Things you need to know about a Liveaboard

The most important thing to bring on a liveaboard is a sense of humor and a generally good, positive attitude. If you're not familiar with boats - much less living on one - here's a few FACTS about boats:


everything on a boat breaks
everything on a boat leaks
everything on a boat gets wet
nothing on a boat every really dries
everything on a boat smells like a boat; where things break, get wet, and never really dry
anything that doesn't smell like a boat smells like people who live on a boat
everything mechanical on a boat is very loud (until it breaks; then it becomes very quiet)
everything non-mechanical on a boat creaks and/or rattles (until it breaks in; then it gets very quiet; that's usually the day before it breaks)
everything on a boat is small
if something is not small, it's not on the boat
if something is not available on the island/mainland, it's not on the boat
if something is not on the boat, it's not on the boat
if you need something specific but didn't bring it, it's not on the boat
even things that are usually on the boat are often not on the boat
most things that happen on a boat happen simply "because it's a boat"

A thousand major/minor/uncomfortable/disgusting/annoying/inconvenient things can go wrong on a boat over the course of a year. Statistically, that means that 20 of them will happen the week you're on board. You won't notice 15 of them. Will any of the the other 5 things ruin your trip? Honestly - other than a condition which presents a clear and imminent safety or health issue - whether or not something ruins your trip is entirely up to you. I choose to focus on the things like diving that make my trip enjoyable; folks who choose to focus on things that will ruin their trip can always find something that will.

But, as an optimist, keep in mind that you also get to take the good with the bad...

everything GOOD that happens on a live-aboard happens "because it's a boat"
you're never more than an hour or so from the next dive, the next meal, the next nap, or your first drink - because it's a boat
you set your gear up once and don't worry about it again - because it's a boat
you're right over the dive site - because it's a boat
two hours later you're right over the next dive site - because it's a boat
it's a twenty foot walk from your last bite of desert after dinner to your night dive - because it's a boat
it's a ten foot walk from your night dive to a hot shower - because it's a boat
it's a twenty foot walk from the hot shower to a cold beer - because it's a boat
it's a twenty foot walk from the cold beer to your bed - because it's a boat
when you wake up the next morning to the smell of coffee and waffles...you're right over the next great dive site - because it's a boat