Cost of docking a boat?

[The Riz]

I don't live in Hawaii YET but when I move there I plan on buying a sailboat and living on board.

My question is where can I dock it, and how much will it cost me to do so?

I will be living on Oahu preferaby on the southern coast.... somewhere close to Waikiki would be ideal for me. If anyone knows a specific harbor or knows a link that may help me I would be much obliged.

Mahalo,
Riz

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I'm sure someone can give you more info, but the big problem is that I think there's a shortage of slips and a waiting list to get in.

[LikaNui]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I don't live in Hawaii YET but when I move there I plan on buying a sailboat and living on board. My question is where can I dock it, and how much will it cost me to do so? I will be living on Oahu preferaby on the southern coast.... somewhere close to Waikiki would be ideal for me.

You're going to be standing in a verrrry long line. Ala Wai Harbor in Waikiki has a waiting list of 600+ names. That's just for a slip, and doesn't include the waiting list for liveaboard priveleges. Sadly, I also have to add that Ala Wai Harbor is an embarassment to the state of Hawaii due its horrible conditions. Docks are falling apart and condemned, water quality is beyond filthy, etc. But it's not alone -- most other state-run harbors are in the same condition. Shameful.
Click on the links to the various Oahu harbors at this page for more (but limited) information.
Your only possibility is probably the privately run Ko Olina Marina. It's on the 'southern' coast (which you wanted) and it does allow a limited number of liveaboards, but the drive to Waikiki (where you want to be) will take you roughly 45 minutes, and longer during rush hour periods. A 35' liveaboard slip at Ko Olina will cost you $800 per month ($515 for the slip plus $284 for the liveaboard fee). And last I heard, Ko Olina is also very full, with only a few very very large slips available. Those could cost you over $2,000 a month, plus liveaboard fees. And they do have a waiting list for liveaboards of any slip size.
Bottom line -- every single marina on Oahu is full and they all have lengthy waiting lists, to the point where many Oahu boat owners look for slips as far away as the Big Island. And most marinas either don't allow liveaboards at all or have extremely long waiting lists. (Some folks have been on those lists for over 20 years!)
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your plan is practically impossible.

[The Riz]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I'm glad to hear it straight, I hate the thought of being disillusioned about the whole idea.

I do plan to live in the Waikiki area when I first move to Oahu and then buy a boat to live in perhaps 3-6 months afterwards. I don't think I will have a problem relocating to another island.

Are all of the islands so hard to dock at? Perhaps there is a better idea for living aboard a sailboat in the Hawaiian islands...?

I'm really just tossing around the idea it has been a dream of mine for some time now. Mahalo for the solid input though!

Riz

[zztype]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I think the idea that you can toss out the window is the one of moving to paradise and living on the cheap. That is just so not gonna happen.

If it were ever to become "cheap" to live here, we would be instantly and fatally overrun by people from elsewhere looking to live for cheap in paradise.

The only guys here living on the cheap are homeless and living on the beach, or on the bus stop bench.

Not a bad existence on the beach, really, but probably pretty far from the likes of Gilligan's Island. You're not going to have Mary Ann and Ginger making you coconut martinis while you sit on the beach watching the sunset, waiting for your dinner to bite the fishing line.

[anapuni808]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

Amen to that!!!!

[LikaNui]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I'm glad to hear it straight, I hate the thought of being disillusioned about the whole idea.

Yep, it's a reality check for sure. Sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news.

I do plan to live in the Waikiki area when I first move to Oahu and then buy a boat to live in perhaps 3-6 months afterwards.

How big of a boat? Have you lived aboard before? Got plenty of sailing experience?
And I'm not sure what your budget is, but in addition to those slip prices I noted earlier, add in the cost of insurance. If you buy a used boat, to get it financed and insured you'll have to haul it out of the water for a marine survey. Figure an extra couple of thou$and for that.
And if/when you buy a boat here, make certain -- absolutely certain -- that you already have a slip for it. Most slips are not transferable when a boat sells. You go to the bottom of the waiting list.
Do not sign a contract (with either a broker or a private seller) without having a slip guaranteed. Don't take the word of the broker or seller, either; confirm it with the dockmaster. In writing.

I don't think I will have a problem relocating to another island. Are all of the islands so hard to dock at?

Worse. Fewer marinas.

