Things can go wrong during the closing phase, and it is extremely important to you (as the new owner) and your financing company that everything is done correctly, so that you actually own and can use the boat you just paid for, and so that your financing company adequately secures its first lien against the boat.
Problems have arisen when past boat loans are not identified or paid off, or in situations in which a boatyard or marina might have an existing lien against the boat. Sometimes identifying these outstanding liens is as easy as calling the marina or yard storing the boat. I have been told of a situation in which a boat that was purchased was sitting in a yard with an outstanding maintenance bill of several thousand dollars, and the yard would not release or launch the boat until her past bills were paid. The new buyer must have been surprised, although probably not as surprised as if the buyer had just purchased a stolen boat! Sometimes even the seller doesn’t know of a prior theft. We want to actually own what we pay for.
The benefits of using documentation services are that not only is the boat properly documented or registered, but often the company provides other services such as title/lien checks to attempt to identify any of these unexpected liens.
That’s it. Congratulations. You are now the parent of a beautiful new (maybe used) boat. Don’t forget to cut the umbilical cord and take her out to do what she was meant to do.
“Only a fool tests the depth of water with two feet.”
African Proverb
“If you wish to drown, do not torture yourself with shallow water.”
Bulgarian Proverb
Home, Sweet Home!
[1]Written by Roger Fisher, Bruce Patton, and William Ury. Published by Penguin Books USA, Inc., revised 1991.
[2]Whenever I discuss tax treatment, I use the word “should” when referring to whether a payment is tax deductible. Generally, interest should be deductible for liveaboards as either a first or second home, but as we all know, taxes are complex, and factors such as time on board and Alternative Minimum Tax might affect what can and can’t be done. Please talk to your accountant.
5. Choosing Your Marina
As a liveaboard, you have the opportunity to choose your location, as well as the atmosphere and environment in which you want to live. You get to choose your neighbors and marina staff, amenities, distance to conveniences and entertainment, and such considerations. After your choice of boat, your choice of location is the most important factor in determining whether you will enjoy your lifestyle. Luckily, given the mobility of your home, you have the freedom to change location as desired. Nonetheless, it is a far better strategy to first figure out exactly what you are looking for. And then of course, you need to find it.
Since there are alternatives to marinas, this chapter may be incorrectly titled. Marinas are, however, the most common setting for liveaboards. Other options for liveaboard locations include living at anchor (on the hook) or on a mooring (on the ball). I know cruising liveaboards that live under way, refusing to ever pull into a marina, and when not cruising, living exclusively on the hook. I tried to live at a mooring for a bit, but at that time I was working in the corporate world and found it very difficult to get to land well-dressed and dry. At my mooring there was a water taxi, so I wasn’t subjected exclusively to my inflatable dinghy, which leaked a significant amount of air through every seam (my friends thought that my pumping up my dinghy was my favorite hobby). Still, after only a few days I realized that this mooring lifestyle was not an acceptable one for me. The hardships were just too difficult: the long travel back and forth to land, my water tanks holding less than a week’s worth of water for showers and washing dishes, regularly running the engine to charge the batteries, and things like that. For me, this was the equivalent of a never-ending camping trip.
For cruising liveaboards, hundreds of books have been written dealing with the issues involved in living away from a home port. Among other concerns, there needs to be a constant focus on water conservation, energy creation and conservation, weather observation and preparation, food provisioning and storage, and more—all things that I will not be focusing on in this book. Cruising liveaboards also deal with many different ports, some international, and therefore need to be very aware of those issues as well. Also, there are security concerns on the high seas requiring knowledge and adequate planning. In contrast, at this point your discussion of life aboard is primarily directed toward those liveaboards who are connected to the land.
Marinas—In General
Marina living can mean anything at all, and marinas can be found anywhere there are boaters. Some marinas offer many social amenities, others none. Some are rural and quiet, others urban. Some are primarily boat storage locations, others are designed for heavy recreational use. Some promote living aboard, others prohibit it. Some are geared toward transient boaters, others have tight communities rarely invaded by outsiders. Some marinas are staging grounds for long-term, long-distance cruisers, while others typically see only coastal day-trippers. Some marinas are even limited to members only and resemble country clubs, with highly prestigious memberships and five-star restaurants and golf courses. And there are unlimited variations of each.
My marina, located just outside the city of Boston, focuses on the social aspects of boating. It supports liveaboards and hosts them all year round, even during the cold winters. This marina, sitting in the shadow of Boston, is a short walk from many of the conveniences of city living, including hundreds of restaurants, professional basketball and hockey, concerts, and festivals. Less than a five-minute drive away one finds a movie theater, a supermarket, and other shops. My marina has bathrooms and showers that are cleaned daily and a heated pool that is open during the summer and is under a tent on special occasions during the winter. This marina also throws several open-bar pool parties throughout the year, maintains a very responsive staff to assist with any problems, promptly pumps out boats on request, and makes sure that the docks are clean and safe. The marina also provides telephone and cable jacks to each of the slips, provides a shore power connection (the amp service depends on the slip), and provides city water throughout the facility. Just as importantly, the marina is also very well-protected from the elements and only a very short cruise away from open water.
