Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[osirissail]

Goprisko - "The thread is "Cruising on $500 per month" I believe anyone posting here should be contributing by providing information to enable that kind of cruising. And those of you who prefer to cruise on larger sums should create threads devoted to whatever sum you prefer.. I guarantee that I will not mind in the least..."

- - In that spirit I would suggest as many others have mentioned staying with the K.I.S.S. principle. Sub-30 footer sturdy stable vessel that moves surely and straightly towards the next destination. The simple life is the most economical life. Such boats want to go in one direction only - straight ahead and don't need fancy electricity eating servos and gears and motors to keep them on course. I watch them go by with the cruiser lounging back in the cockpit with a leg over the tiller.
- - Eliminating fancy do-hickies and complicated fandangle stuff like indoor plumbing, electricity and inboard engines most probably also eliminates 90% of the costs of operating and maintaining a sailboat. That gets you down to having a very reasonable amount of the budget available for food and rum. Once you get used to the simple life, like living in the mountains in a cabin or shack by the sea, then you have significant time for contemplating your navel or just basking in the glory of Mother Nature.
- - Common sense and prudence will keep you from going offshore in nasty weather so all that stuff is an expense avoided.
- - Even in the Caribbean basin (the islands, Central and South America) there are plenty of extremely economical places to visit and live on a sailboat. But like walking down a city street of fancy stores and cafe's/restaurants you have to resist going in them and instead shop at the thrift stores and food stands back in the alleys. That is the difficult part! All that fancy stuff, gadgets, and multi-function do-hickies excite our libidos and empty our wallets. You can spend $500-1000+ for a GPS/Plotter at a major boat supply store or buy the same thing on Ebay (used or an un-wanted gift) for 10% to 25% of the price at the big stores. Frugality takes effort but the dividends are great - more money for food and rum . . .

[Springbok]

That's the spirit, lets keep it under $500 Does that mean you will sell your Gulfstar 53 and continue cruising in a sailing-skiff Donate any extra dollars which would put you over the $500 budget to a local Caribbean cause ie The Rum and Reggae World Championships
Clyde

[goprisko]

Hi,
My colleague, mentioned that a Cheoy Lee 31 is for sale on St. Johns for $5000 OBO.

In case you are not familiar with this boat, it appears to be a Herreshof Design.

Built during the 70s, seems to have a ply deck overlaid with teak, from the description of one for sale in HK.

For the right person, this is a bargain boat.

INDY

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by leslie

At the momentWalvis Bay Namibia. Commercial harbour so commercial products availible, no fancy expensive yachty brands. Unfortunately no yacht parts or expetise in the field of sailing. You have to order. Big safe bay with good anchoring. yacht club with cheap beer and great people.

Madagsacar you can get away even cheaper. Just stay away from the touristy places! We Use to catch fish at night and then trade it for fruit the next day. Allways had enough to eat. Biggest expense was beer! Night life on weekends in Nose Be =great even if you cant speak french. You get corrupt officials but a packet of smokes usually solves the problem. I have had more anal officials in Aus and NZ than any african country.

Comoros... did not go ashore there but similar setup than Madagascar. Stay away from the large cities and touristy places and you will have no problems.

Funny how the cities turn on crime...Must be the loss of your individuality.

Did not spent much time in Tanzania but Kenya was great. Good anchorages in the wasim cchannel... Massive boabab trees and also nice people.

See Namib Diving Services for duty free diesel at the small craft harbour.
Beware the holding off the club is poor. Beware strong currents setting east on the ebb from the lagoon especially on equinoctal tides during full and new moon.

There is a guy who can R&R alternators and starters inexpensively.

Go to Shell for LPG

There is a guy who R&Rs diesels and gearboxes, he is in the industrial complex, and there is a shop which builds stainless pulpits and pushpits too Should you need names, let me know and I'll go through my business card file.

Paint and lubricants are available too.

A big shop there can make custom parts, should you need them, they did for me.

INDY

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by leslie

I get the idea that most people tent to go the Caribbean and med. For the budget cruiser it is just not affordable...although I have never been there myself I read between the lines. I think my next stop will be St Helena island and from there back down the African coast. How expensive is cruising South America? I reckon I'll end up going back to Madagascar. Want to check out the South Western part. Rumours of good surf there. Mozambique...Well... I heard many complaints about the area around Maputo...Theft a big problem even when anchored miles out in the bay. I hear Angola is stunning but not very tourist friendly. Portuguese or spanish a must. Heard losts of stories of armed (oficial army? or not) boarding and refusing to leave without money. Maybe these guys had a flash boat and looked rich. Big fancy boats attract attention. Smaller older rust buckets would not encounter half the problems I think. I still think Africa is one of the only places left where us poor sailors can go on a small budget and the thing is...we have even greater adventures in these relatively "uncruised" areas P.S. Angola has very cheap diesel, just make sure you carry spare filters as I hear it is sometimes not that clean. Price is about $0.50 per liter.

