Living on board

[superal]

Is the idea of owning and living on a small 2 or 3 berth motor cruiser feasible ?  The thought of anchoring up and spending time at different beach towns or villages and moving on when when you want a change does appeal . Are there any guys out there that are already doing this ? If so what are the requirements by Thai laws regarding licences and navigational quals ?

[mcfish]

Is the idea of owning and living on a small 2 or 3 berth motor cruiser feasible ?  The thought of anchoring up and spending time at different beach towns or villages and moving on when when you want a change does appeal . Are there any guys out there that are already doing this ? If so what are the requirements by Thai laws regarding licences and navigational quals ?

I imagine it would not be any different regarding visas. However If you are not a seasoned boatie then why not go to phuket yacht hire and choose a vessel. I came very close to buying a diesel cruiser myself but life got in the way again.

Look into Berthing fees as they will be your biggest expense

Regarding licence you just need a standard boat license since that's what yachties use to sail around the world including Thailand

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[Rhys]

... unless you have a sizeable fortune, stay on land... Fees, repair, and the coziness of your own comfort... will get old.. really have to want this...

[mcfish]

... unless you have a sizeable fortune, stay on land... Fees, repair, and the coziness of your own comfort... will get old.. really have to want this...

Agreed. And what really put me off was the the relentless humidity. OK above deck during the day if your moving but at night below deck is an oven.

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[grollies]

Nice one, you got me started again.

 

I neary bought this gulet 2 years ago with the intention of bringing her over here.

 

https://www.riginosyachts.com/yacht-charter/motor-sailer/419989-elena-j/

 

Spent a night on board in Malaga marina, sitting on the arse-end, drinking champagne, watching the world go by and pretending we owned her.

 

Common sense eventually prevailed. Insurance, maintenance & upkeep, mooring fees, fuel costs, waste disposal costs, surveyor costs, etc. The best way to end up with a small fortune is to start with a large one and buy a yacht.

 

Wouldn't go for anything smaller to live on.

 

Was a good dream though.

 

And Simon, if you on this forum, PM me.

 

[captnhoy]

I smiled when I saw this post. I have been there and done that. I lived aboard for 5 years for my own personal enjoyment. You do not say where you are considering this adventure but my location was on the Andaman side. If this is your dream I highly recommend it. There are some things I would do and others that I would not. First, marinas are expensive. Anchoring out is not so much. If in the Phuket area there is much good and much bad. There is a reason that, back when I did this starting 10 years ago, that 5 million people visited the Phuket area every year. The marine experience is superb if you can pry yourself away from Patong Beach and Soi Bangla. Some of your answers in this thread are about sailing yachts. Mine was a purpose built long range "passage maker" motor yacht. My best days were at anchor at Nai Harn. My worst days were at anchor at Ao Chalong. I'm not sure how that translates but if it was "Pirates Cove" it would be spot on. There is a lot to this topic. You could lose your ass financially. You could lose your life. If you are not a "handyman" type you'd be better off forgetting it as you will be screwed to death. You should be very careful with this - it is a disease. I sold that 30 ton vessel 4 years ago. She was number 5 in 35 years of boating. Now number 6 is for sale and I SWEAR I'm going to quit. However I have no regrets. This has been a high point experience in my life.  

 

Someone wrote about "waste disposal costs". Are you kidding me? This is Thailand. Nobody gives a shit where you dump your shit. I'm not bragging, that's just how it is.

 

If you have zero experience at boating, well, try to get some. Do some charter trips or find some kind of way to get some experience before you are "at sea".

[captnhoy]

40 minutes ago, mcfish said:

Agreed. And what really put me off was the the relentless humidity. OK above deck during the day if your moving but at night below deck is an oven.

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Sleeping on deck was great though wasn't it? On my motor yacht there was an upper deck. That got nicknamed The Sea Breeze Suite.

[mcfish]

Sleeping on deck was great though wasn't it? On my motor yacht there was an upper deck. That got nicknamed The Sea Breeze Suite.

Fantastic actually. We hired a 40 foot cat around the Whitsunday Islands in oz. Sleeping under the stars after drinking wine and gorging on freshly caught tuna was magic [emoji4] but we had deck space to spare OP is talking smallish

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[captnhoy]

2 hours ago, superal said:

If so what are the requirements by Thai laws regarding licences and navigational quals ?

I forgot to address this. There is no testing. They take you at your word. So go ahead, buy a "Captain's License" for 500 baht. You'll need an "Engineer". Not a locomotive engineer - they mean a mechanic. That too has zero requirement. It is simply a fee for a license that has no real meaning. On my boat my wife was the "engineer". What a laugh. I know a little bit and from what I've seen I am and advanced engineer compared to the average Thai engineer. To be fair, the topic of Captain and Engineer is within the context of a commercial endeavor. Living aboard for pleasure is a very foreign concept to officials of the Marine Dept.  

