My Expenses for First 11 Days of Ownership

[SV Bacchus]

Sailorboy has put his monthly expenses out there for the folks thinking about living aboard as a realistic view of his costs. I've read those and benefited greatly from it.

We closed on our Leopard 42 on October 20, 2017. The Leopard is in Ft. Lauderdale and we are in Tampa (Ft. Lauderdale, BTW, is Sodom & Gomorrah - everything is soooo expensive!).

What I am putting forth here is something I have not really seen yet on CF. I tracked all my expenses from the 20th to the 31st to give potential buyers an idea of what you may expect once you have purchased an out-of-town vessel and have to move everything to it. I AM NOT including any expenses related to the purchase such as survey, haul-out, etc., these are post closing, real world expenses.

Parts: $443.20
Fuel: $365.26
Food: $841.90
Alcohol: $ 45.09
Medicine: $ 33.40
Misc: $1599.17

Total: $3328.02 Are you kidding me????

We spent $443.20 on parts for a "cruise ready" vessel. Ugh, no such thing. This included replacing frayed traveler sheets and flag halyards. 1 Toilet seat and galley faucet as well as a rubber mat for the forward hold. We also bought a lock for the outboard on the dinghy and new tie-downs for the life raft.

Fuel was $170 in Diesel for the vessel, $15 in gas for the dinghy and the rest was automobile gas over two trips from Tampa to Lauderdale and back.

Food was a killer as we ate out most days for lunch and every day for dinner. Food is really expensive in Ft. Lauderdale, eat lightly! $70 did go to "provisions" and enable us to eat breakfast on the boat everyday and lunch some days.

Alcohol was a surprise, I need to drink more! The $45.09 went for a celebration bottle of (cheap) champagne, Sangria and beer.

Medicine expenses were for Prevacid (OTC) and anti-itch creme due to no-see-ums. Dang things are nasty.I didn't need the Prevacid until about 5 days into tracking expenses, hmmm.

Misc. was the biggest category and covered tolls on Turnpike, Doggie Day Care for the critters, Nautical clothing for the wifey, current charts, $500 to a captain to come aboard and demonstrate systems and a test sail, $506 for dockage and a gas cap, egads, for the Ford Expedition that I must have left at a gas station.

The savvy will notice there is no insurance in the figures. Well, I have not paid for it yet, doing that tomorrow. If I track monthly I will spread it our the 12 and it will show then.

There are so many variables that everyone's MMV but I thought I would throw this out there just for informational purposes. We are back in Tampa now but will be going back to the vessel tomorrow, the 2nd of November. I may or may not track my expenses by the month, some things ya just don't wanna know!

It always costs more than you think it will.. Some of the items were one time costs and others I expect to drop such as food. I may still spend $800 but it will be for the whole month.

[DeepCut]

Many of these things are personal/living expenses, nothing to do with getting boat "cruise ready"

[SV Bacchus]

Oh I agree Deepcut, just wanting to show the kind of dollars someone might spend just getting moved on. Doesn't happen cheap and doesn't happen quick if you're a bit of travel away. You could right tho, maybe these numbers don't mean anything to anybody!

[jibstay]

Thanks for taking the time to document your expenses.

I remember being shocked at how much new 3/4” dock lines cost. And those dirty fenders got cleaned up after I realized how much it would cost to replace them.

[BlackHeron]

The money fairly flew out of the bank account when we bought our "cruise-ready" boat back in May of 2016.

Haulout, crane rental to remove mast and spare engine from another boat I had purchased, shipping costs to transport OTR from Baltimore to Lake Michigan, Gas and personal expenses to travel from midwest to Baltimore and back to do prep boat for transport and remove donor engine, more crane costs to unload back home and storage fees to fix transport damage to keel, launch and restep mast fees, Chicago harbors mooring fees, insurance (liability, comprehensive, TowboatUS), mooring bridle, a plethora of small parts like a new antenna and stuff I found wrong with masthead when I had it down and the fiberglass repair I needed to to before launch.

We blew through 25% over and above the purchase price in the blink of an eye. Over the road shipping was still much cheaper (and faster/safer) than sailing it back though. Engine was a bit too iffy to make that long trip anyhow according to just about everyone involved.

