cost of full time cruising

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Mustang Sally

Well........ we left 1 year ago from Canada, sold everything, arrived Virgin Islands Nov 06, so we know. Putting boat repairs aside because every boat is different, we live like kings for $1,500 per month. Compared to Canada everything is way cheaper (excluding the Bahamas) in the rest of the islands. Food is about the same price maybe a litle more. The trick is don't try and eat/buy what your use to, buy whats more local. In Canada a 60 oz of rum is $50, we buy 3 x 60 oz for $18. Our favorite wine inCanada is $24 a bottle, in the islands $8. Diesel was $4 per gallon, in the islands $2.75. Also no taxes in many islands and we were use to paying 15% sales tax.
We have been back in Canada for the summer, we were SHOCKED at how much more $ we had to shell out, for everything.

But what about the Voyage 44? That thing can't be included in your $1500 a month, is it? Is it paid for? Is it free of expensive repairs because it's pretty new?

I find it hard to imagine that being in Canada (and having to berth the vessel somewhere, or are you anchored?) would be this inexpensive. Is it true? Are these *all* of your expenses?

I think the "cost of cruising" includes a HECK of a lot more than the little incidentals. It's the equipment failures, the fees to enter countries, the places that have no anchoring, the inability to work while away, etc.. etc... that reveal the true cost of cruising.

Whoops! Just read that you put aside the cost of repairs. My mistake.

Anyway, the cost of repairs IS the largest part of the crusing budget, so it can't be marginalized unless you're a trust fund baby or uber rich.

[rleslie]

Cruising is much less expensive than life ashore!!!! My wife and I cruise from Nov 1 until May 1. This is how our daily liveaboard expense have averaged. Note: boat insurance, health insurance, dental bills, medical deductibles and any expenses related to our home ashore or autos are omitted.

Monthly Average Related To Cruising

Marinas: $410
Groceries : $480
Eating Ashore: $610 (we eat ashore approx 6 times per week, we
consider it part of our life style)

Boat Mtnc: $ 115 (This does NOT include new projects for the boat like
the new cockpit cushions or our second solar panel.
Just the cost of engine mtnc, cleaning products, etc.)

Entertainment: $60 ( Movies, parks, bus trips, etc)
Diesel & Gas: $125
Alchohol & Wine: $85
Misc: $150

TOTAL: $2035

We spend twice that on shore side expenses!!!!!

Overall, I think that living aboard is much cheaper than living ashore. Add up the total cost of two automobiles annually. Gas, insurance, tires, oil changes, tune-ups = $9,500 annually. That's half of our cruising budget just in auto expenses.

We do not sacrifice in any way. If there is something that we want to do, we do it. We do love nature and find that much of our time is spent enjoying those things that are free.....hiking, fishing, snorkeling, sitting on a beach reading.

Roger

[shadow]

Excellent additions everyone!! Thank you again for sharing your actual expenditures on average. Cheers

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by rleslie

TOTAL: $2035

We spend twice that on shore side expenses!!!!!

If you are "moving" aboard you probably need to make sure you include things like clothes, gifts, etc. etc.

Summer cruising puts on hold a lot of shoreside expenses that you normally don't count as "cost of cruising"

You would dump the car expenses but have to add boat insurance in the equation for example. You would also have to factor in refit costs if you lived aboard for an extended time. Liveaboard friends here jut did a 12 year refit on their 51 foot boat and spent over $15,000 USD. This might compare to replacing a/c on a house or reroofing...

You would have to have health insurance which while you are working is subsidized by the job - I pay about $300 a month now. I know several people here (freelancing) that pay over $6,000 a year just for medical insurance.

[defjef]

I wrote a long post which disappeared into the sea.

[shadow]

Thanks again everyone. and sorry to hear that defjef!! I would hate to ask you to rewrite it because I know exactly how that feels!! It happens often to me and it is very frustrating!! But, I do appreciate the effort and time!! Cheers!!!

[cat man do]

Heres one of my projected costs for Malaysia in Oz bucks

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/91240-post113.html

As a rough example, rough cost's in Penang/Langkawi area for us in a 50 ft powercat and living for 2 based on a recent 3 week stay there.



Diesel @ .70c/l x 600/mth = $420

Unleaded 4 Dinghy & Genny @.70c/l x 100/mth = $70

Engine maintenance [ filters and oil ] = $40

Bottom clean and antifoul through Thai Yard = $35

Eating out for every meal, every day for 2
including 12 cans of Tiger beer a day = $500

Incidental groceries and mixers for spirit's = $100

Weekly half hour massage at $5 each = $10

Laundry, washed and folded = $20

Taxi's and transport = $80

Incidental money wasting on DVD's etc = $50

TOTAL = 1325/mth

Extra niceties

Car hire and fuel for 2 day's per mth = $50

Marina berth for 4 day's per mth = $ 50

*** hotel accom for 4 days per mth = $ 130

A really flash banquet at the best Hotel in Penang
inc bottomless beer and wine = $ 60


An extra $290


So living well, should cost around $330 AUD/week [ $285 USD/week ]

going up a peg with the extra niceties every month
will cost about $403 Aud/week [ $347 USD/week]

Also note that this is without us catching and cooking, and infact not really getting our hand's dirty at all, so we actually can do it a lot cheaper than that I would think.


