Massive changes are about to happen here where I live, all in a matter of days within each other. For those who don't know, I have a somewhat large family with 3 brothers and 2 half sisters, one of which I don't see and haven't since 1984 or something. The other sister is married and has 3 kids. Neither she nor her husband make all that much money, not enough in fact to give their kids the lifestyle they should have. So I live in her laundry room and pay 1/4 the rent here. My younger brother (he turns 25 tonight) also lives in the room here and pays the same amount. My buddy up in Costa Mesa just broke up with his girlfriend and doesn't have anyone to share the load of the rent there, so Chris (my brother) decided, after 4 years of living here, that he would finally set out and not live with his family anymore. He moved from living with our mom to living here. Hes a very timid guy who doesn't like change much so it's a really bold move for him. A damn fine move for him though. For me that places a few hundred bucks extra in my ball court that I'll be paying now. Which is EXTREMELY fine with me. 
I make enough to pay the entire rent for this house in one week. Although lately I have been cutting back my hours at work because we're slow so my bank account hasn't really been rising as fast as it could.
On another note, my youngest brother Tim, he still lives in Utah with my mom. If anyone has ever lived in Utah who has lived in Southern California, you know that it's utter fucking misery up there. It's cold and miserable most of the time, half of the people who live there are Mormons who see you with the same loving view that a waffen SS general saw when he looked at a Jew, and there's just nothing to do there except sit at home with your dick in your hand. He just came down here a week ago to check out a place to live. I guess it didn't pan out though.
For some time I've wanted to buy a boat and live on it. It just makes sense. You buy a boat and put it in a slip and pay like $100-1500 for slip fees. Why such a massive range is because not only do different marinas charge different rates but their rates are based on the length of the boat. For Long Beach harbor, $8.50 per foot for a vessel 29' or less, $9.30 for over 29' up to 34', $10.30 for vessels over 34' up to 44', $11.35 for vessels over 44' up to 49 ', $12.40 for vessels over 49'. Other marinas such as The Dunes in Newport Beach charge over $30 a foot for little boats and it goes up from there. So if you get in the right marina it barely doesn't cost a thing for slip fees. And you don't pay anything for power or water, since the marina is a state park power and water is supplied by the state. And when you have free electricity and water, you don't need anything else. Just internet and satellite TV (or cable if it's offered at the marina (most places it is)) and to have a cell phone. To live on a boat you do, however have a liveaboard fee which varies from marina to marina, usually about $100 ($190 in Long Beach). So for a 30' boat which cost $3000 in long beach you're looking at a 5 year cost of 3000+(60(9.3*30)+190)=$31,140. Compare this to an apartment which, for bay front property like you'd have with a boat in a marina, you'd likely be looking at (asuming a low average combined utility and dues cost of $250 per month) 60(1700+250)=$117,000. A fairly substantial difference. With an apartment, however, there are perks such as more space and being able to have a jacuzzi in your living room. But a boat has a lot of perks as well such as being able to move to any place on the globe with no notice at all, even if it will only be for a few hours to go snorkeling off the coast of Catalina or Cabo Can Lucas. In my opinion, there's no comparison.
This last weekend, while looking for boats on ebay, Tim came across a screamin' deal for an older 32' Tollycraft, which I promptly bought. A wooden boat which just oozes style. Fortunately, I went by and inspected the vessel and style is the only thing that it is oozing as the hull is perfectly sound having no leaks whatsoever, being coated with fiberglass on the underside a few years back.
There are a few things that might come of this endever. One, Tim is selling this turbo he got a while back off that was used on some Indy Car. He's had offers up to $3500, but so far no one with the balls to plonk down the bills has done so. Asuming that it sells, he'll pay me right back for it and he'll be living on the boat paying for it himself from whatever job he gets and, that'll be the end of that on my part. Another option is if the turbo doesn't sell, I'll pay the slip fees and cover the cost of the boat and give him $100 er so a week to live on and he'll sand all the wood down and just polish the whole boat up and get it to pristine condition and we'll sell it for around $5,000. We'll see if we can find another deal like this for him to live on and I'll take the rest and buy a decent sailboat, which I'd much prefer to a powerboat. While powerboats are much more spacious and more suited for living on, you can't take them very far and when you do you're paying an awful lot of cash in gas. Sailboats, on the other hand go anywhere around the globe using only the gas it takes to get in and out of the marina and into open waters. While possible to sail in and out of a marina or other tight quarters, it's a lil hairy. I've known only 2 people (a man and his wife) who have sailed around the world without a motor and they still were towed into a few marinas by a boat under power a few times anyway. But anyway you're not spending insane amounts of cash on gas on a sailboat of course and intercontinental travel does become an option, albeit a lengthy one. Plus, sailboats just have way more style and appeal than a powerboat. They're much funner to use.
