Life on a boat sounds fun but
It’s only for the passionate and the prepared, say those who have done it
Sunshine, sea breezes, and the ability to drop everything and sail off into the distance — it sounds romantic and adventurous. There’s a lot to love about living on a boat, but it comes with costs and sacrifices.
As people trying to avoid high rent or monster house prices turn their attention to living aboard, others who have lived on boats are warning it’s not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced.
Jan Braddock
Primary school teacher Jan Braddock and her family decided more than 20 years ago to make the move from a 140sq m home in Levin to a 32-foot yacht at Mana Marina, near Porirua.
It was a “learning curve” for the family of four, who had to figure out quickly how to drastically downsize all their possessions.
“We had to really think about what we were going to bring aboard and the old adage ‘If it’s not useful for two things, don’t bring it’.
“You can’t take your house attitude to a boat. It’s not a house, it’s a boat, and you’re living on it because you love being on a boat. You’ve got to pare your life right down to what you think is so important you can’t live without it.”
Braddock warned that living on a boat was not a cheap alternative to escape rising rental and house prices, and only people who were passionate about boats should do it.
“It’s not . . . the buying of the boat that’s expensive. It’s the marine berth, the insurance, and the maintenance.”
They haul out their boat once a year for maintenance, and that costs about $1500 to $2000.
“I think [boats] are perceived as to be a cheap sort of place to live, but ultimately they’re not a house. I firmly believe that you need to be moving aboard because you love boating and you love your boat. They’re a lot of work, there’s always something to maintain, and you have to really love your boat to be doing that.”
But for those who knew what they were doing, living aboard was a great option.
Braddock said the marina was “a real community”.
She remembered one blustery day while the adults were cooped up in the clubhouse together.
“It was blowing a gale outside ... [the kids] were out on a dinghy with bits of four by two and sails they made out of rubbish bags.”
Living aboard was “just so multifaceted”.
“You can go racing, you can go cruising, there’s so much to learn. You’re immediately immersed in a group of people who have similar interests.”
They were able to take the boat to Fiji and sail around the islands for five months, exploring in a way they never could have afforded if they had been staying on land.
For Braddock, the boat is her happy place. “It’s the place I need to be when I need to chill out and refresh,” she said.
One of the biggest appeals is the freedom to sail and stay anywhere in New Zealand on a whim — depending on work, of course.
Travelling to another country is a bit more work. The boat must be brought up to certain standards before it can be taken to foreign waters, a process which can take time and money.
Another side to living aboard is having to make snap decisions in the face of natural disasters.
Braddock normally doesn’t feel earthquakes while on the boat, but the 7.8 shake in 2016 was a different story.
With uncertainty about whether a tsunami was coming, she and her husband had to decide whether to try get the boat out into deep water to protect it, or simply to tie it up and head for the hills.
With a bad storm warning out, Braddock knew taking the boat out was too much risk, so instead abandoned her home, hoping it would be intact when she came back.