How to achieve the cruiser lifestyle 10 years from now...comfortably

[noworkee]

Good Evening All,

Happy to have found my passion. Not surprised by the complexity level given my past hobbies.

About us: Married 35 year old couple, husband is a son of a son, wife is a wonderful Filipina with dual citizenship. No kids, perhaps a small puppy.

We have a goal to somehow get to enjoy the cruising lifestyle in approximately 8-10 years in our middle age before we get too old to be nimble.

My first questions started with boats, now my first questions start with financial planning.

How can we achieve this lifestyle without ending up destitute in our older age? Although we are lucky enough to have experienced the finer things in life, we have found having each other, nature, and a reasonable level of comfort is all we need.

Currently we have a mortgage on a nice deal of a home 24 years left, but maybe we could focus everything on getting that paid off in 10?

Both our parents will probably leave us something possibly a house, but no guarantees.

It seems amassing a decent amount of passive income would be a good strategy and figuring out a ways to have either a massive down payment or a reserve is the way to go.

I am also curious on how the future value of the euro will play out. It seems reasonable to purchase a yacht in Croatia and head to our home state of Florida to almost save 30% (of course wayyyy more to that).


Cheers!

[leboyd]

8-10 years is a long way away. If you want to go in 10 years, you're basically "retiring'. Figure out what budget you would want today (boat cost and then living/maintenance expenses). Save to where you would have 10-20% more than that in 10 years. For example, if you think you need $500,000 in today's dollar/euro, figure out how to put away $550,000/$600,000. That's about $55,000/$60,000 per year to save. Invest it in a somewhat moderately conservative portfolio that will hopefully stay a couple of percentage points above inflation.

Don't put more into your house then the mortgage requires. Regardless of real estate value increase, your ROI will be higher the less you put into it and you'll have the ROI on the money you would have put into the mortgage that you are now saving in the moderately conservative portfolio.

[thomm225]

Don't change anything and don't wait just go buy a low priced small cruising boat now if you live near the water and start taking short weekend and vacation "cruises" to see if you will even like it

You can learn lots about cruising having a boat now instead of waiting 10 years

I bought mine 8 years ago for $2,000 and have been cruising locally ever since and adding things as I need them

Here's a list of some well built good old cruising boats that can be had many time for $10,000

https://atomvoyages.com/planning/goo...oats-list.html

And here is an example of one that's in good shape and at a good price. You could pay cash for it.

https://annapolis.craigslist.org/boa...975938745.html

[belizesailor]

Is selling the house an option?

Do you want to be full time cruisers or part-time?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Is selling the house an option?

Do you want to be full time cruisers or part-time?

They don't know enough yet...…..because it's a dream

And sometimes when you wake up, you cannot remember the whole dream

Which is why not waiting makes sense.

I had a very nice 4 hour sail yesterday for maybe 20 miles. Some friends at the dock crossed all the way over the bay for an overnighter. I met them on the way back in after crossing the shipping channel which was quite crowded. At least 5 ships while I was out there

It was very clear and light winds but with nice easy swells coming off the ocean

There were maybe 15 sails in sight

Here's another low priced cruiser.....with dinghy and new standing rigging

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/d...983907257.html

[Mike OReilly]

We had a five year plan than stretched into 10. I left when I was 48.

No magic here. Get out of debt. Save as much as you can, and invest to the level of your comfort.

In the meantime, I agree with others who say get cruising now. Get an inexpensive, but fully functional cruising level boat. I recommend something the 28 to 32 foot range. These can be had for a few boat bucks these days.

Then, get out there and cruise as much as you can. This will do a few things. First off, you’ll learn if you actually like this life, or just like the fantasy. It will also teach you many of the necessary DIY skills you will need to make this life viable for those of us who can’t simply turn to our credit cards to solve all our problems.

Finally, you will begin to learn the cruising skills needed, and by this I don’t mean sailing skills. I mean all the other skills needed to move your floating home around safely.

