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Old 16-01-2018, 16:13   #16
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

One issue with a 50-55 foot cat (Which is huge BTW) is finding dock space for that big a boat. That will be the biggest limiting factor to dock cost. Least in the USA. Mostly you're looking at side ties which in some parts are few and far between.

Anchoring is free and mooring will not be too much, but then your dinghying in and some places charge per day for dinghy tie up.

The short answer is it takes what you've got to spend. For me, that's about $600 ish a month ( 1 person, no eating out, no beer, coffee ,etc.).

For others it's $3000 (for 2 folks on a 40+ footer). For a family of five $6K to $8k might do it a month. Depends on how many days on the hook and how many stars the restaurants has. Could be done for $3k too, if budgeting. High end resorts will be more of course.

Myself I avoid even the low end resorts.
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Old 16-01-2018, 16:30   #17
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

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Fair point. Have looked for professionals but have not found something meaningful. I put a lot of stock in people doing it and regardless of finances, all experience is helpful.
I'd go to Pam Wall. She is great. If she can't handle a job this big alone then she will be able to assemble for you a team who can.

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Old 16-01-2018, 16:38   #18
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

There are too many variables for each person but here's a suggestion:


make a budget of your landlubber life, scratch out all the items you're going to be giving up once on the water, add in the new expenses associated with the cruising lifestyle (ie: dockage fees) then add it all up.


If you put aside the house-hold related expenses, the rest of your consumption should be pretty much the same, ie: you're going to eat the same amount of food.
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Old 17-01-2018, 08:33   #19
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

This is how we cruised for years, family of 4.

No real budget.

I’ve always believed in focusing on the income side of life, not the expenses. Maximizing one while keeping the other reasonable.

I’d have to guess at our monthly expenses over the four years we were living aboard and cruising, probably around 7-9k/m
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Old 17-01-2018, 08:43   #20
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

I'm based in the UK and did a two week sailing trip to the Channel Islands and France last August. We ate out every night except one. I reckon breakfast and lunch were costing £5 (sterling) a day - and some of that did for three of us. Plus there was about another £100 for boat supplies for the two week trip. Eating out was £25 - £30 per head per night.

That would total for a year per head:

Boat supplies £2,600
Breakfast and Lunch £1,820
Evening meals: £10,920
Total: £15,340 per person, per year

That obviously depends on the quality of what you like, buy and eat. I think you could probably reduce that by 25% - 33% quite easily, especially if you cook and eat on board.
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Old 17-01-2018, 08:59   #21
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

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Not to start a debate about money....

BUT...there are so many posts about how CHEAPLY a family can cruise and live aboard. There are books, videos and a ton of expertise on how to budget, plan, save and live the dream with a small amount of money.

However, there is another side. Those who cruise without a budget. In trying to plan our 2018 launch we are having a hard time trying to determine the upper side of what we could realistically spend and setting up our financial plan to support us for the next couple of years.

We are not unwilling to dock in a marina, plan on eating out often and spending time in places doing culturally relevant things to share with the kids. We are becoming cruisers because we want to change our kids perspective on life. We are becoming cruisers to spend time in places giving back as much as we can.

Removing the cost of the boat (a newer 50 to 55 foot cat) and maintenance, what can we realistically expect to spend living 100% aboard sailing in Europe mostly. For those of you in similar situations, any help would be appreciated. If this is not a fair questions...moderators feel free to remove the post.

Thank you all. Family of 5 setting sail June 2018.
We don't have a budget, exactly. We are on a 55 footer, currently cruising Europe.

While we don't eat out that much, just because we prefer to eat at home, we certainly don't hesitate to rent cars, and go to plenty of tourist sites, etc.

Excluding the boat expenses, we're spending a few thousand a month for the two of us on discretionary spending, I'd reckon. We do not track spending, as we're employed, cruising about half the year. We frequently do inland excursions. I would think that 5k/mo will be quite comfortable for the family, maybe a little more depending on restaurant patronage. We found that a lot of the restaurant food sort of sucks over here, so we're happier to fix stuff we like.

We haven't found Europe to be all that expensive, honestly. Marinas between the UK and Gibraltar have been cheaper than most of the USA, and the dollar has been quite strong, but that is slowly fading. We arrived in the UK just after the Brexit vote, and the place was truly on sale. We even hired out a bunch of maintenance that we normally do ourselves.

No easy answers, I'm afraid, but while you can be as profligate as you like, I would think that 5k would easily cover a very comfortable life.
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Old 17-01-2018, 09:30   #22
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

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Those who cruise without a budget.
Nobody cruises without a budget. For long, anyways.

If you happen to have enough money or income that even spontaneous cruising in the plushest of circumstances is possible... you're still within budget. It's just larger than most.
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Old 17-01-2018, 09:39   #23
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

Unless you intend to home school your kids (you said you didn't), or hire a liveaboard full time teacher (no budget), I don't understand how you plan to sail around (except during school breaks). Most European countries have private English schools, but the "best" ones may not be near a port city. Living aboard a boat berthed in a marina is very comparable to the house experience. I'm not sure that change in perspective is all that informative.

How will you get around a new destination? Bicycles, public transportation, taxis, Uber, mopeds, or rental cars? How will your kids get to and from school every day? Many but not all private schools offer buses.

You want to give your children a different perspective, but your distinctive American conspicuous consumption will remain. You might want to rethink either your goal or method.

That said, your goal of cruising with a liveaboard captain sounds possible. If you and your family dedicate time and effort to learn what you can about your boat, sailing and seamanship, you may achieve some degree of freedom, and independence.

