Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[Blue Crab]

Good points D_O_J.

As we say here in Merica: don't quit that day job.

Thread drift my butt: I want to hear more about living on 9,000 a month!

That's way more than $500.

Si? No?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

Good points D_O_J.

As we say here in Merica: don't quit that day job.

Being own boss means it ain't a job. it's a lifestyle Just as well - as the money can sometimes be p#ss poor But at other times surprisingly good The holidays are unpaid but very long and on that alone I don't think I could go back to only 25 days holiday a year. I've had longer drinking sessions..........

.......am a great beleiver in writing yer own rules

Thread drift my butt: I want to hear more about living on 9,000 a month!

That's way more than $500.

Si? No?

"Back in the day" I went through $10k a month in Bangkok now and again - I can't tell you on what exactly. it's still a bit fuzzy But overall I would rate it better than living on a banana a day and am pretty sure it didn't involve me sh#tting in a b#cket. nor requiring a female companion to do the same. Well, pretty sure............

[ImaginaryNumber]

Originally Posted by goprisko

For our example, we have budgeted $ 40,000 for the boat, complete and ready for sea. We will build in aluminum, ordering 3500# of material in one go. We will do the hull as a presto sharpie, to eliminate the $10k design fee. This can work for us because we bought skene's and did our research on presto sharpies, including Chapell's "American Small Sailing Craft".

The presto sharpie hull approximates Lapwing's design, with somewhat firmer bilges, and we have chosen to go with a radius chine design too. Were we somewhat in a hurry we could choose a multi-chine version such as that used by Ovni of France, however this would cost us lots of storage space in the interior.
...
TOTAL $ 60,000
LESS: Trade Discount $20,000 (obtained by getting a sales tax ID)
NET: $ 40,000
...
Look at the above list again... the cost of the project before trade discounts is $ 60k, of that $ 7K is the aluminum and $3.5K is welding.

INDY

Indy, would you mind commenting further on how you obtain a sales tax ID, and then how you use it to obtain trade discounts?

Also, I'm unclear how you eliminated a $10K design fee? Did you design the hull yourself.

Have you considered making a junk rig? The newer designs (with cambered panels) make their windward abilities competitive with bermuda-type sails. The sails are easy to make (though you won't be able to buy any second-hand). You don't need to change sails as the wind changes. Their free-standing masts are easy to build and don't require expensive and noisy stays or shrouds. Reefing can easily be done on all points of sail from the safety of cockpit or cabin, and gybing the sail is not so dangerous.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

I don't think I could go back to only 25 days holiday a year. I've had longer drinking sessions..........

And the average American job gives 10 days a year plus 6 or 8 sick.

Sick huh?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Therapy

And the average American job gives 10 days a year plus 6 or 8 sick.

Sick huh?

Yeah I had heard that. Holidays (vacations) is apparently socialist

6 to 8 days sick? being self employed means I am a lot more healthy than I used to be. Sick is for weekends

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Yeah I had heard that. Holidays (vacations) is apparently socialist

6 to 8 days sick? being self employed means I am a lot more healthy than I used to be. Sick is for weekends

Yep.

Not sick much here either.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Why not.... worried about pirates....

No, it's not the location. Exchange rates ... w1651's logic is missing something.

[boatman61]

Not really if you think about it... the basic cost of living will be cheaper there..
I'll use India as I'm a bit more familiar with costs but with $1 = 45Rs you can buy 45 nan breads... or a complete meal...
Specialised boat stuff will cost more as it needs to be imported but labours cheap as chips and they still have the 'old skills and craftsmanship'... they can copy just about anything... epoxies need checking carefully before payment as dates don't mean much... mine was hit and miss.. 2/3rds was great... 1/3rd refused to cure... PITA
The same principles should apply in S America... compared to many locals a westerner on Social is well off...
In Portugal they always say us Brits are loaded... look at our wages...
1 week UK = 1mth in Portugal...
but then when you take cost of living into account...
2 bed Apartment in Figueira da Foz on the beach... euros 350-400/mth
2 bed Apartment in Bournemouth UK on the beach... GBP 1400/mth
and so on through...
He's right... if one can get past the 'Comfort Zone' thing there's a lot of cheap cruising grounds out there... just not fashionable...

