
Entrepreneur's location floats his boat - gibsonf1
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/12/BUOK1B1PRF.DTL
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waterlesscloud
I love the guy from the Small Business Administration's comments being so
stern. Typical. Although there's no indication in what he says that he's
talking about the subject of this article at all.

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hristov
He does have a point though. If your business model relies on getting new
clients to visit you in your "office" I would not work on a boat at all.
First, some people will not get on a boat no matter what. Second, you may have
to cancel a lot of meetings due to weather even if the weather on land is
perfectly fine or only slightly windy. And third some clients will think that
you are not trustworthy and that you are on a boat simply so that you can get
away at a moment's notice.

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blhack
Forgive my ignorance (I live in the rather land-locked city of Phoenix), but
can you simply anchor a boat out in the water and leave it there?

Would you have to pay a monthly fee to the city or something like that?

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krschultz
Not really. You generally want to use a mooring instead of an anchor. A
mooring is a permanently installed anchor with a chain attached to it and a
buoy on the surface. You drive your boat up and tie to the buoy. The mooring
is generally rented by a marina or yacht club. The anchor is just not secure
enough to leave your boat unattended on. I leave my boat on a mooring through
hurricanes.

You also need to be able to get on and off your boat, so having a dock to tie
up a little dinghy or having a launch (kind of like a water taxi) is key, and
marinas/yacht clubs will have those facilities.

I pay around $800 a year for my mooring rental and having the gear pulled off
it and inspected annually, and launch service is included. It is far cheaper
than a dock.

Some other practical limitations, if you aren't at a dock you need a generator
running for power. If you aren't at a dock I really have no idea how you get
internet.

But, having lived on a boat in the past I would absolutely love to do it for
work in the future.

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blhack
Hmm, okay that makes sense. $800/yr (if that is what he is paying) sounds
totally worth it. Looking around a bit on google (daydreaming) it looks like
it could cost anywhere from $1000-2000/yr depending on the size of the boat.

Internet would be pretty easy to solve, 500ft out isn't that far _at all_ for
a PTP wifi link (although the boat moving around might cause some problems
with that if you're doing directional stuff). There's also 3G stuff although I
once had to spend a couple of weeks working over my AT&T 3g modem and it was
almost completely worthless...

/someday

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quickpost
I'm curious how he gets internet access out there. Seems like that could be an
issue.

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pasbesoin
Top Google result:

<http://www.sausalitowireless.com/>

<http://www.sausalitowireless.com/wirelsfaq.html>

    
    
        Can I leave the yacht harbour and still have a signal?
        
        If leaving by boat, you can sail out into
        the bay halfway until Angel Island, and
        still have a signal strong enough to
        conduct even video conferencing.
        Alternatively, leaving by car or foot, you
        can access Sausalito Wireless in various
        locations along Bridgeway (Cafe Trieste or
        The Taco Shop for example).

