Quote:
Originally Posted by 8gv
What is this fine vessel that took you far and wide?
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It's our 1992 Tollycraft 44 CPMY. She's a 53' LOA, 14' 8" wide, "cream-puff" that we found in Michigan on Lake Erie after searching for a few months. She is powered by twin CAT 3208TA engines and cruises at 8.5 knots (super efficient), or 20ish knots (when we want to make time and can live with 1ish MPG). We live aboard her at Hampton River Marina from early May to late October. She is not fancy, but she is very solidly-built, very seaworthy, and very well-equipped with rugged and simple systems designed for the long haul. Tollycraft made great live-abaord boats, IMO. We carry a 10'6" aluminum and Hypalon RIB tender with a 15HP outboard, on davits, that we use to explore once anchored or moored.
Our previous boat was a 25' cuddy cabin that we towed to Winnipesaukee constantly, and all over the northeast from Chesapeake Bay to Ontario, to Penobscot Bay for extensive cruising. In 2018, during our last "big" cruise (a 17 day, 450 mile, loop cruise in Ontario, Quebec, and NY) on the 25 footer, my wife and I realized that we wanted to get rid of our house and live on a boat.
We bought the Tollycraft in late 2018, started the transition to live aboard full-time in 2019, and sold our house in 2020. The original plan was to cruise between Canada and the Caribbean, following the 70 to 80 degree weather year-round while working from the boat. However, a medical issue of a beloved family member changed those plans and we are kinda "stuck" in New England for the time being. It's a wonderful place to be "stuck".
Living on a boat here during Winter is certainly possible, but it would be awful, so we adjusted to our new fate and bought a modern, 1 bedroom condo at Hampton Beach for the cold months. It's only 1500 feet from the boat, so we can easily spend time maintaining and upgrading the boat all Winter.
We have zero sentimentality about the condo (it came fully furnished and equipped) and eagerly rent it to quiet and mellow, short-term tenants on Airbnb and VRBO while we are living on the boat. Our strict rental rules only attract people that want peace and quiet. We have had such a great experience renting our condo that we are currently looking for another beach condo to invest in.
It's WONDERFUL not having a family-size house and yard to maintain. I do miss having my woodworking shop and my metal working/mechanical repair shop/garage, but I have friends with similar interests that have said shops, and I'm easily making do by using their shops on occasion. The best part of not having these shops is that no one asks me to fix or make anything anymore, I can do stuff just for myself now.
Our boat and some of our marina neighbor's boats are ridiculously equipped with tools and we help each other with repairs and maintenance all the time. I suspect the camaraderie is similar to Winnipesaukee island living. I have learned SO much about "bigger" boat systems by living aboard and working with other live-aboard folks. I feel like the experiences will make me quite self-sufficient when we eventually start cruising full time.
If you have ever considered doing anything like this, I'd be happy to discuss how to do it. We love Winnipesaukee, but man, there are so many other awesome places you can cruise, nearby. The New England coast is one of the world's top 10 cruising areas. I wish the planned 26 mile canal/waterway from Alton Bay to the Cocheco River in Dover had been built so we could enjoy both the coast and the big lake without leaving our boat.