Annual maintenance costs of living aboard at anchor

[Shenandoah52]

Originally Posted by Glassgow22

So let me get this straight.. Just because I look to minimize expenses you assume I have no money and can't afford to hire crew?? Wow how arrogant hahaha.

Money has nothing to do with my comments. I was mainly referring to your propensity for grandiose posts from buying old cruise ships or cheap large luxury yachts to buying a 40 footer to sailing off the exotic places to live, etc.

And then you post a "Crew wanted for hire" ad and then your following posts show that in fact this may just be an imaginary boat you conjured up in your mind. Yet people in the trade responded to it as if it was a real opportunity. I don't think that is an appropriate way to stroke your ego.

Could I be be wrong on all of this? Absolutely.

But the body of your posts indicates otherwise.

Here's the deal... if you want to go around posting as if you are capable of doing any of the things you post about at least try to be more consistent. Being all over the map as you are is not helping you out at all. A lot of posters here are taking your posts at face value, taking their time to add good advice to your threads. Yet when your threads are viewed as a whole it makes for quite a winding road.

And as far as 'arrogance' goes, that would be stroking ones' ego at the expense of others' time. Don't be that guy. Right now you appear to be that guy to me and others and your post to me indicates you're clueless of the cause of any negativity associated with your posts. I'm willing to bet you can do a better job. But that will be completely up to you.

[Brewgyver]

Glasgow, it's quite apparent from reading the many contradictory statements you've made in several different threads that this is all just fantasy.
Now you've started a thread asking for crew to take a fantasy boat on a passage of almost 2,000 nm, and people who actually do that very thing for a living have started to respond because they haven't seen all the other ridiculous things you've posted.
Given all this you must expect that people are going to start calling a troll a troll.

[Glassgow22]

Let me assure you it's not fantasy and it's very serious. I've found several 40' within my budget, including one that I'm about to pull the trigger on. Yes the cruise ship thing was more of a pipe dream which I readily admit, but I was just trying to find unconventional places to buy unconventional boats since I tend to think outside the box and I got of awesome information and learned a lot. I'm still doing a lot of research including asking A LOT of questions which is the purpose of these discussion boards, no? And yes sometimes I do have crazy ideas and it's good that people tell me why they are crazy as well. Most responses have been helpful and amazing and helped me to revise my plans and thought process. Making incorrect assumptions and then rude statements based on those incorrect assumptions, that seems more like trollish behavior to me and normally I wouldn't bother to say anything except that I think it discourages people from making helpful posts thinking that im just a troll.

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by Glassgow22

Let me assure you it's not fantasy and it's very serious. I've found several 40' within my budget, including one that I'm about to pull the trigger on.

Then why, in almost 24 hours, haven't you responded on the Crew wanted thread you started? If you were at all serious, you would have clarified that point.

In the beginning of your "Looking to buy used large ship" thread, you stated

Monthly expense is not an issue (paid for by work

Anybody would take that to mean that your employer would be paying expenses, which is clearly not the case. Later you say you're self-employed, with some "online" activity, but want to know about places to live on the hook where there is NO reliable broadband internet at all. You say monthly expense is not an issue, but start yet another thread asking how much those monthly expenses would be, still with absolutely zero description of what kind of boat, because you don't have one.

So if monthly expenses are not an issue, why ask about them?

The expenses for the boat you don't have are going to be paid for by your "online" activity, in a place with no internet, so those expenses better be pretty low, indeed.

[CatNewBee]

Why limiting yourself to a boat, if not sailing away? Take a camper van or an RV and park somewhere where you have a good working environment. Easier to shop too, just drive to the next store. If only living small off grid is the goal, a camper or RV are better than a boat, easier to maintain and still liveable even when broken. They dont sink in the parking lot, nor they drag at anchor.

[Glassgow22]

Wow is this what you do all day? stalk random people online to protect people from "trolls"? you don't have a life do you? Do you have a girlfriend? Are you a virgin? Do you even have friends? I'll answer your questions if you answer mine. And I actually have very good answers to all those (rude) questions, but it's none of your business. Just like my (rude) questions are none of my business. Yeah it doesn't feel good when someone makes assumptions about you huh?

If my posts bug you so much don't respond, it's really quite simple.

To people who have been kind and helpful, a big thank you! And I'm not looking to waste anyone's time, just looking to gain more insight into something that I admittedly don't know much about.

[barnakiel]

If the boat is in a great condition, your annual maintenance cost will be low. If the boat is (self edited word) it will cost you an arm and both legs to keep her afloat.


For actual costs, contact nearest boatyard on Rio Dulce that would be your annual boatyard. Ask for a pro forma estimate on the boat you want to use.


Mind all the applicable cruising permits / visas / immigration charges and limitations as per your nationality. These may become costly if you want to spend much time in the same country.


Cheers,
b.

