I set about looking for a banca to buy and my first one was a 30 footer I used to run out to islands and look for bigger boats for sale. I eventually bought one from an expat I know who had spent a fortune on the thing making it suitable for use as a liveaboard for a foreigner. It was seaworthy, had navigation lights and anchors, life jackets and a life raft as well as GPS and depth sounder and a UHF radio.

It also had the mains wiring and transformers needed to run a small refrigerator and the TV as well as recharge the cell phones and my lap top wile the engine was running. I bought it for a fraction of what it must have cost him to convert but he was going to Thailand to live after losing his shirt in a bar his partner drank dry or some similar story.

Basically for ten grand I have a great place to live that I can take all over the islands. It has a diesel truck engine that is pretty reliable and we can either anchor or beach her wherever we want and just step off the bow onto the sand. The outriggers are great for slinging a hammock from and enjoying the splash as you motor from island to island and the stereo is always blaring in true Fiesta fashion.

I am having a lot of fun with my banca and have not regretted a moment of ownership. It has a solid Lauan timber keel piece and is over fifty feet stem to stern and about 15 feet wide. Below decks get a bit hot and stuffy but we virtually live on deck under the awning. Give it some thought and then go buy yourself one. I have a bigger one spied out and a buyer for this one already!