Published Costs of Cruising

[settingsun]

It may sound glib to say, "you'll spend what you have," but that's really true:

Imagine your alternator died at 4 am in the pitch dark as you started on a 200 mile jaunt and you are in a foreign coastal city with no chandleries. It is 200 miles in the opposite direction than you want to go to get to the place that most resembles a chandlery (kind of). What do you do?

Order a replacement from the US and wait in the local marina for 3 weeks until it comes?

Or venture deep into the local non-English speaking community to find an alternator expert who has never seen a boat alternator before but can repair it in his backyard using a kitchen knife and a lightbulb to test his work while a rooster crows in the tree overhead for the whole 4 hour process?

Most cruisers I have met do the former because they can. We don't have that much money, so when it happened to us we did the latter.

That's what is meant by spending what you have -- the crises will happen, your regular provisioning needs will have to be met, and you will fiddle with your budget to make sure you can keep going, skimping here and splurging there.

[John A]

Well put settingsun, your post highlights the difference between cruising and an extended vacation. We call it part of the adventure.
sail safe

[settingsun]

Thanks, John. Just like everyone else, I studied all the published budgets before we left and in the end we are spending what we expected to -- which is what we have.

I think the biggest surprise to me was that we (and most cruisers) left thinking it was "forever" or at least "for a long time." Yet the reality we've found in Pacific Mexico is that most cruisers quit after 1-3 years, a small handful make it to 5 years, and a very tiny rare few last longer than that.

So the budget question is actually, "what can I afford to spend for a 2-5 year adventure" not "what can I afford to spend for the rest of my life."

Thinking that way makes it much easier to plan and also makes the whole process a lot less intimidating.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by settingsun

It may sound glib to say, "you'll spend what you have," but that's really true:

Imagine your alternator died at 4 am in the pitch dark as you started on a 200 mile jaunt and you are in a foreign coastal city with no chandleries. It is 200 miles in the opposite direction than you want to go to get to the place that most resembles a chandlery (kind of). What do you do?

Order a replacement from the US and wait in the local marina for 3 weeks until it comes?

Or venture deep into the local non-English speaking community to find an alternator expert who has never seen a boat alternator before but can repair it in his backyard using a kitchen knife and a lightbulb to test his work while a rooster crows in the tree overhead for the whole 4 hour process?

Most cruisers I have met do the former because they can. We don't have that much money, so when it happened to us we did the latter.

That's what is meant by spending what you have -- the crises will happen, your regular provisioning needs will have to be met, and you will fiddle with your budget to make sure you can keep going, skimping here and splurging there.

why would anyone cruising mexico order a starter or an alternator from usa when rebuildng it here is so blessed cheap and the work is good.

i was sailing from ensenada to mazatlan last yer when my6 starter burned itself into unrebuildable in cedros condition. w were 5 mi north of cedros island when the starter burned out. we sailed into cedros island village ultimately and within 4 days if rent free wharf and 4 days of a mechanic and BRAND NEW starter for my 4-108--and diesel, 10 gallons--ALL came to a whopping total of 150 dollars, us.
so why on this earth would an intelligent cruiser wait months and pay 500+ dollars to have something shipped that is so much less pricey here.

use the local areas and people-- if there are fishing fleets or shrimping fleets or other water activity there will be arts for many engines.

i know folks in other areas who stop their forward movement in sailboats because their air conditioner broke. or their refrigerator broke. or their toilet broke. they actually return home.
get real folks--these things can be fixed while you are cruising an for probably less than in usa. much less in many cases.

but, then , there is the fear of unknown, which is probably the true reason for repairs in and from usa. there is a world out here with actual intelligence, folks. and abilities---get over being usa bound--is all good out here. prices are much less than in usa--except the yard in la cruz--is more than the yards in san diego..LOL

if ye need someone else's cuising numbers, you are not ready to leave.

[John A]

Originally Posted by settingsun

Thanks, John. Just like everyone else, I studied all the published budgets before we left and in the end we are spending what we expected to -- which is what we have.

I think the biggest surprise to me was that we (and most cruisers) left thinking it was "forever" or at least "for a long time." Yet the reality we've found in Pacific Mexico is that most cruisers quit after 1-3 years, a small handful make it to 5 years, and a very tiny rare few last longer than that.

So the budget question is actually, "what can I afford to spend for a 2-5 year adventure" not "what can I afford to spend for the rest of my life."

Thinking that way makes it much easier to plan and also makes the whole process a lot less intimidating.

Richard Spindler, the owner/publisher of Latitude38, once told me that of the boats that attended the Baha-ha, half return home the first year, half of those left return home the second year, Half of those left return home the third year, etc, etc.

