Second homes: Three options for staying at sea

— -- Having a second home afloat is nothing new. But some recent developments at sea can alleviate the traditional concerns of maintenance and storage, as well as the challenge of open-boat living for people who have little or no sailing expertise.

The most revolutionary floating option is The World, the first and only condo cruise ship, where second-home owners visit dozens of destinations from Anchorage to Acapulco, San Francisco to Sydney, Vancouver to Vladivostok. The ship launched in 2002, and by 2006 all 165 apartments had been sold, buyers lured by the mantra "Travel the World Without Leaving Home."

Almost as simple for owners are European canal barges, which traverse waterways in France, Holland, Germany and the British Isles.

Many owners employ their own crew, and even do-it-yourselfers find barges easy to operate, since they travel in a straight line, require no navigation, are roomy and comfortable compared with other small boats, and are free from tides, waves and even seasickness.

Most U.S. buyers purchase barges as business propositions, because there is a large rental market. "I have American owners who use their barges a couple of weeks each year, or let friends use it, then rent it the rest of the time," says American canal barge agent Ellen Sack (bargeladycruises.com). "There are a lot of boats for sale at any time, and they can be very reasonable, but whether you're on board or it's rented or it's tied up, the crew gets paid, so you don't want it sitting empty."

Just as destination clubs have popularized owning parts of homes, the yacht industry has embraced fractional ownership. "There are lots of people who own and maintain yachts as second homes," says Patricia Born, a maritime journalist and consultant. But because many people use the boat a few weeks a year, fractional ownership, where you pay for only time spent on the boat, is appealing, she says.