Living aboard - by Alex Frew McMillan (SF issue 7)
Living on a boat is a quirky alternative for people tired of paying through the nose for a small apartment in the middle of a concrete jungle.
Living on a boat is a lifestyle choice, proponents say. But in a high-rent city like Hong Kong, it also provides an interesting alternative for people who are fed up paying thousands of dollars for a shoe-box apartment.
1. Where can you live on a boat?
The city's boat-dwelling population is predominantly centred on the Discovery Bay Marina Club. It's the heart of the "executive-boating" community - as opposed to fishermen who live on their vessels - and plays home to close to 150 families who live on purpose-built junks and the like.
There are also smaller populations of boat dwellers at the Gold Coast marina, which houses around 40 families, and in Aberdeen Harbour, near the Aberdeen Marina Club, which has around 45 boats with people living on them.
Ole Soltau, a partner in boatbuilding company Bondway Enterprises, says the Discovery Bay community is the largest live-aboard community in Asia, and perhaps the world.
The boat-dwelling community is a fairly diverse one, although it skews towards expatriates.
2. How much does it cost?
The boats are designed for living rather than excursions. They spend the bulk of their time moored at a marina, and are so large that they require experienced crews to steer if they do leave their berths on the rare occasion.
They don't come cheap, either. Bondway's 60-footer fetches HK$3.5 million to HK$4 million, depending on the options, while the 70-footer costs around HK$4.5 million to HK$5 million.
But there are more navigable, and affordable, options. Ms Payne and her partner, Warren Humphreys, bought their junk second hand through a boat broker. The 10-year-old vessel costs around HK$700,000 to buy, and the couple put in another HK$300,000 on renovations, adding a back deck and refurbishing it a bit.
Ms Payne's junk is a little easier to navigate than Bondway's "apartments on water" despite still having around 1,200 sq ft of inside space and around 800 sq ft outside. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom pad sleeps six comfortably.
A marina berth costs around HK$8,000 to HK$10,000 per month, similar to the rent on a small apartment in an unfashionable part of town.
There are other regular fees involved with living on a boat. Cleaning the vessel will cost HK$1,000 to HK$1,500 if you hire a boat boy to do it. Every year, the boat will need anti-fouling maintenance work, when its bottom is scraped clean and it gets an extra layer of protective coating. That costs HK$10,000 to HK$15,000 per year.
Insurance might run another HK$15,000 a year, and every boat owner in Hong Kong has to pay an annual HK$6,000 license fee to the government. There are fuel costs for the diesel if you take the boat out.
"I feel as though we have an asset that we can sell," Ms Payne says. "But it's not an asset that will appreciate. We have to keep putting money into it to keep the value as it is."
3. Can it be regarded as an investment?
The debenture that gives you berthing rights in Discovery Bay or elsewhere can appreciate significantly. Some boat owners have made their money back if they've sold their boats when they move away from Hong Kong.
"We've always sold the boat as a lifestyle," Mr Soltau says. "But over the past couple of years, they've definitely turned into an investment."
4. Feeling of community
Boat living is a maverick option for people who are somewhat unconventional. Adherents say they feel a real kinship with their fellow boat dwellers, and enjoy the feeling of community. It's more than just social. When there's a typhoon, the live-aboard residents band together to make sure all the boats are safely secured, even for their neighbours who are out of town.
