# HOW can I live aboard in montreal



## mtl (Nov 1, 2016)

*New to this plz help!*

Hey guys I live in Montreal and I am interested in living aboard. Can anyone please give me some pointers to put me on the right path. I am 22 years old and I am interested in getting a boat that can sleep up to 4 people. I am tired of paying rent for an apartment that I will never live in again I have wasted over 60 000$ + in rent. I live with 3 of my roommates and we all want to purchase a boat that we can live on. Is it possible to live aboard year round in montreal due to hard winters. Any insight whatsoever is greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

There are lots of Canadian cities that are suitable for year round live aboard. Any where in Coastal BC, Halifax, I personally have lived aboard in Toronto and St Catharine's, but not Montreal in my opinion.

I don't think so. It's just too cold and the winters are just too severe. I'm in Ottawa, which has very similar weather to Montreal (Ottawa is a little worse statistically) and there is no way I would do it in Ottawa. Toronto is about the toughest city in Canada that I would consider a viable place for winter live aboard. It averages 65 days a year with 1cm of snow on the ground. Montreal averages 109 days. That's a pretty severe winter.

One key component to living aboard is finding a live aboard community. You need waste disposal facilities, shore power to run bubblers, lighting, heat, you need shower facilities. I don't think any such year round facilities exist in Montreal.

If you were a highly experienced survivalist or live aboard, you could go it on your own with the right boat, for example, I am aware of a guy who lives aboard year round, without a community, on a Hans Christian 36 in Iroquois which is only an hour or so from Montreal, but unless you really know what you are doing, I don't think it would be very wise.

In my opinion, coastal cities really are the best for live aboard, due to the moderating effect of the body of water on the climate, but Montreal is a long way from any coast (Toronto, Hamilton, etc. Can get away with it because of Lake Ontario).

Edit: I found this thread on the same topic from 2010. I'd read it with a bit of a grain of salt though, since many posters describe the weather in Montreal and Toronto as being similar- which it isn't.

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/living-aboard/66026-winter-liveabord-montreal.html


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

*Re: New to this plz help!*

You don't really just move aboard a boat and live in it as you do a house. There are multiple systems that you must learn to maintain, or at best you won't have any light, heat or running water, at worst the boat will sink.
To do so somewhere the water is about to become a block of ice, requires even more knowledge, or the ice may well break your boat.
After nearly 50 years of living aboard boats all over the ice free world I spent a winter living aboard in RI. A bubbler, what's that? What do you mean my pipes will freeze? How come there's no water on the dock? Who's going to pump out the holding tank? Never mind just walking up the icy dock with a bunch of groceries or laundry.
And I do believe that the weather in RI is a fraction as severe as Montreal.
I'd suggest packing up your stuff, sticking out your thumb and riding south until you need to put on your sunglasses, and then look for your liveaboard boat.


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

*Re: New to this plz help!*

Minneapolis is a bit colder than Montreal and people live aboard year-round here. Very few people, and they're nutters, but it is possible.

The Real Houseboats of the Mississippi



> His worst winter was when the sewage pump froze. On a boat, toilets don't flush the way they do in a condo. Instead, every few weeks, residents hook up a hose to their sewage tanks to "pump out." And one balmy November, someone on the dock forgot to drain the pump when he was done. The next person who went to use it found it frozen.
> 
> "We put propane heaters around it, we did everything we could," says Cherveny. "But nothing worked."
> 
> Until a brief February warm spot two months later, no one could use the bathroom in their house, and a line of live-aboards ran down the block to the Holiday first thing every morning.


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## chuck53 (Oct 13, 2009)

*Re: New to this plz help!*

Unless it is a fairly large boat, I'd say, at least 40-45 feet, 4 guys is going to get really tight. Heating a boat ain't going to be easy and you will have to do ALL bathroom chores (showers and potty) in the on-shore clubhouse, at least during the wintertime and you won't have any running water.
Do you really want to walk down a freezing dock in the middle of the night to take a wizz.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

I've heard the same things as all of the comments mentioned above. I was also reading a blog for a while of a young married couple who lived aboard their boat in New York City.

Boats do not have double walls with 4 inches of insulation and thermal barrier board under the siding like homes are built in the northern climate. The couple in this blog talked about how their walls collected condensation at night and dripped it all over their bedding and cushions making things continually damp.

The best time for heating comfort on their boat was after there was a blizzard that dropped 14 inches of snow on the deck and cabin roof of their boat. The snow provided some insulation that turned their boat into an igloo and actually made heating a little easier. They ended up buying a special closed cell foam pad for their vee-berth and special bedding that didn't wick all of their perspiration against their body. A cotton comforter and sheets, and the old style foam cushion proved to be very wet and uncomfortable.


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

Not so sure about having to do your bathroom chores ashore. My wife spent an entire winter aboard in Toronto pregnant, so I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have gone over too well.

We did generally shower ashore because our boat is a 1970's with one of those cruddy showers that drains through your bathroom floor.

