| My wife and I and our dog have lived aboard our Mariner 32 for about
1 1/2 years. Last November we took on a new crew member.
It's definitely a different lifestyle and one that I don't ever
intend to give up. However, it's not for everyone. If you are the
least bit claustrophobic or if your family members have short tempers
it's probably not for you.
Since we are just getting into the problems of raising a child on
board I can't address your questions about raising 6 - 8 year olds.
But, our current plan is to stay aboard or 32' Mariner until Elizabeth
is about 5 years old. We then plan to look for something in the
range of 40 - 43', preferably with an aft cabin that will afford
us a little privacy. As for now, Elizabeth gets the V-berth along
with all the paraphanalia it takes to support a 5 month old baby
and we sleep on a settee in the main cabin. This may get old before
our five years are up but...
I've begun thinking about child proofing the boat. Storage space
is short enough without having to worry about whether things are
stored out of reach of little hands. Also, everything swings or
pulls out just waiting to pinch little fingers. Toilet training
should be fun. If she survives I think the experience will be good
for her. When we lived in Florida we met several cruising families
and, while I'm sure it can't all be attributed to boat living, these
children seem better adjusted, more self reliant and more secure
than most kids I knew who lived on land.
We live at Constitution Marina in Charlestown and, while I don't
know about schools, as far as services are concerned, we are
considered Charlestown residents.
Winter living is a little difficult. First of all, there are only
a few marinas in the area that stay open all winter much less allow
living aboard. Constitution, Admiral's Hill and a few along the
Boston waterfront are the only ones that I know about. Constitution
is the best among them. Then there's heat. Last year we used a
kerosene space heater that took up practically the entire main cabin
and turned the whole inside of the boat black with soot. Even though
we always left a hatch open, we never ran it while we slept. So,
in the mornings we would awake to icecicles hanging over our heads.
This year, because of the baby, we decided that we had to have
something better. We ruled out bulkhead mounted cabin heaters because
of the danger of the baby getting burned and because we didn't want
to give up any more of our precious living space. So, the only other
alternative was an Espar diesel fired, forced air system. Expensive
(about $3000.00 for an 11,000 BTU system installed) but probably
worth it. We still had to supplement it with electric heaters.
Even with all the difficulties, winter living aboard is becoming
more popular. This winter there were about sixty year 'round live-
aboards at Constitution and the number is growing.
As I said, I really love the lifestyle but, I don't know if I could
do it if I had more than one child. At the very least I would need
a fifty foot boat. Then it starts getting economically unfeasible.
With dock rents of $78/foot for the summer and winter rents of $30
a foot plus $100/month liveaboard fee plus metered electric it's
not cheap when you get into boats of that size.
Hope this helps,
Andy Stangel
|
| Another consideration is insurance. We found if very difficult to
find insurance that will cover the boat for living aboard and for
year 'round in the water. Last year, because we were in a hurry
and didn't have time to look around, we paid almost $1000.00 for
insurance. This year, even they would not insure for living aboard.
We ended up going through Ocean Underwriters. Being a Florida company,
they were a little hesitant about insuring a boat that would be
in the water, in the winter, in New England. We had to accept a
ice damage waiver. Since our marina doesn't really freeze (just a
thin coat of ice that the marina personnel breaks up with a dinghy)
I accepted. Their rates are pretty good (a little over $400.00).
But, never having a claim, I don't know how they are at paying off(I
hope I never have to find out).
|