Living on a small boat

This website is all about living on a small boat and the sailboat liveaboard life. Being a liveaboard person myself and also a professional marine electrical person I want to share everything I have learnt about living aboard or sailing and cruising.  It is all about liveaboard sailboats (as well as those with motorboats, trawler yachts, canal boats, Dutch barges, peniches, houseboats) and everything about cruising and living on a small boat. It is also about how to actually get yourself afloat with the many things you need to know about liveaboard boats and it also asks the important questions of exactly what is a liveaboard? 

What is a small boat? For this website and my information sharing I would include any boat from around 25 feet up to around 40 feet as a small boat. If it can be sailed by two people or sailed solo then it's small and if you need a crew then perhaps it is getting beyond small.

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Learning About Your Diesel Engine

Take this free Marine Diesel Engine Course.  If you’re new to sailing yachts, diesel engines can feel mysterious, loud, oily machines tucked away under the companionway. This course is designed to change that. You don’t need mechanical experience or technical knowledge; we’ll start with the basics and build up slowly. By understanding how your diesel works, what it needs, and how to keep it healthy, you’ll gain confidence, independence, and peace of mind every time you head out on the water. Start learning about marine diesels and increase your knowledge and competence.

Do You know About How Your Water Systems Work

For many new sailors, the boat water system feels like hidden plumbing magic, water tanks, pressure pumps, filters, and hose and piping systems quietly working behind the scenes. You don’t need technical knowledge; we’ll start with the basics and build your understanding step by step. By learning how your freshwater system works, how to care for it, and how to spot early issues, you’ll gain confidence, comfort, and self‑reliance on every passage. Living on a small boat means becoming a plumber.

Do You Know How your Bilge Water System Functions?

A bilge water system manages and removes accumulated water from the lowest compartments of a vessel to maintain stability, safety, and equipment integrity. It typically includes electric centrifugal pumps, float or electronic level switches, discharge plumbing, check valves, strainers, and alarm circuits. Water enters the bilge through shaft seals, deck drains, tank overflows, condensation, and minor system leaks. Automatic pumps activate when water reaches a preset level, while manual pumps provide redundancy. Proper installation, wiring, and routine inspection ensure reliable operation. Understanding bilge system components and failure modes is essential for effective troubleshooting and safe vessel operation

How Does the Black Water and Grey Water System Operate?

For many newcomers, a sailboat’s black‑water system is the most intimidating part of onboard living. Holding tanks, hoses, valves, and pumps all play a role in managing waste safely and legally, yet most of it stays hidden behind bulkheads. This breaks the topic down gently and without embarrassment. You’ll learn how the black water system works, all the elements that make up a system, how to operate it correctly, and how to avoid common problems, building confidence, comfort, and good seamanship on every voyage.

Seawater Systems on a Sailboat

Seawater systems on a sailboat supply essential onboard functions, delivering raw water for deck washdown pumps, anchor wash lines, galley seawater taps, water makers, and seawater‑cooled AC and refrigeration units. These systems rely on strainers, pumps, hoses, and thru‑hulls to move and filter seawater safely. Proper maintenance ensures reliable cooling, efficient water production, and dependable washdown performance, critical for safe, long‑term cruising.

Drainage Systems on Sailboats

Sailboat drainage systems, including cockpit drains, scuppers, deck drains, and localized locker or well drains, manage rain, spray, and boarding water by directing it safely overboard. Efficient drainage prevents cockpit flooding, protects stability, and reduces structural wear. High‑quality scuppers, thru‑hulls, and drain fittings ensure fast water evacuation and reliable performance. Understanding these systems is essential for safe cruising, proper maintenance, and long‑term vessel integrity.

About Boat Electrical and Wiring Systems

Marine electrical systems also happen to be my own professional world. After years of troubleshooting, designing, and teaching marine electrics, I wrote The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible to help sailors understand their systems without fear or confusion. Boat wiring is a lot simpler than may people make out, so this is to take the mystery and jargon out of the subject.

