Livingaboard after Navy?

[SaltySea]

Hello all

For a while now I've been really interested in the liveaboard lifestyle and I definitly plan on doing it one day.

At the moment i'm only 18 years old,And I plan on serving in the Navy for 20 years until "retirement."Once I retire from the Navy I plan to go straight to the liveaboard lifestyle but I have a few questions that I can never seem to get answered..Since I want to go straight to livingaboard after I retire from the Navy.Would I even be able to afford that kind of lifestyle?I can never get a answer to even a estimate of how much money I *would have saved up after I retire from 20 years of service in the Navy.

Can anyone give me any idea of how much I'll be making or even if I can afford that lifestyle after 20 years of service.

[s/v 'Faith']

It is very difficult to project what kind of retirement you will have in 20 years. If you are still able to receive 50% of your base pay (while paying for your healthcare), and if you make at least E-6 (minimum current pay grade permitted to stay until 20)...

...and if the pay raises do not lag the cost of living by too much, then yes.

What many folks have discovered, is that is is possible to live on and to cruise on very little. Lots of good reading on cruising for less.

Good luck

[Kahuna George]

Two of my adult children are current Navy. I was a former Marine and my father was merchant seaman for 30 years.

The Navy is a great life just takes it one step at a time and you’ll have 20 years done easily. But remember the quote, “Life is like a grindstone -- whether it wears you down or polishes you up depends on what you are made of.”

After 20 years as a Petty Officer First Class retirement is $1750 a month. Of course a Master Chief Petty Officer is $2700. Of course you may become a Warrant or Commissioned Officer with significantly more of a pension.

Welcome aboard CF,

Kahuna George

[skipmac]

Hi SaltySea and welcome to the forum.

If you want to live aboard a boat after the navy you can do it. Will just come down to balancing your live aboard costs with your retirement income.

The costs to live aboard will vary a LOT, depending on what kind of boat you buy and where you dock it. On the east coast of the US the costs for docking a 40' boat can vary from $150 per day to $300 per month.

Costs for a boat, including docking, also vary by size so if you have a smaller budget then buy a smaller boat.

Bottom line, if that is your dream then it is possible.

[Hudson Force]

18 + 20 Navy years = 38! Few can retire to a life of leisure at 38, but it's possible to seasonally supplement a retirement income for another 10 or 15 years while seasonally cruising and end strong before 55. I'm not one to predict the future, but I'd certainly plan for the future and keep the opportunities for income available. ....but back to the question,- Yes, without doubt, adventures with livingaboard and cruising are available and more available to those who plan.

[Weyalan]

How much money you will have saved will be how much you have earned minus how much you have spent.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by SaltySea

Hello all

For a while now I've been really interested in the liveaboard lifestyle and I definitly plan on doing it one day.

At the moment i'm only 18 years old,And I plan on serving in the Navy for 20 years until "retirement."Once I retire from the Navy I plan to go straight to the liveaboard lifestyle but I have a few questions that I can never seem to get answered..Since I want to go straight to livingaboard after I retire from the Navy.Would I even be able to afford that kind of lifestyle?I can never get a answer to even a estimate of how much money I *would have saved up after I retire from 20 years of service in the Navy.

Can anyone give me any idea of how much I'll be making or even if I can afford that lifestyle after 20 years of service.

So much depends on HOW you live aboard. How I do it varies greatly from another friend, because I keep my boat in a full survice marina and he lives on the hook. If you're willing to live on the hook, you may have higher start up costs (although solar panels may be dirt cheap by then, who knows!) but you won't have my marina costs.

And, my marina costs on the west coast of Florida are significantly less than a similar marina in central - southern California. But my insurance is probably higher since I'm in the hurricane zone.

One cost that crept up on me -- that I had to beat back with a stick -- was the tendency to eat out too much. Make sure you have an adequate galley. My "nav table" is a joke and directly opposite the galley, so I use the real galley, the companionway top step (covered, of course) and the nav table and have enough space to cook in. I'm going to have a feast tonight -- sauteed zucchini and yellow squash with portabella mushrooms and a tomato sauce along with fresh ravioli (from the store cooler -- I don't make my own pasta in that small space!) But really -- yum.

