May I live aboard permanently?

The marine leisure wordings we reviewed almost all assume the same use: sporting and pleasure purposes. Anyone living aboard permanently is doing something else, and that is not legal hair-splitting. Residential use brings different risks: more time in the berth, heating and cooking in continuous use, far more contents on board, shore power around the clock, and in winter a boat that does not go into storage.

So settle three points before you move aboard. First the use: is permanent occupation documented in the policy? If not, the exclusion for undeclared uses applies. Second contents: personal effects are usually covered in boat policies at a small percentage of the sum insured, which is enough for holiday luggage and not for a household. Third wintering afloat, because several wordings tie frost cover there to additional requirements.

On a houseboat this is the normal case and regulated accordingly. On a yacht that becomes a home it is the exception and has to be agreed. The practical advice is the same as for any change of use: notify beforehand and get it confirmed in writing. An unnotified change of use is the most expensive way to settle this question.

Worth remembering

Living aboard is not misuse, it is different use. That belongs in the contract rather than in hope.