I bought a boat!
I know nothing about boats. Absolutely zip. But I needed a place to live that was more permanent than floating between friends’ and family. So, I bought a boat 🙂
Now, I know you’re wondering “You’re in Canada, what about winter?!” – trust me, I’ve looked in to it. There are ways to do this and not freeze to death or sink your boat (though I assume both are still possible). I have a lot of theoretical information tumbling around my brain right now, so when I organize that for myself, I plan on relaying it all here for you!
But why a boat? Why not an apartment? Or a condo? Or a townhouse? Or a house house? All valid questions, and all pretty much the same answer: Toronto ain’t cheap and my single salary cannot afford it. So I considered my options:
Roommates: not my jam. My friends are all well-established and not looking to move, which would mean my roommates would be strangers. Thanks, but no thanks.
Significant other: not a chance. Without getting too into it, I decided to take some time to work on me and my life, and a boyfriend just gets in the way. Sorry, not sorry.
RV / Motorhome: this one almost won. I’m far more experienced with land-based dwellings, and would have made my mom much happier, but… I really didn’t want the “trailer trash” stigma, ya know?
So, what now? I thought I had exhausted all my options, barring quitting my job and moving back out of the city.
I don’t even remember how it came up in conversation, but it turns out one of the guys I work with actually lives on a boat. Only for the summer, granted. But he lives on a boat! He recommended I look in to it, and gave me a few pointers.
I was hooked. I started looking at boats – which was overwhelming, because I know nothing about boats. I managed to narrow down what I was looking for, based purely on the living space. I opted out of sailboats as those are largely below deck, which reminded me of basement apartments – no bueno.
Power boats also had many below deck living spaces, so my search narrowed to a certain type of cruiser with a flybridge. This afforded me a room at deck level, with plenty of sunshine, then sleeping and eating areas below. Perfect.
But I barely know how to maintain my car, and I already risk my life in that every day. How am I going to figure out how to maintain two massive engines in a power boat that I sleep in? Well, stick around and figure that out with me haha.
I’m still getting everything settled for the boat – marina slip, transportation, survey, and insurance. Check back soon for the grand tour!