It it just my opinion, and of course, I am sure not all will agree.
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Old 17-01-2018, 10:05   #24
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

You have posted a reasonable question I believe because many people do have resources that are substantial and provide the opportunity to enjoy life in ways the rest of us can't. We are in a very similar position to you, except for perhaps having plenty of money to spend, we were/are newbies, ex Texans but relocated to Oklahoma many years ago. In 2017 we bought a big Catamaran in Europe and lived aboard most of the year. My wife and I are in our early 60s and we have a four year old granddaughter that we are raising. We took one son over as crew and a daughter so we had a total of five. I figured that getting rid of all our land based expenses would free up enough cash flow so that the boat life would cost the same or less on board. We have not as of yet gotten rid of much of the cost of our prior life, just continued to pay for both. We are at home now before returning in the Spring. Things are expensive in Europe and marinas spaces for Cats are particularly high in Croatia on a day basis or for extended periods. But if you could live an active life here in the states going and doing whatever you want you will be fine there as well. To me it seems to cost about the same as traveling and vacationing back home. It is just the vacation lasts for months and is much more fun. Just plan to spend a lot to own and keep your Cat. And this area of the world is simply fantastic to explore. Good luck!
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Old 17-01-2018, 10:23   #25
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

While I have not been lucky enough to sail in Europe, I have lived in Europe for 5 years and traveled extensively. I think it would be a mistake not to factor in a series of trips inland where the cat would not serve as the base. To go to Europe without visiting cities such as Paris, Rome, or Madrid, and countries such as Germany Switzerland or France would be a loss. You should set aside time and money for excursions to get the most out of the experience. Very Jealous. Enjoy! Fair winds and following seas. Welcome to the group.
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Old 17-01-2018, 11:02   #26
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

You are right on BJYMD. The road trips are fantastic and should be enjoyed as much as the sailing adventure
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Old 17-01-2018, 11:50   #27
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

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The unknown cost is the kids school right now as my wife and I would prefer to support thier school program and not have to be the teachers. In this endeavor we don't want to limit thier college options and are looking for the best fit.
This seems to have just been a throwaway line but that is seriously an absolutely huge thing to consider.

There are online schooling programs but you are still very much the teacher.

If you are serious about "don't want to limit thier college options" then I would suggest that you really do need more than an online schooling program at the age that you say your children are, especially if they have any aspirations about attending an Ivy League, or similar, school.

This is a very real dichotomy that many long-term cruising families have to face; the very real benefits of seeing so many different parts of the world set against a more limited educational experience. It is something that only you can decide for yourself.

Personally, to my mind, cruising the world is (probably) a once in a lifetime experience - you can always carry on going to school at a later date.

I think other posters have mentioned about attending local private schools but, unless you're staying in one location for a year or more then your children will be chopping and changing every term or semester and what sort of education will that give them?

If you're not willing to seriously play the part of teacher for your children and you are as serious as you profess to be about not limiting their college options then you really will need to think about a full-time tutor and, even then, that will still limit their options somewhat compared to full-time schooling.

However, given the choice between seeing the world as a teenager or being stuck in a classroom all day every day, I think I know which one I'd choose. Just be aware that this may well delay their college - but there again that's not necessarily a bad thing, for example, I know many young people in the UK take a year off at age 18 before carrying on with school in order to see the world (that's not so common in the US).
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Old 17-01-2018, 13:00   #28
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

If you don't personally want to do the teaching part of educating your children consider taking an "educator" with you. Terms and conditions by negotiation ! But you will find there are plenty of qualified young people out there who would trade their teaching skills to share in the experience you are about to encounter.
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Old 17-01-2018, 13:21   #29
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

Quote:
Originally Posted by TXnewbie View Post
Not to start a debate about money....

BUT...there are so many posts about how CHEAPLY a family can cruise and live aboard. There are books, videos and a ton of expertise on how to budget, plan, save and live the dream with a small amount of money.

However, there is another side. Those who cruise without a budget. In trying to plan our 2018 launch we are having a hard time trying to determine the upper side of what we could realistically spend and setting up our financial plan to support us for the next couple of years.

We are not unwilling to dock in a marina, plan on eating out often and spending time in places doing culturally relevant things to share with the kids. We are becoming cruisers because we want to change our kids perspective on life. We are becoming cruisers to spend time in places giving back as much as we can.

Removing the cost of the boat (a newer 50 to 55 foot cat) and maintenance, what can we realistically expect to spend living 100% aboard sailing in Europe mostly. For those of you in similar situations, any help would be appreciated. If this is not a fair questions...moderators feel free to remove the post.

Thank you all. Family of 5 setting sail June 2018.
Between 3-5K Euro. this is in most EU countries a very nice net salary range.
UK will be more expensive (Solent Marina's) as will Italy. The rest of the Med is very affordable, also because you tend to anchor more.
Scandinavia very expensive in terms of eating out. (eg a beer in Denmark is 10EU, and Norway/sweden is even more expensive)
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Old 17-01-2018, 13:23   #30
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Re: The Other End of Cruising "Cost"

Have you considered doing your European touring on a boat that can do the canals and rivers in France, Germany, Holland....etc?

I'm dying for it. Only 18 months before i retire these tired bones. I am happy for you that you are in a financial position to have your family experience such a thing. What an adventure and grooming it will be for your family.

I would also say that having a nanny/educator on board is not a bad idea if you can find one that won't make your wife crazy. Women can be pretty funny about having another woman in their own house....so to speak. Ask Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck...smile
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