We hired a mobile pump out service. $350 for a pump out every 2 weeks for 6 months, which I thought was reasonable. 

You should have no problem filling water tanks, either run a hose on warm days or carry a couple 5 gallon water jugs. Running water just makes doing dishes so much easier. 

Most suitable winter live aboard boats should have their tanks below the waterline, so even minimum heat should keep them from freezing. 

Also noteworthy, is if you found a place and suitable boat, you would still have to convince the marina and your insurance company that you have the knowledge to not sink or burn your boat or otherwise get yourself or somebody else killed.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Arcb said:


> Not so sure about having to do your bathroom chores ashore. My wife spent an entire winter aboard in Toronto pregnant, so I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have gone over too well.


 They are talking about 4 guys living on board. Four guys doing liquid and solid bodily waste could fill up a holding tank pretty quickly. A previous poster said that there aren't many marinas in Montreal area that have live aboard services through the winter months. There might not be any mobile pump out service to come around to their boat.

This would mean having to move the boat regularly to pump out the holding tank or walking to the marina bathroom for at least all of the solid bodily waste needs.

I would not want to live in such a small contained space with 3 other guys doing their daily # 2s in a poorly ventilated space a few feet from where I sleep and eat.


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

midwesterner said:


> Arcb said:
> 
> 
> > Not so sure about having to do your bathroom chores ashore. My wife spent an entire winter aboard in Toronto pregnant, so I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have gone over too well.
> ...


Well ya, I'm the guy who has winter lived aboard in central-eastern Canada who lives and boats in the Montreal area that said there likely weren't many live aboard communities in Montreal.

I agree if you are experiencing greasy explosive number twos after a night of binging on poutine and Maudite, it would be a courtesy to do that ashore. However, I don't agree that 4 people with a suitable boat need to do all bathroom chores ashore and go without running water.

Grey water goes over the side. 4 guys with a little common sense shouldn't fill up the black water tank in less than 2 weeks on a properly built and selected live aboard yacht. I did it with my wife son and I and never had a sewage issue, mine is only a wee 35 footer.

I'm not sure what kind of place it is where you can't hire a honey wagon to pump out a tank. Yes, there is a cost to it, but it's a minor cost when considering a live aboard yacht for 4 dudes planning to get through a Montreal winter.

I don't know how much you know about the lower St Lawrence, but you certainly aren't motoring to any pump out dock through a foot and a half of ice.

Edit: Pic of my boat in Toronto in December. Montreal average winter temps are 8 degrees Celsius colder than Toronto, which is significant. The second photo was taken on the same day. Not really roughing it inside.


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

mtl said:


> Hey guys, I am new to reddit and literally everything I seem to post gets removed lmao. I am interested in buying a boat that I can live on with 3 of my current roommates. I feel like I have wasted 60 000$ + in rent for apartments that i'll never live in again. Is there anyone that can point me in the right direction on which type of boat that can house 4 people and docking fees etc. I am looking for a boat that we can live on and use it to travel fish etc. How much do these types of boats go for I checked kijiji and craigslist and I found some yachts that can sleep 4-6 people for ~10-15k. Thank you for any feed back


You posted this same question at 2:40 in the morning. We've been responding to your question all day.

Hopefully a mod can delete this and direct you to the original thread or something.


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## longjonsilver (Oct 18, 2014)

*Re: New to this plz help!*

i have lived in both Toronto and Montreal. Montreal is significantly colder. The manager at Gaines Marina in Rouses Point said that there have been boats that overwintered in Lake Champlain without bubblers, and were not harmed. i wouldnt want to do it with my boat however.
jon

PS where in Halifax do people live aboard in winter?


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

Longjonsilver, I am thinking the Halifax question was for me since I'm the one that mentioned it.

I have never over wintered a yacht in Halifax, but I sailed on an ice strengthened chemical tanker out of the Imperial refinery in Dartmouth in the 90's and worked out of the Bedford Science Institute in Dartmouth in the early 2000's. I don't know the yacht clubs and marinas there well at all, but the climate is a cake walk, hardly any ice at all. Which I assume is why the Royal Canadian Navy bases their Atlantic fleet out of Halifax.


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## ianjoub (Aug 3, 2014)

*Re: New to this plz help!*



mtl said:


> Hey guys I live in Montreal and I am interested in living aboard. Can anyone please give me some pointers to put me on the right path. I am 22 years old and I am interested in getting a boat that can sleep up to 4 people. I am tired of paying rent for an apartment that I will never live in again I have wasted over 60 000$ + in rent. I live with 3 of my roommates and we all want to purchase a boat that we can live on. Is it possible to live aboard year round in montreal due to hard winters. Any insight whatsoever is greatly appreciated. Thanks


A 25' boat can sleep up to 4 people. That doesn't mean that 4 people can be comfortable. Think 4 person tent....