BTW, I don’t know if we will be destitute in our old age. We have some assets, but not a lot. So far, we can easily live within our meagre means, but life doesn’t come with a guarantee, and no one knows the future. We choose to live now.

[chris mac]

We did exactly what you are dreaming about. I always knew I wanted to retire early,ideally to an island. About 10 years ago I found out we could live on a sailboat. It blew my mind and i was hooked.
Every bodies approach will be different, but the basic concept is the same. Having money results from 2 things. Earning more, or spending less. To really do it, you need to do both. Find ways to earn more income, whether its overtime, new or second job, whatever works(legally) for your situation. Then the tricky part is, don't increase your spending. In fact decrease it. With every purchase, ask, do I really need this or will it come with us onto the boat?
Setting up passive income is great. Some like rental properties, some like investing. Again it depends on what works for you.
In answer to your question of if it's possible... our 10 year plan was for this summer. I actually officially retired 2 years ago at age 43. My wife, one year ago. And we bought our sailing cat 2 months ago. So yes it is possible. But you have to stay dedicated.
In the mean time it's a great idea to also fuel your dream with sailing experience. Get on as many boats as possible. Learn what you like and don't like. Maybe purchase a small(sub 26') keelboat. The older ones hold their value decently. Again, that's what we did and it greatly improved our skills, both sailing and maintenance.
Good luck and keep working towards the dream

[thomm225]

Another thing to remember is that some that start living the cruising lifestyle start dreaming about a home in the country or in the mountains. (Robin Lee Graham and his wife moved to Montana after circumnavigating)

A home that doesn't move constantly. One that doesn't have to be anchored.

A home where you don't have to be on constant alert.

Dreams are funny that way and they change as we age

My sister and her husband waited to get their big boat until age 55 (for him, she was younger)

They had a 16' Chincoteague Scow and a Boston Whaler plus a duck hunting boat for the years preceding that. And a cabin on the water (bayside). Their home was on the ICW (seaside).

They went directly to the Bahamas and found a Marina at Man-O-War Cay I believe it was. They fished and went diving etc

She lasted 6 months then came home. He lasted 25 years (on two different boats) and returned home during the summers

[Wunderlust]

Originally Posted by thomm225

She lasted 6 months then came home. He lasted 25 years (on two different boats) and returned home during the summers

My wife is not into sailing at the moment and gets sea sick, so my plan is to start sailing locally and then retire in 8 years and plan trips where she could fly too and i'd sail too, and spend the holidays at home with the family.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Wunderlust

My wife is not into sailing at the moment and gets sea sick, so my plan is to start sailing locally and then retire in 8 years and plan trips where she could fly too and i'd sail too, and spend the holidays at home with the family.

Sounds like a good plan especially if you have been married for years.

Might be better for all involved but you'll have to get used to single handing or get a crew

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by noworkee

I am also curious on how the future value of the euro will play out. It seems reasonable to purchase a yacht in Croatia and head to our home state of Florida to almost save 30% (of course wayyyy more to that).

I am 58 with a comfortable career, neither my wife nor I have children. About 10-years ago, my outlook started to change. I realized there is more in my rear view mirror than in front of me, so the currency of life shifted from money/income to time. If I could pile-on to a sentiment from others: The boat is a means to the end - do not fret over the 'right' boat. Saving 30% on the boat purchase is likely a nit in the bigger scheme of cruising, especially considering additional costs of buying a boat outside of your home grounds (travel to/from, etc.)

How much money will you need? I can give you an overview of my calculus as someone who will leave on an open-ended cruise within the next 12-months. I am targeting for about 1.5x income compared to my cruising expenses (not sure why I chose 1.5x, but 'feels' about right). Biggest wildcard is healthcare - ultimately, that will involving taking a risk due to unknowns.

