Home Is Where the Wharf Is

More than a dozen marinas lay in Victoria’s various bays and waterways, all sheltering vessels of varying description and design. While sailing or fishing might be their primary purpose, scattered among these are ‘liveaboards’: boats which function as places of primary residence. 

No one knows how many liveaboard watercraft there are around Victoria. Official marinas can account for the city’s slip-renters, but compliance with municipal bylaws or marina infrastructure allows for zero (or very few) liveaboards – forcing residents to do so under the radar. Moreover, many vessels anchor, or moor to a buoy, close to shore and remain unaccounted for. While a precise number of liveaboards may not be possible, be assured: more Victorians live on the water than you think.

A waterborne residence provides many challenges and/or benefits, depending on the eye of the boat-holder – particularly as winter approaches. But it’s easy to see the romanticism and appeal. Take Matt: he’s lived on sailboats full-time for seven years, and currently dwells in a beautiful 37-foot cutter in the Causeway Marina named Sooner.  Built in 1980, Sooner is cozy and charming. Despite the cold and damp outside, descending below deck feels like you’re boarding a floating Hobbit hole; indeed, it is more soundly built and maintained than many apartments around the city. 

Its small kitchenette, living area, bedroom, and head (bathroom) are all wood-paneled and warmly heated, featuring brass portholes and nautical paraphernalia. It’s hard to imagine anything more appealing than retiring down here during a cold night and firing up the heater while enjoying a nice glass of whiskey. 

Moorage at a local marina can be difficult to obtain—with long waitlists and specific policies and amenities—but overall it can be considerably cheaper than residential rent. While Oak Bay does not allow liveaboards at all, most other CRD municipalities permit a certain percentage of these vessels at their marinas.

One of the appeals of owning a boat-home is that any upgrades you desire are as easy or difficult as your ability and initiative. Of course, Matt has had to put in a lot of the work himself, including upgrading the vessel’s electrical system, setting up a new diesel heater and portable oil radiator, and installing a dehumidifier. The cold and damp are easily tempered with these appliances. The biggest challenge of living aboard  is weathering our brutal storms, which he says can be incredibly disruptive even when moored.

“It’s really nice to own the place you live. Otherwise there’s almost no chance for me to own in Victoria,” says Matt. “It puts me at ease, being on a boat. I like traveling, but I also like bringing my stuff with me. Sailing, you carry your house with you, like a snail.” 

Most boats in the Causeway Marina are full-time liveaboards, so they’re fairly well set-up to handle winter conditions. Matt anticipates sailing a fair amount over the winter, and looks forward to testing out new rigging during our harshest season. “The nice thing about winter sailing is there’s always good wind—as long as you can wrap up warm, come back in and fire up the heater.”

Despite the rugged coziness, the challenges of living on the water demand daily vigilance. There’s the upkeep required to maintain a home that is constantly besieged by the salty elements. Mechanical, plumbing, and electrical components need to be checked and re-checked against failure; the stakes are too high for malfunction—this is a primary residence, after all, and a loss can be catastrophic.

Jacob lives aboard a Catalina 30 in a small marina just outside of downtown. Although he’s not an experienced sailor—having moved aboard as a creative solution to the aforementioned lack of rental options—he’s learned to undertake many of the boat’s repairs himself.

Like Matt, Jacob also believes that living on the water is increasingly appealing amid Victoria’s perpetual rental crisis and the unaffordability of home ownership. “The reality of the vacancy market is what initially drew me to this idea. I wanted to live alone and this boat seemed like a cool alternative to an overpriced apartment.” He also enjoys the marina community immensely, noting that his neighbors are always happy to assist with any situations or repairs he hasn’t yet mastered. 

“It’s the only place I’ve ever lived where I feel that I have neighbors,” says Jacob. “It would be unthinkable to walk past someone in the marina and not say hi. Even though I’m not a sailor, I was very quickly welcomed by the community.”

At the other end of the spectrum of liveaboard vessels is Simon and Kat’s “Harbour Turtle.” It’s a former floating casino, built in 1996 and refitted into a home after a decade of touring the waterways of the Lower Mainland. Moored at the Victoria Marina (near CRAFT Beer Market on Store Street), Harbour Turtle makes it easy to forget you’re on the water at all. At 1,650 square feet—with two bathrooms, laundry, a gas range, and small library—it more closely resembles a townhouse than anything you’d recognize as a vessel. And it’s almost twice the size of a large condo, and half the price. 

Simon and Kat moved in only two months ago, and have adjusted quickly to their new situation. “There’s some structural upgrades we need to do with insulation and flooring,” Kat says, “but nothing major, and we’ve caught it all at an ideal time.” They also anticipate replacing the roof come springtime. “On a day to day basis, it doesn’t feel any different than if we’d bought a nice house,” Simon reflects, “although sometimes in a storm you can feel the place move under your feet.” And Kat adds, “If you walk into a room and the space heater is not on, you’ll notice it immediately.” 

Its enviable location near Chinatown boasts all the best parts of living downtown – plus, they can launch kayaks from their back door. It’s not a bad backyard, where you can paddle around the lower Gorge and Inner Harbour joined by the neighborhood seals and otters.

“Harbour Turtle” is no longer classifiable as a boat; its motors were removed when it was converted to a home, and it can’t move of its own accord. Nor is it a float house, like the little pontoon cottages at Fisherman’s Wharf. Simon and Kat are confident it’s one of the City’s more unique living situations, which attracted them to the vessel after moving back here from Toronto:

“To a person, everyone we’ve told about our decision to live here flips their lid… but originally for us it was just an affordable way to get settled back in Victoria. There’s no way to buy anywhere in Victoria for this price, particularly with this location.”

Victoria’s marinas are usually secured behind a locked gate, so it can be difficult for most folks to picture exactly where they are or how they operate. But as anyone living on the water will tell you, these vessels are a great way to take advantage of Victoria’s local geography, and enjoy the water and wildlife on a daily basis. 

For those willing to accept the perceived discomforts of a maritime lifestyle, there could be a warmth and welcoming in these floating communities that’s increasingly scarce on dry land.