Just an example, and am open for suggestion's on anything I missed.

Dave

[shadow]

That sounds like a great trip!! I do love Thailand and everything there is very well priced and open for negotiations. Thanks for that detailed list and sounds pretty 1st rate! Cheers

[Jeff B.]

Thanks to you all for taking the time to answer my question. You have have really given me the kind of information I was hoping for. Now we only have to get ourselves in position to execute our plan to get underway! As you all well know, no small task.

[Mustang Sally]

Our boat is paid for and I exclude boat maintance because its such a varying cost. We arrived in the virgins in November, took a dock for 3 days to recover from the 11 days offshore. The next time we took a dock was Aprl, we anchored all that time, however dockage is much less in the islands than east coast USA. We eat out maybe 2-3 times per month but often stop in at bars for a $1 beer, sometimes $2. Once your in the islands you don't use much diesel, water we stop and fill up about every 3 weeks at .15 per gallon.
We have been back in Canada for 3 months and even tho we are staying somewhere for free we are spending much more money here. Oh yea, and no sales tax in the islands, 15% in Ontario.

[charley]

I would have to say if the boat is paid for this is the way to go. I figured roughly my monthly expenses on land . NOT including health, dental and meds it is over 2,300 a month. This also does not include my wife and my cell phone bills the satalite radio the netflix subscription or the occasional diner out or the vehicle maintenance . Nor did I even begin to try to add up all the money that I have spent in home repairs and upgrades, off the top of my head it is about $1,800 in the past 11 months, or the time it took me to do them.

I tell ya I would much rather refinish a teak deck than rake another damn pine needle in my yard.

[Chuck Baier]

Here is an article we wrote for soundings with some numbers for our last cruise

Soundings Online– Real Boats, Real Boaters | Story Archives | Articles | Cruising on a working-class budget

[svnakia]

We track every and all expenses. Including haul-out, Marina stays, Health Insurance, Boat Insurance, Food, Trips Ashore to the states... Right down to the cat toys. Our expenses for the last 12 months were USD $26,850.53. This is our third year in Mexico.

We usually spend about two months a year in a marina, but that is bound to drop as the prices in MX are really going up.

Thought you'd like to know for sure. I always take those "$500 a month plus ..." posts with a grain of salt. It's the "plus ..." that really adds up.

John
Web Log of Sailing Vessel NAKIA

[migot1]

Originally Posted by Jeff B.

Trying to get a handle on the cost of living aboard and cruising full time. I have my boat and it will be paid for by the time I leave. I plan on anchoring out as much as possible.

I realize that like most lifestyles what is spent has a lot to do with how minimalistic one wants to be. I don't want to live by pinching every penny. I guess my thought was that I'd watch my budget but want to be able to have enough money to enjoy the ports I visit. I plan on provisioning and eating on board most of the time.

I'd appreciate feedback from current full time cruisers.

Thanks!

we made a 6 months sailing trip from England to Cyprus. the trip , including insurance, food , fuel and extras cost us 13000 dollars. about double the figure we thought at the time...

Mike

[rebel heart]

My two pieces of advice for keeping your fuel cost down:

- Don't install anything that is engine driven. At all, ever, for any reason.
- Buy a drifter or other light wind sail, and get really good at using it.

Fuel prices aren't going anywhere but up, and the more you use your engine, the faster the parts wear out. I know you should run it every now and then, at a good temperature, for its own health, but that's very much beside the point.

We've got our grocery bill down to about $250/month, and maybe another $100/month for eating out. Our fuel costs are really low, because we rarely use the engine. In fact, I haven't added fuel in over 2 years.

Install simple systems that don't use electricity, and have a limited amount of moving parts. Paper charts, manual foot pumps in the galley and head, a Lavac toilet, etc.

I would be really stunned to see the >$1200/month crowd with such simple setups on their boats, anchored out 95% of the time.

If you have the money, and want to spend it, by all means: that's what it's there for. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd probably install some fancy gear because I can afford it (and the repairs). But I didn't win the lottery, don't want to work on boats all day, and like being able to extend my cruising dollar.

Lynn and Larry Pardey, who have put way more time on the water than probably everyone on this board combined, have a boat that consists of a hull, a deck, a mast, and some sails.