The Marine Electrical School

Why not look at my Marine Electrical School and free online course, based on previous course I ran with same upgraded content. This course follows the same philosophy: simple explanations, practical skills, and the confidence to handle real‑world situations at sea.  For many sailors, a boat’s electrical system feels like an impenetrable maze of wires, switches, and mysterious black boxes. This course is designed to make it all clear and approachable. We’ll start with the absolute basics and build your understanding step by step, so you can work safely and confidently aboard any yacht. Living on a small boat means becoming an electrician.

Batteries and Charging

Understand how marine batteries work, how to charge them correctly, and how to prevent system failures. This section covers battery types (AGM, lithium, lead‑acid), charging profiles, alternator regulation, solar and wind integration, BMS operation, and essential safety procedures. Designed as a clear technical introduction, it gives you and crew the knowledge to manage onboard power systems confidently and maintain reliable electrical performance at sea. Start here with Batteries & Charging.

Lightning Protection & Corrosion Control

Explore how marine lightning protection systems and boat lightning strikes work, bonding networks, and strike‑dissipation pathways work together to safeguard a sailboat’s rig, hull, and electronics. Learn the fundamentals of galvanic corrosion, stray‑current corrosion, material compatibility, and sacrificial anode strategy, along with the engineering principles behind grounding plates, underwater metals, and corrosion‑resistant design. This section provides a technical foundation for diagnosing metal loss, preventing electrical faults, and understanding how lightning and corrosion interact across modern yacht systems.

Anchor Systems on a Boat

The anchor system for a sailboat provide secure holding in changing wind and seabed conditions. A complete system includes the anchor, chain and rope rode, and the windlass or retrieval gear. Different anchor types, plough, claw, fluke, and sand anchors, offer varying performance across various seabeds. Understanding anchor selection, scope, and deployment technique is essential for safe anchoring, reliable holding power, and confident overnight mooring

About Living On Board a Boat

There are many who live on catamarans, and others who reside on trawlers and motorboats. Living on a yacht or any boat is an achievable dream. There are people who live on houseboats and there are people who people who live on European barges (been there and done that, and highly recommended) and canal or narrow boats in the UK. The range of boat types adapted for living afloat is wide and varied.  For many, living afloat is a viable alternative to expensive housing and which for many these days it is utterly unaffordable. For others it is a great way to withdraw from the frenetic city and urban lifestyle.  The motivation for living on a boat is as varied as the boat types. By profession I am a marine electrical and marine engineer, as well as marine surveyor, and after a lifetime living afloat, I have learnt much about living aboard. 

This liveaboard section about living on a small boat will be about advice, learned and lived experiences to help people who are relatively new to liveaboard boat life and how to resolve challenges and enjoy the experience. I have many inspirational quotes to share and that I refer to so as to stay focused on the cruising lifestyle.

Introduction to Cooking & Provisioning on a Sailboat

Cooking on a sailboat is a bit like hosting a dinner party inside a moving phone booth. With guests, and waves. I like to call it Cruisine. And a stove that gimbals like it’s had too much rum. Provisioning isn’t far behind, every can, carrot, and cookie has to justify the precious space it occupies, because once you’re offshore, there’s no popping down to the shop for “just one more thing.” Weather, crew appetites, and the boat’s mood all play a role, and sometimes the sea decides the menu for you. But with a little planning, a dash of creativity, and the ability to laugh when the onions roll away, the galley becomes the heart of the boat, fueling morale, adventure, and the occasional heroic meal cooked at 20° of heel. Cooking and living on a small boat is rewarding and fun.

Cruising the South Pacific

Sailing in the South Pacific is a journey defined by long ocean passages, steady trade winds, and the thrill of landfall after days at sea. Cruisers cross this vast blue expanse to explore remote islands, navigate coral passes, and move with the rhythm of the weather. Each leg, whether between atolls or across major stretches, offers its own challenges and rewards, making the region a true sailor’s playground. What sailing and living on a small boat is all about.

