10 years of cost of cruising data

[chuckr]

We have just begun our 12th year underway and attached is a spreadsheet of our costs for the past 10 years.

2018 was a very very expensive year for us. Our average monthly cost went up by about 100%.

We went into Marmaris with a leaking heat exchanger that regardless of how hard I tired to fix it underway and patch the leak it would pop up nearby. Ended up with a lot of salt water all over the engine and a major repair. We hired the best in a certified Yanmar mechanic - Marlin Marine and are very happy with the results but as they said they would never be the cheapest.

We also bought a new genny from UKSails that is an upgrade from the one that came with the boat 15 years ago. We replaced the 15 y/o bimini and dodger and mattress in the forward berth. We added a solar panel. All the through hulls were replaced along with their hoses. Our Force10 stove was 15 years old so we found a guy who rebuilt it. Upgraded our chartplotter from a C70 to a C80.

We did a lot of inland travel in Turkey and then again we flew back to the USA - first time in 4 years and had to stay in hotels as no family around and the cost of a rental car was out of sight. On the way back did a few days in Germany and a stop in Austria. Thus our eating out, hotels and transportation were over the roof.

It was one of those years that we hope we never see again. But for the first time in a long time the boat is almost like new again.
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[MNGator]

Great information, thank you!

[sailorboy1]

Thanks Chuck!

[gekkorg]

That's for 2 people, I presume?

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by gekkorg

That's for 2 people, I presume?

Yea -- 2 people - we took crew on board for overnights before we set sail 12 years ago and it just did not work out -- we have 2 handed now for 12 years -

[jlcnuke]

Great info. Thanks for sharing!

[apirate]

This is wonderful data. Thanks for sharing.

[Palarran]

Chuck, I didn't add it up, but what's the total? I'm at 9 years and in hindsight I think I got killed with cost. Probably at least a half Mil. Oh well, I didn't want to pass it on to the kids anyway :-)

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Chuck, I didn't add it up, but what's the total? I'm at 9 years and in hindsight I think I got killed with cost. Probably at least a half Mil. Oh well, I didn't want to pass it on to the kids anyway :-)

Funny -- I guess the issue is you have to live someplace and pay for things like food, elec, house, ect - we just to chose doing it living on a sailboat - we do this on our social security only. That is until last year when we dipped into saving.

We do not own a house, car, ect - just a sailboat and actually I think it is less expensive out here -ex depreciation on the boat - than living in a house with insurance, upkeep, taxes ect along with a car and all that goes to having one of those -

We really think it is less expensive living out here. could be wrong but then------

[Palarran]

That's amazing. The cruising part of it hasn't been expensive, but maintenance sure has. I must be at $300k since purchase. The boat looks better than when I bought it and about absolutely everything is new, but it's not cheap. We also have had about 150 people join us over the years for weeks at a time.

You guys are doing great - keep on sailing.

[fabgo]

Thanks for posting this. I think this year-over-year data is invaluable to understanding the true cost of cruising, since it captures the many infrequent expenses that don't necessarily occur every year, like refit costs.

[smjack1]

Thanks very much for sharing this spreadsheet

[ohthetrees]

Anyone who spends average 4.2% of their budget on alcohol sounds like my kind of people!

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

Anyone who spends average 4.2% of their budget on alcohol sounds like my kind of people!

We are in great health and they say red wine is good for your health so what we are trying to experiment with is red wine from one country better for you than another country - need to keep experimenting before any conclusions are reached

[Cthoops]

Thanks, Chuck!