Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[idpnd]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

cushions (yes they are necessary)

i beg to differ!

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

But i wouldn't build a boat... too expensive

Anyone who says "I want to build a boat" my response is "Dont build one, finish one". I you start with a relatively bare-bones boat and do the interior and other modifications yourself you will end up with something that better fits your needs and budget than getting a production boat designed and built for the "masses"

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

And thats just to get started... just epoxy and paint alone would cost more than my entire boat.

A couple of years before I bought my boat she was dismasted. I have all the receipts for rig and sails. Just the rig exceeded my purchase price of the boat by about 25%.

This thread really has no boundary conditions. I would challenge anyone to stay in a $500 /mo budget if building and outfitting a boat are included in the total, unless of course the boat purchase / building / refit were amortized over 10-20 years of $500 /mo cruising.

If you have the boat ready to go I don't really see a big issue staying on $500 /mo, especially in my neighborhoods.

OTOH - there are plenty of boats in the 20-30k range that will get you out there for a short while or a long while depending on condition. Better to have ventured forth that not...

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Dos Gatos.

[w1651]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

precisely

There's no way possible to build and outfit a cruising a boat over 22 (or so) feet and still come out cheaper than simply buying a fixer-upper in the 30 foot range (in todays market in the US), that already has the majority of necessities, and possibly even a few niceties.

I mean, has anyone priced winches, paint, cushions (yes they are necessary), blocks and fittings, stoves, fuel and water tanks, wiring, motors, EPOXY!??

And thats just to get started... just epoxy and paint alone would cost more than my entire boat.

Agreed !!
With todays economy and the charities that are selling good old boats building is NOT an option. I have already posted that I got a 1972 Contest 33 blue water boat with five sails, decent rigging, no soft spots, and a strong hull, that does need maintenance for less then 3000 dollars. I will do all of the work (mostly elbow grease and varnishing the interior) and have been (just rebuilt the companionway) and ya there's more to do.
But build a boat bare bones would cost more then 5 times what I have in mine. Even hitting all the supposed salvage yards. Right they want as much as new it seems. Soap and sand paper are cheap compared to gallons of resin and yards of glass mat. Already rebed the front bow rail. Total cost: 7.99 at ace for 15ft of butyl tape and 10.00 for some acetone. I have more to do and more tape and acetone left over to do it.
Maybe just maybe you could do it with a partially built boat but even then check the quality thoroughly and have the mast and rigging ready for installation.

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

A couple of years before I bought my boat she was dismasted. I have all the receipts for rig and sails. Just the rig exceeded my purchase price of the boat by about 25%.

This thread really has no boundary conditions. I would challenge anyone to stay in a $500 /mo budget if building and outfitting a boat are included in the total, unless of course the boat purchase / building / refit were amortized over 10-20 years of $500 /mo cruising.

If you have the boat ready to go I don't really see a big issue staying on $500 /mo, especially in my neighborhoods.

OTOH - there are plenty of boats in the 20-30k range that will get you out there for a short while or a long while depending on condition. Better to have ventured forth that not...

Cruising budget is the budget for cruising, it does not include the purchase price and/refit price of getting a boat so you CAN cruise. While I am getting my boat ready to criuse I am spending $700-$800/mo (in addition to living costs) .... + $17,500 for the boat, those costs will disappear when I actually start cruising.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

. . . those costs will disappear when I actually start cruising.

You only wish - [sorry, couldn't resist a straight line ]

Actually, from my experience on a moderate sized boat and many other cruising friends experience on "simple" basic boats, the costs only "abate" for awhile. Then something breaks, or you need a replacement something. IMHO, the only way to minimize this cost problem is to really stay "basic" with the boat and avoid as much of the "new-fangled" stuff as possible. That is not an easy task.

