Some advice re live aboard NSW

Only way to do it is to have a private mooring or a commercial one or a berth in a marina.
If the BO wants to get nasty, there are also restrictions on how long you can live onboard with a private mooring.
If you just anchor you fall foul of Reg 17A which only allows 28 days anchoring in "one place" and a total of 90 days in any one year in NSW.

Good luck.

Thanks guys, pretty much what I expected.

As a teetotaller cum 12 hour plus per day worker I will not be drawing attention although I am interested as to why concrete or steel would?

There are quite a large number of prawn trawlers along the banks of the Clarence tied up to jetties, many of which appear to be makeshift. Also are quite a few vacant ones. I am going to put an ad in the local rag today to see what sort of result I get.

I have to ask, what is a BO? Is it referring to an authority, or do you just mean Boat Owners?

so legally how long can you live on a private swing mooring in NSW???

ah, that's what i thought.

You would get away with that but remember only the boat registered to a private mooring may stay on that mooring, in other words to lease/rent the mooring it would have to be a commercial mooring. You would have to be the registered owner of a private mooring to legally stay onboard.

At this point in time there's no set time you can be on your boat you just can't live on it. Ie I've got a land base but I spend a lot of time onboard, maintaince and cleaning is a time consuming activity and you are obliged to keep the vessel up to acceptable stand ( what ever that is ) then of course there's time for recreation because after all that's the reason to own the vessel. So as yet we aren't required to log on when ever we are onboard

From what I have seen the best is to be on a marina mooring. The theory is that you use the marina shore facilities and do not pollute. You also need to keep a low profile, like no obvious external signs or noise. Blackout blinds on windows. You can expect to pay around $350/month for a typical 28 footer in Sydney, probably less in the North.

In curembene creek I've been spending about 4 days a week living aboard but also in Jervis bay. There is a family living aboard right near my mooring. The father tenders the kids in to school every morning. The bo is vigilant in this area and I'm sure he would know who is living aboard . The over regulation in Australia has beaten me down personally and now I'm in New Zealand currently sitting in my car on 90 mile beach watching people back their fishing boats off the beach into the sea. It's amazing how much more freedom there is here regarding pretty much everything. I think you should be able to live aboard and Don I believe if you're discreet and no one notices you'll be fine. If anyone notices I'd be tactful in getting to know them and befriending them.

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Ramona said..

Sectorsteve said..
In curembene creek I've been spending about 4 days a week living aboard but also in Jervis bay. There is a family living aboard right near my mooring. The father tenders the kids in to school every morning. The bo is vigilant in this area and I'm sure he would know who is living aboard . The over regulation in Australia has beaten me down personally and now I'm in New Zealand currently sitting in my car on 90 mile beach watching people back their fishing boats off the beach into the sea. It's amazing how much more freedom there is here regarding pretty much everything. I think you should be able to live aboard and Don I believe if you're discreet and no one notices you'll be fine. If anyone notices I'd be tactful in getting to know them and befriending them.

I run a Facebook page for the local yachts. Most of the yachts here are owned by people that live elsewhere and it's a means of contacting them. The head local BO uses it too and contributes. He is also a boating enthusiast and does regular "patrols" on a jetski. His father lives up the creek a bit from your mooring. He really knows what's going on! If he has not been bothering you then you have been keeping a low profile and not attracting attention to yourself. Most of the time the BO will be reacting to complaints from pensioners living on the waterfronts.
Would not surprise me if the local BO knows now where you reside!

I am residing in NZ and i told him, Terry and the neighbours at Wollamia i would be away for 6 months from Australia. They all have my details. I think Mick is ok and doing his job well. He did get me about a year ago for my life jackets not being serviced/dated but thats totally fine as it made me do it. He came and checked me out near Vincentia about 3 weeks ago and i showed him the jackets and told him id dated and serviced them myself. he was totally fine with that and didnt check.
I guess id have a problem if i was there and using my boat 3/4 days a week in the bay and he was keeping a tally of this, then telling me i can no longer do it as id used up 28 days. Ive barely used my boat since 2017. Shes been in Terrys yard for a bit and had no motor since August. Id only just got up the confidence to go up and down the creek at night. That section 17 rule is a bit of a worry for boaters in NSW as you could easily break that rule/or have a boat that sits for ages on a mooring waiting til the following calendar to use your boat.

If your just starting out in yachting I would suggest this as a starter boat.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/callala-bay/sail-boats/windrust-wildfire-23-trailer-sailer/1213665916

It's a good boat to sail. Has an excellent trailer you can use to refresh the antifoul. But most importantly has a mooring in a good spot. Update to a larger boat later and improve the mooring. New mooring will cost about $1500 and there is a waiting list at Callala and in Currambene creek. No waiting at Greenwell Point. The $1500 is for a mooring for 30 footers+. Larger boat moorings will be extra. PM me if you want specifics.

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cisco said..
^^ That boat is tremendous value with trailer and mooring.



You knew I would respond didn't you Ramona?

Yes I did! I kept quiet about it hoping my son would buy it. No joy there so I passed the message on. The mooring is in a prime spot.

I have "lived" on my boat tied to a dock, right next to the local BO's boat. We were always polite, clean, looked after all the other boats trying to sink and break off their docks, and were generally helpful and never got any grief. I used to joke as I sat on deck on a Saturday morning, sipping tea. "Time for some early morning maintenance" as the BO stepped aboard - with a wink.

I sent you a message Japie