Living aboard a 36′ Catalina sailboat in the Caribbean… Ah, the good life. Sailboats provide you with a small space so you have little to take care of and clean. Plus, like an RV or motorhome, they give you the ability to travel inexpensively.
I’m Alex Pino and I had the chance to meet up with Derek Diedricksen, author of Humble Homes, Simple Shacks to shoot this video in Cape Coral, Florida. I hope you enjoy watching it, and that it gives you some ideas you can use for your own tiny house, cabin, apartment, or other small space. If you like this post, you’ll also like this post I did on a custom built houseboat in California. Must see!
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36-ft. Catalina Sailboat Cabin
Watch the Video Tour of this 36′ Catalina Sailboat Below
Length: 6:48
I encourage you to watch the video below and if you like it, pass it along. Enjoy..
Once I got inside, I was surprised to find all of the clever storage spots throughout the boat.
The kitchen had plenty of space to work with and storage to keep your stuff in. The sink is really deep so you can use it to wash dishes while on the water without getting the boat all wet inside.
The brass lamp has tie-downs and as you see, storage just about everywhere. The seats you see above convert to a bed for one.
Most of you already know this, but the dining area above converts to a bed for two.
In the rear of the boat is a little bedroom that can comfortably sleep two. On top of all of that, there’s even more sleeping space in the stern of the boat.
There’s Derek enjoying the weather and view in the shade. I think it’d be awesome to live aboard a sailboat, how about you?
If you’re interested in Deek’s book, Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, check it out on Amazon where you can bundle it with Lloyd Kahn’s latest Tiny Homes, Simple Shelter as well. They’re both great!
You can also visit Derek over at his blog, RelaxShacks.com.
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Alex
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Stern=rear of boat. Bow=front. Yes, boats are lovely but they are expensive (my father used to say they are a hole in the water that one pours money into). Good ideas for the TH, though, and a fun video to watch – thanks!
I know, I’m a rookie with the boat lingo, sorry! Glad you liked the video though. See ya, Louise.
love to know more info on living on boats, just brought a 36ft ketch, with centre cockpit, and i am redesigning to fit my book collection etc in it
Awesome Daniel. Let us know how it goes.
BOAT = Bring on another thousand
and thts what it is. We have been living 12 years on our 30 foot center cockpit boat and have rounded the pacific in it.
Good for a short time, or if you have to much money. Other wise the thing has to get taken out regularly and a lot of maintainance is required to keep it that way. I am living in Canada so here it is cold and wet. In the winter time you fight with mold and wet bedding all the time.
Oh yes the microwave only works when you are at shore or you have a generator which you can use when you are on anchore…..no popcorn otherwise!
Living on a boat….well let me say if you do not know how to fix it you will learn it by night and in a crash course during you get tossed from one side to the next….one hand on the bucket and the other one for fixing stuff…..and if you know how to fix it…well it is never that stuff that breaks always the stuff you do not know how to fix.
With a house on wheels …you have a flat…jack it up and wait until it gets light…the boat gets a hole you are soaking wet and everything around you.
You are copunting the minutes and hours to get some light so you can fix it and drop dead to bed. If you can fix it.
And book good collect them but make sure you have a super ventilation around them otherwise they rot, which the cockroaches really like.Yes we do still have the sailboat. We have a mooing, the most marinas do not like to have liveaboard and if you are lucky to get a spot you are paying dearly for the luxury to live on it.In 12 years there are a lot of stories. I am just saying I am never moving full time onto a boat again. I need my sleep and my nerves too.
Thank you very much!
Just a few questions to think about this boat:
Where is the heating?
How do I get hot water?
Where do I get the water from?
How much batteries do I need?
How do I charge the batteries?
Some people are born to be on the boat, I am not one of them, but I like tiny Houses with land around it.
Hey Stephany- great insights in your comment, thanks. I think this boat stays in Florida, the Keys, Caribbean, etc. so I don’t even think there’s heat but it does have A/C somewhere. The other questions, not so sure, sorry!
I am really excited to read more! My goal is to buy, provision and retire to a 40 foot sailboat in the next 5 years.
thanks for the insights!
Thanks, Jan. Glad you’re excited!
Cool vid Alex- good work. I did call the back of the boat the stern, or am I missing something (from the comment way above)? Talk to you later…
-Deek
Thanks Deek it was fun. I figured she was referring to the way I wrote the post because I said front/back.
excellent. excellent. I love slowness of living on water.
Living aboard a 36′ Catalina sailboat….. Ah, the good life …..
Great video!
Ah yes—the HAPPIEST two days of a mans life–
The day he buys his FIRST boat
And
The day he SELLS his boat
Been there done that and loved it but===we had to make a decision–boat or bike. Where we live there is only so many good days to either sail or ride. Bike won. Actually–they guy we BOUGHT the bike from was trading it in FOR a boat so he could have his extensive non-motorcycle riding clan with he and his wife who was not well.
Next up—-RV or small place with as much boat-like storage and clever ideas as possible! Stephany nailed it tho. Boats are like horses—they spend all their time figuring out HOW to get hurt in the way it will cost YOU the MOST to fix. Preferably at 3 AM in a howling gale. At least the vet makes house calls!!!!
My grand father saved for HIS first boat in a metal Band Aid box. Allegedly ran some likker during Prohibition. He left me a 42 foot Cris Craft. Lovely but—-Something I will never forget our good times.
What I like is the fact that boat storage and ordinary RV storage has the ability to keep items in cupboards–that have a stop in them to keep items inside and non shifting when moving. The tiny houses that I have seen–on wheels– do not seem to have this feature, which I would think, would be a must if one is moving from place to place. You wouldn’t want to have to pack things up to keep them from shifting.