How to Get a Free Yacht

Step 2 Rent a Marina Slip

That's where you'll put your new boat.
Our slip costs $200 a month because it's a 30 foot slip.
Our bowsprit is a lot of that length. We could saw it off to save rent, but it's a great thing to ride on.
Some marinas don't allow wooden boats because they don't like beauty or suffering.
Or boats older than ten years, or worth less than 40 grand or somesuch because they worship Moloch.
We found the Emeryville Marina, which is a righteous place.
Here's the application we filled out to get in.
It requires insurance, which in turn asks what marina the boat is in, which is a catch-22.

Comments

[drewdoog]

Id just live in it.. seriously

[TXcat22]

I have a Catalina 22 that I live on. Small, but comfortable. I have A/C, heat. power. stove........etc, etc...and Wifi. Paid $500 for it. Was given another by the marina which I salvaged the sails, motor and hardware from. Remodeling it now to sell for a larger sailboat and do it all again. A 35-40 foot is my goal.

[tmsmalley]

Until you legally transfer the title (like you do when you buy or sell a car) you don't own the boat, no matter what the harbor master says. He just wants to get an abandoned boat off his property.

[crickle321]

The major factor a boat owner should consider are the local zoning laws. You can get a pretty hefty fine for living in a non-residential zone such as a rent-storage facility. Plus not having running water, electricity, or long-term toilets can get inconvenient real fast. And hooking up to a near by ‘free’ source would not go unnoticed for very long since someone has to pay the bill.

[glorybe]

        An acquaintance of mine used a hole in enforcement to get around the laws. He pulled a hull into the parking lot at the rear of his business. He gutted everything and lowered a camper inside the hull and bolted it in. He ran power from his shop. It turns out that the regulation of boats fell to our water police and they never patrol on land. And the building inspectors could do nothing as the boat was on a trailer. Even if some official had wanted to complain that he was living in that boat it would be very hard for them to prove. With the door closed even if they climbed on board it would be hard to swear that anyone was inside the camper. Oddly the guy did rig the camper in such a way that the boat actually could function on the water. He even took a long vacation on that contraption.

[altgrave]

your acquaintance is a hero.

[Rimwulf]

My parents had a truck camper free of my local yahoo group named "freecycle" from http://www.freecycle.org and we put it in the driveway for me to live it. Well about a month went by my mother said shes going to get rid of it because its useless if I can't live because code enforcement said no and I was thinking "how wold they know? They can't get in without a key and we can tell them that we don't have one proving that no one is living in it.." Needless to say she still said no- after all she's my landlord- it was a little time after I realized that she wanted to make room for another car.

[crickle321]

That's sounds pretty cool and sneaky. Could you post some pictures of the 'Winnebago-boat' if you have any?

[=SMART=]

same lol

[ArtemisBlue]

Same here. I'm only 15 but seriously considering living in a boat. How freakin' awesome would that be? Or just get free boats, fix em' up, and sell em'.

[Xellers]

Sleeping in them in the Northeast is a bad idea. We had some friends who did that and they couldn't survive more than one winter.

[Rishnai]

Try a winter in a shipping container in Gunnison, Colorado. I hear that's pretty brutal! (Not that I'd want to winter in the Northeast at all, a little too damp).

[glorybe]

         It's only damp above freezing. Once you get below freezing the air is dry.
         Insulate! Insulate! Insulate!

[ArtemisBlue]

Um, Blankets?

[Xellers]

I'm sure they had blankets. And yet, they didn't decide to stay for more than one winter.

[lucek]

I've done winter camping in Massachusetts and you need a little more than blankets. to survive a thermal insulated sleeping bag is a must. if your not prepared for harsh cold even in 3 inches of down you don't want to be in a new England winter with out a house around you.

[phoenixbyrd]

Please... I spent a whole winter living outside with nothing more than a thick winter coat in a tree fort to stay away from the ground critters. Massachusetts weather ain't that bad lol

[lucek]

I can tell you plenty of times you didn't do that as you'd be dead ATM if you did.
Just because you did something stupid in a miler part of the state at a milder time doesn't mean anything. Being near to that cold gray ocean when winter is pounding the coast hard is something completely different.

[zeroemission]

the one time i camped out in winter in NY, i think i wore two layers of sweats/hoodies and had a couple of blankets and once i got the snow beneath me to conform to my body, i slept like a baby. it wasn't below 20 degrees, but i'd do it again in a heartbeat. living in the cold 24/7 though is a different issue. i hate sitting on cold toilet seats! LOL

[MrRodrigez]

LOL try Michigan..

