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Liveaboard Rules in Eau Gallie Yacht Basin at Waterline Marina

By Boatwork Team•October 5, 2026•8 min read

Liveaboard rules in Eau Gallie Yacht Basin at Waterline Marina in Melbourne, FL come down to what the marina approves, charges and requires, and each point needs confirming with the marina before you move aboard. The only liveaboard-specific charge published in the basin's own fee schedule is an electric fee of $100/month for liveaboard, AC or heat use. Everything else below tells you what the public sources support and what to ask.

What the Published Sources Say About Living Aboard

Waterline Marina is described on its Boatwork listing for Waterline Marina as sitting in the naturally protected Eau Gallie Yacht Basin in Melbourne. The detailed liveaboard terms that are publicly written down come from the basin's own dockage and fee schedule page. That page lists a liveaboard electric fee and long-term slip pricing, but the evidence we reviewed does not spell out a written liveaboard approval process, an insurance minimum, a vessel-condition standard or a pump-out policy.

That gap matters. A fee line tells you what you will pay, not whether your boat qualifies. Treat anything not on the published schedule as an open question, and get the answer in writing before you give notice on a mooring or sell a house.

Liveaboard Costs in the Fee Schedule

The table below uses only figures from the basin's dockage page. It is the clearest picture of what a long-term liveaboard budget is built from. Larger slips over 42' are priced per slip rather than per foot, so a bigger boat will not follow the per-foot range.

Charge	Published figure	What it covers
Annual slip rate	$19 – $25/ft per month with a booking of 12 months	Long-term dockage; annual inquiries go through the marina's seasonal/annual form
Larger slips	Priced on a per slip basis for slips over 42'	Bigger boats are quoted individually
Electric cords	50 amp or dual 30 amp cords: $50/month	Shore power connection
Liveaboard electric fee	$100/month for liveaboard, AC or heat usage	Extra electric load from living aboard

The practical lesson is that liveaboard power use is billed separately from the slip. Running air conditioning or heat all day is exactly what the electric fee exists to cover, so it belongs in your monthly total from the start.

Rule by Rule: What to Confirm Before You Move Aboard

Approval and Slip Agreement

The basin's page points annual customers to an inquiry form rather than listing terms, so approval happens through the marina. Ask whether liveaboard status is approved per boat, per person, or both, whether it can be revoked, and how notice works if you leave. Ask for the slip agreement text and read the termination and rate-change clauses before you sign.

Vessel Condition and Size

The basin has room for boats up to 75 feet, and its transient dockage is available for boats up to 70 feet long with a draft up to 7 feet. A liveaboard needs more than a fit: ask what condition standard applies, whether the boat must be able to run under its own power, and whether it must hold current insurance and registration. Those are common marina requirements elsewhere, but the evidence here does not state them for this basin, so confirm each one.

Pump-Out, Sewage and Cleaning

Living aboard concentrates waste in a small basin. The US EPA's overview of nonpoint source pollution from marinas and boating names boat cleaning, fueling operations and marine head discharge as activities that can contaminate marina waters, along with stormwater runoff from parking lots and hull maintenance and repair areas. Ask the marina where you pump out, whether any holding-tank or no-discharge expectation applies, and what its rules are on washing the boat and doing maintenance at the slip.

The EPA also describes a program covering vessels, marinas and ports that combines regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to protect US waters from vessel-related activities. For a liveaboard, the useful point is that sewage handling is a water-quality matter, not only a marina house rule.

Insurance and Registration

No source we reviewed states an insurance requirement for the basin. Ask whether the marina wants proof of liability coverage, whether your policy allows living aboard at a fixed slip, and whether the marina must be named on the certificate. Bring current registration or documentation papers to the conversation so there is nothing to chase later.

Facts About the Basin That Affect Daily Life

Living aboard is about the place as much as the paperwork. These details come from the basin's own pages and two marina listings, each cited where it applies.

Question	What the sources state	Source
How many slips?	60 modern slips, boats to 75 feet	Eau Gallie Yacht Basin website
Is there fuel?	Listed as no fuel	Lake.com listing
What amenities?	WiFi, laundry, showers, pet friendly	Lake.com listing
How deep is the approach?	Minimum approach depth and dock depth listed at 7.0 feet	Marinas.com listing
What does laundry cost?	A reviewer reported $2.50 a load	Marinas.com review
Where is it?	West side of the ICW on the Eau Gallie River, in the Eau Gallie Arts District	Eau Gallie Yacht Basin website

The Lake.com marina listing and the Marinas.com page for the basin carry the amenity and depth details. They are third-party pages, so confirm anything you plan to depend on, such as depth for a deep-draft boat.

Trade-Offs of Living Aboard Here

Walkability: the basin's website places it steps from the historic Eau Gallie Arts District, with restaurants, bars and galleries nearby, and a reviewer on Marinas.com mentions several restaurants within a quarter mile.
Community: reviewers describe a Wednesday night pot luck and campfire, a boaters lounge and an outdoor kitchen. That suits some people and not others.
Protection: the basin describes itself as one of the most protected harbors in Florida, which matters for a boat you sleep on.
No fuel on site: the Lake.com listing says no fuel, so plan your fuel runs elsewhere.
Scale: it is a small basin with a limited number of slips, so availability and long-term liveaboard space are worth asking about early.
Power cost: air conditioning and heat are billed through the liveaboard electric fee, which changes the math of summer and winter living.

Working Through Your Questions with the Marina

Contact the marina directly for current rules, availability and rates. Published pages can lag behind policy, and a liveaboard slip is a long commitment. Send a short, specific message: boat type and length, engine type (outboard, inboard or sterndrive), number of people aboard, and the dates you want to start. Ask for the slip agreement and the liveaboard policy as documents.

Once you are aboard, boat upkeep still has to fit the marina's rules. Boatwork is a marketplace where you describe a job, choose which vetted marine pros to contact, and get free, no-obligation estimates only from them. Before hiring, the guide on spotting a bad marine mechanic and the one on what to get in writing before approving a cleaning job are useful. If you will be away often, yacht management services are another option to compare.

FAQ

Does the Eau Gallie Yacht Basin Allow Liveaboards?

Its fee schedule includes an electric fee for liveaboard, AC or heat usage, which shows liveaboard use is recognized. Approval conditions are not spelled out in the sources we reviewed, so confirm them with the marina.

What is the liveaboard electric fee?

The basin's dockage page lists $100/month for liveaboard, AC or heat usage. Separately, it lists 50 amp or dual 30 amp cords at $50/month.

What is the long-term slip rate?

The basin's page lists $19 – $25/ft per month with a booking of 12 months, with slips over 42' priced per slip. Rates can change, so ask for the current figure.

Can a large boat live aboard there?

The basin accommodates boats up to 75 feet, and its transient dockage is for boats up to 70 feet with a draft up to 7 feet. Whether your boat qualifies for liveaboard status depends on the marina's approval.

Where do I pump out and what are the sewage rules?

The sources we reviewed do not state a pump-out policy for this basin. The US EPA lists marine head discharge among marina pollution sources, so ask where pump-out is available and whether discharge limits apply.

What should I get in writing before I move aboard?

Get the slip agreement, the written liveaboard policy, the electric billing method and the notice terms for both sides. The basin's published fee schedule covers the money side, but the approval conditions and any vessel standard only count once the marina confirms them in writing.