How Much to Liveaboard ?

[barnakiel]

Living on a boat will cost you whatever your land life costs you. We tend to drag our lifestyles with us.

When you think about 'cost' do not disregard proper boat maintenance costs - unless you want to become homeless one day.

I think the cheapest way to live on a boat is to sail her to places. Once you get places, all costs multiply.

b.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Gelfling

Our costs for marina/haul are a whole lot less than the costs that Skip has offered

Well I was mostly reporting (complaining?) about the high costs in some areas like New England. You can include south Florida and south California to that list.

I moved the boat out of there as quickly as possible. North Florida I've found slips at $8.00-$9.00/ft per month so under $400/month for me. Also haulouts around $350-$400.

Originally Posted by Gelfling

we are in an area where jobs are not that plentiful. So that means that most everyone travels about 1 hour (more for some) to get to their boats. If we could find a job that was a 30 min or less commute, we would move aboard as soon as we got a bigger boat!

When I was moored in RI from getting in the dinghy to pulling into the parking lot at work was about two hours.

1. Bail out the dinghy (had a leak that I never was able to fix) and motor 2 miles to the beach.

2. Drag dinghy 50' up the bank (high tides in the area), load motor, oars, gas tank and dinghy kit (tools, lights, etc) into truck.

3. Change clothes.

4. One hour drive to the office.

[sailorboy1]

stop your crying, bet you couldn't find a $100/night slip up here anymore

hell crappy places have $55/night moorings

now if I were a live aboard and didn't have the house I would look at things different

PS - I've still never stayed in a slip

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

stop your crying, bet you couldn't find a $100/night slip up here anymore

Especially not when the yankees see us Florida boys coming. I'm sure they raise the rates for the tourists, just like we do down here.

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

PS - I've still never stayed in a slip

Because you didn't want to or because they wouldn't let you in the marina?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Because you didn't want to or because they wouldn't let you in the marina?

I of course say it is because I don't want to.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

PS - I've still never stayed in a slip

That would be great karma if you left your boat in the water all winter.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Bash

That would be great karma if you left your boat in the water all winter.

no slack for me today is there

[onestepcsy37]

jrw - we were truly impressed by the quality of the csy 44, but after much consideration decided it was simply too big for us. so we bought a csy 37 instead. same quality and a bit easier to sail and maintain. the B plan, not the A plan.

as to cost of cruising, when we do cruise we spend about 1200 a month. almost all anchoring out with the occasional one day slip so we can wash the boat, do the laundry and heavy shopping, fill the water tanks, etc. some eating out ashore and light entertainment like going to the movies. if you run short of money in any month just stay anchored out and on the boat. can't spend any money there. we could easily cut the budget a few hundred if we had to.

[Khagan1227]

Originally Posted by jwr

We are just looking at the expense to liveaboard. We have a csy 44 sailboat. We would love to hear from those that are on a bare bone budget. If we retire we have got a bridge years of 3 to where it needs to be bare bone.................love to hear from those that are on a stict budget. thanks jwr

There are nice marinas in Florida that charge around $600/month plus electricity for liveaboards. Location is important. Some (most ?) of those require a one year lease.

Your bare bones life styles and others might be quite a bit different. It probably won't surprise you to know that some people out cruising ALWAYS stay in a marina, regardless of the cost. That for them is "bare bones" cruising.

[jwr]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

jrw - we were truly impressed by the quality of the csy 44, but after much consideration decided it was simply too big for us. so we bought a csy 37 instead. same quality and a bit easier to sail and maintain. the B plan, not the A plan.

what is the difference in the plan B and the plan A ?

as to cost of cruising, when we do cruise we spend about 1200 a month. almost all anchoring out with the occasional one day slip so we can wash the boat, do the laundry and heavy shopping, fill the water tanks, etc. some eating out ashore and light entertainment like going to the movies. if you run short of money in any month just stay anchored out and on the boat. can't spend any money there. we could easily cut the budget a few hundred if we had to.[/QUOTE]

I love everything you say.... This is our situation...OK, we bought our boat too early from retirement, about 4 years.Had the boat for two years and another 2 for retirement. At the time, my husband was just looking for a solid boat and saw the csys. He found this boat that needed some work, but a good price. Husband and son put in two holding tanks, bilge, new chain plates, battery and much more.. We live 6 hours from the boat and can only go down every 6 weeks..thought about selling it because it will be another 2 years before we retire. My husband and son have put so much into the boat, the thought of another boat to fix up makes my husband tired.

