Is it possible to live on a sailboat indefinetly?

Question

Of course you could if you were financially set, but what if you weren't? By living very cheaply, not staying in marina's unless absolutly neccesary, could you manage to cruise the world by finding jobs at ports when the money runs low? Or could you have a job on the internet and be able to literally work anywhere? Are the skills that a sailor who lives on a sailboat (boat maintenence, sailing skills etc) worth enough to be able to live off of?

I read somewhere that these people manage to live on about 1,100 dollars a month cruising.

I'm not close to living on a sailboat, I'm just thinking about what I could do after high school, and the thought of actually being able to live on a boat, and being able to "move" on a whim just sounds amazing to me.

Answer 1

Captain John... you missed a skill... maybe a couple... LEARN REFRIGERATION... I have NEVER known a cruising sailor who was knowledgable about refrigeration who didn't have more work than he knew what to do with any place he dropped the hook.

The other skill is.. be a musician.  You can pack a guitar and/or a combo organ in even the smallest boat and you can set up just about anywhere and work for the tips.

Answer 2

since you'll mostly be out on international waters take a gun. because there are modern day pirates. and there is no law out there about killing anyone. but it is very possible.

Answer 3

Look you got some strange ansers here but i tell you from my life time i am 44 and i have been a full time liveaboard doing just what you been dreaming., as long as the num heads that ansered you has been living and YES it can be done over a half a million miles i have covered and yes it can be done hold your way email me if you like i will be glad to help you any way i can with what i have learned [e-mail]

Answer 4

Ms Ferret,

You bet this can be done, I have found that mt wife and I did this for a while (3 years) while sailing up and down the Eastern Seaboard and the Bahamas.  Our expenses in the Bahamas were considerably less than in the U. S., this was because we were anchored out, providing for our own entertainment.

I do have many skills, including boat engine mechanics, electrical power management, including engine generators, solar power, and wind generators.  I can do rigging for boats, I have also gotten a commercial driver's license.  There are a lot of other skills that I have put to use, including underwater boat maintenance.

I would suggest that you stay in school, get a good education, then in your working life, always keep your dream in mind.  build your skills.

I have seen a lot of areas where there are permanent live aboards that have become permanently anchored, living like rats because they have little skills, a lot like those living under bridges somewhere.  Not many communities welcome them, and they are becoming a dieing breed.

Stick with your studies, you have a long life ahead of you, build your security first.  

Answer 5

Yes, of course you can if you work at learning the many things you will need to know about sailing, navigation and survival.   It takes a lifetime, and more, to learn all you need to know about sailing. Chapman Piloting and Seamanship is the bible of sailing and small boat handling, so it should be a purchase - something you own, if you want to be a serious sailor.  The lifestyle is easier in some places than in others as many places have rules about where you can anchor, where you can dinghy ashore, etc.  

My husband and I lived aboard and cruised and most of the time it was fun and a great adventure, interspersed with short periods of frustration, hard work, and occasional sheer terror.  We usually lived on considerably less than $1100 a month, but there were months when it cost considerably more because of events such as repairs, etc.  We anchored practically all the time, mostly in places where you could dinghy ashore for free.  

If you live aboard a boat and travel anywhere, most likely you will be seasick at some point. My husband and I both got seasick from time to time. So you need to be prepared for that.   Picture a scene  with gear all over the sole of the cabin and everything wet and hard to prepare food and throwing up - all very real - but it doesn't happen often. We had situations that bad only a couple of times, and when it happens it is usually mostly your own fault because you didn't secure things properly before going to sea, and for us when it happened we didn't pay sufficient attention to forecasts. You would quickly learn that NOAA and Herb HIlgenbreg are your friends.

I woulld think it is much more fun to do it with a companion, but that person must be someone you are very compatible with, for you will often spend 24/7 in only each other's company in a very small space, and you will have to trust each other implicitly.  

And there are women out there who have done it alone.  Look for a book called By the Grace of the Sea by a woman named Patricia Henry.  When she was in her 50s she set out on a journey around the world alone in a small sailboat, and she did it.  It took several years for her to complete her journey, and she had no money and supported herself as she went along, mostly by doing small paintings and selling them.  In anchorages it is possible  to make a little money with various crafts, and also by selling food if you are a handy cook - bread, pies, cakes, etc.

