Living Aboard In San Diego
My Experience
Way back when I was 19 years old, I purchased a 1979 39' home-built sailing trimaran with a couple of buddies for $3,300.00. 'Triogamy' was it's name, and it lived on a mooring ball next to the Coronado bridge and Tideland's park. Initially my friends and I used it to ram other people's boats and occasionally sail. Eventually, though, I moved aboard with one of those friends, then he moved on and my younger brother graduated high school and moved aboard with me. My brother and I refit much of the vessel, building out the spartan interior, re-doing the decks, re-naming her 'Liquid Silk' and doing a fair job of halting the aging process on a cold-molded plywood and fiberglass vessel. I lived aboard for 11 years and absolutely loved it!
Day-to-Day - What it's like to live aboard
Bad:
Humidity
Cramped living spaces
Limited storage
Expensive maintenance (budget ~10% of the vessels value in maintenance costs per year)
Winter can be quite brisk in San Diego
Laundry
It's basically a floating trailer park
Your home is a depreciating asset
Good:
Humidity
Can be less expensive than living on land
Limited room for possessions
On the water all the time
Views are usually awesome!
Closer to nature
Just a step away from an awesome dinghy ride!
Costs of living aboard a boat
In a marina - ***Monthly cost of slip rent plus a liveaboard fee of typically a few hundred dollars a month. ***there is very limited availability in San Diego in marinas. See below***
On a mooring ball - Approximately $150 USD per month. The wharfage contract from the San Diego Mooring Company explicitly forbids living aboard, but its a very dificult rule to enforce on the open water in the mooring fields with no access cards at gates and electrical usage data to monitor. However, the number of liveaboards is limited logistically, as a dinghy ride to the vessel is required.
As a drifter - Priceless out by the Zuniga Jetty.
***Availability of Liveaboard Slips in Marinas***
Shelter and Harbor Island: There are lots of slips in the boating center of San Diego, but the waitlists for liveaboard status are years long at every marina that I've ever asked at. Some people will sneakaboard with regular success. Most marinas allow 2-3 nights per week aboard overnight without liveaboard status, with allowances for a couple two week stays per year.
Mission Bay: Liveaboard is not allowed in Mission Bay.
Downtown: The Marriott Marina does not allow liveaboards, but that is loosely enforced.
National City & Chula Vista: Pier 32, Safe Harbor Bayfront and Safe Harbor Southbay all allow liveaboard, and typically have availability quickly if you don't look like a bum. Last I spoke with the dockmaster at Safe Harbor Bayfront, there was a 3-6 month wait for liveaboard status.
Yacht Clubs: Yacht clubs typically have long lists for slips and even longer for liveaboard slips. For instance, as of August 2021, Silvergate Marina has a 7-10 year waitlist for slips and even longer for liveaboard status in those slips. Of course, you must be a yacht club member to even get on those waitlists.