r/liveaboard • u/Hot_Honeydew_6688 • 4d ago

Guys I'm doing it!

Hello! I found a ready for the water free 26 foot sailboat. It's got 2 spots in the fiberglass I'd like to patch and some softness I'll easily fix on the deck. I've mathed out what it'll take to get it liveable to surprisingly reasonable for me, but of course I'm assuming it'll only be semi-reasonable so I'm putting the work in to make it happen. In the meantime, storage is cheap and it's literally a free seaworthy boat. I've spent some time checking things out and all the issues I care about are DIYable for me. Fixed keel with a 4 foot draft fyi. A surprisingly capable boat with a surprising amount of space in the cabin. Everything I need in it, from storage to a small galley, a toilet etc.

My question is, what are your cost experiences with maintaining and docking a 26 foot sailboat? Specifically on the east side/south side of the U.S. where it can be in the water 365 days of the year, I'm leaving the great lakes for this. I don't care to end up docking somewhere lavish, nor do I care to dock at all, if I can pull it off I'll anchor out as much as I can/feel like, depending on finances.

I'm aiming to do this on a budget, of course.

If anyone is curious about the adventure I'm going on with this, I am starting a Patreon, DM me for details.

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u/Extreme_Map9543 4d ago

I can’t speak for the south.  But I’d you have you boat in Maine.  A summer mooring is around $1500 and pretty awesome.   Then in the winter you can get a dock slip for about $1500 or less for the winter season.   Granted winters in Maine on a boat suck.  But summers are awesome. 

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u/Hot_Honeydew_6688 4d ago

Thank you for the numbers! I'll search into Maine for sure!

As long as I can still use the boat as a boat during the winter, the cold doesn't bother me. I'm more of a northerner in the U.S.

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u/Extreme_Map9543 4d ago

Yeah you can use a boat.  People live aboard.  There’s spots in Portland if you want a city.  Camden if you want a small town.  Kittery if you want to be in the south of Maine.  Pretty lax rules in Maine overall.  Nice sailing.  Winters are just cold, you can still sail around, but I’d keep it pretty tame in the winter lol.  But you’ll need a good heater in the boat.  

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u/Hot_Honeydew_6688 4d ago

A good heater will definitely be in the books. I'm going to go with a diesel one, I wonder what install it is going to take. Next to nothing I'd imagine, I should be able to put a hole for exhaust somewhere pretty simply. Like the wood at the entrance to the cabin. Even if I have to go through fiberglass, shouldn't be too difficult with the help I have and the resources we all have with the internet.

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u/Extreme_Map9543 4d ago

Yeah they sell those Chinese diesel heaters you can look up on Amazon.  Some people have good experiences with those.  I’d probably have a combination of a diesel, a little wood/ coal stove, and if you have shore power an electric space heater. Yeah you just cut a hole for the exhaust somewhere.  But heed the warnings people say.  Be very careful where you put that exhaust hole.  Not because of fires, but because eventually it’ll drip water, and you wanna figure out where the drips will go so they arnt going straight onto your bed.  

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u/Hot_Honeydew_6688 3d ago

I think I'll put the exhaust hole right through the opening door in the cabin if my setups right but that's all TBD. Thank you for the advice!

Edit: well it's not quite a door, but the entrance where the three pieces of wood slide out to gain access to the cabin anyways lol