But anyway, Tim has already come down here and will be getting the boat ready for action. The motors are siezed from sitting for god knows how long and may need to be replacing, but possibly not. Luckily, him, me, and pretty much everyone else in my family are mechanics so getting them running won't be a problem. Nor will finding replacements for them if they are trashed or missing. When I looked at the boat I didn't even check if the old inboards were there. I saw that the hull was in such great shape, considering the cost, and didn't even bother. Even if the engines don't work, it does have an outboard on the back that the seller put on and sold with the boat so that we could move it when needed. But if they are, in fact, trash, it won't be a problem.
No matter what, both me and Tim are majorly stoked that we'll finally get back into boating. It's been so long since we've been out on the water we barely remember what it's like to be the only place on earth where true anarchy still exists. We have been reminiscing about our past boating adventures nearly the whole time that he has been here and pretty much haven't talked about anything that doesn't have to do with the vessel or boating. We're both kindo obsessed by it.
Oh, on a side note, I was proposed to last night. This gal IM'd me on yahoo, I'm sure after randomly viewing my profile, and talked to me for about 8 minutes of which primarily consisted of me saying that I was tired and needed to go to bed. After I finally did go to bed, I remembered that I forgot to make sure I set my alarm (I use QCD player with its timer function to play all of my mp3s on random to wake me up) I turned the monitor back on and she was still goin strong talkin' `bout how it's pretty much impossibble for her to find a decent guy in Africa and that I should marry her so she can move back to America. I saw that and was like "Whoa! It's been years since anyone asked me to marry them and all I said was I was tired and had to wake up to go to work". I guess I met all her credentials for a future husband which are that he be 1. white 2. employed 3. someone who does not type in all caps 4. .... Hm, well I guess that's it. It's good to feel loved though, ya know?
I make enough to pay the entire rent for this house in one week. Although lately I have been cutting back my hours at work because we're slow so my bank account hasn't really been rising as fast as it could.
On another note, my youngest brother Tim, he still lives in Utah with my mom. If anyone has ever lived in Utah who has lived in Southern California, you know that it's utter fucking misery up there. It's cold and miserable most of the time, half of the people who live there are Mormons who see you with the same loving view that a waffen SS general saw when he looked at a Jew, and there's just nothing to do there except sit at home with your dick in your hand. He just came down here a week ago to check out a place to live. I guess it didn't pan out though.
For some time I've wanted to buy a boat and live on it. It just makes sense. You buy a boat and put it in a slip and pay like $100-1500 for slip fees. Why such a massive range is because not only do different marinas charge different rates but their rates are based on the length of the boat. For Long Beach harbor, $8.50 per foot for a vessel 29' or less, $9.30 for over 29' up to 34', $10.30 for vessels over 34' up to 44', $11.35 for vessels over 44' up to 49 ', $12.40 for vessels over 49'. Other marinas such as The Dunes in Newport Beach charge over $30 a foot for little boats and it goes up from there. So if you get in the right marina it barely doesn't cost a thing for slip fees. And you don't pay anything for power or water, since the marina is a state park power and water is supplied by the state. And when you have free electricity and water, you don't need anything else. Just internet and satellite TV (or cable if it's offered at the marina (most places it is)) and to have a cell phone. To live on a boat you do, however have a liveaboard fee which varies from marina to marina, usually about $100 ($190 in Long Beach). So for a 30' boat which cost $3000 in long beach you're looking at a 5 year cost of 3000+(60(9.3*30)+190)=$31,140. Compare this to an apartment which, for bay front property like you'd have with a boat in a marina, you'd likely be looking at (asuming a low average combined utility and dues cost of $250 per month) 60(1700+250)=$117,000. A fairly substantial difference. With an apartment, however, there are perks such as more space and being able to have a jacuzzi in your living room. But a boat has a lot of perks as well such as being able to move to any place on the globe with no notice at all, even if it will only be for a few hours to go snorkeling off the coast of Catalina or Cabo Can Lucas. In my opinion, there's no comparison.
