material possesions

[irwinsailor]

My Wife is a little different than your's. She is not a sailor but whats to be. She wants everything sold and she never wants to come back. I on the other hand want to keep a land place just in cast we need it. I figure that If it will not stop us from getting out there what does it hurt? We are covered which ever way the dream takes us.

[Boracay]

As someone who has brought and sold more properties than I care to remember I feel that, if it is possible, a cruising sailor should keep a piece of dirt that they could live on.
My old rules of thumb used to be that if you could fit the deposit on your credit card and if the weekly rent times 1000 was the same as the purcase price then it was worth considering the purchase.
These days everyone seems to pay too much!

Gunner, don't get me wrong, my wife wants to be a sailor, and she is very proud of the sailing skills she has developed. And, I might add, she has become quite an accomplished sailor. That being said, she feels like she is on her way someplace when she is on the water. That is the difference, as I feel like I have arrived when I get on the water. She wants to go the places we plan to go, and has enjoyed the places we have been, but she is far more interested in the destination than how we get there.
When we look back at our cruising experience, I will tell the stories of storms, and crossings, and she will tell the tales of foriegn lands and exotic people. That is the difference.
Chris, I like your formula, but I have been a landlord before, and I will never do that again. Especially from half way around the world. In this area, real estate is so pricy that rent can not show a profit, so that would not be an option to fund my cruising, and in fact would probably prevent it. The cabin we bought, is not a practical rental due to it's remote location, and also has no morgage. It is for my wife's piece of mind, and that has great value. As for the rest of the stuff, we tried that, and all we accomplished is to make life much better for some low life thief. I would much rather give the stuff away to people who I want to benefit.

[irwinsailor]

I think I understood you the first time Kai Nui. She just wants a little insurance.

I knew ya did. Some times I just can't help myself

[irwinsailor]

We put our house up for sale this afternoon. We will be happy to see it go.

It's only a house. You still have your home
Good luck Gunner.

[sailor12]

I can feel your pain. So far we've sold my '65 Mustang, my '82 CJ-7, and soon our 1912 craftsman house and our first boat (sunyacht 27) in order to move the family aboard and start our dream.
One suggestion, don't sell anything you have alot of sweat invested in to anyone you are close to. It's too hard to see your previous pride in the hands of someone else, especially if it isn't taken care of. Best to make a clean break and never see it again.

Good luck

[irwinsailor]

I sold my HOME 2 years ago. I am selling the house we live in now. This house was one of our rentals. If you live in a house for 2 years you can sell it tax free. My 2 year sentence will be over Feb 3 2006. My Wife is packing and hauling already. I can't find a thing around here anymore.

[ssullivan]

Wow.... just realized we are some lucky guys posting on this thread. A lot of guys aren't lucky enough to find a wife that is as enthusiastic about sailing as ours are.

My wife is a lot like Gunner's. Since we were still starting out in life, and had been living in Manhattan, we didnt have any real estate at all. She had no trouble liquidating whatever junk we had, and moving onto the boat. For us... due to everyone bidding real estate out of our reach, this IS our first home.

So, our plan is to do this until the body gives out (at 35 and 26, we should have a few years left in us!), and then purchase a little patch of dirt in the middle of the woods/mountains and live in a unibomber-style shack until it's time for assisted living.

But... it's great to have a spouse that is up for such a plan. Mine even suggested most of it.

Lucky guys we are... a lot of spouses don't even want to go out for the day on a boat, nevermind live on one.

[Jim H]

ssullivan once whispered in the wind:
live in a unibomber-style shack until it's time for assisted living.

Hmm, this sounds dreamy...

I still like the idea of living off the interest of a house sale, while hanging onto our building lot on the coast, so that we have a cash reserve when we get back to rebuild. I also like the idea of an untouched 401K account waiting for us in our later years.

Cruising on only $25k a year would be a challenge, but it's doable. It would also mean having a $70K boat instead of a $150k Pacific Seacraft. We'd also be passing on water makers, hot showers, brand new engines, etc.

