Review of 2 Years of Cruising Costs

[sailorboy1]

So, after 2 years of cruising, what were the changes in costs? Attached are the 2 years of costs and the change between year 1 and 2. Big changes were:

- Boat costs were down. The first year we replaced our batteries and the autopilot drive twice. The second year we replaced our inverter/charger, got sails repaired, and sold one of the autopilot drives or a partial offset of the cost.
- Communication & storage costs went down because we paid off cell phones and removed insurance on them. We got rid of the small storage locker we had.
- Fees went down because we didn’t pay for any cruising permits
- Marina costs went down because instead of staying in a marina during hurricane season we just cruised north instead. This wasn't as much a savings as you would expect because even 10 days transient moorings can become more expense that a month rate in a slip. we really stayed the costs just because we anchored out more.
- Medical went way up. Had some tests done that we had to paid on our deductible. But most of it was for a tooth crown and the $2400 early withdraw penalty we paid on our taxes to qualify for a $13k+ subsidy for health insurance with an ACA plan.

[scarlet]

Hi Sailorboy,
I have a few questions. I know you post these on a regular basis, so I apologize if someone already asked these...

May I ask what the estimated value of your boat is? (often this is used for estimate of maintenance costs per year and insurance... just wanted to figure a percentage against the cost of your boat).
I'm assuming that you own your boat, and no loan payments, right?
Lastly, does your insurance cover the hurricane season? or are you required to leave the hurricane zone?

[sailorboy1]

Boat is insured for $115k, we fully own it. Maintenance cost as a % of value is just bullcrap. My current insurance doesn't require me to be out of the hurricane zone. But if I am in it and get damaged by a named storm my deductible goes up 10% value instead of the normal.

[CaptJamesCook]

is my bad math or is your year %'s off?


Thank you again for posting

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by CaptJamesCook

is my bad math or is your year %'s off?


Thank you again for posting

Well you would need to ask a more specific question. I didn’t manually do the math, I let Excel do it.

[Willie11b]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

So, after 2 years of cruising, what were the changes in costs? Attached are the 2 years of costs and the change between year 1 and 2. Big changes were:

-Boat costs were down. The first year we replaced our batteries and the autopilot drive twice. The second year we replaced our inverter/charger, got sails repaired, and sold one of the autopilot drives or a partial offset of the cost.
-Communication & storage costs went down because we paid off cell phones and removed insurance on them. We got rid of the small storage locker we had.
-Fees went down because we didn’t pay for any cruising permits
-Marina costs went down because instead of staying in a marina during hurricane season we just cruised north instead. This wasn't as much a savings as you would expect because even 10 days transient moorings can become more expense that a month rate in a slip. we really stayed the costs just because we anchored out more.
-Medical went way up. Had some tests done that we had to paid on our deductible. But most of it was for a tooth crown and the $2400 early withdraw penalty we paid on our taxes to qualify for a $13k+ subsidy for health insurance with an ACA plan.

Thank you.

[chuckr]

WOW -- you are spending about 25% more than we are. On a percent basis we spend about 25% on the boat and eat out a lot less - the rest looks familiar - (however after a lot of years underway we will have huge expense this year as new sail, engine overhaul and a lot of boat stuff that was due)

[JPA Cate]

Yes, it's true people tend to spend on what's important to them. For us, our biggests costs have been Jim's surgeries, painting the boat, buying new sails, and replacing Trojan T105s. We had a brief and expensive flirtation with gel cells, but their requirement to be topped off every day did not work for our usage. Others' mileage may vary

Probably the most important thing we did before we left the States was to become debt free. Fortunately, both of us are inclined that way.

Incidentally, let me make very clear, I think what SailorBoy1 has done here, making all this public is a very generous act, and not one, given what the internet is, that I would ever consider doing. So you guys who are reading this, should be aware that he has gone out on a limb to help you all. And the reciprocity amongst cruisers means you need to find a way to honor that.



Ann

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by chuckr

WOW -- you are spending about 25% more than we are. On a percent basis we spend about 25% on the boat and eat out a lot less - the rest looks familiar - (however after a lot of years underway we will have huge expense this year as new sail, engine overhaul and a lot of boat stuff that was due)

Yes I am aware we dine out a fair amount. I found it interesting that some of the months with low costs were those in a slip all month. We didn't eat out as much and of course the boat doesn't break much when it sits still. In a few months we too will be hauling out for botton maintenance etc and that will be a new hurdle in the budget.

[scarlet]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Boat is insured for $115k, we fully own it. Maintenance cost as a % of value is just bullcrap. My current insurance doesn't require me to be out of the hurricane zone. But if I am in it and get damaged by a named storm my deductible goes up 10% value instead of the normal.

I think so (about the % to maintenance) But, I was really interested in boat cost to insurance percentage. I understand that it is usually around 1.5-2% of the estimated value of the boat. So, I was mostly curious about that, and if it included a hurricane exclusion..

Oh, and I appreciate these posts, as always. You have a tremendous amount of patience with the "wow.. you spend a lot of money on eating out!" crowd.. lol...

[a64pilot]

Upkeep cost as a percentage of the cost of the boat is illegocial, just like is in a house, automobile or anything else.
Think about it, a new Mercedes cost tens times as much as an old used Mercedes in upkeep, if the usage rate is the same?
A very good reason not to buy a new Boat, cause apparently they cost way more in upkeep than an old Boat with worn out systems.

Scarlet, it’s not you I’m raving at, however I see this again and again, better put back x% of the boats cost in maintenance, cause it cost x percent a year to keep up a boat.

Boat costs are directly proportional to the condition of the Boat, it size and its systems, and the complexity of the boat, not at all how much you paid for it, often times the most expensive boats to upkeep, were almost free.

The biggest variable as to how much does it cost to run a boat is if you have the tools, knowledge and capability to do almost all of the work yourself, of if you call a mechanic.

[Paul L]

I certainly think boat maintenance cost is related to boat value. On average it costs significantly more to maintain a boat valued at a quarter million so that it keeps its value while cruising, than a cruising boat valued at $80k. Sails are more, bottoms are typically larger, rigs are more complicated and expensive, and the expectations of the next buyer are higher.
A thousand exceptions to this are easy to find, but in general expensive boats are expensive.

[Tillsbury]

Absolutely right. Lots of people don’t agree with the numbers, but I’ve always found then a good guide. It’s very possible to spend less than the 10%, but after a few years you find a big chunk of costs for sails, rigging, engine rebuilds or the like. The 10% includes a proportion of all these costs which arise less often than annually.

Obviously a brand new boat won’t get these costs in the first year or two, but you would be surprised how quickly they start to arrive once the builder has decided your bedding-in period is over.

[ejs]

Very Interesting, after 4 years cruising our costs are somewhat similar to yours, groceries are almost the same, we spend more on insurance, licensing and repair (for a bigger boat) about proportional to the difference in value.



The percentage of value really applies to the value not the price, I've found it really does take about 10% to keep a boat in the same condition over time. If you start with a $100k boat, spend $100K to get it "ready to go" you are really spending on a percentage of $200k to keep it that way. Lots of folks don't spend that much and then the next owner needs a big refit which is fine, he gets to do it the way he wants.





Back to comparisons, We spend less on Marina fees, but that's probably because we spend half the year in Fiji where marinas are few and far between, ditto for entertainment. We do spend lots more on transportation to see our kids at Christmas, though. I'm not sure what is in Communication, Storage and shipping, it is more that we spend for coms and we have no storage except on the boat.


All things considered more similar than different.


Cheers, Eric
S/Y Scoots

[sailorboy1]

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