How to plan for cruising expenses? I really like the attached 3-year spreadsheet recently posted by one of the more prolific CF members "Sailorboy" (if I could have figured out how to forward his post, I would have - Kudos, credit, and thanks to SB). Works out to around $3500/month on average over 3-years, or around $40k/year all-in. I've heard of people doing it for a lot less (Sailing Project Atticus YouTube Channel is a decent insight into low-budget cruising); and know of many doing it for a lot more. But looking at SB's expenses, seems like his style of cruising is probably a good middle ground: not too extravagant, not too austere - some marinas, mostly anchor-out, inland travel, etc. $35K-$45k per year seems about right. So I need around $60k-$70k of annual income (retirement, savings, or work) to comfortably pursue cruising indefinitely.

Good luck!

Peter

PS - thanks for the XLS Sailorboy!
Money spent cruising.xls

[Lake-Effect]

I'm firmly in the "sail cheap, sail now" camp, for all the reasons given above, but mainly cos it's FUN! Why wait?

I can't weigh in on the economics of full-time cruising. My wife doesn't want to cut all ties to the land, disconnect from friends, so the best we'll pull together are short cruises, and maybe part of winter somewhere warm. In the meantime, we daysail lots and tow our current boat around to the many interesting lakes around us. We've chartered once in the Caribbean.

But "living below your means" - being frugal, saving and planning for an early retirement, is a pretty good idea. Most of us amass too much "stuff" but not enough financial security. So whatever you decide to do in 10 years, if you build your nest egg and get used to living modestly, you will have many pleasant options, including cruising.

[johnnyH]

Pay-off your home and get out of debt. Not only are you saving the monthly payment and then have the option of investing that money but your home will also appreciate by 20% to 50% over that 10-years. This is tax free money as it is your primary home.

[akprb]

Purposely did not read any other replies so this one is not skewed. If I'm repeating the advice of someone else all the better I guess.

This is how we did it.

From 1992 to 2002 (bought the boat in 2001 and left in 2002) we started with zero dollars and built a rental portfolio of 120 apartments. In 2001 we sold 60, paid off the other sixty more or less and bought the boat (financed). Paid 330K for the boat, had payment of 2,200/m and sold her 10 years later for 250K.

From about 98-01 we worked to tweak the distance management model. I learned better to have several large complexes rather than many smaller ones. Easier for a person to get their head around. The internet was just coming of age.

We left in 2002 and did not return to the States until 2012, ten years of "retirement" from age 38-48.

Those ten years building the business I worked 24/7, eyes open to eyes shut dealing with buildings, tenants, employees, subs, etc. It was exciting and if you have the temperament for it it works. If you do not............it does not.

Those 60 units spun off enough cash flow, even with the inefficiency of not being present, to cover our cruising lifestyle and then some. When we were finished they were still there, a little worse for wear but I could step right back in and start growing again.

I did fly back to Alaska about twice a year for 2-3 weeks each time to waive the flag. The whole show ran with one manager and a helper. During the decade I went through three managers. One died, one went nuts and the last one was awesome.

The internet worked somewhat and I could check cameras, email via sat phone when offshore and handle all banking and bills remotely. Today it would be a walk in the park with modern communications.

So there you go, that's our story. Could be yours :-)

Now I have read a few of the earlier comments. I'll add that during the 10 years of building the business we owned a cheap Huges Northstar 40 that we shared with a good friend. He would sail for three months then we would sail for three month. He was also a real estate investor so we would each watch the others holdings while one was away crusines. Was a great way to break up life and enjoy cruising. So i guess I didn't really go 24/7 for the whole decade :-) I also grew up sailing with my family and then living aboard back in the 80's. Been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

[thomm225]

Actually I think I was wrong earlier to suggest you buy a big 28' sailboat to learn sailing/cruising.

You'll never get the feel starting with a boat that "big."

This is the perfect entry boat and you can use it on inland lakes or as far out as maybe 20 miles off the coast on a good day

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/d...982038108.html