0
0

Couple sick of San Francisco rent moves to live aboard a sailboat


 invite response                
2018 May 13, 8:34am   2,355 views  14 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (55)   💰tip   ignore  

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Couple-sick-of-San-Francisco-rent-moves-onto-12909713.php

Audrey and Garrett wanted a sailboat they could sail right away. One that didn't need extensive amounts of work. They wanted a wheel, not a tiller, a good engine and comfortable quarters. They also wanted a sailboat that was ready for the bluewater so they could take her out into the ocean.

In Sausalito, only 10% of the marina berths are allowed to have liveaboards, so the couple knew they'd have to wait.

"We put our names on the waiting list at our marina right away. Again, we weren't thinking of becoming liveaboards at the time, but kind of had a just in case feeling. When we decided that we wanted to move onto our boat, we pursued our marina heavily, but at the same time, respectfully. We put in face time with the harbormaster and office manager and checked in over email every couple of weeks to see if any spots opened – and luckily, one did," said Audrey.


Comments 1 - 14 of 14        Search these comments

1   Shaman   2018 May 13, 8:54am  

Patrick says
Sausalito, only 10% of the marina berths are allowed to have liveaboards,


The Bay Area really can’t even stop reducing housing. Rich old fucks don’t want any more neighbors. But they consider themselves moral paragons because they support trannies!
Insanity...
2   mell   2018 May 13, 9:15am  

Quigley says
Patrick says
Sausalito, only 10% of the marina berths are allowed to have liveaboards,


The Bay Area really can’t even stop reducing housing. Rich old fucks don’t want any more neighbors. But they consider themselves moral paragons because they support trannies!
Insanity...


Well to be fair they have a mild point there. They are not racist, gendrist, xxx-ist, as long as you let them be the ultimate NIMBYist classists that don't accept any competition whatsoever except from below-market-rate trannies. Whether a society that includes 100% of crazies instead of 99% but leaves no room for upward mobility for 80% of the "normal" people (lest you win the startup lottery or work 3 jobs) is any fairer or better is a rhetorical question. But then again, whevenever it comes to voting for BMR/S8 housing right in their turf they vote NO, so maybe they don't have any point here ;)
3   HeadSet   2018 May 13, 9:17am  

My wife's cousin and my sister's brother in law have done the living on a houseboat bit. In East Coast marinas, you get power and other amenities along with very favorable tax treatment. The many marinas here in VA are populated with people enjoying the floater lifestyle. Any time a waterfront town talks about taxing houseboats, the idea quickly gets tabled because the boaters can just simply cruise to another municipality that will not tax them.
4   mell   2018 May 13, 9:19am  

HeadSet says
My wife's cousin and my sister's brother in law have done the living on a houseboat bit. In East Coast marinas, you get power and other amenities along with very favorable tax treatment. The many marinas here in VA are populated with people enjoying the floater lifestyle. Any time a waterfront town talks about taxing houseboats, the idea quickly gets tabled because the boaters can just simply cruise to another municipality that will not tax them.


Not that easy here, even houseboating is utterly overpriced. East coast probably much better deal.
5   Tenpoundbass   2018 May 13, 9:39am  

Boat slips worldwide have been sitting on a Gold Mine of a news worthy story for decades.
I have never known one single person who lives on a boat who didn't cite the fact that they save on rent or mortgage.
6   everything   2018 May 14, 5:41am  

We see this happen up and down the great Mississippi river and it's tributaries as weather permits. Their are so many little channels and places to hide out along the way. All you need is a big old pontoon boat, put walls on it, and a roof, motors are cheap, just need to be able to plug along or beat the current.

It's easy to glorify this couples story but it's probably just temporary for them, for what they probably make, $1200 savings is not much, they are essentially joining the tiny house movement, and should be able to flip the thing when they decide to do something else.
7   pkennedy   2018 May 14, 5:59am  

In reality, you can live anywhere that is outside the box and a lot cheaper. But you have to be ready to live outside the box, and most people get there, and then instantly start complaining about what they're missing.

Roommates are great. They're frowned upon often, that you can't live on your own or be individual. But if you want to live in downtown SF in a place you can't afford, you can compete with some room mates. Still too expensive? Get a few more. But it means living outside the box.

It comes down to not everyone can live in a beach house, no matter what we do with the real estate code.

No matter how much housing is added to SF, it will be expensive because people want to live there. As soon as SF reaches a price point where an outsider can get in, the will. But more importantly, those people are offering the maximum they can, which means there is a bottom pricing level, which isn't tied to the people living in SF, but the people outside.

If you want to live cheaply, live outside the box and live with the "consequences" which usually entail not conforming to traditional norms. Most people don't want to do that.
8   CBOEtrader   2018 May 14, 8:42am  

Thats not a sailboat.
9   Ceffer   2018 May 14, 10:25am  

"Couple sick of living on boat in Sausalito Harbor move into cramped, expensive apartment in San Francisco!"
10   SunnyvaleCA   2018 May 14, 10:44am  

I knew someone who, years ago, lived on a sailboat at Oyster Point (south San Francisco). The kicker: he was able to get a "home mortgage" to finance it and write off the interest!

$150k for a used 40-foot sailboat doesn't sound too bad (compared to typical housing in the bay area). However, I'll bet the rent on the boat slip is horrific—it would be like renting a spot in a trailer park but much more expensive.
11   RWSGFY   2018 May 14, 12:27pm  

SunnyvaleCA says
I knew someone who, years ago, lived on a sailboat at Oyster Point (south San Francisco). The kicker: he was able to get a "home mortgage" to finance it and write off the interest!


It's not a secret that whatever has a kitchen and a toilet is considered a "house" and can be mortgaged. With boats and RVs it's easy. With airplanes - possible for realatively big ones, coz you can't have a toilet in your Cessna-172, duh.
12   RWSGFY   2018 May 14, 12:28pm  

SunnyvaleCA says
I'll bet the rent on the boat slip is horrific


~$350 in South Beach Harbor in SF, AFAIK. This is right next to AT&T Park.
13   SunnyvaleCA   2018 May 14, 1:35pm  

Hassan_Rouhani says
~$350 in South Beach Harbor in SF, AFAIK. This is right next to AT&T Park.



Really? If that's for a 40-foot live-abord slip then sign me up! I pay over $1000/month to "rent" (i.e.: pay property tax) the dirt my house sits on.
14   RWSGFY   2018 May 14, 1:39pm  

SunnyvaleCA says
Hassan_Rouhani says
~$350 in South Beach Harbor in SF, AFAIK. This is right next to AT&T Park.



Really? If that's for a 40-foot live-abord slip then sign me up! I pay over $1000/month to "rent" (i.e.: pay property tax) the dirt my house sits on.


Sorry, I should've been more clear: this is what a current member pays just for a slip, no liveaboard permitted. As for signing you up - the waitlist there is something like 8 years, IIRC. ;) Funny, but 30 years ago they couldn't give these slips away, because that part of town was such a shithole... I remember it being super rough even 15-17 years ago.

PS. I don't have a boat there (or anywhere else) - just raced several times in their Beer Cup (and twice in Jazz Cup) on three different boats.

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions