These guides cover the decisions that actually shape a liveaboard or cruising life: whether to do it, which boat to buy, where to keep it, and how to get offshore. Each is written for someone who is past the daydreaming stage and needs information they can act on.
Liveaboard Life: The Honest Version
What the Instagram version leaves out — the maintenance load, the 3am bilge alarm, the damp, what it actually costs, and who this life genuinely works for.
- Slip fees $800–$2,500/month
- The 38–42 ft sweet spot
- Marina liveaboard policies
Life at the Dock: Choosing and Living in a Marina
Municipal vs private vs yacht club, what infrastructure to evaluate, shore power reality, working remotely, mail and packages, and how to negotiate the liveaboard premium.
- 30A vs 50A shore power
- Cellular over marina Wi-Fi
- Negotiating the liveaboard surcharge
Buying Your First Cruising Boat: What Nobody Tells You
The survey, hidden costs (sales tax, insurance gotchas), where to buy, the sea trial checklist, fiberglass problems, and why listing price is just the starting point.
- The survey is non-negotiable
- Call insurer before you offer
- 10–30% deferred maintenance budget
Planning Your First Ocean Crossing
The three most-sailed passages, trade wind timing windows, provisioning for three weeks offshore, the buddy-boat system, weather routers, and what you'll actually think about mid-ocean.
- Canaries → Caribbean Nov–Jan
- US West Coast → Hawaii in May
- Weather routing worth paying for
About These Guides
These are editorial resources, not official Coast Guard or USCG publications. Slip rates, insurance requirements, and regulations change. Always verify current figures with your specific marina, insurer, and the applicable state or federal authority. The marina directory lists specific facility details for marinas across North America.