but he is being extremely careful in
refitting the boat to ensure he does
not sacrifice its traditional character.
Buragin’sroomy layout includes a full-
size stateroom, large separate galley
and walk-in engineroom with full
headroom.CASE STUDY SIX
Me! Merilyn MacKenzie of fixed
address:Aardvark, a 44ft fibreglass
Gulfstar ketch, designer Vincent
Lazzara, built in Florida, USA, in 1974.
My current Gulfstar 44 ketch is set
up to operate similar to an apartment.
The substantial bank of batteries,
genset, solar panels, wind generators,
2kVA inverter, oven, fridge, freezer and
eutectic hot-water system provide hot
showers, video player, stereo, internet
connections, ice cream and roast
dinners.
This may not be “the traditional life
at sea” but it sure beats a cold shower
and packet pasta by lantern light in a
leaky boat. Incidentally, that is the way
I lived on my first boat a 1945, 32ft bay
cruiser two decades ago.
Doing it rough and playing it tough
may be fine for weekend warriors who
use their boat every blue moon, but notday in and day out as a “liveaboarder”.
The closer you can make your lifestyle
‘out to sea’ the same as being ‘on the
grid’ the more enjoyable it is in the long
run. How much you spend on bringing
your boat up to a standard depends on
how many luxuries you can do without.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions or
admit you don’t know something about
a boat. While advice differs wildly and
everyone has his or her own opinion
on boats, if you don’t ask you will never
learn. It’s a law of averages, the best
advice is usually the majority opinion.
There is a hard way to live aboard
and an easy way. Pretending to be
a know-it-all is the hard way. Take
advantage of the fact there is always
an old sea dog out there, with more
knowledge, who can fix your problem
in a tenth of the time.THE BOTTOM LINE
On paper, living aboard sounds both
easy and daunting. It’s neither. It
boils down to common sense. It’s no
different to what you went through
when you bought your first home. As
for me, I wouldn’t swap my lifestyle for
anything. Most other liveaboarders I
know agree.When I bought my first boat in
Southport 20 years ago, I’d never
steered a boat in my life. But there were
plenty of yachties there willing to give
me as much of their time as I needed
and all of their immense knowledge.
They taught me the basics from how to
repack a stern gland to setting tappets.
If you want an insight into
maintaining a boat and safety at sea,
I have found the Volunteer Marine
Rescue navigation course, and TAFE’s
Coxswains and Masters Class Five were
invaluable.
Books such as Captain Dick Gandy’s
Australian Boating Manual cover many
of the basics on good seamanship,
which go hand-in-hand with living
aboard and safety at sea.
At the end of the day, and night, a
well-maintained liveaboard boat is like
a good friend – it will always look after
you.
As for what living aboard means
to me, I would have to agree with
Aardvark’s designer and builder, Vince
Lazzara, who had a saying: “God only
gives you so many days, but the ones
you spend at sea don’t count against
you.”Living Aboard
48 trade aboat.com.au