Perhaps there is a better idea for living aboard a sailboat in the Hawaiian islands...?

I'm not sure what you mean by "a better idea."
But I'd strongly recommend that you visit here first and check the marinas out in person before finalizing a move.

[LikaNui]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I think the idea that you can toss out the window is the one of moving to paradise and living on the cheap. That is just so not gonna happen.

Absolutely true. But I'm presuming/hoping that Riz understands the costs and has the $$ to pay for it all, as he hasn't said anything yet about living on the cheap. That is, of course, what many liveaboards are trying to do. I'm giving Riz the benefit of the doubt, for now.

You're not going to have Mary Ann and Ginger making you coconut martinis while you sit on the beach watching the sunset

Yeah, Riz, you can't have 'em. Because they're here, with me.

[The Riz]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

Thanx for all the input (most)everyone.

I never even said the word cheap at all. I have been to Honolulu, I know that EVERYTHING is expensive in Hawaii, and I am prepared to pay through the nose. Also I don't believe in financing if you catch my drift...

I have plenty of experience boating and living aboard but not sailing. That is the dream/goal of mine, to learn to sail and live aboard. Eventually I would like to sail around the world. I have mostly just chosen the Hawaiin islands as a good place to learn to sail and cut my teeth as a sailor for a couple years before departing.

Again thank you to all of you who have given me constuctive advice. Keep it coming.

Riz

[zztype]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

Thanx for all the input (most)everyone.

Riz

Sorry man. My post was a reaction not to you specifically, I guess. It was a knee-jerk reaction on my part.

Having been born and raised here, having seen wave after wave of people try to move here to "live off the land" or by handout -- and sailors have been notorious for this -- after a while you see a pattern.

My post was just a reaction to the seemingly endless stream of new posters here (and on every message board in Hawaii) from people trying to find a way to move to paradise with nothing to sustain them.

They often come here with a dream of what "paradise" is, but find upon landing that living in "paradise" is nothing like their dream, or like what they read in the novel.

Many who do manage to move here, then try to either make Hawaii more like where they came from, to make us local people accept foreign ways as the norm, or to "freeze" Hawaii in the condition that they think it ought to stay in, once they have secured their piece of paradise.

As someone born and raised here, I have no place to retreat to to get back "home." And I'll come right out and say it: "I don't want people moving here from elsewhere to mold my home into their vision of paradise."

I really do have a lot of respect for folks who manage to move here and accept Hawaii for what it is. I have a lot of respect for folks who move here and try to learn to live our way, rather than force us to accept "how things were back home."

Anyway, my apologies. I didn't fully explain what I was trying to say. (Heck, I didn't even know what I was trying to say until you called me on it.) Didn't mean to take aim singularly at you. I hope you understand what I was going on about now.

Blaine

[LikaNui]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I don't believe in financing if you catch my drift.

Got it. You'll be a cash buyer. Smart move.

I have plenty of experience boating and living aboard but not sailing.

So you lived aboard powerboats? That's much better than living aboard sailboats, where everything is below decks. It's kind of like living in a submarine (which zztype can tell you about, since he served on submarines).
However, there are some sailboats that are better, from a pure liveaboard status. Something with a pilothouse, maybe a motorsailer. Something with big ports (windows) in the saloon, like an Islander Freeport 36 or an older Cal 2-46, etc., to avoid that submarine effect. The tradeoff is that large ports are subject to breaking in heavy seas unless you have storm shutters for them.
(And yes, the main cabin of a boat is properly called a "saloon" and not a "salon" - a "salon" is where peple get haircuts.)

That is the dream/goal of mine, to learn to sail and live aboard. Eventually I would like to sail around the world. I have mostly just chosen the Hawaiin islands as a good place to learn to sail and cut my teeth as a sailor for a couple years before departing.