This last weekend, while looking for boats on ebay, Tim came across a screamin' deal for an older 32' Tollycraft, which I promptly bought. A wooden boat which just oozes style. Fortunately, I went by and inspected the vessel and style is the only thing that it is oozing as the hull is perfectly sound having no leaks whatsoever, being coated with fiberglass on the underside a few years back.
There are a few things that might come of this endever. One, Tim is selling this turbo he got a while back off that was used on some Indy Car. He's had offers up to $3500, but so far no one with the balls to plonk down the bills has done so. Asuming that it sells, he'll pay me right back for it and he'll be living on the boat paying for it himself from whatever job he gets and, that'll be the end of that on my part. Another option is if the turbo doesn't sell, I'll pay the slip fees and cover the cost of the boat and give him $100 er so a week to live on and he'll sand all the wood down and just polish the whole boat up and get it to pristine condition and we'll sell it for around $5,000. We'll see if we can find another deal like this for him to live on and I'll take the rest and buy a decent sailboat, which I'd much prefer to a powerboat. While powerboats are much more spacious and more suited for living on, you can't take them very far and when you do you're paying an awful lot of cash in gas. Sailboats, on the other hand go anywhere around the globe using only the gas it takes to get in and out of the marina and into open waters. While possible to sail in and out of a marina or other tight quarters, it's a lil hairy. I've known only 2 people (a man and his wife) who have sailed around the world without a motor and they still were towed into a few marinas by a boat under power a few times anyway. But anyway you're not spending insane amounts of cash on gas on a sailboat of course and intercontinental travel does become an option, albeit a lengthy one. Plus, sailboats just have way more style and appeal than a powerboat. They're much funner to use.
But anyway, Tim has already come down here and will be getting the boat ready for action. The motors are siezed from sitting for god knows how long and may need to be replacing, but possibly not. Luckily, him, me, and pretty much everyone else in my family are mechanics so getting them running won't be a problem. Nor will finding replacements for them if they are trashed or missing. When I looked at the boat I didn't even check if the old inboards were there. I saw that the hull was in such great shape, considering the cost, and didn't even bother. Even if the engines don't work, it does have an outboard on the back that the seller put on and sold with the boat so that we could move it when needed. But if they are, in fact, trash, it won't be a problem.
No matter what, both me and Tim are majorly stoked that we'll finally get back into boating. It's been so long since we've been out on the water we barely remember what it's like to be the only place on earth where true anarchy still exists. We have been reminiscing about our past boating adventures nearly the whole time that he has been here and pretty much haven't talked about anything that doesn't have to do with the vessel or boating. We're both kindo obsessed by it.
Oh, on a side note, I was proposed to last night. This gal IM'd me on yahoo, I'm sure after randomly viewing my profile, and talked to me for about 8 minutes of which primarily consisted of me saying that I was tired and needed to go to bed. After I finally did go to bed, I remembered that I forgot to make sure I set my alarm (I use QCD player with its timer function to play all of my mp3s on random to wake me up) I turned the monitor back on and she was still goin strong talkin' `bout how it's pretty much impossibble for her to find a decent guy in Africa and that I should marry her so she can move back to America. I saw that and was like "Whoa! It's been years since anyone asked me to marry them and all I said was I was tired and had to wake up to go to work". I guess I met all her credentials for a future husband which are that he be 1. white 2. employed 3. someone who does not type in all caps 4. .... Hm, well I guess that's it. It's good to feel loved though, ya know?
VIEW 12 of 12 COMMENTS
deathtoforls:
I've been thinking about the houseboat as living situation choice as well since my return from Florida. Since you are innately mechanically inclined, why no thoughts of a power-sail hybrid? Oh, congrats on your proposal, perhaps she saw your live video action, hehe
inannamute:
Perv.