In the morning you would row over to the beach meet with people from the other boats, have a beach grill, a coconut, a island adventure - you would only return to your boat to have a pleaseant night sleep in a king size bed and a freshwater shower.
There are differences in lifestyle to other yachties. For example when you leave your boat in the morning (all of your family - nobody wants to stay and watch the family home) you just close the hatch - so your living space becomes absolute burglar safe.
The other yachties always live a bit preocupied about their boat, is somebody breaking in to steal your nav equipment?, is the weather on the anchorplace changing smashing the boat against the reef?, - so they tend to live “in sight” of the boat.
You on the other hand, when get an offer for this dream on week trip - take it - when you return you will find your stuff well protected inside your living space bubble - just exactly as you left it there - breaking in trough a hatch is like breaking into a banksafe - nobody can deploy the necessary (heavy industrial) tools on a anchorplace.
Another situation where your life is really different to a yachtie is when you are together with several sailing and motor yachts anchored in front of this pristine beach of a unhabitated island. Somebody has a radio and spreads the news that tropical cyclon Bertha category 4 is closing in. Now it becomes clear why this beautiful island was uninhabitated in first place - no save harbor miles around.
Some yachts rush out into the dark of the night to make it by the speed of their expensive engines to the next safe spot - just to find that it is cramped with poorly anchored industrial barges that tend to come loose in a storm and grind everything in their way to pieces.
Smaller yachts send the kids for the nearest hotel to be safe and go for the mangroves to bring out several lines to the trunks and fight it out. They can make it as long as the storm surge is moderate.
You on the other hand just close your hatch drink a coffee watch TV - no need to leave the anchor place. If things become bumpy flood your ballast tanks and lay your bubble some 5m down on the sandy lagoon bottom until the storm has passed over you. You and your family are safe as in a underground bunker.
You could take advantage of the **** weather and the sudden absence of all your yachtie friends and make a few miles to visit the next spot. You sail out directly into the storm - trim your living space bubble at snorkel depth - you leave the coffee cup on the table, you watch the weather the sea and ship traffic with your snorkel top camara - but your comfort is not affected by the storm.
Your live will also be a bit different when aproaching a cramped marina with no space for “another boat” - you will always be the “most exotic boat” that draws the attention and marina owners will love to asign you a nice place to stay - maybe for free. While it may be difficult to have privacy in a cramped marina on a surface boat - you close your hatch and you have it.
Your living space bubble will also be different in terms of aircon, comfort electrics, and loading capacity.
For example a yacht in the caribbean can spend dozends of dollars a day in aircon to make the climate below a sun heated deck just bearable. The seawater around your hull maintains the inside at 22 degee with no aircon need.
Yacht owners sometimes go crazy with the vibrations and noise of the small generator that keeps the battery and freezer alive. Noise dampening and vibration is most of all a function of bulkhead weight - bad news for “leight weight yacht outfitting” - you have your generator behind 20cm concrete - complete silence guaranteed.
Yachties are always short of loading capacity for freshwater food, tools, equipment.
You on the other hand have dozends of tons loading capacity this gives you not only the freedom of a much longer range compared with similar sized surface yachts - it also allows you to make a living as a trader - moving cold beer in hotel quantity to remote locations.
Wil
European Submarine Structures AB