[lucek]

rather not if it's worse. then again after 07 I'd like to see worse conditions apart from north Canada. I thankfully listened to the weather and avoided waking to my tent under a 7 foot snowdrift.

[M-26-7]

As someone who has lived their whole life in Massachusetts, I can tell you that you do not want to be on the water in the winter. No offense, Blue, but that's how people die. They don't have enough sailing experience, or they're not prepared, or whatever and all it takes is one storm and they're gone. My advice would be to live up north in the summer and more docile months and then sail down to the Caribbean for the winter. All and all though I'd save that for something to do at the end of your life.

[lucek]

no argument here. a boat on the open water will soon become toothpicks in winter, I was just commenting about the cold. PS: where do you live, I'm on the Quincy/Dorchester boarder.

[M-26-7]

Out in the "wild west", ways from Springfield. It's pretty boring. I know some people who lived for a while in Quincy; it's a pretty cool place.

[lucek]

1 T stop from Boston 2 buses from the blue hills its a nice balance. went visiting a friends aunt out your way. 3 hour trip but beautiful place.

[=SMART=]

hey selling them would be a good idea!

[TruthHunter]

I just did some kayaking in Key Largo area. I saw a lot of house boats that
were in the free to skanky looking category. I saw one with an orange sticker
on the window like you see on dead freeway cars. Did the guy end up in a nursing home? also a bunch of old FG hulls with plywood shanties built on them.

In florida, you can anchor a lot of places as long as you are "cruising". Its kind
of hard to earn a living though if you have to keep moving.

Bishop's 4 Months in a Sneakbox describes the Riverboat culture that was somewhat of a revelation to me. They would build them out of cheap lumber in Pittsburgh, sometimes just salvage that got(stole) away from lumber floats. they would
float down the river through the winter months, gambling(ever hear of a River Boat Gambler?) hunting, fishng,rustling, etc. They'd sell the boats in New Orleans and take the Steamer back to Pittsburg and do it all over again. I suspect these Gypsy caused a lot of the laws that make living on the water difficult.
What we need is the nautical equivalent of Slab City!

[T Bomber]

I've actually been considering the possibility of buying an old fishing boat and converting it.Fishing boats are relatively cheap if they don't come with a permit.Sell off the gear and equipment if it still has that stuff.But you could probably find just the boat.A 65-75 ft trawler would give you beaucoup room.

[Skai]

damn i dont want to have to pay anymore rent

[specopps117]

People should be allowed to live in ANY boat... I have a right to do what I want in and or on my property and if they don't like it they can take the boat... If they can get past me and my guns....

[hotspringfreak]

What's to stop you from taking a sailboat south from the East or Gulf Coasts, to sail up the Rio Dulce (at Livingston, Guatemala) and anchor at a marina in Rio Dulce town for $100/mon? Bar/restaurant/WiFi and head and shower included + NO winter weather. The U.S. Coast Guard say the Rio Dulce is protected from hurricanes in the Caribe and when I was there that were the yachties were cruising into for a safe, cheap haven.

[TimAnderson]

A friend's dad was living on his boat in Rio Dulce. He was telling me how great it is. I see from your name you're a freak for hotsprings. How do I find the good ones here in california? is there a secret list of "secret" ones?

[boognishmofo]

I fell in love with Hot Springs Arkansas this summer. Great Place, the locals talked of lots of springs on private property. Kinda sucked the, the bath houses would not let me in with a pair of reg shorts or even mesh lacrosse shorts.

[ForgetMyProfile]

Q. What medicine do saylors take to keep them from rolling off their bunks in stormy seas? A. Vigara

[marcintosh]

Stayed an entire winter on a 38' Post Sport Fisherman. It was a live-aboard kind of deal. $1200 fee's for the winter included electricity. The chandlers stayed open so I could use the head and shower. I found an old Ice Eater so that took care of the freezing-in issue. It was great in January in CT. You could cut the quiet with a knife 8-D. The only issue was rolling over in the bunk if you were below the waterline. The merest touch on the bulkhead and instantly awake from your skin "freezing" to it. I learned fast. The boat was moored to a seawall so I didn't have to worry about taking a tumble off a finger dock into the drink- It was heavenly - I heartily recommend it but only on a boat with heating and other humane amenities.

[SCoallier]

"Some marinas don't allow wooden boats because they don't like beauty or suffering." Literally LOL on that one. My family had a 41' 1956 Chris Craft for a while...beauty and suffering is right!