there are a large number of ships with limited space to live on a boat. Also, there is a lack of mooring due to municipal regulations. It limits the number of mooring and anchors throughout the year.
The first thing that you should be considering while living on a boat is that where you will be keeping your boat. The three options that are available to you are:
- Life ramp on a boat in a marina
- Mooring ball
- Anchorage
Try Living on A Boat Before Buying
When you have made up your mind to start living on a boat, it is recommended that you first try it. It can happen if your partner is not sold on the idea. Some people find it difficult living on a boat and now they are stuck in waters. It happens because it cannot be the same, they have expected while moving from land to waters.
Try living on a boat before you sell your home and start living on it. You can ask your friend to lend you their boat and experience life in the waters. If it is the same you have expected, you are ready to buy your boat. If it is not to your expectations, you can come back to your home and continue your life on land.
Looking For a Healthy and Active Lifestyle
Owning a boat is a physically demanding hobby. You have to fill the water tank, replacing the gas bottles, carrying the coal or wood. You will not be needing a gym membership for fitness and strength. Living on a boat is interesting and different from life on land. Your lifestyle keeps floating with the water and nature. Living closer to nature is beneficial for mental and physical health.
Close-Knit Community
People living in waters are closer to one another than neighbors on land. In waters, your neighbors would be helping you and vice versa. It is a two-way street where you have to be ready to lend a hand when needed. Even if you are anonymous to one another, you will be helping each other in the waters. Living on a boat will give you the vibes of the village.
Land-based living disappears when you start living on a boat. Just like you, your neighbors would be the ones who invested to enjoy their lives being close to the aquatic nature. You can share your experiences and knowledge. Hence, it will be a close-knit community while living on a boat.
Cost-Effective Life
Owning a boat for cruising and fishing can be costly because you don’t go fishing daily. When you buy a boat to live on that for the rest of your life, it will be cheaper than living in a house on the land. Luxuries available on the land come with a price, the same is the case when you start living on a boat. The more the luxuries the more the price and cost will be. As compared to real estate, living on a boat is cheaper.
Safety and Security
Talking about safety and security while living on a boat, you have to consider if inviting strangers to your boat is safe or not. Also, if the kids and pets are safe around the docks. For safety, you will have to install smoke alarms, CO2, and a propane sniffer. You must be checking the fire extinguishers now and then. It will ensure that your fire extinguishers are ready to put out the fire.
Living On a Boat – A Great Adventure
People who love to go for a cruise or fishing will love to live on a boat. Others who have experienced cruising for the first time will be attracted to live in the waters but sometimes it is not the same they have expected. Living on a boat brings you closer to nature, aquatic life, greenery, etc. but maintaining your lifestyle can be different from the land.
The maintenance of the boat that you will be using to live on, will require great strength and fitness and sometimes more money. Before you start living on a boat, make sure that you will be able to fulfill the necessities to experience a better life on a boat.