Cruising the Caribbean

Sailing in the Caribbean blends warm trade winds, turquoise anchorages, and a vibrant food culture that keeps every passage rewarding. Island‑hopping means discovering fresh markets, beachside grills, and local staples perfect for easy onboard provisioning. From rum‑soaked barbecue to just‑caught seafood, meals become part of the adventure. With steady breezes, short passages, and countless sheltered bays, the Caribbean offers an inviting, flavour‑rich playground for sailors of every level

My Liveaboard Life

I live aboard my boat. I have lived aboard a boat for most of my life in some form or another if I take into account my merchant marine background as well.  For many years my home was a small cabin on old tramp freighters, banana boats to offshore oil drilling rigs.  My first liveaboard sailing boat was an old steel Herreshoff ketch, which I bought as part of incomplete project, with bare hull and all the bits stowed in a shed.  It took me over two years of hard work to rebuild it and that was easier for me as I am in the marine industry and had the knowledge and some competencies, but more on that subject later.  My second liveaboard boat was a 34 foot wooden sloop that I purchased from a friend, it was run down and lying in Belgium. So, between alternating my day job building oil rigs in Asia and then restoration work and living part time on the boat it took me near two years again before I finished and went cruising through Europe, the UK and down to the Mediterranean.  While I was berthed in Belgium I met some folk with a 70 foot, 110 year old Dutch barge. Several years later they put it for sale and I was quick to buy it and take a break from sailing. Yes, I had some work to do, there is always work to do, and once that was done, I lived aboard for 8 years cruising the canals and rivers of Europe.   I missed sailing and cruising and have completed refitting my 36 foot Westerly Conway ketch La Jonquille and ready to go cruising again.

My Self Help and DIY Books

I am a professional Marine Electrical and Marine Systems Engineer and Marine Engineering Surveyor.  I am also the author of The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible, the 4th Edition is due out soon, and along with the Motorboat Electrical and Electronics Manual; the Understanding Boat series of books; The Fisherman’s Electrical Manual and Piracy Today.  As my passion is sampling and enjoying local cruising cuisine, I did publish many years ago The Great Cruising Cookbook, or Cruisine©, as I like to call it. The latest and very extensive edition will be published on this website.  I am a member of the ABYC, the UK Cruising Association and the Westerly Owners Association.

Living on a small boat - About Locations

Many choose living on a small boat in a marina, where that is available, but that is also becoming a greater challenge. This can be linked to employment or a desire to have some home comforts, such as laundry, shower and toilet facilities or Wi-Fi access. Finding a marina that will accept you as a liveaboard is often hard in most places in the USA. 

The next option is finding a suitable mooring to rent or lease, much cheaper and one has to commute ashore with the dinghy.  The next option is finding a suitable anchorage without any overhead fees and charges, this of course brings in new obstacles and again we will discuss this later.  

Then there are those who choose the cruising route, and have short term visits to marina's and moorings. They spend time in a anchorage or pay for a much cheaper mooring and also use the dinghy or tender to access shore facilities.  This dramatically reduces costs but is not available everywhere. If you are a long-term cruising liveaboard and not linked to shore for too much then you will choose to go to peaceful and quite anchorages, hit the supermarkets when needed along with topping up water and fuel and where required pumping out the holding tank.

Living on a small boat - How much does it Cost?

Living on a small boat is not cost free, especially if you live aboard in a marina. If you have to finance your boat then you have payments to keep up with.  The first cost is the slip fees, often cheaper if you pay six monthly or annually. For people who live aboard in short periods such as the summer cruising season, there are surcharges for use of the marina facilities.  Of course some marina’s don’t allow liveaboards. Then there is the insurance cover, and for many marina’s that is quite comprehensive as well, you cannot escape insurance coverage when visiting marinas.  Some marinas charge for the electricity use and that can add up.  If you need professional help with engines, electrical, plumbing or other systems they do not come cheap so some self sufficiency is essential. If you are doing a refit while living aboard many marinas ban such activities as they create noise, dust and so on. Even living aboard in a marina still results in boat haul out costs every year or longer if you stretch the dates. Bottom cleaning, antifoulant application and other maintenance all cost money so needs to be included in the budget.  Then there are LPG gas costs for cooking, and also your usual food costs, but many cruisers find that can be done economically with new skills.  If you have to pump out a sewage holding tank there are often charges associated with that as well.  Then there are other issues such as health insurance and so on to consider.  Many cruising liveaboards find insurance hard to get or the premiums exorbitant so don’t carry any.  Check out all the pages on this site for guidance, advice and suggestions on how to avoid paying too much, getting it right first time and avoiding needless drama and incidents that spoil the experience.