[grollies]

7 minutes ago, captnhoy said:

 

Someone wrote about "waste disposal costs". Are you kidding me? This is Thailand. Nobody gives a shit where you dump your shit. I'm not bragging, that's just how it is.

 

In the Med they do. You've. heard of MARPOL right.

 

Envy you mate...

[captnhoy]

Actually I have not heard of that. I am from the US and waste disposal is strictly monitored and enforced there as it should be. I was addressing the lack of requirements here in Thailand, I have been in 2 Thai marinas. Neither had a pump out station I am sorry to say. Based on what I have seen of this country they are many years away from caring about that topic. Malaysia however does understand the topic and provides solutions. Why IS that? Maybe they value the environment and not just money.

[superal]

Think I would enjoy your company over a few beers and listen to your stories . Bet you could write a book . Did you anchor up near more remote places as opposed to the big touristy towns very often ?  Have to admit after reading all posts so far I was not expecting that there would be so many expenses , kinda thought it would be cheaper than living on land and renting an apartment plus knowing that you will retain your capital asset , i.e. the boat/ yacht / cruiser . . BTW what is needed licence wise , and were you cruising solo ? 

[grollies]

5 minutes ago, captnhoy said:

Actually I have not heard of that. I am from the US and waste disposal is strictly monitored and enforced there as it should be. I was addressing the lack of requirements here in Thailand, I have been in 2 Thai marinas. Neither had a pump out station I am sorry to say. Based on what I have seen of this country they are many years away from caring about that topic. Malaysia however does understand the topic and provides solutions. Why IS that? Maybe they value the environment and not just money.

MARPOL - marine pollution instigated by the IMO.

 

Interestingly, Thailand is one of the few countries in the world not to have ratifyed.

[captnhoy]

1 minute ago, superal said:

Think I would enjoy your company over a few beers and listen to your stories . Bet you could write a book . Did you anchor up near more remote places as opposed to the big touristy towns very often ?  Have to admit after reading all posts so far I was not expecting that there would be so many expenses , kinda thought it would be cheaper than living on land and renting an apartment plus knowing that you will retain your capital asset , i.e. the boat/ yacht / cruiser . . BTW what is needed licence wise , and were you cruising solo ? 

Yeah, I got some stories, Sure, we had quiet anchorages. We cruised the entire Thai coast from Myanmar as far south as Langkawi Malaysia. As a couple on a 50 foot twin deck single diesel trawler yacht. Before we retired from that we crossed 500 miles of open water to the Andaman Islands where we cruised for the full 30 days that our visa allowed. That is an untouched place that time has forgotten. I wrote about licensing in another post. I just told the truth that I had 30 years experience and they issued me a license. If you decide to buy a boat you should PM me. I know a little bit.

[captnhoy]

1 minute ago, grollies said:

MARPOL - marine pollution instigated by the IMO.

 

Interestingly, Thailand is one of the few countries in the world not to have ratifyed.

Your post reminded me of one of those peculiarly Thai anomalies. At some point they required a holding tank. So I had to do my part. But they did not do their part and have pump out facilities so when that holding tank got full...........

[cloudhopper]

We live aboard our sailing catamaran 3-4 months every year in the high season only, usually cruising between Langkawi to the South and Payam to the North. IMO this region is better suited for motor cruising than sail, and you can find very sheltered long term anchorages in all seasons at no cost. As mentioned a Thai captain license is easy to get and the requirement for an engineer was eliminated many years back. 

 

edit - It would be better to purchase a Thai-flagged vessel. 

[superal]

1 hour ago, Rhys said:

... unless you have a sizeable fortune, stay on land... Fees, repair, and the coziness of your own comfort... will get old.. really have to want this...

I suppose if there were 2 or 3 of you this would make the expense of fees / mooring etc  a lot easier to cope with . I could not see myself sailing solo .

[trawler]

As of Dec 2015 a 38ft Beneteau cost a hair under 10K baht per month to berth in Ocean Marina(Jomtien) plus a yearly membership of 60K baht.So marina berths not cheap.On top was ancillaries such as cleaning etc.However only needed to call up day before and boat would be prepped ready to go for a sail.No idea on costs in Phuket but guess similar or more.

Lots of stories on thieving around Phuket area.

Living on the hook is fine but need to keep water/fuel/food topped up so need a good tender and supply line,unless get it delivered and you have a watermaker onboard etc etc.

Inside temps are ok if you have windscoops to ensure a flow through the boat.

 

[cloudhopper]

6 minutes ago, trawler said:

As of Dec 2015 a 38ft Beneteau cost a hair under 10K baht per month to berth in Ocean Marina(Jomtien) plus a yearly membership of 60K baht.So marina berths not cheap.On top was ancillaries such as cleaning etc.However only needed to call up day before and boat would be prepped ready to go for a sail.No idea on costs in Phuket but guess similar or more.

Lots of stories on thieving around Phuket area.

Living on the hook is fine but need to keep water/fuel/food topped up so need a good tender and supply line,unless get it delivered and you have a watermaker onboard etc etc.