When I started working on our budget for cruising and the cost of marinas, then I wished that we had a smaller boat. We probably will only cruise for two to three months at a time because we will have our son back in atlanta area. He is disabled young adult.

Where are you located? Where are you cruising? You are in our arena on the budget............. I think we could do it for 2,000 a month. When we retire we have a 3-4 year bridge before husbands pension kicks in... so we will be on very much of a budget... thanks for all the responses

[onestepcsy37]

the A plan was designed for charter work in the caribbean, to sleep three couples in separate cabins. and it had two heads. so you can imagine it's pretty compartmentalized down below. the B plan is wide open and spacious with a separate berth area and a large head in the bow section. great for two living aboard.

we cruise the east coast of florida/georgia and the bahamas. lots of anchoring in florida and some reasonable mooring and slips, but still a bit pricey for me. in the bahamas we anchor 99% of the time. we live in daytona beach.

don't sell the boat. if you're only two years away from your retirement it would be impractical to sell this one, buy another, and get that one ready for cruising. better to continue putting this one in order. also, if you'll have a few low income years before the pension, now is the time to fix everything you can so it has less chance of breaking down when you can least afford to fix it.

and whatever you do, don't miss the bahamas. we've been through most of it but have come to prefer the abacos - just the right combination of deserted islands and beaches, colonial villages, and friendly locals. and great daysailing opportunities.

sorry to hear about your son. have you considered taking him along? of course i don't know if he is able to get about on his own but if he can he might really enjoy it. it's suprising how many people with various illnesses are out there cruising.

you're also in the right place to ask any kind of questions about boats/cruising. cruisersforum is full of people who've been there done that or are planning on doing it.....

[gettinthere]

We're finding New England to be easier than we had imagined. We haven't taken a marina or mooring so far. Many towns have town docks where you can tie up for a few hours to wash the boat & take on water. They are set up to accommodate the moored boats but won't stop a transient boat. Look around, you'll find them. They also have dingy docks for day use. Some places charge up to $15 for dink landing but there are freebees. You have to look around. One place that has all this is Vineyard Haven on Marthas Vineyard.
Dockage is running about $3.00/ft and many moorings are $65 per night!
The fuel is higher as are the groceries across much of NE.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by gettinthere

We're finding New England to be easier than we had imagined. We haven't taken a marina or mooring so far. Many towns have town docks where you can tie up for a few hours to wash the boat & take on water. They are set up to accommodate the moored boats but won't stop a transient boat. Look around, you'll find them. They also have dingy docks for day use. Some places charge up to $15 for dink landing but there are freebees. You have to look around. One place that has all this is Vineyard Haven on Marthas Vineyard.
Dockage is running about $3.00/ft and many moorings are $65 per night!
The fuel is higher as are the groceries across much of NE.

Yes, cruising New England is great and not so expensive if you anchor out, which as you are finding is not difficult. A few harbors are almost saturated with mooring leaving little space to anchor but plenty of options. Groceries are higher but careful shopping can keep that cost down.

I have a friend in CT that cruises at least 1-2 weekends every month and a couple of weeks every summer around the eastern end of LI Sound and never pays for a dock or mooring.

[jwr]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Yes, cruising New England is great and not so expensive if you anchor out, which as you are finding is not difficult. A few harbors are almost saturated with mooring leaving little space to anchor but plenty of options. Groceries are higher but careful shopping can keep that cost down.

I have a friend in CT that cruises at least 1-2 weekends every month and a couple of weeks every summer around the eastern end of LI Sound and never pays for a dock or mooring.

I am believing if you are on a budget that anchoring is the way to go...so you can keep the expenses down. Thanks for all the responses

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by jwr

I am believing if you are on a budget that anchoring is the way to go...so you can keep the expenses down. Thanks for all the responses

Plus I enjoy being anchored out much more that being tied to a dock. It's just so much more peaceful.

At the dock it's too much like staying in a small, crowded hotel with no privacy. Anchored out you are totally divorced from the rat race.

There are some negatives. You need to deal with dinghies and outboards, how to store, launch, where to tie up (sometimes a real pain). Then there is handling the anchor itself and checking to make sure it's holding when you get that 30 kt thunderstorm at 2 am. But that's all just part of the fun.