Well I guess it's time I came out of the closet and introduced myself. My name is Art Ammann and my first mate Valerie and I are avid pleasure boaters located out of Patchogue, Long Island NY. We own a 25' Regal Ambassador (Ammann Joy) which is fine for weekend cruising in our area. We plan on retiring within the next 5 years and are considering the live aboard trawler life for our retirement. While I do not plan on having any additional partners other than my first mate, I was interested in the costs outlined by Jim Baumgart in his 1/26 post. I would like to get a little more feed back on estimated costs without the boat payment included. I'm sure there are many of us out there wondering if we can afford to make this lifestyle change on our retirement income.