LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
The muffled sound of water rapping on the hull of a ship can be heard all around. Gulls hover over head, gliding against the consistent breeze from the water. The smell of brine fills the moist, crisp air. For some, this is a dream vacation; for a few, it is home.
Tech. Sgt. Matthew Pierce lives on his 38-foot twin-diesel, motor yacht the Mostly Harmless, at the Langley Marina.
"I prefer it to an apartment." said Pierce, 633rd Communications Squadron NCO in charge of the client systems technician shop. "There are benefits to live-aboards,"
By purchasing a boat and paying the rent for space at the dock, Pierce said he can build equity via his boat. Once Pierce moves from Langley Air Force Base, he plans to sell his boat. Simply put, approximately half of his "rent" will be paid back to him.
"If I were to rent an apartment, I would be making a landlord very happy," he said. "With the boat, I get money back."
In addition to his equity, Pierce said he enjoys the solitude of the Marina, since being away from base housing allows Pierce to have his privacy. In addition to the privacy, Pierce appreciates the security the Marina offers compared to other marinas off-base. He said he never has to worry about his boat being damaged or vandalized.
For Pierce, the cherry on top is the commute time.
"I can walk to work now," he said "That means I'm saving even more money."
Due to the unique challenges of owning and living on a boat, living aboard isn't for everyone. For example, the Marina must turn off water to the boats during the winter to prevent pipes from bursting. Pierce said he understands that the Marina is actually protecting the integrity of his boat.
The Marina provides certain amenities to compensate for the loss of water. Live-aboards have access to showers and restrooms at the Marina itself. Laundry services have to be found elsewhere, however.
"After deployments to the desert, it is easier to live with the minimum," said Pierce.
Pierce is not the only member of the Marina neighborhood. Richard Watson, a Navy special emphasis operations Atlantic team leader with the Defense Contract Management Agency, owns a 32-foot cruiser, the Delta Lady.
Watson shared the same opinions on boat living as Pierce; however he has a slightly different situation. Watson's home and spouse are in Florida, but his job moved him to the Virginia Beach area. He chose to live at the Marina for the base security.
After coming from Florida, Watson finds the state tax to be a detractor from owning a boat. Owning two homes also provides a challenge of payment, but living on a boat is cheaper than living in an apartment of the same relative quality, said Watson.
For Watson, another incentive for owning a boat is his retirement plan. Watson is using this boat to wet his feet because he hopes to retire in a house boat on the Tennessee River.
When asked what advice he would give to a potential buyer, he highly recommended living at the Marina.
"Do it in a heart-beat," he said with gusto. "You can't beat it."
Maintenance is the final aspect of living on a boat that differs from owning a home or an apartment.
In addition to the interior cleaning demanded by every living space, there are some extraneous factors. The most frequent maintenance is simply letting the boat run every week or so, to keep the boat's engine healthy, said Pierce. Both Pierce and Watson take their boats out on the water sparingly.
Scrubbing off barnacles and sediment from the hull is the next form of mandatory maintenance. Keeping the hull free of this debris ensures the integrity of the hull and improves gas mileage. Watson has his boat scrubbed semi-annually where as Pierce does it on an annual basis.
About every two years, both Watson and Pierce have their boats dry-docked. While the boat is out of the water, it is scrubbed and detailed. Sometimes a new coat of paint is required, or the hull needs to be repaired.
Larry Eason, the Langley Marina manager, gave a few statistics on what is required to live at the Marina. There is a $350 flat rate that includes water, electricity, a dock box, a place to park a boat at the Marina, access to the waste station, and unlimited access to the Marina's shower and bathroom facilities.
To qualify to live on the Marina, prospective buyers must be active duty, retired military or civil-service employees.
Potential boaters might worry about their sea-faring lifestyles being stripped away during the hurricane season. However, there is hope for those contemplating a lifestyle change
Eason said during Hurricane Isabelle in 2003, only one family lived on a boat and moved further up north, riding out the storm with little to no damage. During Hurricane Earl, one man was living at the Marina and stayed at a motel. He returned to his boat afterwards with no damage reported.
For more information about living at the Marina or any other of the Marina's services, contact Larry Eason at 757-574-7220 or
larry.eason@langley.af.mil.