Family of 5, budget of USD750k

[Zamba]

Hi all,

I’m new to the forum and hoping for some fruitful advice. We’re a family of 5 considering going cruising in a couple of years from now. We are planning for a 3-year trip around the world in a suitable catamaran. Our three boys would be around 8-14 years on departure, and we are looking for a pleasant experience with decent comfort. We’re considering a budget of around USD 750k in total for EVERYTHING, i.e. buying and fitting out a suitable boat, slash fund, maintenance and living expenses for 3 years etc. etc. We believe some sort of a catamaran with a minimum of 4 cabins is the way to go.

We have a fair bit of experience from earlier cruising, but not on a catamaran, not with older kids, and only in Caribbean and Med. I’m quite handy and don’t mind maintenance and fixing things up so boat in less than perfect condition could be an option. However, once we get going the boat should be in decent condition with all systems up to speed including reasonable comfort and safety aspects. Some water toys, a serious dinghy and decent dive kit should be included but we don’t necessarily need the latest tricks. We’re planning to stay in tropical and sub-tropical climate, possibly going around South Africa at the most. We don’t need a fancy lifestyle, but we definitely don’t want to worry about money on a daily basis.
So, what catamarans should we look at, how much do we spend on it and its upgrades, and how do we allocate the remaining funds to get the most out of it…?

Happy sailing,
Pelle

[john61ct]

$300K max

[JPA Cate]

Man, I'm sorry, but it's unanswerable -- at least by me-- but I can tell you a few areas of more or less fixed costs that would help you work out the arithmetic.

1) What will the education costs for the lads be, per annum?

2) Estimated insurance costs (travelers and boat) be? Also, dental? anybody having orthodontia?

3) Berthing?

4) Maintenance? In the old days, with older boats, be used to break something on almost every passage, never anything too shocking, except for the dismasting.

5) How much do you want to hold back for emergencies? Upgrades? Maintenance?

6) How much do you spend now for food and drink? You'll probably spend close to that out cruising, but it is one place you can cut some costs?

7) Do you require a watermaker? washing machine? [popular, but most places there are laundries, or people you can hire to wash, dry, & fold your clothes]

8) Inland excursions?, tours? car hire? concerts?

I'd suggest you cost out your wants, at today's prices, and make a spreadsheet or at least a list. Other people's expenditures may provide a guide, but everybody's different, too.

Good luck with it, it is a big project.

Ann

[john61ct]

Sorry missed that included regular living expenses that you'd have on land.

That bit's more of a wildcard than even huge boating-costs variability, some are happy with a camping lifestyle of $1500-2000 a month after housing costs, others that doesn't even cover their snacks & beverages.

So $200K for a solid well-surveyed boat, $100K kitty for maintenance & repairs, leaves the rest for, well, the rest.

Spend too much on docking fees and restaurants, less available for groceries & sightseeing. . .

[drapem1]

I would recommend checking out Sailing Zatara on you tube or their website. They’re sailing a Privilege cat with four kids and very open on sharing their monthly costs.

[gatorsailor]

Zamba, We're doing that now. Departing in a year and just the two of us but if i extrapolate your numbers to my situation I come up with the following:

Living Expenses for 3 years: $225K
Cost of Boat: $400K
Refit of Boat: $75K
Slush fund: $50K
Total $750K

That's a ROM. But it's as good a planning factor as you can have based upon the info you've given and matching that against our plans/interest/taste/expenses etc.

I hope that is helpful and good luck to you in your endeavors.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Pelle.

[Zamba]

Thanks for the responses. I thought I was clever but realise it still came out as a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" type of question. Anyway, the indications given are pretty much in line with my initial assumptions. We'll probably look at upping the budget a notch to accommodate a good condition 45 - 50 foot catamaran of some sort.