Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

yes but we are talking cruising, not living

Might be some overlap between the two.............

[sailorboy1]

OK change the "living" to "cruising"............ everyone happy now!

Now lets hear from you that have cruised for $500 in the recent past (within the past 3 years) and not from how people in a third country live on this or less.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

OK change the "living" to "cruising"............ everyone happy now!

Now lets hear from you that have cruised for $500 in the recent past (within the past 3 years) and not from how people in a third country live on this or less.

Open wide, here comes the internet



Most of those you seek either died of starvation (within the past 3 years ) and the others long since traded the laptops for baked beans.........

.........not to say one shouldn't seek these folks out - I am told that simply searching for enlightenment is "the answer" (but he was a Budhist, so full of sh#t ).

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

OK change the "living" to "cruising"............ everyone happy now!

Now lets hear from you that have cruised for $500 in the recent past (within the past 3 years) and not from how people in a third country live on this or less.

The point of intense western conditioning to equate money with contentment is a valid one, imho, if you don't want to hear it then don't listen. Others will consider it if they want to and post what they want.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

. . . Most of those you seek either died of starvation (within the past 3 years ) and the others long since traded the laptops for baked beans. . .

Oh, quite contraire. I have lived on my boat for less than $500/mo in the Caribbean/Bahamas for the better part of the last decade. And comfortably.

- - The "secret" is simply to live aboard and not eat ashore in restaurants unless you "are in" a 3rd world country - there it is actually cheaper to eat with the locals than cooking onboard.

- - Costs for transportation vanish since you cannot haul a car behind your boat - they tend to sink. Also, entertainment other than cruiser get-togethers, pot-lucks, locally sponsored - simply don't exist. No mega-10 theaters, mega-shopping malls, etc., that 1st world countries cannot get along without.

- - So you monthly costs are usually, food bought locally and cooked onboard; potable water, beer and boxed wine; bus-fare for "long distance" touring/shopping (usually around $1 per person/ride); and dinghy fuel if you have a motor versus rowing.

- - This assumes you have spare parts on the boat before you left on your cruise and you do your own repairs. That aspect alone - doing your own repairs - is a huge major cost saver. Just about everywhere in the Bahamas, Caribbean, N&C&S America the going rate for a "technician" to work on a "gringo" owned boat is about US$100/hour (+/-$25). Take a 4 to 8 hour or more repair job and compare the cost of hiring a "technician" with you doing the job yourself - a staggeringly money saver.

[zeehag]

there are many in 3rd world countries without the technician certificate who know their stuff and do not charge absurd usa prices--find them and have decent work done at MUCH less priciness. not everything can be done by self, but there is no reason to seek out the highest bidder for doing work. just make sure they know what they are doing. an extra set of hands or a mast monkey can be a s little as 20-30 dollars per day of work. 20 dollars for average and 30 for excellent.....even i can afford that.
also--food and entertainment-wise----dont seek out the gringo hangouts-- the locals know how to party without the pricing.....

as for spares-- there are folks who cruise who HAVE to have the latest and greatest and will sell off the perfectly good old stuff for reasonable prices-- find them for your spares and replacement items.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by zeehag

there are many in 3rd world countries without the technician certificate who know their stuff and do not charge absurd usa prices--find them and have decent work done at MUCH less priciness. not everything can be done by self, but there is no reason to seek out the highest bidder for doing work. just make sure they know what they are doing. an extra set of hands or a mast monkey can be a s little as 20-30 dollars per day of work. 20 dollars for average and 30 for excellent.....even i can afford that.
also--food and entertainment-wise----dont seek out the gringo hangouts-- the locals know how to party without the pricing.....

as for spares-- there are folks who cruise who HAVE to have the latest and greatest and will sell off the perfectly good old stuff for reasonable prices-- find them for your spares and replacement items.

I agree ..if you are a nice and friendly outgoing type of person you should be able to get people to help for little or nothing ..if the relationship is receprecol(?)it goes on for ever..if everyone comes to the table with something to offer very little money is ever needed....a united front among like minded people always makes the road more traveled a little less bumpy....problem is getting a united front...DVC

[conachair]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Oh, quite contraire. I have lived on my boat for less than $500/mo in the Caribbean/Bahamas for the better part of the last decade. And comfortably.

