Are you interested in living on a sailboat? Back in August, I published Living In A 200 Square Foot Tiny House – Could You Do It? At the end, I asked if anyone was interested in taking part in an interview about their tiny home. Well, guest what? Someone said yes and today she is going to share how she is living on a sailboat!
I was able to interview the amazing Melody at Saving To Sail. She lives on a 175 square foot “tiny home” sailboat with her significant other and their 50 pound dog. It’s definitely a great read about living on a sailboat. Enjoy!
Hi, my name is Melody and I live on a sailboat.
Wow, that sounds like an introduction at a group therapy session! I’m sure some people secretly think to themselves that I need therapy once they learn that I, along with my significant other Chris and our 50lb Dutch Shepherd, have less than 175 square feet in our boat cabin!
Why did you move onto a sailboat and decide to start living on a sailboat?
We came to the decision to sell our 950 square foot house in Nashville (and most of the things that filled it) around 2011. Chris was a singer/songwriter and he hit a rough spot creatively.
I was complacent with my job and our daily routine, so we decided to shake things up and move onto a sailboat. We were both avid sailors, and it was one of the few ways that we thought we could see so many places, so we decided to take the leap and do it sooner than later.
We listed the house and as soon as it sold, we bought a 35 foot sailboat and promptly sailed it from Panama City, FL to the Keys, then up the East Coast and the Chesapeake Bay.
Since then, we’ve cruised up and down the East Coast 4 times, staying in bigger cities like Charleston, Fort Lauderdale and St. Augustine, as well as tiny, quaint towns you’ve likely never heard of such as Rock Hall, Solomons Island and Oriental, each with it’s own charm, and each one now home to us in some way, if only for a short time.
How was it to downsize to start living on a small sailboat, and join the tiny house movement?
The downsizing in the beginning was pretty difficult, I must admit.
While I was not materialistic, we did each have a lifetime each of stuff we had acquired, and thus, had to get rid of. I also had a closet full of shoes.
Girls, you can understand how hard getting rid of them all was for me.
The funny thing about us humans is how easily we attach emotions to inanimate objects. Of course some things are understandable, such as a quilt hand-stitched by my Grama, but there were some things I was so hesitant to get rid of, although they had zero sentimental value to them. I felt like I was giving away huge chunks of my life as I filled box after box with my things.
As the process went on, however, I found that I was actually enjoying getting rid of my belongings.
As I designated each item as trash, donate or keep, it was fun to reflect and laugh at some of the old photos and memories. The process became cathartic and when it was all said and done, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I felt so free!
What do you do for food when living on a sailboat?
One funny thing about living on a sailboat is that people ask you some really ridiculous questions. Oddly enough, the most common question we get is, “What do you do for food?”
Ummm… well, there’s this place called a grocery store…?
Seriously though, we do go to the grocery store like normal people, and we cook on board most nights although we do like to find a few local restaurants when we get to a new town.
We’ll sit at the bar and eat and have a beer or a glass or two of wine. We’ve found that this is one of the best ways to spark up a conversation with a local who gives you all the scoop on the town, and we’ve made lots of new friends this way. I’d like to say we fish a lot, but we are terrible fishermen, but I finally caught my first fish last weekend! It was awesome.
What about privacy since you’re in such a small space?
There is a certain lack of privacy that comes with the territory, and I would say that many couples I know wouldn’t be able to get along in such confinement.
You can’t get your feelings hurt when you’re in this situation and your partner admits they need space.
It’s not personal – we all need “me time”, and luckily, we both understand that. When those times come, one of us will take the dog for a walk, or someone will go up on deck to read so the other can have some alone time.
It’s also crucial to have excellent communication when you both live in such a small space.
Even though our actual living space is tinier than even most tiny houses, it’s all relative, I suppose. Since we have less stuff, our space doesn’t feel cramped in the least. I think if we were pack rats, I would be absolutely miserable but as it is, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If we need more room, we go up on deck, where we are treated to million dollar views and sunsets that take your breath away. It’s a good life.
What about money when living on a sailboat?
The hardest part for me is work when living on a sailboat, and worrying about money. I’m in my 30’s and Chris in his 40’s so we’re on the younger side of retirement.
