Review of 2 Years of Cruising Costs

[a64pilot]

So you guys are saying of course that a new Island Packet the same size as my old one would need new sails and repowering and a new windlass, new electronics etc at the same time my old one would?

That’s nuts, you should get the better part of at least ten years out of a new Boat before the big ticket items like refrigeration, repowering, sails, new generators etc should hit.
An old, “great deal” Boat could need all of that they day you buy it.

It’s condition, and size of a boat that drives recurring maintenance costs, not how much you paid for it.

A 30 yr old 50’ Boat is going to cost a lot more to maintain than a new 36’ Boat, but your 10% per yr of purchase price says just the opposite.

[Kenomac]

Regarding the 10% often repeated myth here on CF...

A $3,000,000 sailboat doesn’t cost anywhere near $300,000 per year to maintain, but a $30,000 POS could easily exceed 30%-40% per year.

Sailorboy is correct, there’s no correlation. Ann is also correct in stating that it takes gutts for Sailorboy to put his finances out on the internet for everyone to see. Nice job!

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Regarding the 10% often repeated myth here on CF...

A $3,000,000 sailboat doesn’t cost anywhere near $300,000 per year to maintain, but a $30,000 POS could easily exceed 30%-40% per year.

Sailorboy is correct, there’s no correlation. .....!

It's certainly easy enough to spend 300k on a 3mil boat annually. Just add in the cost of the captain and crew, the owners not doing the work.

No one says the 10% rule is some hard fact, just a reasonable guide when you have no other data for comparison. More expensive boats cost more to maintain if you want them to keep their value. Don't like 10%, then use a different percentage. Want to get overly complicated then use a sliding scale of your own liking. On average, typically, most of the time......... more expensive boats cost more dollars to maintain annually.

[spearfish3]

One thing to consider with a newer boat that costs more and should have lower direct maintenance expenses is that the boat is more likely to depreciate. A 15 yr old boat is going to have more in maintenance but depreciation should be much less. Cost of ownership, which is typically synonymous with the 10% rule, is more than just maintenance.

Can you beat the 10% rule? Yes. Absolutely. Should you be prepared to pay it? I think so in many cases. In some cases, you need to be prepared for much higher % if you are starting with an old boat and want to extensively cruise.

I appreciate Sailorboy sharing his experience. It is great data.

[tmtownsley]

Sailor boy,
THANK YOU!!!!! Thank you for your transparency and your diligence! You are keeping our dream afloat. I can only imagine the effort it takes for you to track and share these numbers, and it is SOOO appreciated!
Thanks,
Rumaway

[Hoosierdoc]

So... you pulled money from an IRA and paid a penalty so you could claim a low-ish income and get a $13k subsidy on your insurance?

while choosing to live a retired lifestyle on a sailboat?

Did I read that correctly?

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

always interesting to see what part of these threads becomes the discussion point

yes, yes it is

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

but a $30,000 POS could easily exceed 30%-40% per year

OK, so as not to offend the more sensitive among us, let me re-word my initial partial quote.

“But a $30,000 totally run down, neglected and dilapidated, 60 year old boat could easily exceed 30%-40% per year.”

Now you feel better?

[chuckr]

I guess we look at maintenance a bit different. Bought the boat new 15 years ago and have been underway 11 years. We spend give or take a bit 30k a year and over the years 25% of what we spend goes to the boat.
We do a lot of preventive maintenance to prevent potential breakdowns or real problems. Examples - last year when we hauled out we replaced all the seacocks; was it necessary? Not really but a couple began to look a bit iffy so just changed them all.
Before we went to the Black Sea we had the rigging checked, the windlass rebuilt, a lot of other minor stuff as we knew if we had a problem up there we would not have a minor problem but a major one.
To us our spending priorities are the boat comes first everything else comes after that.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdoc

So... you pulled money from an IRA and paid a penalty so you could claim a low-ish income and get a $13k subsidy on your insurance?

while choosing to live a retired lifestyle on a sailboat?

Did I read that correctly?



yes, yes it is

yes that was correct

[sailorboy1]

One of the purposes of posting the monthly expenses is so people can see actual dollars spent. It isn't a contest or any type of "rules' as far as where the money goes, everyone is different. It's just how I spent MY money and others can use as a guide for their plans. There's no reason to get into an argument over a category as it makes me want to go out for a drink and messes up my numbers.

[weavis]

I got to thinking.

There is more to living than money. Yes we have to earn some to pay for responsibilities and stuff..... yet at some point, this life has to have some meaning if we can swing it.

Looks like Don managed for his family. For all you thinking that he should not have done this or that, and should have done something else........ dont sweat it. 50 years from today it will not matter a jot.

In the meantime he is the one living exactly how he wants and enjoying it.

that is what matters.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdoc

So... you pulled money from an IRA and paid a penalty so you could claim a low-ish income and get a $13k subsidy on your insurance?

while choosing to live a retired lifestyle on a sailboat?

Did I read that correctly?



yes, yes it is

And why not? The law is convoluted and allows for just such behavior.

[a64pilot]

Loop holes bother us, but they exist, the fact is the Wealthy line up to buy their Tesla’s cause of the tax break, they cover their roofs with Solar panels to get a tax break etc.
In fact when you hit some point in wealth, you hire someone to research tax breaks for you, so you pay the least tax possible.
This is called being smart.
The Uber rich make nearly nothing at all, the Companies they own provide everything, that way they pay no personal tax.
Warren Buffet used to brag that his Secretary paid more tax than he did.
The wealthy pay far less tax on a boat in Fl than poorer people, cause the tax maxes out at $18,000. So you only pay tax on the first $300,000, after that is tax free.
Although I bet most super yachts are bought tax free.

Should it be that way? Most think not, how do you fix it? You vote.

[DenverSailors]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

One of the purposes of posting the monthly expenses is so people can see actual dollars spent. It isn't a contest or any type of "rules' as far as where the money goes, everyone is different. It's just how I spent MY money and others can use as a guide for their plans. There's no reason to get into an argument over a category as it makes me want to go out for a drink and messes up my numbers.

As aspiring Cruisers we are exceedingly grateful for your continued candor; not to mention your ability to withstand the ever-present storm of criticisms thrown at you. Thank you!

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Loop holes bother us, but they exist, the fact is the Wealthy line up to buy their Tesla’s cause of the tax break, they cover their roofs with Solar panels to get a tax break etc.
In fact when you hit some point in wealth, you hire someone to research tax breaks for you, so you pay the least tax possible.
This is called being smart.
The Uber rich make nearly nothing at all, the Companies they own provide everything, that way they pay no personal tax.
Warren Buffet used to brag that his Secretary paid more tax than he did.
The wealthy pay far less tax on a boat in Fl than poorer people, cause the tax maxes out at $18,000. So you only pay tax on the first $300,000, after that is tax free.
Although I bet most super yachts are bought tax free.

Should it be that way? Most think not, how do you fix it? You vote.

To be fair to Warren, he wasn't bragging that he paid so little, he was demonstrating how unfair the US tax system is.