The Cost of Sailing / Cruising

[bangkaboat]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Theres the one error.

'Man'. 'What does a man need'

Thanks, but I am in love. I have a woman and I want to keep her. To do that I have to make sure she is comfortable and happy.

Apart from that if she doesn't wash she smells so I need running water, heads, shower etc.

She sometimes cooks for me so I give her a good kitchen to lord over.

She is good in bed so I only have beds built for 2 - she can't escape.

Her cooking sux so I need money for restuarants.

and, finally,

I drink beer so I need refrigeration.





Mark

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Throw your paradise in our faces. No, really, go ahead!
More pictures of bikini-clad women, please!

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by bangkaboat

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Throw your paradise in our faces. No, really, go ahead!

OK.
Photos below of recent encounter. Look at how courageous Nic looks!
sorry about pic quality.

[osirissail]

I am glad those photos don't have captions from some of us - or there might be a lot of banning from this Forum for "nasty language." Where's Lats & Att's when you need them. I always dreamed of having a Tasmanian Devil cat as a "watch dog" on board. Wouldn't it be grand if a pirate/thief reached down to pet the cute little puddy-cat and lost an arm in the process.

[Pacific Jewel]

Hi there,

My hubby and I spent 2 years cruising the south pacific many moons ago. We then went back to work on land, and after some time, decided we wanted to be back on the water. But we went back on the water as professional crew. We worked on yachts that required just 2 crew; which was ideal for us. We were paid well, had the yacht to ourselves most of the time, and saw the world on a fabulous yacht. Fabulous. We are no longer professional crew and yearn to go back to the cruising life. Not to escape our everyday life on land, but to enjoy the travel and the sea. I actually very much enjoy my land jobs and always, always have.

When we cruised on our own boat, we spent very little, and in the south pacific there was little to spend on. We spent the big bucks in NZ doing things to the boat. Our choice; not required. Very different from professionally crewing luxury yachts!

I must admit, now that I am older, I wouldn't do it the same way we did when we set off 15 years ago. I want a bit more comfort. Heck, I think I've earned it. So, we are looking for a bit nicer yacht, one that doesn't feel like camping as our other one did!

I will still be on a budget cruising in our more comfortable boat. But as you well said, "You can move a mountain. It just depends on how badly you want to move it.", this is so true. In my case, it will be a little more comfortable than the first time around. And I can live with that.

Safe sailing to you.

[sqrtof2]

First, some of this has been really funny and I agree Meercat has the answer.
Mostly, I appreciate the candid discussion and results. I am currently trying to purchase a boat and live aboard and cruise in the summers until I retire then go full time. I teach here on the Chesapeake and while I will have health insurance, my annual income is average, retirement less. Though I earn far more than most people in the rewards.
I am reading Mark Nicholas's book "The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat". He says and shows that it costs, for a boat with engines, $20,000 to $51,000 to just live aboard, no cruising involved.
My boat of choice is at the high end of this spread.
This is a little disconcerting to say the least, especially when my broker is saying things such as " You can get this but you might have to pay a higher interest rate"
I plan on keeping emergency money in reserve, but I really think when I find the right boat, that I can live on what ever money I have. I have done it all my life!
Again thanks for the facts and the encouragement. I hope that someday we will share a beer and a laugh together.

[osirissail]

- - Living full time on a boat that is not moving is IMHO more expensive than living on land. Marina fees are expensive and always getting more expensive. And you have the boat systems that need fixing and replacement. And you don't need to use a crane to haul your land home out of the dirt to bottom paint it every two years. There are just too many unnecessary boat costs if your boat does not go anywhere as compared to living in a land home/apt.
- - However, cruising is about taking your "home including bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and other parts" with you as you travel and explore the world. That is where the real cost savings over living on land come into play. Not to mention the comfortable factor of having your "familiar home" with you instead of staying in hotels and using airline travel to get to the destination and back.

[sqrtof2]

Well I guess I will have to figure it out. I know I can not afford to live on land and cruise in the summer. The expense of owning a boat is prohibitive.
I realize that I could charter or some other alternative, but I need a sanctuary where for the most part I am in charge of events, good or bad.
I guess I need to find a boat that I can buy without financing.
Anybody know of a live aboard boat for...........$1853.27? lol

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by sqrtof2

. . . . I guess I need to find a boat that I can buy without financing. Anybody know of a live aboard boat for...........$1853.27? lol

- - Actually, Yes! Even sometimes - Free! In Florida, especially south Florida there are many 30-footers and smaller sailboats that you can acquire anywhere from free to about what you asked. They are boats that are either abandoned - in which case you contact the Sheriff in the locality of the boat and get a Sheriff's sale title change to your name which costs less than $500 dollars; or you find a suitable grime covered boat in a marina slip or seawall or dock in the Florida Keys or elsewhere and find the owner. The boats will sometimes have For Sale signs on them, although some marinas prohibit displaying any such signs. Then you contact the owner and he will give you the boat just to be able to stop paying marina fees which are not cheap in Florida.
- - I have a few young friends in Florida who make their living harvesting these "abandoned" boats, spending a grand to refurbish them and then take them to New England in the Spring and sell them for 10's of thousands of dollars.