[w1651]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Yeah I had heard that. Holidays (vacations) is apparently socialist

6 to 8 days sick? being self employed means I am a lot more healthy than I used to be. Sick is for weekends

Amen to that. Sick? I have to be sick on my own time and not during working hours. I shoulda got a government job.

[w1651]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Not really if you think about it... the basic cost of living will be cheaper there..
I'll use India as I'm a bit more familiar with costs but with $1 = 45Rs you can buy 45 nan breads... or a complete meal...
Specialised boat stuff will cost more as it needs to be imported but labours cheap as chips and they still have the 'old skills and craftsmanship'... they can copy just about anything... epoxies need checking carefully before payment as dates don't mean much... mine was hit and miss.. 2/3rds was great... 1/3rd refused to cure... PITA
The same principles should apply in S America... compared to many locals a westerner on Social is well off...
In Portugal they always say us Brits are loaded... look at our wages...
1 week UK = 1mth in Portugal...
but then when you take cost of living into account...
2 bed Apartment in Figueira da Foz on the beach... euros 350-400/mth
2 bed Apartment in Bournemouth UK on the beach... GBP 1400/mth
and so on through...
He's right... if one can get past the 'Comfort Zone' thing there's a lot of cheap cruising grounds out there... just not fashionable...

If I remember right Old Jersey the last time I checked Thailand it was about 30 Bat to 1 Dollar. Still a great bargain. Just STAY OUT OF THE TOURIST TRAPS! No more girly girl for you. (add thai accent when saying that)

I know people that go to the Rio Dulce. They go to the girly bars and pay the locals for everything like fish to fresh vegi's everyday. They love it and say there are more expats from the war in Columbia there then you can imagine. And our dollars help out the economy.
But it is still pretty much off the beaten track but getting popular. Last I saw the Guatemala exchange rate was about 18 to 1. everything is fresh and everyone is friendly. You already have your room and board with you and if you conserve it electricity. The marina there is also owned by an American so the language barrier is not as bad or at least the learning curve is easier.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by w1651

If I remember right Old Jersey the last time I checked Thailand it was about 30 Bat to 1 Dollar. Still a great bargain. Just STAY OUT OF THE TOURIST TRAPS! No more girly girl for you. (add thai accent when saying that)

I know people that go to the Rio Dulce. They go to the girly bars and pay the locals for everything like fish to fresh vegi's everyday. They love it and say there are more expats from the war in Columbia there then you can imagine. And our dollars help out the economy.
But it is still pretty much off the beaten track but getting popular. Last I saw the Guatemala exchange rate was about 18 to 1. everything is fresh and everyone is friendly. You already have your room and board with you and if you conserve it electricity. The marina there is also owned by an American so the language barrier is not as bad or at least the learning curve is easier.

surely holeing up in a third world anchorage,because it is cheap is not realy cruising....cruising implies that you are actually going somewhere.

find this a lot in the med,due to the differences in marina prices,if you pay a yearly rate,works out at 2-3000 euros as oppsed to 30-50 euros a night during the season......consequently "cruisers" never leave the dock....

[boatman61]

Yeah... but then they're no longer cruisers... just liveaboards... actually this applies to 80%+ of boats 9mths a year... then they all head for the islands in the 'high season' and rough it at anchor... before heading back to the berth they prebooked before sailing....
thats the only reason the anchorages get so busy and passers through can always find a berth..

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by boatman61

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]
He's right... if one can get past the 'Comfort Zone' thing there's a lot of cheap cruising grounds out there... just not fashionable...

This part I can agree with, but the part about $500/month = $9,000/month no. I live in Krabi, Thailand part of the year and of course its like South or Central America in lots of ways. Some things are cheaper (labor, fresh local food, utilities, rents, ...), but others are more expensive (any quality boat parts, tools, hardware, wood, paper products, ...). All in all, I prefer living here due to the overall cost of living, climate and sailing grounds. But my $$'s don't stretch as far as 30 to 1 (current Baht to Dollar rate)!

[Nicholson58]

My cousin went around the big stone almost 2 times on his Camper 58. He figured on 50 kilobucks/year. That included hired captain and mate (captain's wife) and air travel. I don't think they anchored out much. Nice links but sometimes slow. African Queen World Cruise

[boatman61]

ROTFLMBO..........