[sailorboy1]

Hey I knew this could become entertainment with time. I also didn’t hang in long enough

[Glassgow22]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

If the boat is in a great condition, your annual maintenance cost will be low. If the boat is (self edited word) it will cost you an arm and both legs to keep her afloat.


For actual costs, contact nearest boatyard on Rio Dulce that would be your annual boatyard. Ask for a pro forma estimate on the boat you want to use.


Mind all the applicable cruising permits / visas / immigration charges and limitations as per your nationality. These may become costly if you want to spend much time in the same country.


Cheers,
b.

Thank you for your input that's very helpful! The second scenario is what I worry about! What are the things I should be looking for to make sure I don't have a boat like that or what things I should be doing on a regular basis to ensure the boat is able to be kept afloat. Obviously making sure there are no leaks and repairing leaks when they happen, cleaning and maintaining the bottom. Anything else I'm missing?

[Jim Cate]

Anything else I'm missing?

Yep... a few years of experience with boats so that you can make these decisions on your own. It isn't logical to ask others to predict your expenses in unknown locations with unknown boats owned by an unknown person.

Your questions are to general to be answered meaningfully. Basing your future on these responses is folly.

Sorry to be so negative, but really, the queries are unanswerable by a thoughtful responder.

Jim

[CatNewBee]

I am stil not buying it, what your goal is.

You say, you are self employed in an internet business and want to maximize profit by minimizing living expenses.

You choose boat living in a place you barely know, with infrastructure that may not fit to your business needs, living permanent at anchor, where provisioning may be questionable and cumbersome like using a dinghi and walking up to stores somewhere with very limited product ranges, having no means of land transportation for heavier items, and no idea about boating and boat maintenance, in a hot humid place best for computer work.

I don't want to talk you off of your dream, but realisticly you'll spend much more money and effort for the living at anchor than other alternatives, probably jeopardizing your business income. I doubt it would be sustainable.

If you have the budget and some savings and you do it for fun with a backup strategy, then yes, do it.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Glassgow22

Thank you for your input that's very helpful! The second scenario is what I worry about! What are the things I should be looking for to make sure I don't have a boat like that or what things I should be doing on a regular basis to ensure the boat is able to be kept afloat. Obviously making sure there are no leaks and repairing leaks when they happen, cleaning and maintaining the bottom. Anything else I'm missing?

You DEFINITELY do not want situations where you 'repair leaks when they happen'.


For they should not happen in a properly maintained boat. Sure, many boats leak a bit from the top (ah the tropical rain seasons of Rio Dulce! - but it is only 6 months long!) but from below, the boat should be perfectly perfect, sound and tight.


Imagine you went ashore, womanizing, or attending Sunday morning mass (Rio Dulce area is known for its strict Catholicism with Sunday morning masses lasting up to 6 hours). Well, well, come back 6 hours later only the mast sticks out where your boat used to be!


Definitely NO leaks. Not even the slightest probability of leaks. Sound boats do not leak. Boats that do leak, sink.



Otherwise your maintenance will depend on what the boat is all about. Keep the material sound, the boat clean. No great magic, sweat, dollars and learning from others (you help your neighbour and learn, then you work on your boat and get some help!)



You will want a proper mooring and then you will want to check it about once a year. A mooring can be built out of cement, sand, empty barrels and chain. When you check it, you check the chain parts and periodically replace the soft line that connects to the chains to the float.


When you check on the mooring, you want to check on the alligators first.



Etc.


Start with a clean, sound, quality hull. In your first season do not go to far from other cruisers in your area - you will always be able to 'pop in and ask questions'. Most people will share their know how. And many jobs are easier if there are four hands at hand.


It is also safer to be close to others. Read CIA safety sheet on the country where Rio Dulce is. Generaly, being solo and anchored far from others is considered less safe than being close to other people. Criminals are raptors and will aim for any outliers before they risk messing up with a larger herd.


https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...-advisory.html


So my advice is:


- read CIA factbook,
- if you are still bent on Rio Dulce:
- get a clean, quality boat,
- build your own reliable mooring,
- stay close to other cruisers, for education and for safety.


Have fun.


Cheers,
b.

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by Glassgow22

Let me assure you it's not fantasy and it's very serious.

It's been more than five days, and you haven't responded to the most basic question in your crew wanted thread, so how can you expect anybody to take you seriously?

[model 10]

Why would anyone return to the abuse? Reminds me of my favorite song "Almost cut my hair". Sometimes you guy's suck.

[Belezar]

Trolling seems to be the main activity on this site. Makes it a pretty worthless board. But, the OP questions are a bit unstructured, if I am kind. Bottom line, if you want to be able to sell the boat anywhere near what you bought it for, plan on 5-10% of acquisition cost per year. You might be able to skip a year or three, but in the end it will catch up to you. Most off the beaten path or cheap places have sucky internet. Good luck.