[rover88]

James Baldwin, who twice circumnavigated in the 70's and 80's on less per month than most spent to eat out last week, answered this question best:

"How much does it cost to go cruisng?" As much as you've got.......

If I recall, James set out in '79 aboard a 29 footer with no engine and $500 to his name. He made it half way around the world and had to stop to make a few bucks in order to continue.

A friend of mine "retired" in hs 40's and cruised until he ran out of money. When he had to come back and work he did so with some great memories. A fellow I recently met (he sold my friend his Almond 30) worked his ass off so he could retire and cruise the Bahamas with impunity. Shortly after retiring he developed Parkinson's disease, ending his dream ad forcing the sale of his boat.

I'll set off soon on about $1,500 a month steady income. My wife and I will adapt to our budget or maybe have to do some work here and there before SS kicks in a decade from now. But, I'll not wait until I am 65 and chance fate interfereing with my dream.

[Pacific Jewel]

Rover 88,

Me likes the way you think.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by rover88

I'll set off soon on about $1,500 a month steady income. My wife and I will adapt to our budget or maybe have to do some work here and there before SS kicks in a decade from now. But, I'll not wait until I am 65 and chance fate interfereing with my dream.

In a 34ft sailboat you can live quite well on $1500/mo. The Bahamas at 34 feet is only $150 for 6 months versus $300 for everything bigger. The boat will move faster through the water with a smaller engine and if a cutter rig will sail harder onto the wind saving a lot of fuel. If you are going to be doing the Caribbean, you can short tack easier than the most common boat which is about 42 feet. They basically have to motor all the way from the Turks and Caicos to Antigua before you can head south and sail again. All your equipment is sized smaller or just isn't there which means significant maintenance savings.
- - I would suggest putting money into a good set of sails for upwind work and a small watermaker. Also get a Honda eu2000i portable generator. Spare parts and pumps are a fraction of the price is bought in the USA versus the islands.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by rover88

I'll set off soon on about $1,500 a month steady income. . But, I'll not wait until I am 65 and chance fate interfereing with my dream.

Good on you

If the budget runs short you can always sit behind some island for a few months

Uninhabited ones are best because there are no shops. We have noted an interesting correlation between shops and spending money!

[bobfnbw]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Good on you

If the budget runs short you can always sit behind some island for a few months

Uninhabited ones are best because there are no shops. We have noted an interesting correlation between shops and spending money!

Mark, I wonder if that would be the case for a man alone........ just wondering....

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Good on you
If the budget runs short you can always sit behind some island for a few months
Uninhabited ones are best because there are no shops. We have noted an interesting correlation between shops and spending money!

I think in the case of a male single-hander you just need to add the words "Tiki Bars" in the list of things.

But actually, I think you have hit on the real crux of the difference in cruising costs. Visit and hang out in places where there is few or no places to spend money and your costs drop drastically. Hang out in harbors in islands with tons of fun activities and lots of stores, bars and restaurants and costs rise rapidly. Remove the opportunities to spend money and you will feel better whereas denying yourself in a location with lots of things to spend money on will cause heart ache or at least wallet ache.

[wildshore]

or, "what do you mean by 'cruising'?"

It seems to me that the very assumptions you start with set the costs you'll incur. I can "cruise" the bahamas and on down all the way to Aruba, incur the costs of repair, fuel, fees and food, stay at marinas, and wonder how in the hell anyone thinks they could cruise on less than 1000$ a day, or I can 'cruise' the Chesapeake, mostly in protected waters, pick up my wifi from what my antenna can reach on the hook, stay occasionally at marinas to do serious laundry and repair and sail the rest of the time and wonder how on earth anyone can spend $100 a day doing that.

But both are cruising, both are the boating lifestyle, and both are better at most any day of work 'i've ever spent.

Heavy Cruising, with the A/C and the washer dryer and the lounge and the private cabins, is rather -- to me at least-- like using the boat as a moving luxury hotel room. Its fine if you vacation to resorts, eat at fine restaurants, and try to stay above the frey.

I don't. I wouldnt even If money weren't the issue.

Light cruising is like homesteading to a cabin in the woods. There are inconveniences, and life -- and the local culture -- is in your face, but some of us like that kind of participation.

The only real similarities are that the both approaches use similar technologies to meet their ends, and face some similar challenges of wind and water, navigation and supply.

But its all boats, and its all good