I visited a seminar last week by a cruising couple who sailed to Alaska for around $500 a month, but they admitted that they dropped all of their health and boat insurance when they started cruising. As they put it, they had to choose between health insurance and cruising-- there was no middle ground.

I don't think we could get away with that with kids, and even with our cash reserves I think there could be a threat (or guilt) to our parents and brothers and sisters if some major medical expense came up.

Good thread-- I'm impressed by everyone selling down and getting serious. I love the idea of dumping the material goods (except keeping one excellent bicycle).

Jim H

As most of us do not get to take off until we are a bit older, health insurance is a mojor concern, and a substantial part of the cruising budget. IMHO
When I was in my 20's, it was not such an important factor, and I spent many years with no health insurance.
Aside from that, $500 a month can provide for a comfortable cruising experience. As we look at our monthly living expenses, even at dock, aside from slip fees, $500-1000 per month is about it. Get rid of the cars, and we have money to party with.
I agree with Sean. We are very lucky. I have seen many sailors give up the dream because their spouse was not willing to participate. While my wife is apprehensive, she is motivated by her desire to accomplish this.
As for cutting back on how the boat is equipped, I disagree. I feel the better equipped the boat, the more self sufficient, and therefore the lower the cost of living. A water maker means that you will not have to find, and often pay for water. A good power system allows more involved repairs to be performed aboard the boat, and less parts purchased, and fewer boat yard fees. I firmly believe that no expense sould be spared when fitting out a boat for cruising, as in the end, it will pay off by a much lower cost of living while cruising. While more systems require more mainenance, top quality systems with good redundancy will far excede in savings, the cost of maintenance.

[Jim H]

Kai Nui once whispered in the wind:
I firmly believe that no expense sould be spared when fitting out a boat for cruising, as in the end, it will pay off by a much lower cost of living while cruising.

You may be right (we may have a watermaker and more in the future), but personally my preference is for simplicity until individual needs prove otherwise. In the end, we may have all those things and love them, but the calculating side of mind is adding up all the time and money and learning curve along the way, and we're not going to spend years preping a boat if something simplier can get us out sooner.

A friend grew up on a 60 foot wooden ketch cruising the world. When I asked if he wished they had a fiberglass hull, he said no way. His parents loved the wood hull, and the time they spent caring for it year round was a necessary and important part of the life.

Sometimes I think all the "add ons" for cruising fulfill that need for some (waiting for a part for our freezer, etc.). I'd rather keep the boat and systems simple, and fill the time with other pursuits.

As someone reminded me last night, it's not about spending money. It's about spending lives.

Don't get me wrong, I am for simplicity. I just believe in quality simplicity. I would not invest in a sat phone, but I have a very good quality ham rig. I am not decided on a watermaker, but I have put allot of engineering to a substantail catchent system on the trimaran. I am a true fan of wood boats, and currently own one that has no electrical systems, and until recently, no engine. Some of the conveniences are to benefit my wife, as her comfort level is differnt than my own. This is a key point, as the whole crew needs to be comfortable. If one is happy, and the other feels like they are just camping, cruising will lose allot of its alure for both. Like I said, I like having stuff, as long as it does not interfere with my other stuff. If a big referigeration system means I have to have more fuel capacity, and therefore, more ongoing expenses, I will not have it. We have used ice boxes for years, but with our current boat we have a small refer unit, and I really enjoy the convenience. It is a fine balance, but limiting posessions to those that are relevent to your immediate comfort should not be a sacrifice. It should be a carefully calculated simplification.

[ssullivan]

Jim H once whispered in the wind:
Hmm, this sounds dreamy...

I still like the idea of living off the interest of a house sale, while hanging onto our building lot on the coast, so that we have a cash reserve when we get back to rebuild. I also like the idea of an untouched 401K account waiting for us in our later years.

I like the idea of living off interest from a house sale as well. Want to give me one I can sell?