[wolfenzee]

My refit costs (including , monthly marina, "lease hold tax", slip fee, "lease hold tax" (again),other taxes and fees, mini-storage and other land-tie costs that will just not exist any more (70-80% of my income) will disappear....a small portion of them will be replaced, but I will be alot more comfortable financially than I have been in a very very long time..
Also my boat is "low tech" very little that is on the boat was not around when it was built 40 years ago...actually when it was designed 75 years ago. I do have a DSC VHF,Radar, GPS and laptop w/electronic charts....but these are just frills. I have paper charts and two sextants.
My theory that reinforces the KISS principle is "If there is any system or component the failure of which puts you or the boat in jeporty it should be examined, backed up or even replaced.
As far as the overall condition of the boat, she was hauled last winter, hull is in terrific shape and I put 4 gal of epoxy barrier coat on the bottom, new bronze chainplates ans 1/4" 316SS standing rigging all around, engine only has 1500 hours, running rigging is 3 years old, some sails are in new condition the rest are pretty good.

[goprisko]

This was an active day at the Cocoa Town Docks.

A Pearson Triton (28' LOA) with four young people from Savannah, GA aboard, equipped with a custom deck box for bicycles and an outboard for it's engine stopped in first. They are bound for Mexico and the Canal and the Pacific. Lots of enthusiasm, little experience, but they are having a great time!

Next was an Oday 25 sailing in company with a Tanzer 22. Both boats are shallow draft. Less than 30 " boards up. The owner of the Tanzer likes the boat's 2 ton displacement, and claims the boat is much quieter than a Catalina of similar size, stiffer too!

There is an arts & crafts fair this weekend. So lots to see and do.

Fair Winds,

INDY

[goprisko]

For those on a shoestring. According to Dave, the St. Michaels semi-annual boat auction is for you.

Dave saw 36' sail boats going for $ 3K.

His 25' Oday went for $700

INDY

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

Cruising budget is the budget for cruising, it does not include the purchase price and/refit price of getting a boat so you CAN cruise. While I am getting my boat ready to criuse I am spending $700-$800/mo (in addition to living costs) .... + $17,500 for the boat, those costs will disappear when I actually start cruising.

Wrong.

The cruising budget we showed often, covers keeping the boat going and upgrades. Yes, this budget is tight, that's why the boat must be a simple mono-hull between 28-34' LOA.

Bigger boats cost more to buy, operate, and keep up. Costs are proportional to displacement.

GRP has done a lot to keep operating and maintenance costs down.

But as soon as you put a gadget aboard, up go costs.

Cruising on a micro-budget requires discipline.

INDY

[osirissail]

There is a free 25 footer on the Hwy528 causeway to Cape Canaveral, FL. It washed up on the beach two weeks ago and is still there and in decent condition - but no sails.

[SunDevil]

Somedays I daydream about building an experimental boat, but there is no way that would happen unless I could afford to pay other people to help build it. It is just too easy to find a nice used boat that won't take much work (if any at all).

I am still standing by my theory that you can cruise in a multi-hull for $500, maybe less. I may have to test this theory someday. (Days like today, I wish I was).

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by kaimusailing

It looks like the basic theme of this thread has gone off in one direction or another and rarely come back on task. There is a common theme that a simpler, smaller boat will cost less and have lower operating costs. There is a designer of DIY boats that has followed this tack and has become the most popular designer of self built boats in history. His name is James Wharram and he designs catamarans. They are wood/epoxy and very seaworthy. They are not large and expensive or prone to capsize. He does not specify expensive nautical fittings in his plans, but has instructions on alternative DIY fittings that work well. I have one of his larger boats that is fully capable of ocean travel and didn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. If the theme of this thread is how to get cruising as quickly as possible and for a little as possible, logic would arrive at a Wharram catamaran for some people. The smaller Wharrams are maybe the most seaworthy sailcraft of all. A 21' Wharram circumnavigated, a 23' sailed from US East Coast to Bermuda through a hurricane, several 26' have done transatlantic. The original theme of this thread is about cruising on the bleeding edge of cheap, and that would include some extremes of boat and lifestyle.

I believe the theme of this thread is to be already cruising on a boat of personal preference on only $500 a month. It' not about Wharram Tri's costing less money. I agree your approach with a small tri is cheap to build and i would bet a lot of fun to sail.

[Svsilvergirl]

Hey Chris ,
Thanks for the pm with info on the anchorage. Don't know if I'm just a dork or what , but for some reason the forum wouldn't let me reply to your pm ? Again , thanks , I'll be sure and check it out.