How difficult is it to live aboard a sail boat in Florida?

Question

How difficult is it to live aboard a sail boat in Florida?

Answer 1

the worst thing about Living on any Boat is humidity, Clean Cloth,s seem always,s to be damp so A dehumidifier is a must, Most Dock,s have Electric and Phone. hookups. and then their are the Mosquitoes to contend with, you will need a steady supply of OFF candles. other then that it depend,s on the size of your Boat, Slip rental is relatively inexpensive compared to rent, some marina,s will allow you to Anchor and commute to land buy a small boat or dingy. you can shop around and see what is more feasible for you.   The two thing about living on a Boat is if you can have a new Back yard every night and if you don't like your Neighbor,s you can move

Answer 2

difficult in what way? expenses or hazards

my friend lived on a sail boat in Fort Lauderdale when I was growing up

They basicly rented the dock where thier boat was and owned the boat. Other expenses may included running a generator 24 hours a day (but that is cheap) and of coarse boat maintance

other wise than that, I think it is pretty easy from what I remember

My best advise is to go to boating shows in Florida and ask questions

Sounds like fun!!!

Answer 3

It depends on what part of Florida. There are now many areas with non live aboard regulations.

Answer 4

never heard of this there.  there are a lot of alligators ect.  So I guess not that easy and I would expect if you can it would be quite expensive.

Answer 5

There are some things you need to consider if you want to live on a sail boat in Florida.   Do you want to anchor or live at a marina?  If you anchor you need to be in an area where you can dinghy ashore, and sometimes there are difficulties with that in Florida - so much of the coastline is now privately owned - but it is still possible.  Many marinas do not allow full time live aboards so you will need to check that out.  If you plan to move around rather than stay in one place, then it is easier, but it also means that you will need to plan where you will anchor each day and so on.  Generally whereever you are, facilities such as groceries and laundromats will be fairly close by, but you must be prepared to walk and carry a load in a backpack unless you want to pay for taxis and so on.  We had a little wheeled cart that we used when we walked for groceries, etc.   Some towns have excellent public transportation which will make it easier.  My husband and I always anchored and carried bicycles on our sailboat, which we would bring ashore in a dinghy.  The west coast of Florida is easier in some ways for live aboards.  We found that many towns had public docks where you could tie up for free, often for a few days at a time, with free access to water.  LaBelle and Venice are two of those.  Labelle is particularly friendly to cruisers.  If you get into the live aboard life you will begin to meet many other people doing the same sort of thing and you will learn many things by word of mouth.  Cruisers and live aboards tend to be very friendly people, and they will help you.  Go for it.  We lived aboard in Florida for more than a year with no real difficulties.