# Year round liveaboard in NJ



## Peace... (Feb 1, 2018)

About 8 months ago I decided I was going to knock off something that is both the biggest as well as the longest standing thing on my bucket list; living aboard a boat for at least a year. It also happens to be the very first thing I ever put on my bucket list shortly after reading a book I bought at the school book fair titled ""Living Aboard", written by a couple who did it.

I found a boat and to be totally honest, just before I decided to post this comment/question. I was in the process of writing a note to the seller saying I will by the boat.

I live in Lavallette and honestly I intimately know the shore from the Highlands to Cape May, so anywhere would be fine. But before I pull the trigger and buy the boat am I making a huge mistake since I don't have a marina lined up. As always your insightful comments and A+ advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

Do your due diligence and get as many of your ducks in line before you do anything... especially something like moving to live aboard a boat. While there are some analogies to moving to a new apartment or house... there are many things which are completely different. For example... if you are going to keep a vehicle... where will it be parked? Do you need wi fi? Does the location offer it?


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## Ulladh (Jul 12, 2007)

Year round liveaboard or 9 months. Some winters the back bay marinas freeze.
Visit and research potential marinas paying attention to services available year round.
Marina water depth, Intercoastal Waterway access, depth, bridge height and opening schedule, ocean inlets.
Will the marina be in a town that you like, do you need a vehicle to get to the supermarket.
Hurricanes are rare but do happen on the NJ shore, what will be your plan, is the marina relatively save during a hurricane or named storm. 
10 or 11 months a year I can imagine it will be wonderful, but have a plan for the 1 or 2 months you would rather be somewhere else.


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## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

I also live in N.J. and the Temperature outside at the moment is 13 degrees. With lot's of snow and ice. There's nothing I'd find appealing to living on a boat in N.J. during the winter months. You'd first have to find a marina that allowed livaboards. That, will limit your options. Then, who would install bubblers if there's a freeze? Heat? Electricity ? Water? Most if not all Marinas in N.J. will shut the water down to the docks in the winter, and bleed the lines. 8 or 9 months would be doeable. Don't give up your shore home just yet. ;-)


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## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

You say nothing about the boat or your experience. 
Do you intend to be in the water or on the hard?
We lived aboard in Delaware one hard winter. 
It is doable and can be reasonably comfortable.
Some comments above about the things you need to figure out.

You need a place to go to the bathroom and shower.
The docks will at times be snow covered or icy, falling in is a bigger issue than most realize.
Sufficient potable water, docks will turn off water. You should not allow your tanks to freeze.
The marina has to agree to having you there.
Heat can be addressed, I don't like electric because power can go out for too long.
We are currently live aboard in NC. Very happy here.


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## 4arch (Jul 7, 2009)

I may be misinterpreting their intentions, but the OP didn’t say anything about wanting to sail or cruise. It might be blasphemy to say it on this forum, but if all I wanted to do was live aboard at a dock, I’d very strongly consider just buying the biggest, best maintained power boat or trawler I could afford. Buying such a boat from somebody who’s already a liveaboard, already has at least a few years’ experience wintering over, and has an established good relationship with a marina as a liveaboard seems like the path of least resistance. A sailing itch could still be scratched with a sailing dinghy or by sailing on other people’s boats.


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## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

hpeer said:


> The docks will at times be snow covered or icy, falling in is a bigger issue than most realize.


^ This! I've seen this happen twice. One guy went in and seperated his collar bone, but help was around. The other fell in at night with no one around and didn't make it out. Definitely something to be wary of.


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

Been doing this on Lake Ontario since 1994. It's not for everyone but I find the thought of living on land again amidst the Dirt People horryfying.


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## bajaking (Jun 6, 2013)

If you have some flexibility in location - i.e. pandemic remote work, but just want to be in NJ for family or other reasons - at least try to get down to the Chesapeake.  There are more year-round liveaboards there and marinas that support it. I know everything shuts down in Monmouth County (my former home waters). As of 15 years ago, I knew of a few year-rounders at the marinas in Jersey City and Brooklyn (Gateway, and the Demiglio yard in the creek around the corner.). Barnegat Bay has enough marinas that I suspect there must be one in there that accommodates liveaboards, but seriously, as a year-round liveaboard on San Francisco bay where it rarely gets below 40F, I'd say save the bucket list for when you live in a better climate. Or at least have a large boat with a seriously good distributed heating system and all other systems prepared for sub-freezing temps. Nothing romantic and bucket-list worthy about risking hypothermia when your heater dies and shorepower fails and there is 18" snow over 1" ice on the docks during a January storm. Unless you're Canadian!


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

There was a time I would have loved to do this. Make an adventure out of the winter portion. It's all attitude. Admittedly, I'd rather go south now. Winter is getting very old. 

Around here, I'd say most marinas will not allow winter live aboards. Many allow in-water winter storage, but that's not the same. If you're only doing it for one year, you should be able to arrange that window. I'd be more worried they would change their mind, if it was a long term plan. When they do allow winter live aboards, they usually have some service available, such as weekly pump outs. Had a neighbor spend a few winters aboard in Boston, where the deck pump out was rigged to a permanent hose that led to the slip, so they could easily perform the weekly pumpout. That connection came loose once, in the middle of the pumping. Imagine the mess. Getting fresh water often requires accumulating several boats hoses to reach a building ashore. The dock water will be winterized. Power is usually fine, but have a plan if it becomes interrupted. 

Absolute number one issue for winter living is dehumidification. The inside of your boat will appear to make water. Breath, cooking, showers, propane combustion, etc, raise the humidity level and the cold hull condenses it back out. The only good solution is to run a dehumidifier, draining through a sink or into the bilge, 24/7. IMO.

The last thought I have and clearly influenced my avoidance over the years, was dressing and going to work, from the boat. Total buzz kill. I've done it a few times. If I could go to work in the same clothing I may want to be aboard wearing or not working at all, it would be more tolerable. Working remotely, on the other hand, as we experienced this past year, was great.


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