Living on a Rinker... anyone do it?

MarkB

I don't think I'd permantly live on a boat unless it was 36 or bigger. We had a 260EC, and although it was nice to sleep on once in a while, it got cramped up pretty quick.

If you're in a northern climate, would the plan be to dock somewhere they'll allow it with a bubbler? I know most marinas here on Lake Ontario, Canada side want all the boats pulled.

Willhound

An interesting and timely topic. Although new to owning a cruiser this year, the Admiral and I are very familiar with boats, marina's (we ran a small one for a season, 25 years ago) and the lifestyle. We have also been fortunate to be able to travel south for at least two to four weeks every year for the last 15 years or so, and gradually looking to increase it. I am semi-retired and she has about 4 or 5 years to go. We have had several conversations lately about what retirement might look like and where we'd like to live. We have many friends who spend winters in Florida, mostly around the Tampa Bay area. Some have opted for condo's, some for manufactured style homes in parks. We're not sure either option is good for us. We've been batting around the idea of trying a live aboard lifestyle. But rather than having a single boat and doing the intra-coastal every year, we are considering a two boat scenario. One in the Georgian Bay area for summers and one in Florida or Texas for winters. Would prefer the Tampa area mostly because we are familiar with it and our friends would be nearby. We reason that we would require a vehicle anyway for shopping, medical visits, visiting family etc. so keep a boat at either end and drive back and forth with the seasons. Even two slip rentals with off season storage wouldn't be a much greater cost than what some of our friends pay in annual condo fees and taxes/utilities.
So then the question of what brand/style of boat? And size?
On the Florida end I could see something larger for the odd ocean going cruise, probably with an enclosed salon/sliding doors for more living space and easier air conditioning/heating. Sadly, a Rinker is obviously not an option. We'd even consider a house boat. But for the Georgian Bay option, something in the 342 or 370 family could easily work. Maybe even a 290. We would have more ability to spend part of the summers visiting family, maybe even maintain a small land base somewhere like a bachelor apartment/seasonal rental so the boat becomes more of a recreation/part time living option. So something smaller might work.
On the Florida end, I have seen a few options for renting or shared ownership of a boat which would give us the opportunity to try it out without laying out a huge initial amount for a boat. Although quite frankly, even with exchange rates, boat pricing and marina slip pricing is a lot less in Florida than what it is in our area of Southern Ontario. Weird as that sounds. Just not enough marina's and too many people in a small area.
Things that make you go Hmmmm...