The downside of the marina is that it is loud, being surrounded by downtown Boston with its major streets and highways, and sees lots of boat and car traffic. In addition, all of these benefits come at a cost, and while mine is not as expensive as some marinas, it is far more expensive than most. But it was, for me, a wonderful location for living aboard; I worked in downtown Boston, and enjoyed the short walk from my boat to the subway.
Factors
Of course, we need to break down the factors that any liveaboard needs to consider when choosing a marina. Make sure you are methodical in your choice; take the time not only to see the list of services that a marina provides, but also to inspect the facilities, speak to marina management and their employees, and walk the docks inspecting the condition of the boats, slips, and amenities.
Also, be sure to talk to the residents. Are these your kind of people? And does the marina support liveaboards, or merely tolerate them? Some marinas do not permit liveaboards at all! Do you want to have to sneak around (known as being a “sneakaboard”)?
Find out what the boat owners think of management and the services provided, and get the lowdown. If you ask people about their biggest complaints, you will find that if given the opportunity to speak, most people will enjoy elaborating on their problems.
Location
General location is one of your most important decisions. If you want to live near Boston, then this particular location needs to be the beginning of your search. If you work in Boston, not only do you probably want to live in or near Boston, but you will also need to be in a location that makes the commute manageable.
If you decide that you want your boat to be operational, you should have reasonable access to your cruising
grounds. If you enjoy ocean cruising, then you should be sure that you have acceptable access to the ocean. Many liveaboards live in the shadow of Seattle on Union Lake. While boating on the lake is very nice, it takes about three hours negotiating the locks just to get to open water, and of course the same amount of time to return (although the locks don’t open at rush hour, so the wait can be longer).
Atmosphere
Some marinas are like social clubs—I’ve lived in two of these. Everyone knows everyone else’s business; we witness each other’s lives, good days and bad; and we imbibe cool beverages regularly with our neighbors. In these marinas, the quiet neighbor is not only out of place, but he is out of his element. Social marinas often have lots of people on the docks and boats on nice evenings, particularly during the weekends, and the community feeling is often wonderful (and quite the soap opera).
Other marinas are quiet. If there are people on the boats, you don’t see them or hear them. You might see some light sneaking out of different boat windows in the evenings. The sounds are perfect—for some—with wilderness noises and the sounds of boats lightly clinking in the lapping waves. Deer might approach this type of marina, standing off at the edge of the parking lot, looking on in approval. Everyone is nice and keeps to himself. There are some wonderful marinas like this in rural areas, where a passerby will smell a wood-burning stove and see candles and lights in the boat windows. There is a terrific romance to being a part of that.
There are liveaboard marinas that might as well be cut right out of suburban and city neighborhoods. There are marinas that cater to blue-collar boaters, weekend warriors, zippy powerboats, sailboaters, partying kids, retirees, and everything in between. You have to find yours.
While some marinas can be luxurious, others can be downright rough. There are quite economical marinas known for their tough atmospheres and personalities, where you will find firearms on board, fire hazard boats, drinking binges, and unemployed boat owners. One marina that I visited featured several sunken boats, still underwater off of the main pier (I wonder if the boat owners are still being charged for their slip fees?) and many of the boats looked as if they could be ignited by the hint of a spark. In a conversation with one of the members of that marina, I was told that the television show Cops had filmed past episodes there, with fugitives arrested aboard several of the boats.
Much of the atmosphere will be created and enforced by marina management. Marinas pick and choose their tenants just as apartment buildings do. They develop and enforce guidelines for behavior and set a culture in their image. A marina that makes the effort to throw parties throughout the year is looking to make sure that the boaters know one another, working hard to create a tight community. In contrast, a marina that only has two garbage cans for fifty boats, and allows the garbage to overflow everywhere, is clearly not catering to the luxury (or clean) boat owner and management. Such a marina might be seen as leaving the boat owners alone, a positive factor for those who want to be left alone, but might not be responsive to other important issues.
Well-Protected
During my interviews in preparing this book, when I asked about choosing a marina, every single interviewee talked about finding a marina that is well-protected from the elements.
This unanimous response demonstrates the importance of living in a well-protected location. As a liveaboard, you have no other place to go when the weather is difficult. Most casual boaters only show up when the weather is perfect, and would rather sit at home watching TV waiting for that beautiful, sunny day. You, however, and all of your possessions, don’t get to leave. If you have a spouse or significant other, or children, your time in an unprotected marina will likely signify the end of your days as a liveaboard (if not also as a boat owner). And if you have a pet, as I do, your pet will likely not be very happy either.
