4 ms·

I was recently looking into this in the DC area, and while it may work for some (I'm still giving it serious thought), for many, the cons will far outweigh the

by bmelton 17y ago

I was recently looking into this in the DC area, and while it may work for some (I'm still giving it serious thought), for many, the cons will far outweigh the cons. The biggest hardship for me living on water would be that I likely couldn't keep my guitars. Houseboat living means, in a nutshell, that everything you own will get wet, whether from incidental contact with water, or just the humidity in the air. I'm perfectly willing to buy vacuum containers for foods (salt, sugar, coffee) to keep them safe, but to my knowledge, no such animal exists to keep my Les Paul safe from harm. The best workaround I have come up with thus far is to store my nicer guitars in climate controlled storage, and just keep a cheapish acoustic guitar on board with me, which I suspect I would have to replace at given intervals... hopefully no more than once per year. Aside from that, at least in this area, it isn't dirt cheap to live on a boat. I've seen mooring costs that range between $20-$40 per foot per month, which equates to $800-$1600 for a 40' boat. Compared to DC real estate, it's a bargain, for sure, but it's also not the last respite for the homeless either. I haven't gotten around to pricing, but I suspect that boat insurance is going to be considerably more than home or auto insurance. I have absolutely no idea how to estimate utilities on a boat. I understand that power is supplied by the mooring facilities, but I have heard that it is expensive, and highly unreliable. I'd love to hear feedback from anybody who has or is currently living aboard, as I'm still eager to try it, even if it means maintaining a landlocked residence until I've figured it all out.

chris11 17y ago
There was a discussion about living on a boat earlier on HN that you might find interesting: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=565077 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=565077
garply 17y ago
Not aboard, but abroad - two of us split an apartment for $600 in a decent location in Beijing (near Beijing's central business district and a 10-min walk from a subway station). I think $300 / month is probably affordable for most techies who can telecommute (or for techies obsessed with saving money). I've also got 2 friends who split a 2-bedroom here that they rent for $500 / month. And you can get much cheaper if you're willing to live further on the outskirts of town (having grown up in rural America, I actually find the outskirts very peaceful and pleasant compared to the crowdedness of downtown, but I run a physical store here, so the commute would be painful). Plus, tasty and cheap noodles everywhere!
mixmax 17y ago
I live on a boat in the Copenhagen harbor, nad have done so for the last five years. Here are a few answers: - My experience is that the humidity isn't as bad as it's made out to be. Make sure it's properly heated in the winter, and if you can fit it in get a wood stove. That'll take care of all humidity problems. I've never had any problems with food, clothes, etc. - I don't know about mooring prices in the US (or anywhere else for that matter) but my experience from Copenhagen is that if you can get into one of the smaller harbours that aren't as high-end and have a bit of fishing and other maritime business it's going to be a lot cheaper. Besides it's more fun! I pay around $1000 a year for mooring and access to water and electricity. - I pay $900 a year in insurance. Again this is Denmark and I have no idea about US prices. - Power is supplied by the harbour, and I've never had any problems. It seems as reliable as anywhere else. But living on a boat you want a generator, a converter and a good battery bank anyway for when your anchoring somewhere :-) You (and anyone else) are welcome to send me a mail if you have questions. It's in my profile. Since a lot of people, bot here and other places, have asked about living on a boat me and two other guys have just recently started a blog about this. It's currently located here: http://cbb.sjovedyr.net/ http://cbb.sjovedyr.net/ I'd love any feedback you have. It'll be available from www.copenhagenboatbums.dk in the near future, I'll put it in my profile when it's moved. Edit: The boat in the linked video does seem a bit shoddy, it can be done much better than that :-)
aarongough 17y ago
If you are mainly worried about your guitars then you should have a look at acoustics with laminated necks. Martin makes a series of low-cost guitars with laminated necks that are actually quite good! The fact that the neck is laminated makes it less prone to warping as the different pieces of wood will absorb moisture in different ways and help stop each other moving, making the neck more stable over all... They use the same concept on rifle stocks. I can't say I blame you for not wanting to take your Les Paul on a boat! * I used to work for Gibson in Australia

by bmelton 17y ago

chris11 17y ago

There was a discussion about living on a boat earlier on HN that you might find interesting: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=565077 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=565077

garply 17y ago

Not aboard, but abroad - two of us split an apartment for $600 in a decent location in Beijing (near Beijing's central business district and a 10-min walk from a subway station). I think $300 / month is probably affordable for most techies who can telecommute (or for techies obsessed with saving money). I've also got 2 friends who split a 2-bedroom here that they rent for $500 / month. And you can get much cheaper if you're willing to live further on the outskirts of town (having grown up in rural America, I actually find the outskirts very peaceful and pleasant compared to the crowdedness of downtown, but I run a physical store here, so the commute would be painful). Plus, tasty and cheap noodles everywhere!

mixmax 17y ago

I live on a boat in the Copenhagen harbor, nad have done so for the last five years. Here are a few answers: - My experience is that the humidity isn't as bad as it's made out to be. Make sure it's properly heated in the winter, and if you can fit it in get a wood stove. That'll take care of all humidity problems. I've never had any problems with food, clothes, etc. - I don't know about mooring prices in the US (or anywhere else for that matter) but my experience from Copenhagen is that if you can get into one of the smaller harbours that aren't as high-end and have a bit of fishing and other maritime business it's going to be a lot cheaper. Besides it's more fun! I pay around $1000 a year for mooring and access to water and electricity. - I pay $900 a year in insurance. Again this is Denmark and I have no idea about US prices. - Power is supplied by the harbour, and I've never had any problems. It seems as reliable as anywhere else. But living on a boat you want a generator, a converter and a good battery bank anyway for when your anchoring somewhere :-) You (and anyone else) are welcome to send me a mail if you have questions. It's in my profile. Since a lot of people, bot here and other places, have asked about living on a boat me and two other guys have just recently started a blog about this. It's currently located here: http://cbb.sjovedyr.net/ http://cbb.sjovedyr.net/ I'd love any feedback you have. It'll be available from www.copenhagenboatbums.dk in the near future, I'll put it in my profile when it's moved. Edit: The boat in the linked video does seem a bit shoddy, it can be done much better than that :-)

aarongough 17y ago

If you are mainly worried about your guitars then you should have a look at acoustics with laminated necks. Martin makes a series of low-cost guitars with laminated necks that are actually quite good! The fact that the neck is laminated makes it less prone to warping as the different pieces of wood will absorb moisture in different ways and help stop each other moving, making the neck more stable over all... They use the same concept on rifle stocks. I can't say I blame you for not wanting to take your Les Paul on a boat! * I used to work for Gibson in Australia