Anyone here ever lived on a boat?

Think about a "Trawler Yacht". The Feds are recalling about half of the Federal Fishing liscenses. That means on the east coast, there are some very nicely appointed ex working boats, cheap. Strong seaworthy boats. The Fishermen live on these boats for weeks at a time, trust me, you wish your house, was as nice, as some fishing boats I've been in. The best to get, would be a South Coast Cray Boat. A stern wheelhouse boat. That way, when it is important, every body and every thing on board is in your sight at all times. And they are far easier to steer. A Tripconnee, Kayser, Porter, these boats were built to stand up to the Southern Ocean. They are strong and safe. Did I mention how nice they are in the living quarters? Modern fishing boats are fitted out exactly like a modern luxury cruiser. They really are very nice inside.
Remove and sell the remaining fishing gear, lots of room, in one of them.
Remember, as a private boat driver, 65 Feet is your max length. That, is big boat, capable of easy ocean crossing. Once you have her sized up in your minds eye, she will be no harder to drive, than an automatic Range Rover.

I've been at sea since the age of 15, in every thing from 33 foot fishing boats with a crew of 3, to small passenger liners, and aircraft carriers with a crew of 1500. I love being at sea, yet funnily, I can't stand a day at the beach.
You and the girls will either thrive or want back on land. Ask advice from the fisho's, not the club set. Chardonnay, and water, do not mix very well, in my experience.
And by all means, do it, take the "ultimate sea change". There is nowhere in the world you can't take your kids, and teach them right there.
The Southern Ocean, is the only body of water, to encircle the entire planet, unhindered by land. Go to the bottom of Tassie, turn left into the morning sun, next stop, the rest of the world.
The adventurous way, around "The Horn", in the footsteps of Hemmingway.
Hmm, sounds like you need a good Gilligan type, I'm not doing all that much for a while. Just, NO 3 HOUR CRUISES.:twisted:


Shorty.

Hi JC. I had thought of doing the same myself. When I eventually get out of the mining game, I'll be retiring (?????) to a house straight across the water from you at South Arm. The couple in the block across the road from there did it another way. They sold their house in Hobart and bought a huge caravan (too big to tow around on holidays). They lived in various locations for a while (probably caravan parks) and then bought a vacant block at South Arm and put their caravan (plus a fairly large trailer boat) on the block.

My Father did it for 10yrs but he was forced back onto land by the Govt changing live aboard rules:mad:

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Originally Posted by BMKal

Hi JC. I had thought of doing the same myself. When I eventually get out of the mining game, I'll be retiring (?????) to a house straight across the water from you at South Arm. The couple in the block across the road from there did it another way. They sold their house in Hobart and bought a huge caravan (too big to tow around on holidays). They lived in various locations for a while (probably caravan parks) and then bought a vacant block at South Arm and put their caravan (plus a fairly large trailer boat) on the block.

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Excellent BMkal, Another 'retiree' from the west. Nice area sth arm, great water views etc, and pretty relaxed.
I say another retiree because even though I'm working like a dog ATM, I feel priveleged to be living where we do, as we all come from Perth originally, this was the best move we did.

AND...

Thankyou everyone for your input, the better half and I really appreciate the comments, and some have raised some really important concerns we haven't even thought of yet. Keep it coming, this is great!!!

JC and family.

justine

where would you keep the rovers parked , and what about all the spares

by sound of it you need a big shed.:)

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

Traditional timber boats are labour intensive and hence expensive to build. (wood is expensive too!) Old ones are also expensive to maintain. By the time a boat is thirty years old it will need a LOT of work. I know. At the beginning of this year I brought my thirty year old boat home to the farm to work on - it needs an enormous amount of work done on it.

John

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This one was in superb condition,and I doubt if one could install the electronics today for what he paid for the whole boat. I gather it was a bit old-fashioned and slow for today's market. Two 6cyl. Gardners and a 4cyl Gardner for auxiliary power and refrig. These lovely old timber boats do need some maintenance though. I have another friend who has a preWWII 40' bay cruiser handed down now to the third generation and he hopes to pass it on to the next.