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## chuck53 (Oct 13, 2009)

My 34' sailboat will sleep 7. That's ok for maybe a weekend. I wouldn't want more than 4 for a week and 2 for a month.
If you want a boat for 4 guys to live on full time, I'd go powerboat over sail. Most powerboats have way more interior space than equivalent sized sailboats. Something in a 35-40 aft cabin boat would work well and would probably have 2 heads (bathrooms). A boat like that will give you 2 sleeping arrangements...either you have to double up and share bunks or 1 in each cabin, 1 on a settee (sofa) and 1 on a drop down dinette table.

And, your other post has not been deleted. A number of people have responded to it.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

mtl.. I've combined your two threads into one.

FWIW I think living aboard is seldom the 'cheap' way to go, unless you're anchored out and squatting in shore facilities. 4 bodies on a $10-15K boat of any kind is going to be tight.. you'd better all be VERY good friends.


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## longjonsilver (Oct 18, 2014)

Arcb said:


> Longjonsilver, I am thinking the Halifax question was for me since I'm the one that mentioned it.
> 
> I have never over wintered a yacht in Halifax, but I sailed on an ice strengthened chemical tanker out of the Imperial refinery in Dartmouth in the 90's and worked out of the Bedford Science Institute in Dartmouth in the early 2000's. I don't know the yacht clubs and marinas there well at all, but the climate is a cake walk, hardly any ice at all. Which I assume is why the Royal Canadian Navy bases their Atlantic fleet out of Halifax.


A friend of mine lives on his boat at Dartmouth Yacht Club, but they dont allow liveaboards in the winter. Boats can stay in the water at the marina all year long.
jon


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## i_amcdn (Jul 4, 2012)

For 2 damp winters I lived on Queens Quay, due south of the Skydome. From my bedroom winter I looked south west towards the Toronto Island Airport. In between was a significant liveaboard community at the base of Spadina at Marina Quay West (see attached link). It is a city run marina and there is a waiting list the last time I checked. We knew one couple who lived in a Bayfield with their 4 or 5 year old son. He had never lived on land. 
Over the 2 winters that I lived there the inner harbour froze solid one year and was completely open the other. The 2nd year we had PLUS 20C weather in early February and I recall eating out in the theatre district a couple of blocks north and watching people walk by in short sleeves and shorts. The 1st year we had a month of MINUS 15 and below. Many winters are mild in Toronto and many have little snow...last year I never wore boots to work
I grew up and lived in the West Island of Montreal for 22 years and in Ottawa for 24 years. Yes they can have mild weather (melts the Rideau Canal skating rink in the middle of Winterlude) but in general their winters are brutal for boats. You cannot live aboard there. Housing is way cheaper in Quebec than Ontario....pool your money and buy a house or do as others have suggested...move to warmer climes....even if it is just across the Que -Ont border.

Links: 
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/marine/


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

As I was reading this post I was reminded of this song:




and then time I took an overnight Amtrak train to go look at a boat in Toronto in January. Still remember the ice stretching out into Lake Ontario. Let alone Montreal. Brrrr


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## longjonsilver (Oct 18, 2014)

There are two guys living aboard in Repentigny, Quebec this winter (near Montreal). i'll try to get a photo of them and post it if i can.
jon


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## Kyle Rusty (Feb 1, 2017)

I use my head, shower, and running water during the winter. There's so much water in the tank it would take a very long time to freeze in sub 0 temps. On top of that if you use it everyday it's less chance of freezing. Water is at the dock as well as pump out.


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## marcrbeaudry (Jul 6, 2017)

Toronto is NOTHING like Montreal in the winter , wintering aboard in Toronto is done frequently by a great many ,mainly because some marinas support it, electricity, water and pump outs are all provided . I'm not aware of any marinas in and around the island of Montreal that support winter liveaboards though. Winter in Montreal is an actual season - it gets COLD and there is alot of snow unlike Toronto. Toronto winters are much milder comparatively.
As for 4 guys on a boat... possible i guess but for how long ? i have many friends who raise their families on boats - but a family unit is less likely to come apart like 4 guys in their 20's ... could work though .


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## longjonsilver (Oct 18, 2014)

au contraire monsieur, these two guys (single guys?) are living aboard year around in Repentigny, there appears to be another boat in the ice, but i don't know if anyone is living aboard.
brrrrrrrrrrr
jon


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## marcrbeaudry (Jul 6, 2017)

right - but are we dealing with a marina that supports it or a couple guys who are showering at the Y,letting the vessel ice in and peeing over the rail ? 
you'll have to forgive me, what we all call living-aboard might be different for some , people can live in the back seat of their car (and do) but I wouldnt necessarily be interested (personally) in doing so myself. 
Is there a marina in Repentigny doing live-aboards or are these two individuals living rough ? 
marc


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## longjonsilver (Oct 18, 2014)

marcrbeaudry said:


> Is there a marina in Repentigny doing live-aboards or are these two individuals living rough ?


i dont know. You can find out by calling Marina de la Rive Nord in Repentingy

jon


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