"You are the hero of your own story. Make sure it's a good one." - Tom MacNaughton
"These are the good old days" - 1970s popular song lyric
The managers of this web site have all spent thousands of nights afloat. Tom and Nan MacNaughton lived and had their offices aboard their boats for seventeen years, up until we moved ashore to be near Tom's elderly mother. The live aboard life is wonderful. We are now in a position where we can again move back aboard our own modest voyaging yacht. This is the same little voyaging yacht, "Charis", that we started out living aboard many years ago. We have bought her back and are restoring her into the ultimate voyaging yacht she was when we had her before.Having grown up with cruising boats and having devoured all the information we could find about living aboard and voyaging, the transition to full-time life aboard was easy for us. Our expectations were accurate and easily fulfilled.
Unfortunately many people contemplating the live aboard life are not so lucky in their understanding of what they are getting into. It is a fact that only a small percentage of those who move aboard stay with it for any significant length of time. This is to a large extent due to a lack of preparation for the experience.
Once a suitable boat has been obtained, it is not a matter of money. We have seen no indication that those with lots of money are any more successful at living aboard than those who live on minimal amounts. Those unsure about the money side of living aboard should read the classic The £200 Millionaire by Weston Martyr and our own article reprint Living Aboard: Figuring the Costs which is available through our marine publishing order form. The first teaches the extraordinarily low cost of the lifestyle by an actual example, endearingly told. The second allows you to figure your own living expenses before you start. It will startle you how little you will need. Most of you will have many questions and we welcome them. We keep track of the questions asked and to save time and allow us to answer more people as fully as possible we have written up a publication called Living Aboard - Frequently Asked Questions which attempts to cover every question which we get. This book also includes the "Living Aboard - Figuring the Costs" article. You can order this through the marine publishing order form. It should save you a lot of time and even answer questions you didn't know you should ask. We'd recommend reading this first and then asking any additional questions you have. This allows us to devote the maximum time to each person's unique concerns. This is an unusual publication in that, like our Yacht Design School lessons, it will continue to evolve over time. If, after reading of these two publications, you have further questions you will be helping us and others by asking them. We will take your Click Here for More...
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