Living aboard????

[sawyer]

On Dec 6th I think, I received a note from the forum about the map site, and in the text there was a note about Kurt living aboard a CP-23.  Is the 23 big enough and is that just for one person??  I have always had the dream of living for a time on the water but never have ventured that far. Maybe in your spare time (Kurt) if  you have any, you could enlighten the rest of us to your experience at that.  How long has it been, and what are the trials???  Thanks.........                     Doug/CP-16  "Yet Un-Named"

[CaptK]

Hi Doug -

I sold "Epiphany", my ex CP23D just over a year ago, and tho' I have been and do live aboard, it is on a 1967 Pearson Ariel "Katie Marie", not a Com-Pac. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

I did live on "Epiphany" for a little while though. I was by myself + 2 dogs, so it is possible. I have heard of others who lived aboard CP23's for longer time periods than I did. The 23's are large enough to live on if you are willing to adjust your expectations. You don't have a lot of room for extra "stuff", but if you have ever backpacked, living on a boat seems palatial by comparison. Plus, not having to set up your "house" (tent) every night is a big bonus. It is different than shoreside life, in many good ways and few bad.

The one thing I can say that I didn't like about the 23 was the lack of standing headroom. I am 5'9", and "Katie Marie" has standing headroom for me in the cabin. On the 23, you really need a dodger or similar covering over the companionway hatch area so that you have a place to stand and stretch your back. This can be a simple as a boom tent - just something to keep water out, basically.

Other than that, I say "Go for it!" if you have the dream. I ***love*** living on the water. Every morning I have my first cup of coffee at the companionway while I look out over Winyah Bay. Even on gray rainy days it is an unparalleled view, and always has something of interest to watch while waking up. Boat people are some of the nicest neighbors one could have, and there is always something going on around boats, even if it is just a quiet sunset in the cockpit. Being at a marina which is just off of the ICW, I have made many friends with transients. This also provides opportunities you wouldn't get any other way - for instance, I have been invited to crew in the Marion -> Bermuda race next year. Yippee! I'd have never gotten that opportunity if I only visited the boat on weekends.

The only thing I can think of which would qualify as "trials" is that, since your "house" floats, you are more susceptible to the vagaries of weather. Some would consider this a trial, I don't - it's just a part of the life. I don't begrudge the rain when I am walking down to my boat home, I actually enjoy the view of the marina in a quiet time. Very ocasionally the weather will be severe enough to actually demand your attention or action - for us, maybe 4 times in the last year, and I am including tropical storms/hurricanes in this.

For example, a few weeks ago, a low pressure system went by just off the coast. At about 1:30 AM, the wind was howling, and from a direction which pushed 2' swells through the marina. All of us liveaboards were up and about, securing boats which were looked like they might break loose, helping each other with our own boats, tending to things which needed it. All of the excitement was over in a couple of hours, and noone was really grumbling or bitching about having to have gotten up - we all pitched in and helped each other out, and it gave us something to talk about over the next few days, as well as some beer-drinking tales for the local bars. This was the only time we had to get up in the middle of the night all year long, so it was more fun than anything else.

Anyway, Doug, you only get one shot at life, so if living aboard has been a dream of yours, I say find a boat that'll float you, and go for it. It is generally cheaper than living shoreside, and, IMO, it is a more-involved-in-life lifestyle than what we get when occupying a cubicle like many other cubicles in the same area. If you want to "take a trial run" at it, get a slip for your 16 this year, and spend a month on her, or even two weeks. A larger boat will be more comfortable, but you will get almost the same experience with a 16, and it will let you know if living aboard is something you'd like to pursue. Good luck!

[sawyer]

Thanks for the reply........
I have spent many a night in a tent over the years, and then to a small pickup and cap with a canoe and windsurfer on top, but have since graduated to a diesel pickup with an 8' hardside camper.  It is snug and its a place for everything and everything in its place type of living.  I really pulls the CP-16 well, and I'm sure it will drag a 23 easily. I have done all kinds of camping, but hardly ever stayed overnight on a boat, but I think that is in the near future.  I think I will take your advice and do a week or so of camping on the water this summer, but maybe not in a marina.  There are some great coves and spots where we regularly sail, and it is big enough to keep me busy and interested for a week or so.  I have always had an interest in sailing around Lake Superior and then down to the North Channel of Lake Huron, the 16 would be fine for the North Channel, but Superior is another story. I have given the boom tent some thought, but have yet to spring for the material, and seat cushions will be in order soon.  I am a big boy, and it is real snug down below in the 16, and I have napped on the cockpit seats a number of times and just kept all my goods below.  If it gets to be a good blow, I might have to hunker down inside however.  Thanks much for the reply, this is such a great website for the CP owners and lookers, which I was for quite a few years.  I think I'll try to be satisfied with my CP-16 dream which came true for a while longer and keep that 23 dream on the back burner.
                                                      Safe Sailing,
                                                      Doug, CP-16 "Yet-Un-named"