So follow  your dreams.  And as an old salt once said to my husband when we were considering moving aboard our sailboat and cruising, "Sonny, if you wait til you're ready, you'll never go."

Answer 6

yes just make sure you have two tons of marijuana and alot of vibraters

let me know how it goes

chow

Answer 7

Yes, you can. It's not an especially easy life, but it's certainly possible. There are lots of ways to do coastal and ocean sailing "on the cheap". You can get an older but perfectly seaworthy boat for nothing or next to nothing at moorage auctions or Craig's List, and anchoring-out is free. And yes, if you have two functioning hands and a decent work ethic, you can find work wherever you go; don't be afraid to be a little creative. There isn't a seaport town in the world that doesn't need English-speaking wait staff. Do not, however, expect to have internet access, at least in the fashion you've grown accustomed to; it would be nearly impossible to telecommute, unless you were permanently moored at a marina with wifi.

Another possibility to consider is instead of owning your own boat, signing on as a deckhand on a small sailboat that is cruising to an area you want to go. You'll have free room and board, learn tons about sailing, and likely get a (very) small stipend of spending money. It is also certainly possible for you to sail commercially and make a fair amount of money, should you ever choose to do so.

Yes, ocean cruising is dangerous. The fact that you recognize this puts you head and shoulders above a lot of the people I see post here. Frankly, the biggest dangers are the sea and the wind themselves, and I promise they won't discriminate on account of your gender or age. Yes, p****y does occur, just like muggings and murders occur on land. Take the time to learn where p****y is especially a problem, and avoid those places, even if it means sailing hundreds of miles out of your way. A word on carrying firearms -- encountering pirates is a remote possibility, but encountering Customs agents is a certainty, and there is nothing that can happen to you in the hands of a pirate that can't happen to you in a foreign prison. Be very, very aware of the regulations concerning such things, for any country you plan on sailing to, or sailing near. You never know where you might have to make an emergency stop.

Oh. And be prepared to experience no small amount of classism and discrimination from the yachties. People who have spent hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars to go cruising, really don't appreciate the fact that you're doing the same thing for free, or nearly so. Their problem, not yours.

Answer 8

Friskyferret, I think that the imagining of this is better than the actual life.It is always better to have a marketable skill than not to. We live in a whacky world. One that a young girl alone is not really safe.

Study hard and well, and make good grades and learn as much as you can. If you have the aptitude for it, go to college.

I wish you well.

Regards,

Dan

Answer 9

You can live on a sail boat instead of a house. Many people live on house boats that are large barges with a house built on them.

The amount of money you list is very unrealistic. There are port fees when you have to come in and empty your toilets and take on fresh water, and other countries charge entry fees for you, fees on the boat, and more.

Most of the countries in the world will not let you work in their country without a permit, and to get a permit, most countries require you have a work skill that an employer could not find a citizen of their country to do the work.

So you would have to work, save your money and then try sailing around the world on your savings.

Answer 10

WOW!  What a very good question... I love it!

Yes, you can live on a sailboat "indefinetly" as you put it - a good number of people do this.  Most however, do it with a "budget" and a sustainable amount of steady income.  But, there are a few (very few) that do exactly what you described, and truthfully, we always run into at least one or two such couples each and every voyage we make.  They usually have a very-very minimalistic life and lifestyles - For them, their diet is limited to beans, rice and the fish they catch. A Coke or a Beer is a rare treat... even bread is seldom purchased. But, they seem to be enjoying themselves and "comfortable" with their "minimalistic" lifestyle.  I could not do it -  and I personally don't know anyone that could - but, obviously, some do.

This is what I have observed with people in regards to "living aboard"... no matter where... cruising the world, living on the hook, in the marina, it really doesn't make a difference... it all boils down to one's own comfort zone and lifestyle.

And this is really the "key" with living on a boat - If you are moving "out" of your "comfort zone" to move onto a boat - you will eventually (as soon as the newness wears off) not like it - and in fact, grow to hate it.

If however, you are able to maintain your lifestyle and stay within your "lifestyle's comfort zone" as many people do - you will find you can actually greatly improve your quality of life.

If you want to work as you go - and actually make a good living at it...

One of you should become a Dentist.

One of you should become a certified diesel engine mechanic.

One could learn sails and sail repair.

These three trades (for sure) are the only ones I know of, that are in demand in almost any Port.

Happy & Safe Boating