If you do go to St. Helena, plan on hiring a car. try to share it with another boat. The interior of the island is stunning... but the public transport is not very good. Don't plan on buying diesel, or a stockup. prices are much cheaper in WB, which is where you are at the moment.
That said, St. Helena has a sailmaker, should you need one. He is competent and can do major repairs which I saw him do for a UK boat that rubbished its genoa. He delivers to the quay.
Plan on using the launch service.

St. Heleena, requires all visitors have or buy health insurance. It is not expensive, but heads up.
It has cheap movie rentals, too.

We loved the place.

From St. Helena, a better plan is to cruise to Bahia, Brazil thence south along that coast to the latitude of the falklands with a return via Tristan da Cunha.. Brazil, Argentina, and Chilie are very inexpensive places to cruise and very european. They are popular with Namibians and South Africans.

INDY

[Springbok]

Indy your last 2 threads have nothing to do with cruising on a $500 month budget. I am South African and a 20 year old 34 ft yacht would cost double+ the price of one in Florida. Getting things fixed is no problem in SA or Namibia but in our money is NOT cheap. This is also not a cruising area but a transit area . If your idea of cruising is sitting in commercial ports , so be it , it is not mine even with good supplies, eating etc .So again an expensive area to transit . Not a $500 per month area. SA sailors don't cruise their coastline as it is dangerous with few anchorages, they cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean etc A few head towards Madagascar, Comores etc but far less than the other route.
Clyde

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by Springbok

That's the spirit, lets keep it under $500 Does that mean you will sell your Gulfstar 53 and continue cruising in a sailing-skiff Donate any extra dollars which would put you over the $500 budget to a local Caribbean cause ie The Rum and Reggae World Championships
Clyde

One of the most difficult things to accomplish is that of knowing when enough is enough.
The next is to execute a concrete plan that results in one setting off on his voyage.

ORRISAIL has his dream, a very expensive dream. perhaps he is a retired military officer, 50% pay at 20 yrs service (40s), or retired police/fire 100% pay at 20 yrs service(40s), CIA, NSA, Cali Cartel, or whatever.

He has excellent ideas in his latest, and we have shown that some of the extremes he mentions need not be followed.

He specifically mentioned a chart plotter..my guess is this is the latest toy the status concious buy... and he has a very valid point.. the man on a budget must find status in his accomplishments, not in his gadgets..

He mentioned expensive restaurants and shops... certainly the Caribbean is full of them.. and certainly the locals do not patronize them.. neither should the man on a budget, and as he mentions, the inexpensive shops exist...

The man on a budget knows all the happy hour times at his favorite bars. He uses them for spice in his life.. preferring to have his SG&Ts aboard with his like minded friends.. punctuated with antipasto / hos' duerves made in his own galley

His barbeques are a celebration, whether on his aft pulpit, or the nearby beach..

He reenacts scenes from the movies like "From Here To Eternity", "Six Days, Seven Nights" "Adventures in Paradise" and others, while he is young and virile and the girls in bikinis lust for him. Not when he is old and grey, and worn out.

INDY

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by Springbok

Indy your last 2 threads have nothing to do with cruising on a $500 month budget. I am South African and a 20 year old 34 ft yacht would cost double+ the price of one in Florida. Getting things fixed is no problem in SA or Namibia but in our money is NOT cheap. This is also not a cruising area but a transit area . If your idea of cruising is sitting in commercial ports , so be it , it is not mine even with good supplies, eating etc .So again an expensive area to transit . Not a $500 per month area. SA sailors don't cruise their coastline as it is dangerous with few anchorages, they cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean etc A few head towards Madagascar, Comores etc but far less than the other route.
Clyde

I lived and cruised RSA and Namibia for 2 years. I know what can be done. It may be that RSAs older boats fetch more than those I just mentioned in St. John. Hovever, there is no reason you can't travel to St. John, or Trinidad for that matter to buy one of our bargains... or to Whangerai, NZ for one of theirs... The travel ban is over.. RSA folks can freely travel now...

Most of those from RSA travel up the Mozambique Channel to the Indian Ocean Islands.. you can too...

A smaller number go via St. Helena to the Atlantic coast of South America, where their money goes further. I personally know of a 67 year old member of the Cape YC who did a circuit that way last year. His boat is named Gaia... If he can go, you can too.

Repairs of any kind cost what you negotiate... I earned Namibian Dollars when I lived in Namibia. I know full well what things cost. You must learn to repair your own gear, as I have.

Also, you might consider building a boat in your garden, as a physician friend in Luderitz is doing.

INDY

[goprisko]

Have you tried Saldanha Bay, SimonsTown, the Skeleton Coast?, Knysna? Krome River?
All these beckon in RSA..

INDY

[Springbok]

Most do not head into the Indian ocean but into the Atlantic . I have already done this and have been part of the SA cruising community for the last 20 years so think I am better qualified to comment on this area than you. I will now retreat and leave your ramblings to those who wish to believe them.
Clyde

[goprisko]

RSA and Namibia have currency restrictions...