[zeehag]

i see many boats with old baja haha burgees flying--yet no one ever comes to visit them.
i see many boats sans burgees and without any souls even approaching the boat for over a year.....

if you think you cannot afford your dream-- either save more or change the dream somewhat to manage this --isnt easy --is work. many who come out to sail think is gonna be all fun and no work. they make sure their boats are perfect, in their eyes, and go no farther than first long term port. then become dock queens for a coupla years then sell. or try to--many unsold boats here in mexico, as a result-and many are now not able to be sold because of the neglect. even with mexican maintenance crews..lol
those who are most successful have least amount of expendable income and still survive well and comfortably outside of usa. many of the fails are too rich money wise for own good and cannot manage the bugs and filth lol of the 3rd world. so the roads are unpaved--is part of the adventure.
there is a couple here who doesnt know how to sail and need a captain to help deliver them to their destinations...go figger--they are still here and they are still plugging along--must be nice to afford crew like that....gotta hand it to them for persistence while others in their baja haha class have since sold out or abandoned their boats down here. some even went to south pacific successfully. kudos to those folks. isnt easy, this life.

is funny how regular folk can say something about this , yet only a publisher has credibility??????

[John A]

Originally Posted by zeehag

is funny how regular folk can say something about this , yet only a publisher has credibility??????

Indeed

They only hear what they want to hear.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by zeehag

the only problem wwith published costs of cruising is that EVERYONE OUT HERE CRUISES DIFFERENT... we all have different desires and likes and different ideas of fun.

many folks drink and smoke cigarettes. yuk. i do neither....buti keepmy rum on board and kahlua for cooking and occasional to rare drink.

a night out in summer here in la cruz could include 15 eso beers with accompnying FREE FOOD.

it could be a night of EXPENSIVE food in a fancy new to la cruz restaurant....300 or more pesos per each person.

provisioning is also a very individual thing--i provision in local tiendas--better food than mega mart or soriana--but i need to travel to those places to acquire some of my necessities--chocolate, kitty litter and fancy feast.......

everyone has differing needs so uniform cost charts MEAN NOTHING.

also--different areas inone nation can be differing costs for items. eg--mazatlan to fill propane was 98 pesos. here in la cruz has been 160 and 170 pesos per 5 gallon cannister.

one person's view of mexico can be a lot different than another's.
do you stay in marinas for hurrycame season or do you run "home" and leave boat to elements?

are you a full time cruiser and if so for how long are you such?

do you anchor out instead of marina?

each and every kind of cruiser will have specific needs and differences in their budgets.

is like saying---what kind of anchor do you anchor out with.....and what kind of chain and how deep water and how far from others do you park your stuff......and--do you likie marinas run like convalescent homes or au natural......rofl


i live within my limited income budget.
i do not leave my boat to weather or for weather.
i am able to spend season of named storms inside a marina if i want to--is low season and special rates appear like magic. even in marinas run like convalescent homes...so much organized play time for the inmates..LOL

i also provision for a week passage as if i will be gone a month or two. -- ye never know.........

Zee...your spending lifestyle sounds a little like mine. Care to tell what you average a month?

[zeehag]

including repairs and fluffies, and marina in summertime(named storms)800 or so--when i need more parts, 1000.
during high season when rent in marinas is sky high, is about 500-600 dollars per month less......i anchor out then



tomatoes and other fruits and veggies are sooo cheap here--and meat, if yer into that, is delishuss and cheepo---i use less than 50 dollars PER WEEK on food. gato foods is under 200 dollars--and kat litter is about 5 dollars per month...chiles are 2 pesos for 4 poblanos....is a good life.

[Noname]

I think it costs about the same as living at home, only more, unless the boat is your home, then it depends on whether the boat is a 30ft Catalina or a 260ft (take your pick) Mega yacht. I hope this helps to clarify the cruising cost issue somewhat.

[Celestialsailor]

Hmmm...Sounds good. As you know from a prior thread, I'm a vedg-head. I spend less than $200@month here. Based on MX pricing being 80% of that and that I don't drink, I'm guessing $500-$600@month also. My ship is a tad simpler than yours and maintenance should be less by a tad...Thanx for the info.

[Noname]

Do ya want to include the booze bill, or not???

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

I was going to upload a spreadsheet, but it didn't work out too good. Basically it showed $200,000.00 - $500,000.00 dollars US will generate enough income to cruise in comfort, (after the boat is paid for), at moderate interest rates, (3% - 5%).

Perpetuity of PV 500,000.00 @ 0.04 gives 20k annual budget.

Perpetuity of PV 200,000.00 @ 0.04 gives 8k annual budget.

You get to the same values if you retire @ 65 and want to cruise for another 25.

Thanks gods we do not want to live for ever ;-)

b.

[zeehag]

cs--the general overall health trend here in many places has been toward better foods and more healthy diet. i just made rice--with a bunch of veggies in it--and some cheese and egg...total-- 4 pesos. this place rocks.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by zeehag

cs--the general overall health trend here in many places has been toward better foods and more healthy diet. i just made rice--with a bunch of veggies in it--and some cheese and egg...total-- 4 pesos. this place rocks.

OMG cheese (fat!) and eggs (cholesterol!) - you have clearly contradicted your 'healthy diet' ;-)

Unless 'more healthy' was in relation to cheese, eggs AND bacon ... washed down with a glass of ron blanco!

;-)))

b.