[Pete7]

I spent 22 years in the English Army who have a similar pension scheme to the US service ones. The news is it's good, but if you want to retire under 40 then you need to sub it a bit with long term savings by starting now, or if you can buy in added extra years, but you must do something from the off. If you change your mind 10 years down the road that's fine, you are allowed to and it will then pay for a wedding, a house and 3 kids.

Next let the US Navy train you how to sail yachts, and learn a trade that will be useful when you leave and get everything out of it you can. Volunteer for absolutely everything, you might regret some things but the rest will make up for it.

Pete

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Hi SaltySea and welcome to the forum.

If you want to live aboard a boat after the navy you can do it. Will just come down to balancing your live aboard costs with your retirement income.

The costs to live aboard will vary a LOT, depending on what kind of boat you buy and where you dock it. On the east coast of the US the costs for docking a 40' boat can vary from $150 per day to $300 per month.

Costs for a boat, including docking, also vary by size so if you have a smaller budget then buy a smaller boat.

Bottom line, if that is your dream then it is possible.

One advantage the OP may have is that just about any decent-sized sailboat will give him more room (and privacy!) than a berth on an aircraft carrier!

For instance, I really like a boat widely available right now -- the 27' Catalina. Small boat, so not expensive to maintain, not expensive to dock, but really well designed living space. There aren't as many new sailboats being made right now, so boat choice is likely to be very different then than it is now.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

One advantage the OP may have is that just about any decent-sized sailboat will give him more room (and privacy!) than a berth on an aircraft carrier!

For instance, I really like a boat widely available right now -- the 27' Catalina. Small boat, so not expensive to maintain, not expensive to dock, but really well designed living space. There aren't as many new sailboats being made right now, so boat choice is likely to be very different then than it is now.

Yup.. a boat to one's self is paradise after sharing a mess deck with 14 others... four stacks of cots 3 high and the other 3 of us in hammocks.. which was great..
didn't have to hang on like the rest

[Khagan1227]

I retired from the Navy after 20 years, and had enough in retirement income to live-aboard (and live well). As was said earlier, make sure you get a good education out of it and you can even find a job if so inclined to supplement your income.

But why wait? Unless you are an airdale or seabee, most sailors are stationed near the ocean and can easily start living aboard right away.

There are plenty of 30 - 40ft used sailboats all over the U.S. looking for a new owner that will actually use them and the cost of a good used boat is probably FAR less than what you'd imagine, some are in great shape and less than the cost of a new car!

Good Luck!

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Pete7

I spent 22 years in the English Army who have a similar pension scheme to the US service ones. The news is it's good, but if you want to retire under 40 then you need to sub it a bit with long term savings by starting now, or if you can buy in added extra years, but you must do something from the off. If you change your mind 10 years down the road that's fine, you are allowed to and it will then pay for a wedding, a house and 3 kids.

Next let the US Navy train you how to sail yachts, and learn a trade that will be useful when you leave and get everything out of it you can. Volunteer for absolutely everything, you might regret some things but the rest will make up for it.

Pete

Good advice. Wish I had joined the Navy in my younger years. I had to work and pay for my college and no one was feeding me and giving me a place to sleep for free. Still I did ok. Though if as Peter says if you take advantage of the education opportunities in the Navy, stay out of the bars (most of the time) and start putting something away from day one in savings like a mutual fund you could have a nice nest egg when you get out to do with what you want including buying a boat if you are still interested at that time.

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by Pete7

... Volunteer for absolutely everything, you might regret some things but the rest will make up for it. Pete

That's funny, Pete. It's the exact opposite of what we tell our kids going into the service in the US, although I agree with the advice ... after bootcamp.

I can well imagine a great life after retirement... but at 38? Wow. The first time I retired I soon found I didn't want to fish every day. This time, even being over 70, I'm already antsy.

[VirtualVagabond]

20 years is a long time to plan ahead. More than your entire life so far!
But it's a great idea if you can stick with it

[Kahuna George]

I always volunteered in the Marines. That's how I got to Japan. Then I volunteered for the Philippines. Next was on to Korea.

But I was smart enough to turn down Bomb Tech (EOD) as a MOS / job!