I think lots of people do. The original question has probably not much to do with the real world though. The really tight budget cruisers I've met live on probably a fair bit less most of the time then once in a while get work somewhere fo r money to do up the boat and get the kitty back in shape.

[zeehag]

the tightest budget cruisers i have met havent the ability to work for money and receive ssdi or ssi checks as their sole income. they do quite well, as they have developed a successful barter system over time.

[islandplanet]

Many low budget cruisers are living quite well on $500 or so per month but you won't find them in places like the Med. When we were cruising Mexico, we didn't track expenses in great detail, but as a couple on a 46' Amel ketch, I don't think we averaged more than $700 per month unless we visited a marina. And no hardships that we recall either. Right now we're back on land and bringing in a pretty decent amount of income but we'd both prefer to be back on the boat. In 3 years we retire and will be.

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Might be some overlap between the two.............

I live on board my boat and am refitting her for an open ended cruising life.
I have not time I have to be or time I have to be back. So for me it does over lap. For those that figure $500/month with a total of 2 months cruising, that's easy. For me my cruising budget would be $6000/year following this thread.

[Nicholson58]

We are preparing too. Hurricane damaged Camper & Nicholson 58 we trucked to Michigan to re-fit. Lots of new stuff. Probably cost more than 500/month but the big ticket items are front end loaded while I have a job - kids all gone - no college bills. We will sell all, retire & sail out the St Lawrence in 18 months. One engineer & one teacher. I can fix anything.

[SunDevil]

I think we have determined that it is feasible. But not everyone would make the same sacrifices to be able to do it. Some of us think of it as a game to live a good life as cheaply as possible...and I'm not sure of all the small costs associated with cruising, but I have seen the West Marine catalog and know that things can add up fast.

The 'big' questions that I have, and maybe you all have the answers...

1. Can you find good anchorages easily, and feel safe leaving your boat alone for a day or a weekend? I know I would feel differently if I have a $40,000 boat verses a $300,000 one. Yet, how often do people do this? Does harbor patrol or the coast guard come around and tow away boats? Are there fines for leaving a boat somewhere it shouldn't be?

2. Can you easily get to shore, and leave your kayak, dingy, or inflatable pool toy and have it be there when you come back?

3. I would assume that I would be migrating with the seasons, and avoiding hurricanes and snow. Is it possible to ever feel comfortable when you are constantly in new places? Do cruisers migrate in packs?

4. Do you have an exit strategy? Should you have an exit strategy? Can you sell a boat that isn't at a marina? Did you need to rent a storage unit as part of the $500/month for your land possessions? Will you be able to create your own job or do you have enough money to live comfortably on land for a while after 5-20 years of cruising?

[rubyjean]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

OK change the "living" to "cruising"............ everyone happy now!

Now lets hear from you that have cruised for $500 in the recent past (within the past 3 years) and not from how people in a third country live on this or less.

My wife & I tryed to cruise this summer on 645.00 a month. I really though we could, but it was a bad year for storms on the west coast. We had to hide out in various harbors to wait out storms[45-55knt winds]. We would run out of money at about the 3 week mark. With normal weather on the west coast, we should have been OK. We'll try it again in the Carib. We sold everything, if not on the boat we don't own it. We are currently hauling out to load on a trailer and head east. We're just not ready to say uncle. We only traveled 1700 kn miles this trip...Michael & Brenda...

[zeehag]

i guess my cruising in mexico doesnt count as cruising. is only a stop on the way to another place--most cruising is done out of usa, unless one is a usa cruiser, in which case, food alone is gonna kill ye.
i cruised the gulf of mexico before i sailed out of san diego for points south. we managed to make it on 600 dollars per month plus fuel and boat repairs, which were done by the owner of the boat--was not mine, btw, but seidelmann 37.
we were able to find anchorages easily and we were able to find reasonably priced marinas in western fla for our reprovisioning.
so far, i have spent less on food than we did on that near year long trip.