I’m lucky, because the promotional marketing company I work for lets me work remotely from the boat. I have a Verizon Jetpack mobile wifi device that keeps me connected, and since most of my work is done via email and phone, it’s not too difficult – logistically, of course.
However, I will admit that it’s tough to be in some of these wonderful places and still be tied to a computer each day for 8 solid hours. My need to be constantly connected has also kept us from sailing to further places such as the Bahamas or Nova Scotia, so while having a steady income is awesome, it’s not without its downfall.
This is the reason I actually became such a huge fan of Michelle’s blog and the whole side hustle thing! I’ve learned so much from Making Sense of Cents, and I now have a few side hustles – writing, making jewelry and website building, and Chris wrote a book about our transition, so he gets royalties from that and from his music.
One of these days, I hope to do what Michelle has done and break free from the standard 9-5 as I know it and work strictly for myself, on my own schedule, so I can better enjoy this wonderful little life we have created for ourselves.
Melody is the author of the blog Saving To Sail, and makes nautical jewelry which she sells in her online shop, Maggie & Milly. Chris DiCroce is a singer/songwriter and is working on his 4th album. He is also the author of the book You Gotta Go To Know, available on Amazon.
Could you live in a tiny home? What about living on a sailboat? What would be your DREAM living situation?
If you have any questions for this couple about living on a sailboat or something related to that, leave them in the comments below. They will be replying to comments 🙂
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I’ve read a lot about the Tiny House Movement, but I’ve never thought about living on a sail boat. Are there any issues, like having a permanent address/physical address or any thing you have trouble with tax wise?
We have a mail service that serves as our “home” address and is legally recognized and allows us to register to vote, get driver’s licenses, and more. You are also allowed to use your boat registration number or Coast Guard documentation number as your address, however, unfortunately most state employees don’t know that (and neither did I until fairly recently). I once went to a Post Office to register for a PO Box (before I got the mail service I’m with now). When I got to the address part, I left it blank. The postal employee told me I couldn’t leave it blank, she needed an address. I told her I lived on my boat and she said (and I quote), “Honey! According to the United States Government, you are HOMELESS! I can’t give you a PO Box without an address!” Which was totally flawed logic… I mean the USPS is bankrupt… I’m trying to give them money… and they refused it based on the fact that I was “homeless”. So that was a problem. haha Logistically it can be a pain in the butt at times, but we’ve managed to figure it out along the way! And taxes are just like anything else – we pay sales tax, federal tax on our wages, etc. The only thing we don’t have is property tax.
Awesome. Good luck to you guys.
Thank you, Jaafar! To you as well!
I would hate living on the water but I do want to have a small home. Our dream is to build a cob house which will be only as big as necessary since we’ll be doing all the work ourselves. We did move from a house to a little duplex and got rid of probably 75% of our stuff. If only I could get my hubby to part with more of his!
Hi Anna – I had never heard of a cod house but just went to Google it – wow! Some of them are cool looking. Amazing what people are doing for homes! Good luck in your simplification venture!
one day i will acquire my sailboat and also live in it….. yipee
Good luck in finding the perfect boat for you! 🙂
Wow! That sounds amazing. Some people in the UK live on canal barges and I always imagined that would be miserable and cold in the winter, but your pictures at the top of the post make living on the water look far more appealing. How much does a boat like that cost to buy and to run?
Hey Myles! Well, let me tell you, it’s not all sunshine and rum drinks. As I am typing this, I’m up in the Chesapeake Bay where the temperatures are getting down in the 40’s at night. I have a small space heater that I borrowed from a friend because I was so cold! Not to mention storms and the necessity of becoming totally self sufficient at times… think MacGuyver type stuff, because if something breaks when you’re out in the ocean, you can’t just run to the local hardware store to get a part, or plug in a power tool to fix it. I know more than you could imagine about how to repair a diesel engine! But on the flip side, we have the amazing sunsets each day, and yes, days like the photo at the top. Yin and Yang. That’s what life’s all about, huh? Some days are just terrible and frightening, but then you have one good day and you get amnesia, forgetting about the bad long enough to decide to do it all again the next day!
My coworker lived on a canal in UK with his wife for 9 years. He bought a 2 bedroom apartment. And regretted ever since.