Ummm... I've gotta try to talk you out of that. Not the plan of sailing around the world, but the plan of learning to sail here in Hawaii, with our heavy winds and huge seas, not to mention dangerous coral reefs, etc. You need to learn to sail in much calmer conditions, like 8-12 knots of wind. Once you're a skilled sailor, you can start going out in progressively stronger weather (and be sure to file a float plan before you go, telling someone where you're going and when you expect to be back). That way, if you get caught in heavy weather, you'll already know what to expect and what to do.
(In really strong wind, everyone gets a panic attack from the "white noise" of the wind screaming through all the rigging. The first time it happened to me and I realized what was causing the panic, I broke the filters off of a couple of cigarettes and used them as earplugs. It calmed me down instantly. I learned later that experienced long-distance cruisers carry earplugs for just that reason.)
You'll also want to get very comfortable with sailing offshore at night. It's very disconcerting if there's no moon and big waves, as you can't see the waves coming at you but you can sure hear the sound, kinda like a freight train, coming at you every few seconds. If you're really going to sail around the world, you've gotta get used to that.
And since you can be thousands of miles from any kind of help at all, you have to be your own electrician, medic, plumber, cook, rigger, sail repair, etc. etc. etc. You'll be doing all of that a lot. And you need to learn how to use a sextant and do celestial navigation, because you can't count on GPS or any other electronics. At sea, it's not a question of IF your electronics are going to fail, it's just a question of WHEN.
But I digress. Sorry about the mini-lecture. Just want to make sure you know what you're getting into. Lots of people have the same dream; an extremely large majority of them give it up after the very first long passage.
Where do you live now, and how much actual boating experience have you had?

[The Riz]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

ZZtype: I understand where you are coming from completely. One of the things I love about Hawaii is the culture. I have a lot of respect for the Hawaiian as well as all the Polynesian cutures and I don't want things to change anymore than you do. I have never resonated with a place like I did with Hawaii and I've been around... it was pretty much a spiritual experience. One of the things that bothered me was the overdevelopment of the shoreline and all the resorts. Although I must admit I do like the urban environment of Honolulu right in the middle of the Pacific ocean (I'm an off and on city dweller for years). Still I firmly believe in preservation and don't want to change a thing.

LikaNui: I don't mind the "mini lecture" ...the whole reason I started this thread was to get some input on what I wish to get myself into. I actually have dabbled in celestial navigation and made an effort to learn more about what it would take me to become good enough at sailing to sail around the world. I enjoy challenging myself... if it was easy I wouldn't want to do it in the firlst place. I'm originally form Minnesota but work on and off on a factory trawler in the north Pacific/Bering Sea. We contract out of numerous fisheries in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. Needless to say to anyone who knows anything about the Alaskan fishing industry, I am used to being at sea, and rough seas in particular.

I'm extremely happy about all the prompt feedback I have recieved on this thread.

Riz

[LikaNui]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

I actually have dabbled in celestial navigation

All righty, then! Now you're talkin'! You're already ahead of most.

I'm originally form Minnesota but work on and off on a factory trawler in the north Pacific/Bering Sea. We contract out of numerous fisheries in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. Needless to say to anyone who knows anything about the Alaskan fishing industry, I am used to being at sea, and rough seas in particular.

Yep, you're waaaay ahead of most, then. Spend as much time as you can with the engineer and the skipper, and learn everything you can from them.
But still, Hawaii is a tough place to learn to sail. I stand by my earlier comment to learn in calmer conditions. Start by taking some of the American Sailing Association courses from a certified instructor, which will qualify you to do some sailing charters in various places. (That'll help you decide what type of boat to get, as well.)

[escondido100]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

there is a game you can play of moving your boat from marina to marina. you will have 90days at each marina at the transient dock or moorings. but believe me when i say that interacting with the state bureacracy while you do this will really piss you off.....that alone almost makes it un doable. there are som privat yacht clubs that allow you to stay if you are a member of another club and you might check into those...hnl yacht club and marianas yacht club come to mind. Keehi lagoon is famous for the live aboard scene there and moorings do come up. we got one there after moving our boat from kona to keehi to ala wai and back to keehi.....it costs us about 200 per month but live aboard will be slightly more.....there is a rough around the edges element out there and you have to stay aware of what happening.
all the other advice is well founded and should dim the rosie dream justifiably. but it is doable if you have patience........ you can also establish your own mooring in some locations.....hilo and kona allow for that but it is expensive and not a fun way to live...i have seen rentals of live aboards at ala wai and that may be a way to go to get an idea of what it is all about.
good luck

[tutusue]

Re: Cost of docking a boat?

Riz, here's a 3 year old story on living on a boat in the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. Scroll down to [Boat Home]. I ran across it while googling for something else entirely! Turns out the wife is a former neighbor of mine! Small world...small island!