Inside temps are ok if you have windscoops to ensure a flow through the boat.

 

Our 50' cat costs 12k/mo on the hardstand in Phuket when we are not sailing it. I cant remember what it costs to register it every year but it's not huge.  Living aboard full time is by far the best and cheapest way to own a boat, and the living is pretty easy here.

 

edit - and I've never experienced theft in 7-8 years but I stay away from Phuket as much as possible.

[captnhoy]

4 minutes ago, superal said:

I suppose if there were 2 or 3 of you this would make the expense of fees / mooring etc  a lot easier to cope with . I could not see myself sailing solo .

If you are referring to boat partnerships that is an entirely different topic. I'm very in favor of it in principle but it too is full of potential pitfalls. I promise you somebody is going to be the first to want to get out. You'll need a plan for that.

[captnhoy]

11 minutes ago, cloudhopper said:

We live aboard our sailing catamaran 3-4 months every year in the high season only, usually cruising between Langkawi to the South and Payam to the North. IMO this region is better suited for motor cruising than sail, and you can find very sheltered long term anchorages in all seasons at no cost. As mentioned a Thai captain license is easy to get and the requirement for an engineer was eliminated many years back. 

 

edit - It would be better to purchase a Thai-flagged vessel. 

Like many requirements in Thailand I think it depends on which office you deal with as to what the requirements are. Quite recently I had to talk them out of the need for an engineer on my 6 meter day fisher. And it was not easy.

[trawler]

Agree on the Thai flagged bit,in Jomtien the local Customs office would only allow foreign flagged boats to stay for 2 months then had to leave Thai waters whereas Phuket was 6 months plus extensions,if you have a broker do the import its not too onerous and at least you do not have to leave Thai waters every so often,however you do need to pay duty and also on electronic parts such as radar/radios etc etc.Plus if you decide to cruise outside Thailand legally its 20K Baht for the leaving permit on a Thai flagged boat.

[Inepto Cracy]

There are only two great days a boat owner has. The first is when you buy the craft. The second is when you sell it. In between you spend your money, tearing it up, throwing it into the sea or water for nothing in return. Stay away from the 3 F's. If ir Flys, Floats or you get the picture, stay away.

[trawler]

I seem to recall around 44K baht per year for Thai insurance(fully comp with a hull value of 2.3 Mill) and yearly license costs of around 700Baht.

Hope that helps.

[captnhoy]

28 minutes ago, Inepto Cracy said:

There are only two great days a boat owner has. The first is when you buy the craft. The second is when you sell it. In between you spend your money, tearing it up, throwing it into the sea or water for nothing in return. Stay away from the 3 F's. If ir Flys, Floats or you get the picture, stay away.

No argument just a minor revision. Not "stay away" I always heard  if it flies floats or xxx, it is "cheaper to rent it". Otherwise you are doing without on the last item.

[abab]

What if I do not stay in marinas full time but mostly 100 meters from coast and just use marina facilities when needed ?

 

My main problem is humidity as some said, would it be possible to have solar panels on boat to allow and air conditioning when working inside ?

 

 

[thaihome]

2 hours ago, grollies said:

MARPOL - marine pollution instigated by the IMO.

 

Interestingly, Thailand is one of the few countries in the world not to have ratifyed.

Actually, Thailand ratified MARPOL in 2008. 

http://www.ceat.or.th/2010/index.php/environmental-water-supply-sanitation/264-port-waste-management-in-thai-ports-.html

 

On the offshore work I was involved with in the GoT,  compliance was pretty well enforced.

TH 

[al007]

From age 21 when I owned a 21ft mystic sloop to age 65 when I owned a 60ft twin engine trawler, 50 tns ( LAST one had it all water maker, air con, two generators, deep freezes, ice makers , vacuum heads etc etc if you are that way inclined a wonderful life, i have cruised the Atlantic Pacific Caribbean, Aust , Nz in fact been most places, and both canals!

 

I spent 15 years cruising the world from age 50 to 65

 

And today I still miss it but live happily ashore, at least I have been there and done it, and all without any professional crew

 

Remember we only live once, well thats what I believe, not for the feint hearted but go for it

[grollies]

36 minutes ago, thaihome said:

Actually, Thailand ratified MARPOL in 2008. 

http://www.ceat.or.th/2010/index.php/environmental-water-supply-sanitation/264-port-waste-management-in-thai-ports-.html

 

On the offshore work I was involved with in the GoT,  compliance was pretty well enforced.

TH 

Sorry, fully ratified I meant.

Thailand only signed up to annex 1 - oil waste discharge from engine rooms and cargo tanks

 

& annex 2 - controlling pollution from hazardous/poisonous substances carried in bulk.

 

Annex 3 - 6 not signed up.

 

 

[smotherb]

4 hours ago, mcfish said:

Agreed. And what really put me off was the the relentless humidity. OK above deck during the day if your moving but at night below deck is an oven.

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Oh, I am sure boats can have aircon too.