The farther west you go in Manhattan, the weirder it gets.
January 21, 2016 11:05 AM Subscribe
Modern boats are like Clorox bottles: low maintenance.
HAHAHAHHAHA, nope.
Boats are still the maintenance nightmares that they've always been.
posted by schmod at 11:35 AM on January 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
HAHAHAHHAHA, nope.
Boats are still the maintenance nightmares that they've always been.
posted by schmod at 11:35 AM on January 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
A question not addressed in the article: Where does their sewage go?
posted by yesster at 11:40 AM on January 21, 2016
posted by yesster at 11:40 AM on January 21, 2016
Most marinas have shower/toilet facilities. Boats of that size have holding tanks that you can pump out into a sewer line on shore.
posted by valkane at 11:43 AM on January 21, 2016
posted by valkane at 11:43 AM on January 21, 2016
I still don't care; I LOVE to live on a boat. But living year round on a boat where I am is likely not feasible. Yay boat life!
posted by Kitteh at 11:45 AM on January 21, 2016
posted by Kitteh at 11:45 AM on January 21, 2016
I knew a guy who lived further south, just south of Canal St., on a boat on a pier. It was an old ferry. A very cool boat. It was next door to the Son of Town Hall.
I didn't see him for about a year, though we had friends in common, and when I caught up with him again at a party he told me he sold his boat! I was like but wait! Dammit! I would have totally bought your boat! We were looking for a more permanent place to live and I would have loved to have taken over his boat. It was kind of in Tribeca and I would love to live on the water - it would potentially solve all of our problems.
"Well -" he said.
And he didn't elaborate, but later I heard that his sweet deal with the local community group that ensured he could keep his place on the pier, was the result of lots of earnest hard politicking and the boat needed even more work than what I already knew it needed. The new owners couldn't move it under its own power because it's certification had lapsed and the last time it had been hauled was more than five years - it was a steel-hulled vessel. In salt water. And without the tending to the political side, within three months the pier slot evaporated and the boat had to be moved.
I think it ended up in the Bronx (which could be very nice.) But the lesson was the owner had worked hard to carve out a niche for himself, then saw it was time to move on and moved on.
A couple more years later, after I heard the rest of what had happened to the new owners, I thanked him for not selling me the boat and he had the good grace to pretend he didn't know what I was talking about.
It's be hard as hell to be a water rat in NYC.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:00 PM on January 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
I didn't see him for about a year, though we had friends in common, and when I caught up with him again at a party he told me he sold his boat! I was like but wait! Dammit! I would have totally bought your boat! We were looking for a more permanent place to live and I would have loved to have taken over his boat. It was kind of in Tribeca and I would love to live on the water - it would potentially solve all of our problems.
"Well -" he said.
And he didn't elaborate, but later I heard that his sweet deal with the local community group that ensured he could keep his place on the pier, was the result of lots of earnest hard politicking and the boat needed even more work than what I already knew it needed. The new owners couldn't move it under its own power because it's certification had lapsed and the last time it had been hauled was more than five years - it was a steel-hulled vessel. In salt water. And without the tending to the political side, within three months the pier slot evaporated and the boat had to be moved.
I think it ended up in the Bronx (which could be very nice.) But the lesson was the owner had worked hard to carve out a niche for himself, then saw it was time to move on and moved on.
A couple more years later, after I heard the rest of what had happened to the new owners, I thanked him for not selling me the boat and he had the good grace to pretend he didn't know what I was talking about.
It's be hard as hell to be a water rat in NYC.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:00 PM on January 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
The owner of my company lives on a boat in the Jersey City Marina. He's lived there for a while, through several winters and Hurricane Sandy.
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:52 PM on January 21, 2016
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:52 PM on January 21, 2016
Kitteh: where are you located? I live on my boat year-round in Toronto, and more than a few people have told me about the liveaboard community up in Yellowknife. That said, I looked into the eastern shore of the Georgian Bay at one point, and found out that there were too many snowmobiles scooting around on the ice up there for it to be anything other than an absolute liability nightmare to try and run bubblers (to keep the boat from getting destroyed by ice) in those waters. Bottom line is that it may be more feasible than you think.
posted by kiwano at 3:00 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by kiwano at 3:00 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's amazing the banality of what leaps out of pictures at me. My first thought was, "They have the same convection toaster oven thing that I have."
posted by lagomorphius at 3:52 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by lagomorphius at 3:52 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
That dog is adorable.
posted by Borborygmus at 8:14 PM on January 21, 2016
posted by Borborygmus at 8:14 PM on January 21, 2016
A friend of mine worked the night shift at the dockmaster's booth at the Boat Basin in the mid-’80s. A bunch of homeless people lived in the rotunda back then. They would jack into the electric outlets and watch TV. Now it houses a raucous bar and outdoor restaurant in the summer. New York has changed.
posted by stargell at 8:48 PM on January 21, 2016
posted by stargell at 8:48 PM on January 21, 2016
”You can’t get a stovetop that tilts with the tides at any appliance store.”
Whoa, if you look at the fourth picture down, you can indeed see that the entire stove/oven is tilted to stay level.
posted by Bugbread at 9:24 PM on January 21, 2016
Whoa, if you look at the fourth picture down, you can indeed see that the entire stove/oven is tilted to stay level.
posted by Bugbread at 9:24 PM on January 21, 2016
Where does their sewage go?
You can get your holding tank pumped out, but really it's just easier to go use the marina's restroom and never do it on the boat. Plus, the marina's restrooms are going to be a lot more spacious and comfortable than a small boat's toilet (almost anything would be).
posted by ryanrs at 5:25 AM on January 22, 2016
You can get your holding tank pumped out, but really it's just easier to go use the marina's restroom and never do it on the boat. Plus, the marina's restrooms are going to be a lot more spacious and comfortable than a small boat's toilet (almost anything would be).
posted by ryanrs at 5:25 AM on January 22, 2016
schmod: Given the amount of time I spend on brightwork, I can see the appeal of a more modern boat. That said, I still also see the appeal of not living on an ugly boat, so I'll stick with the boat I've got while I can keep up with it...
posted by kiwano at 7:27 AM on January 22, 2016
posted by kiwano at 7:27 AM on January 22, 2016
« Older You’re either on team chicken bake or you're not. | Outrageous statements are those folks' careers Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:18 AM on January 21, 2016