I am painfully aware of that... I am also aware that residents of these countries have
invented dodges to get around them and move money offshore. Any one living under such restrictions need be aware of them and their implications. I am also aware that RSA is losing its skilled workforce because those people can to to NZ, AUS, the US, or UK and have a better life. If they are young enough... The key to getting freedom is having sufficient funds, your health, and youth. Those places don't want old farts.

So Clyde, would seem that if you want to cruise or leave, you had better get cracking..Aluminum is available in RSA, locally made, including marine alloys. Talk to Dudley Dix (who emigrated from RSA to the US) about a radius chine design, or Dick Zaal about a radius chine version of Lapwing, but keep the boat smaller than 34 feet LOA and keep the boat simple. Save your offshore funds for use when you can't get money out of RSA, to tide you over while you are job hunting. Be aware that the UK and US are in the midst of a deflationary depression, NZ and AUZ are in much better shape. Further RSA builds masts, makes rigging wire and line, anchors, chain, etc. Keep the electronics to the bare minimum.. Feast off the local economy.

INDY

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by Springbok

Most do not head into the Indian ocean but into the Atlantic . I have already done this and have been part of the SA cruising community for the last 20 years so think I am better qualified to comment on this area than you. I will now retreat and leave your ramblings to those who wish to believe them.
Clyde

Having cruised African waters from Chagos to Acension and Fernando, having had gams with all and sundry, I disagree. I met far more RSA boats in the Indian Ocean than in the Atlantic.. Also, from the same sources, most RSA / Namib boats do not go to the West Indies.. most choosing the Atlantic go to Brazil, Argentina, Chile. where the Rand goes much further..

If you are as much a part of the RSA cruising community as you claim, say hello to Alistair and Fred for me.

INDY

[Springbok]

Are your toilet paper costs included in the $500 month as you will need reams and reams.
Clyde

[osirissail]

I have been around this planet more times than I care to remember. I have been dirt poor and had more money than I can spend. Now I am very comfortably moored in Trinidad enjoying the Cafe de Mar's pastries and cafe de jour while reading the London Times. I prefer the best that my budget can afford.
- - That last statement is also extremely true for the under $500 per month guy. The best his budget can afford is more attuned to Mother Nature and mature social interactions than conspicious consumption. So the quality of life is the same even if the nature of the life is totally different. What do they say - "Different strokes for different folks."
- - I am happy in my lifestyle and I am friends with cruising folk who are happy in theirs that costs 1/6 of mine. Of course they are hemmed in by financial limits that I do not have. They have to forgo the fancy and luxuries that I take for granted - but do they really need them? or want them?
- - The question of this thread comes from - can you expect a middle class lifestyle on board a cruising boat on a $500/mo budget? The unequivical answer is No. But do you need that lifestyle? The answer has to made by each prospective cruiser.
- - - I cannot figure how this discussion drifted to the cruising ranges of South African boats, but here in Trinidad there are significant amounts of them. Some even settle and start running businesses in the boaters areas. They are very interesting to talk to and hear their experiences "escaping" and such things. Of course all of that is free for the price of some drinks.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by osirissail

<snip>
What do they say - "Different strokes for different folks."

This is something we all need to remember. Sailors and their needs are as varied as their boats.

My concern about advice being given in this thread is that much of it appears dated (1980's experience) or theoretical (here is a list of how you might go about it) - sure would like more input from someone actually doing it today but I suspect they can't afford a computer or an internet connection.

I applaud goprisko for encouraging critical thinking and out of the box ideas. I don't agree with a lot of it but that's my choice.

Originally Posted by osirissail

<snip>
- - The question of this thread comes from - can you expect a middle class lifestyle on board a cruising boat on a $500/mo budget? The unequivical answer is No. But do you need that lifestyle? The answer has to made by each prospective cruiser.

This is, for me, the crux of this conversation. For anyone planning to take up the $500 a month cruising lifestyle there is a cost of buy in (the boat and getting it ready to some standard) - which is a nest egg of some sort.

However the big deal is deciding what life you want. If you currently make $80k a year and decide to chuck in the rat race and live on $500 a month I have only one suggestion.

Chuck your job, chuck your lifestyle and live on land for $500 a month for a year to see how you personally adjust to it. Better yet keep the 80K job and bank the $42k (after tax) you should have.

When I was a young graduate A&P (airplane) mechanic one of my first jobs was at a glider port. Glider ports are in the desert - this one was in Hemet, Ca. My mom financed a Datsun pick up (yes it was Datsun then) with a cab over camper and I lived in that camper for over a year. I looked at some of my pay stubs from then and I made like $125 a week. There were a couple of instructors in similar circumstances. We had a water tower and hauled water. We showered under the tower. We cooked frank and beans & kraft mac&cheese. We BBQ'd in the fire pit. Friday's were great! We'd go to town and shower at the RV park and head out to Art's Restaurant for a great dinner of ribs and fixin's. I don't remember having much left over at the end of a month.

I had a blast! Would I do it again? Hell no...

According to one inflation calculator $125 in 1979 is $365 today.