There are lots of formulae to help people figure out how big the waves might get, such as wind direction, wind speed, and fetch. Obviously if you are in an unprotected windward location, your comfort will be diminished. Even small motion can feel magnified over time. What would not bother a casual boater might begin to drive you, or at least your guests, crazy. If even under normal conditions your boat doesn’t move around all that much, under heavier weather conditions it might. And heavy weather is always going to come again soon.
I spent some time at a popular marina on a local harbor. My boat always moved around more than I wanted, but one night a storm kicked up and I found myself in the v-berth, bouncing violently. The next night was more of the same, and by the third night, my cat and I left to find a motel room. The experience was horrible.
Also, when judging how well-protected a marina is, don’t forget to pay attention to the wakes generated by other boaters. If boats zip by outside of the marina, generating wakes felt inside, you might want to find another marina. I’ve seen experienced liveaboards get thrown about and injured when, without warning, a boat speeds past. This is your home, and you’re not always holding onto something for safety. Wakes can cause damage and hurt people. Be wary of exposing your home, as well as your and your companions’ well-being, to these conditions.
Amenities
Many marinas give their boaters more than just a slip. Some offer showers, bathrooms, and laundry facilities. Some even keep their showers, bathrooms, and laundry areas clean and working! Great marinas have them cleaned every day. As a liveaboard, you might want to make sure your marina provides you with these facilities, and maintains them, since there will likely be some point when either your shower or head is inoperable for any number of reasons: Maybe your systems have been winterized in cold weather climates, maybe there are mechanical problems, maybe your holding tank is full, or maybe you’ve run out of water and don’t have time to fill your tank before showering.
Other amenities offered by marinas might include providing city water on the docks and electrical hookups for shore power (be sure to check to make sure that the amperage you desire is available). These are often essential for liveaboards. Some marinas also provide telephone jacks and cable TV hookups, great amenities for the liveaboards who seek these types of benefits. And many are starting to offer wireless Internet, something that is becoming a necessity for so many of us.
Some marinas provide a lounge and a TV, offer small libraries, or have swimming pools, game rooms, and other forms of entertainment. Some marinas might even provide dock boxes for each boat’s use in order to ensure that the docks are clean and uniform in appearance.
I don’t know if parking is considered an amenity, but if you have a car, hopefully you’ll have someplace nearby to park. Some marinas charge for parking passes and others offer free parking for slip owners. There are marinas with regular shuttles that take their boat owners to trains or local attractions or to downtown locations, either around rush hour or at other regularly scheduled intervals throughout the day.
Conveniences
Some marinas are like mini self-sufficient cities. They have restaurants, grocery stores, provisioning stores, marine stores, and haul-out facilities. Other marinas are located in the midst of such conveniences, or are only a short walk away. What about mail delivery? As a liveaboard, you should ask about and be comfortable with the location of the nearest grocery store, post office, perhaps a movie rental store or movie theater, laundromat and dry cleaning (if not offered by the marina), and other conveniences.
Rules
Marinas have rules. These might relate to conduct or guests or noise. Some marinas are more lenient than others, allowing boaters to use the docks for the storage of equipment and even bikes, sheds, and junk. Others maintain absolutely spotless docks. Not all marinas will allow satellite dishes to be mounted on the dock, a major inconvenience to some liveaboards. Be sure to become familiar with the rules of your potential marinas to be sure that your lifestyle and needs are accommodated.
Culture
Marinas have styles and cultures. Some marinas cater to sailboats, and others, powerboats. So
me are designed for luxurious vessels or affluent boaters and others are not. Some marinas promote socializing and/or partying and others pride themselves on their quiet atmospheres. And like any community, there will be significant differences in opinions, personalities, and styles; some marinas are gay-friendly, gun-friendly, or golf friendly. Further, one trait that affects us all: Some are liveaboard-friendly and others are not. Your enjoyment depends on being in a community that you can enjoy and that can enjoy your presence.
Service
You depend on your marina staff for many different things. If you need something from the marina, will they be prompt and responsive? Will they be thorough and careful?
There are high-priced marinas right here in the Boston area that are known for their terrible service. One major marina is actually famous for its lack of responsiveness. To make matters worse, it is owned by a highly bureaucratic corporation, so anyone the boaters complain to just passes the buck to someone else.
Perhaps cleanliness and prompt maintenance fit most appropriately into the service category. That includes not only the bathrooms, but also any community areas, barbeque pits and tables, and the like. The garbage dumpsters or cans should be large enough to handle the population of boaters, and the area around the containers should be kept clean, to help prevent odors and cockroaches and other unwelcome pests. Failure to keep this area clean may also be a violation of local health codes.
The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat Page 8
