Budgetting - new polls

[ess105]

That's a good way to measure it. I don't think any of the factors you mention will shift you more than one bucket. Having said that, your diesel bill may be a big part of your overall running costs.

[s/v 'Faith']

wow that is a complicated poll. Should get good data, cause the ones who take the time to reply are probably better at taking track of the metrics you are asking about.

[Temporarily Landlocked]

Great poll. I love the responses!

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Temporarily Landlocked

Great poll. I love the responses!

Nah, you got it wrong

Rent the house
Eat the dog
Live on the boat

They tell me dog tastes like Sacred Cow

Dave

[ess105]

Dave - I figured you'd

Rent the Dog
Live off the house
Keep the boat

[cat man do]

Since answering this poll we have had a few week's in Malaysia [ went on the big silver bird] and reckon we could do it on a third of what we budgeted if we base ourselves in the area, which we will.

So, that must mean we have even more beer money.

Yippee

Dave

[Dreaming Yachtsman]

We have a relatively expensive boat that is only 3 years old so the maintenance vs cost questions may be a bit skewed. My wife still works part time and makes almost enough to cover food, groceries, and beer. One of my pensions covers the boat mortgage and insurance while the other covers routine maintenance with a little left over for other costs such as permits, licenses, slip rental, etc.

I do wonder what conclusions ess105 will be able to draw from the numbers.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by John Bickford

I do wonder what conclusions ess105 will be able to draw from the numbers.

Where are the numbers?
Thanks.
Like a lot of posts, one does not come back to tell all the answers.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Where are the numbers?
Thanks.
Like a lot of posts, one does not come back to tell all the answers.

<edit>

Never mind...........

[ess105]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Like a lot of posts, one does not come back to tell all the answers.

Not entirely sure what is meant by your statement but I'd say cheer up . Life's like the Sopranos - not all loose ends are tied nor all questions answered. Not all questions deserve answers.

If you're interested in my opinion it's going to be very dull as it's simply this. The sample size (35) is somewhat small to make any inference about cruising/cruisers in general.

If anyone is interested I will provide a verbal interpretation of the numbers as they can be used to 'in general' describe the 35 people who did vote. I doubt if I'll tell you anything more that you can determine from looking at the distribution of votes yourself.

Steve

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by ess105

Not entirely sure what is meant by your statement but I'd say cheer up . Life's like the Sopranos - not all loose ends are tied nor all questions answered. Not all questions deserve answers.

If you're interested in my opinion

I did not see the button for "view post results" at first, sorry.

Hence the =me.

The comment is about many threads where one asks for help and is given lots and the answer to the problem that the poster ended up with is not posted.

I guess it is just me since there is great knowledge passed (and ingested by me) but there is that empty feeling in the end with regard to the original poster and how they fared.

[ess105]

Originally Posted by Therapy

The comment is about many threads where one asks for help and is given lots and the answer to the problem that the poster ended up with is not posted.

Ah but think of all the questions the posters never thought of that actually get answered.

[Randyonr3]

First off let me say that we've been out for close to five years now, so I'm speaking from a little experance..
And I wonder WHY so many people, ( mostly those still on land I believe) are hung up on this money thing when It comes to cruising.. I'll agree it cost to get out here as we sold our house to make the change but thats about about the last concern we've had about money..
I'm sure that those that are out here will agree, when you need something, there usually is an answer before the question appears..
I needed new standing rigging for the boat, at a cost of around $3500.00.. I felt I needed this for around a year, as we didnt want to go south without doing it.. Well we picked up a canvas job that covered the cost.. Most all repairs on the boat, I do myself, what else would I do with my time.. and I keep a list going, and the boat looks and opperates great.
The last marina we were in, for about a year or so, I washed a couple boats on the dock each week to cover the cost of the slip. and the marina were in now, the wife works in the store part time to cover the slip rent..
We do own a fairly new Jeep (2004) paid for, but we only go to town once a week or so.
What I'm getting at is, the cost of living the cruising lifestyle, as we are doing it,
to be honest, is almost nothing..............
WHAT WE ARE DOING, is taking long walks around the bay, going to sleep at the sounds of halyards clanking and seeing the stars overhead, waking up to the sea-guls barking at each other. and maybe, just maybe, the grandkids will be out this weekend and well go fishing in the ding.
To many, I'm sure money is a big object, but to us, we've pushed it off to the back side..
And as I write this, my wife has just accepted a couple bags of fruit and veggies from a local neighbor for the fish I caught and shared with them a couple days ago..

[ess105]

I think both perspectives are understandable. When contemplating a life afloat one us land lubbers can only look through the glasses of our current lives. On land we worry a lot about the mortgage, our health care payments, feeding ourselves, etc ..... It's hard not to think this way when looking at something different and it's natural to be concerned about the 'can I afford it' question.

Your thoughts are reassuring in that there is a new perspective. A little matrix-like it seems we have to be in it to see it. Looking forward to sharing your outlook some day.

[MoonlightShadow]

I see a problem in the poll, in that I either didn't fully understand the question, or others didn't, because I am not seeing the answer I would have expected in the differential between Questions C and D.

I would have imagined, that the maintenance cost expressed as a percentage of the cost of new boat replacement D, would have been substantially different from the answers to question C.

If the results are credible however, it indicates that nearly everyone has a new or virtually new boat.

C: In my case, for example, with a 20 year old boat value (now) of $120,000 and maintenance at around 6% (My answer to question C) of that annually ($7,200).
D: Replacement cost of new boat at todays prices $220,000, maintenance cost remains the same at $7,200, but now, this represents 3.7% (Answer to question D)

Therefore, one would expect answers to question D to all be lower than answers to question C. Have I got this wrong?