Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by nonam

Ram is probably right in that you cannot cruise on $500 a month in the mediterranean (unless maybe you keep mostly to the south side)

Question here is are we talking per boat.... or per person...
As for cruising the Med on that... alone...
I could cruise Greece on that quite happily... theres loads of anchorages.. free slips and quays, sandy beaches in shelter where I can bottom her for bottom work... one can get by without marina's quite easily.
Obviously as your boat gets bigger, wrong keel, hungry electric's, deeper draughts life gets tougher...

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by conachair

... Can't be bothered to check these statistics but think they may be vaguely right.
Only 10% of the world population live in the "rich corporate west"
Almost half the worlds population lives on less than $2.50 a day
80% of people live on less than $10 a day.

You right, almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day; and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.
According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty; and around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted.
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names; although less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 - and yet it didn’t happen.
➥ Poverty Facts and Stats ? Global Issues

Not everyone dies of poverty.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

What I think we really learned on this thread overall is that if you ask a question, and then don't get the answers you wanted; then the people providing the answers are idiots!

I answered my own question.

And didn't like the answer.

So...... I find all this logic stuff difficult ..... that means....


sh*t it's true after all

[nonam]

Here we are agonising over wether we can afford to cruise when there are millions of people who obviously dont ask themselves if they can afford children.And we know that boats are cheaper than children.

[Snore]

Blue water rookie question; no one seems to mention the Corbin 39 in these threads? Is there a reason?

Thanks in advance,

Bill

CV- intermittent coastal crusing for 40 years.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Snore

... no one seems to mention the Corbin 39 in these threads? Is there a reason? ...

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Bill.

The Corbin 39 can be a great cruising/liveaboard boat, but I wouldn’t consider it a prime example of a vehicle for minimalist $6000/year cruising.

[97fxdwg]

Originally Posted by conachair

I answered my own question.

And didn't like the answer.

So...... I find all this logic stuff difficult ..... that means....


sh*t it's true after all

I find the true test of a person's intelligence is how well they agree with me.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by nonam

Here we are agonizing over whether we can afford to cruise when there are millions billions of people who obviously don't ask themselves if they can afford children.And we know that boats are cheaper than children.

There.
I fixed that for you.

But we need to subsidize them so they can ............................

OOPS.........getting too far out there huh?

[zeehag]

i just finished a month of 5 weeks inclusive of holidays and visitors--i spent 350usd on food for my self and those i feed. in SAN DIEGO-- very very pricey place. made pozole, 16 bean soup, cajun rice dishes with and without meat, many good items. i feed some neighbors who are without jobs and income. for 3 of us for december, i spent 350 on food. is do able. definitely is doable. after repairs..LOL

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

This thread has been alive a while and I haven't really seen much answer to the $500/mo cruising in a while.

So what is the opinon here after all this. Is it possible to cruise on $500/mo in a way that is not the "back-packing life". . . .

As other have stated, if you are looking for something other than "back-packing life" - style cruise the answer is - No.
- - I suggested the proper name for this thread should be "minimalist" budget cruising. That better describes that - yes, you can set out in a definitely "small," definitely simple boat that is seaworthy and cruise the world for considerably less money than those with larger, fancier, electrically and electronically over-endowed yachts.
- - Cruising in your home country's waters considerably reduces costs. Primarily for boat parts; currency differences; and living costs when you don't easily have the "local knowledge" of where to find bargain foods. And outside your home country the local foods are most probably not very palatable to folks used to their own foods they have been eating all their lives. So buying "imported" foods is a lot more expensive.
- - The big unstated qualification to the budget amount being $500/mo on average or $5000/mo is - what are you including in that budget? To be "minimalist" you need to strip out all land-side obligations like retained homes on shore; travel to visit kids or grand-kids or travel to take care of periodic medical needs; medical insurance; boat insurance; eating out; taking paid tours; shopping for souvenirs; and hundreds of other "little things" that we piss away money on over time. The boat needs to be also a "minimalist" cruiser with few, if any, whizz-bank electronics, refrig/freezer, a/c, a/v home entertainment centers, etc., etc. If you don't have it, you don't have to fix/replace it.
- - Young folk with good health and no obligations beyond themselves can easily cruise on a minimalist budget. They have not accumulated the tons of "baggage" older folks have accumulated over their lifetimes that they are not willing or able to cast off. They can eat simple and endure a lot more physical abuse that is comes with a "pocket" sized cruising boat in the big oceans.
- - Last week in Dominica we anchored next to such a "pocket" sized sailboat (about a 28 foot cubby cabin type) with 4 people onboard - 2 young men, probably in their 20's; one young woman and her toddler. All seemed happy and full of the thirst for adventure that you won't find in the older cruisers. Older cruisers prefer to "sip" their adventure in nicer crystal glasses while sitting on a deck with comfortable chairs eating tidbits. Just a metaphor that points to the different points of view about what is "roughing it" that changes with age.
- - And of course, the real biggie - physical stamina and strength is inversely proportional to age. We damage easier and recover slower.
- - Bottom line, a couple of decades ago, Cruising World mag did a survey and article on cost of cruising for full time cruisers who jettison all land-side assets. It came out you could take your existing total living on land costs and cut them by 2/3rds by becoming a full-time cruiser. I suspect now-a-days that is you can cut your costs by about 1/2. So a young person living on $12K on land can easily cruise on $6K a year. Those of us who had land-living costs in the $50K to $100K/year would more likely see full time cruising costs in the $2500 to $5000/month bracket.

[cliffdykes]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Is it possible to cruise on $500/mo in a way that is not the "back-packing life".

So, in summary:

Yes it is

and on the other hand:

No it isn't.

Repeat ad infinitum until the moderators get bored and pull the thread

Cheers
Cliff

[callmecrazy]

Too many people that couldn't/wouldn't do it, telling other people they can't do it...

but i guess "backpack" cruising is not "real" cruising, so it doesn't count

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Too many people that couldn't/wouldn't do it, telling other people they can't do it...

but i guess "backpack" cruising is not "real" cruising, so it doesn't count

All cruising is REAL cruising.

I'm certain that I can not do the $500/mo and just hope that the number I finally settle on gets me to the various money mileposts I need to not have to return.

[Blue Crab]

Is about $16.50 a day. If I deduct, say, $4 for cheap beer, and a dollar for ice to keep it cold. Bread, baloney, mustard and cheese is say, another coupla bucks USD per day, that leaves me almost $10 a day disposable income for luxuries. No sweat. The wind is free.

That was how we looked at in the 60s and 70s. Now that I'm almost 70 myself, I really want an anchor windlass, a fuel filter cartridge, a tube of polident, and a hot shower on Saturdays.

[callmecrazy]

I certainly wouldn't choose to be limited by a budget like that, but I do believe it can be done.

I'm sure there are worse things than being a broke backpacking sailor in a tropical locale

It's been interesting reading through this thread...