Living onboard

[tom]

Hey all...I'm lucky enough to be able to work and live onboard a boat for most of the week...I was going to sell my 26x to live onboard but then was thinking that there are a few advantages that the Mac has which I see as reasonably small to keep the marina costs down but big enough inside for me (one person, maybe 2 from time to time if the fair winds blow my way lol), its fast and agile if I want to go fishing and I can always pull it out of water easily to do maintenance on it as opposed to a larger yacht which is more costly to run, slower and needs more than just me to do things...
So are these fair enough assumptions? and if so...one of the lacks I see in the x is the lack of storage space...so was wondering if there is a way to convert things to make it into a 1-2 person liveaboard...ie getting rid of some of the bunk space to build storage etc...and can anyone point me to threads on other improvements? (I'm searching through the forum too)...thanks in advance for any suggestions/pointers

[DaveC426913]

On the Main Menu there's a 'Mac Mods' link. I lost count at 1000 mods posted over the years.

[tom]

Thank you....was looking through the forum and not mods...cheers

[Boblee]

We live aboard quite comfortably for 3-4 mths a year and have never filled all the space but wouldn't like to try and fit all necessary gear (junk) from home in there.

[Ixneigh]

I'm nearly a full time live aboard. I do have the luxury of owning a residence to store large stuff like power tools, extra sails, gear, and supplies. I can't count my self as a free as the wind come what May sea gypsey. I was once though, and on a similar sized boat as the contemporary macs.
I also single hand most of the time. I find this size yacht is great for me and wouldn't want anything bigger with my current use. I did use the long port side seating area (I have an M model) to build a storage shelf for things like clothing. I added a few other small shelves here and there. I changed the door to the head, also. That's it. I find the boat has plenty of storage otherwise, for day to day stuff.
If I had to keep everything I owned on the boat, something around thirty feet might be better, else I would have to have a pretty serious yard sale and not keep things like jigsaws and powerplaners in my life. Before I owned my place on shore, I had cordless tools only, and keeping things like paints, resins, fiberglass was a pita. It's also an issue when you go to cruise, if all the storage is taken up by your personal items. That could be a problem with the Mac, unless one practices the Zen of not letting things collect on the boat. The weight is the biggest issue. I don't want to dog the boat out by cramming her full.
I ended up having my prior boat hauled and painted every 14 months. Being able to trailing the Mac saves some money, but only if you can store the trailer free. Which I can in my back yard. I'm not sure if I would bother with the trailer if I ever became a full fledged live aboard again. I didn't get the boat as a trailerable per say. I bought it primarily for other reasons, and she stays in the water most of the year.
When compared to other boats of similar length (slip rates) the Mac suffers due to narrow beam, which isn't factored in by marinas. A foot, or two of extra beam adds an enormous amount of space. If I just wanted a "boat" to live on and sail, and didn't care about the fast motor part of the Mac, a big heavy 28 footer would be ocean capable, sail way better in most conditions, have more room, and only cost two feet more when berthing or maintaining. Plus, they can be found on the cheap, sometimes the owners will practically give them away, if you don't mind a bit of work. (Although watch out for "free" boats )
Ix