Live on a boat (San Francisco, Richmond: apartment, renter, houseboats)

[sidekick]

I am moving from RI and plan to live on my sailboat. Any info on the City marinas? Thanks

[bigdave01]

I did some research on this awhile back. I think that for environmental reasons it is hard to be a live on, only a certain percentage can be. I think it is easier if you get out of San Francisco.

Hopefully someone has some better answers.

[humboldtrat]

South Beach Harbor, San*Francisco, California

But you can't live on board for more than 72 hours.

[DMenscha]

Try the Redwood City Marina. It's a slog to sail back up to the city usually because the wind and tide can make some pretty ugly chop, but there are still a few marinas around the bay that accept liveaboards.

Balena Bay in Alameda.
San Leandro Harbor
Oyster Point in SSF
The Napa River has a marina right where it joins the bay, but I don't remember it's name.

Also try Latitude 38 - The West's Leading Sailing and Marine Magazine the bay area's sailing magazine.

Good luck!

[bigdave01]

Here is a good link:

:::: Bay Crossings ::::

[ecvMatt]

I have a buddy who lives in Sausalito on his sailboat, it is close enough to get to SF for work and a very nice place to live. He is considering Alameda as well, depending on work. Alameda is very nice, reasonable berth fees and close to public transportation to get to SF or wherever else you might need to go for work. It seems that most places that are actually in the SF city limits have a waiting list or are very pricey. If there are any specific questions I might be able to answer, feel free to ask.

[gizmo980]

Lots of people live on boats in Point Richmond and Marina Bay (Richmond)... I don't know all the details, but I can find out for you!

[trunky]

I may be moving to S.F. soon and I'm curious about this too, in general. I'd love to hear more details. Can a regular 'ol apartment renter type get into this kind of thing? Or do you have to be wealthy and/or own your own boat...?

[MichaelinWA]

I know that the OP was talking about sailboats, but when I lived in the Bay Area, I was always fascinated by that eclectic community of houseboats in Sausalito. Some of the boats didn't seem to belong to wealthy people , but I don't know.

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by trunky

I may be moving to S.F. soon and I'm curious about this too, in general. I'd love to hear more details. Can a regular 'ol apartment renter type get into this kind of thing? Or do you have to be wealthy and/or own your own boat...?

I paid $5K for my first boat and did a lot of maintenance work on it and sold it for $10K. My second boat I bought for 10K and sold it for 15K. the third one I bought for 3K and we ended up hauling it and crushing it

You really should know something about boats in general. I've never heard of anyone renting out a boat to someone else and I think given the restrictions on liveaboards in the bay area, you're not likely to find one.

Be ready to live very frugally without a lot of creature comforts. When I wanted a new shirt, I had to decide which shirt I would give to the goodwill.