We have a lot of "live aboards" in our area.  Our marinas have country club like facilities and your utilities such as ship to shore electric, water, and wireless internet are all included.  What we don't have is cheap berthing!  I'm in the 3rd most popular boating community (Houston-ClearLake-Galveston) in the US.

I think the sailboats are best suited for live aboards, they have much more space than powerboats.  Of course any larger boat providers more luxuries and more space.  A diesel trawler would be my next choice.

So does this vessel have engines?  How old, how many hours?  Diesel or gas?  Be VERY careful about gas engines and fumes on your boat.  I've seen many a boat blow up or catch fire when moored all thanks to fumes!  I strongly advise against the wood stove mentioned prior.

But your #1 concern for a moored vessel, especially a live aboard like this is seal failure!  They are the main cause of sunken boats that are moored.  So whatever seals you have at or below waterline, make sure you make good and frequent checks of them.

Congratulations on the new abode and ahoy!

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Cheers CL :-)

Yeah...in the UK it's widely acknowledged that liveaboards add an extra degree of security to marinas and harbours for other boat owners.

Berthing is cheap enough (at about £1200 a year for me) but currently with the loan repayments life is slightly more expensive than before.

Two engines, 4 cyclinder perkins diesels that orginally came with it; they vent out back so no worries with fumes...when it's out and about it's meant to be able to ush 20knots! talking of size i've got a lot more room for my money than had i bought a narrow boat for the same money.

Hull was reblacked a couple of years ago and bilge pumbing is automatic but i'll be sure to keep an eye on whether i'm sinking or not!
R>

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Two 4 cylinder diesels will be good for short cruises, as long as you are not in a hurry.  But at least they will not suck as much fuel.  Since you have diesel you won't have the fuel vapor problem that the gas engines have; I did not mean the exhaust fumes earlier.  The gas fuel vapor from leaks, etc... is whats so dangerous.  Make sure to check the seals around the drive shaft/lower units/etc... however your screws are mounted.

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MoK this looks awesome!

Are you planning to post some interior pics when you've moved in? It looks like it could be surprisingly roomy!

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Great Scott!

yep: interior pictures coming next week :-)

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Congrats, MoK. I'm not sure I'd be able to live in an apartment that size, never mind a boat!

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"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart

It looks like there is a niche collector aspect to the RAF Tenders.  Here are just a few stats I pulled up on a quick search for this type of vessel:

Designer: Brooke Marine
Builder: Motocraft
Fuel capacity: 2 x 545 ltr (119.9 G) 240 gallons? Good luck at the pump!
Water capacity: 1 x 182 ltr (40.0 G)

2 x diesel 130hp, Perkins S6M (1949)
rawwater cooled,
wheel steering,
shaft drive, 3 bladed prop(s).
Fuel consumption (approx) 9ltrs/hour,
Cruising speed 15 knots,
Max speed 23 knots.
Generator output 1500KVA.

LOA: 12.1m (39'8")
LWL: 11.9m (39'1")
Beam: 2.6m (8'6")
Draft Min: 0.0m (0'0")
Draft Max: 0.8m (2'6")
Displacement: 5,500kg (12,127.5lbs)
Headroom: 1.8m (5'9")

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I think you should add some Torpedo tubes froward and aft.      

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CL: yeah, you're right. I came accross a few sites too and will be making a bit of research myself soon and will post my results here and pictures on the blog for you: i do have a photograph of Teredo (serial number 445) during the war which is interesting too :-)

For quick reference mine is a 41' 6" long British Power Boat sea plane tender and I've seen at least two more BPB's converted into house boats too!

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It might not be a bad idea to get in contact with these other owners at some point; they could be very useful sources of "how to" knowledge.

We actually considered a barge/ferry boat as a residence at one time.  I've seen a few fully refurbished ones pass by at reasonable prices.  We've talked to about our later years and selling the house and buying the biggest sail boat we can and live aboard/travel.

A relative of mine is quasi-retired and he sails his boat all over; last trip he spent a month down in the Caribbean.  That has to be the cheapest travel/lodging cost ever for a vacation!  He is pretty experienced though and been racing regattas for over 3 decades.  

Looking forward to more pics and progress reports!

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Pretty cool.  When I was young, single and still flexible the idea of living on a boat was very tempting.

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Neal

Yep that's pretty cool MOK

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Say, one thing has struck me: where do you keep the seaplane then?    

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Back from oblivion (again)?

You need to change your nickname in Captain MOK  

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That's a great idea, it's better than mine, which was Captain of Kent, because, well, that would spell out... um, never mind.  

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