Great post! I love reading about people who do things “differently.” I especially love tiny houses. I’m leaning towards saving up to buy one myself. I was watching one of those TLC home shows not that long ago and they were showing house boats in Juneau and I thought “I could do that.” I’ve definitely lived in some really small spaces before.
I saw the TLC show on Tiny Houses when visiting my brother recently (since we don’t have TV on the boat), and I loved it! I love the way designers really push the limits and think outside of the box when designing for small spaces. Thanks for commenting!
This is so awesome! I love stories like this with people living outside the norm of what we usually consider possible. I don’t know that we’ll be moving onto a boat anytime soon; I’m a bit of a claustrophobe and the husband isn’t the biggest fan of open water, but I really admire that you guys were able to make the sacrifices to live such an amazing adventure and call it everyday life.
Thank you! You really do learn a lot about yourself when you test your limits – and it doesn’t mean doing something crazy like moving onto a boat – it’s just about challenging ourselves and changing the way we think, and the things we value. Even just financially – Michelle and her followers are daring to push their limits and say, “we’re not going to live in debt for the next 50 years”, but sadly, most people aren’t willing to do that. Most people are too scared or too lazy to take the necessary steps to achieve true financial, emotional or physical freedom. That’s why I credit Michelle for opening my eyes to the possibilities. Here’s this normal girl (not some slick dude in a suit posing on a yacht) who just works her butt off to have financial success, and is cool enough to tell us how she does it!
Sounds like a fun way to live – something I wish to do someday. How awesome! I can imagine the many adventures you must have had.
Thank you! It’s definitely the perfect life for me – it’s not without hardships, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
This is the COOLEST post I have read in a while. 175 ft. sailboat living – wow!! I think it’s really great you guys made the leap to just do it – I’m not a sailor at all (only been on a boat maybe 5 times in my life), but I LOVE the small house movement. I would do it in a heartbeat – just have to find the right place to settle 🙂 Thanks for sharing your story with us!
Thank you, Melissa! Wow, what an awesome comment! Good luck finding your right place to settle! And if you can’t decide on one place, you can always get a boat! 😉
i couldn’t do the whole boat thing, maybe living in a small house but not a boat.
Ahhhh amazing! Yes, I could totally live on a boat. I’ve spent loads of time sailing and I have to say, even though the boat’s cabin might be small, it feels so open when you’re up on the deck. I love the idea of sailing up and down the coast and around the Caribbean. Wishing you a speedy switchover to fully independent work so that you have more freedom! Really loved & connected with this post, I’d love to live this lifestyle in about 15 years time 🙂
Thank you, Charlotte! I just checked out your blog – LOVE it. 🙂
Ahhh thanks so much!
That looks like a really fun lifestyle! I am in Guatemala and using a similar device for internet, and have used them in more countries, you just buy a local SIM card and USB stick and you’re good to go, so unless you have 8 hours jet lag you should be ok to work from abroad.
Thanks Pauline! It’s a pretty cool lifestyle! And good to know on the hotspot. I know in the Bahamas it’s super expensive and I don’t know how much it is elsewhere. I use about 30GB of data a month or so (sometimes more) just working. I’ll have to do more research on that!
I pay $4 per Gb, while not cheap you’re looking at $120 which is what some people seem to be paying in the U.S.
Thanks so much! It’s definitely cheaper than what I’m paying now! I’m paying around $10/GB now. Looks like I got some travel planning to do. 😉
A-MEN on the not driving part! Being without a vehicle at our disposal at times is a blessing and a curse (we do still have a car and depending on how long we’re going to be staying somewhere, we sometimes fly to pick up the car, bring it to our next destination) but now, I’ve been going at a slower pace and when I drive, I’m super nervous. People are CRAZY on the roads!
Modest is good. Otherwise you have to buy a lot of crap to fill the space in the huge house in rooms that you rarely use anyway. 🙂
Thanks so much.I like this giveaway. It’s a pretty cool lifestyle.
I just checked out your blog .
Thank you for checking out the blog! Cheers!
Catherine – oh man, we want to get up to Nova Scotia so badly! Lunenburg is on our sailing bucket list!
Cheers!