[MV Wanderlust]

Some are directly boat-related, some indirectly. But all are a reality check that, for one, appreciate knowing. Thanks for posting. It would be interesting to follow your monthly expenses.

[Climbtoo]

Thanks SV Bacchus! Hope you keep up the expense posting. As another person preparing to cruise, I’m very interested in the transition expenses and the reminders to be prepared for the unexpected .

[CatNewBee]

Well, you should put your expenses for the same time at home in contrast.
Most of the stuff you would buy / spent anyway.

Also some are considered one-time costs, very personal and not representative. Regarding the parts and naughty gal clothing for the wifey - there will be much more to come, before you make it "yours".

But thank you for that.

And congratulations for the new toy!

I am calculating of 10...15% of the purchase price for re-fits and upgrades on mine before I can start.
This does not include personal stuff like clothes, travel expenses and food.

[sailorboy1]

I can do it for less!!!

[Tetepare]

Many people boat shopping forget the high costs associated with a survey then transport and/or a transport captain.

If it's going through a canal or under bridges, then one must buy materials to fabricate fender boards and a mast frame, plus step & unstep.

I don't know anyone who bought a used boat and brought it home without having to spend over a grand in repairs along with the associated delays and expenses.

Baccus, as you know, despite being a new boat your expenses have only started.

[daw_two]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

<CUT>

Regarding the parts and naughty gal clothing for the wifey - there will be much more to come, before you make it "yours".

.

I think the OP said:
Nautical clothing for the wifey

BUT, you might be right!

[Divevac]

Preparing to 'pull the trigger', your post is very helpful to remind us that all is not what it appears to be.

From central Canada, our 3 'potentials' are on Lake Champlain (4 hours), Noank CT (7 hours) and Charleston (16 hours). Post-purchase, we plan to leave her on the hard 'as is-where is' for this winter and undertake a shakedown cruise Jun-Aug 2018 landing in Lake Champlain for the second winter before setting out to the Med in May 2019.

I expect the 2018 shakedown cruise will identify any glaring issues that require remediation over the following winter before transiting the Atlantic in 2019. While I believe we have adequately anticipated 'on the hard' costs over the two winters, extraneous expenses such as regular travel to\from the boat are likely to pale in comparison to any unanticipated costs. We have budgeted $US25k for refit and trust the survey adequately identifies any glaring (read expensive) issues before we sign.

As with other OPs who have kindly shared this enlightening data, I am looking forward to month 1 and year one expenses...

[AJ_n_Audrey]

I still believe I got a good deal on our boat, but that said, we went through 25% of purchase cost fixing the "minor" issues that popped up. In retrospect, there are a couple of things I'd have done differently, but most of it needed done. New bronze gudgeon (old one turned out to be crystalized) could not be put off. Replacing auto-pilot base that sheared off. Extremely leaky portlights had to be replaced to make it live-aboardable. New VHF after old one crapped out, replacing seriously bad-shape cabin-top handrails, replacing sump pump that died, replacing bilge pump that died, replacing marine head with composting toilet (I'll never have to un-plug a toilet again - yea!!). Buying dinghy and motor. Other small stuff.

At the end of the day, you either love the sailing and cruising life, or you don't. If you do, the expenses are worth it to have the life you love. You only live once. What is it worth to have dolphins surfing your boat's wake for hours in mid-ocean, or frying up for dinner the flying fish that landed in the cockpit, or crossing the gulf stream and sailing the Sea of Abaco with your son and your best friend? I don't regret a penny I spent, but I am slowly learning how to spend less and get more for each dollar. So tracking expenses is valuable for that, I agree, but ultimately, I'm paying for a lifestyle I want, and it's worth it.

[CatNewBee]

Well this no surprise. If you by a new home, you also will make it yours with furniture, improvements, decoration, pots & pans, toys for your garage etc.

You would not expect no additional costs after buying a house. Same for the boat. You have to make it the way you like it, and this costs some money.

[MV Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I can do it for less!!!

LOL! You earned that one, SB.