How Cheap Could It Be Done

[Kita]

Originally Posted by SailingFan

This question comes up a bit I see. First, you must understand that setting sail under the influence of a "wild hair" will possibly kill you both, and that you need to be thoroughly familiar with boating on the vessel you are taking (and you did not say what kind of vessel you are talking about, which makes a substantial difference in cost). You also don't say what your experience level is, what sort of navigational skills you have, whether one or the other (or both) of you have any experience in handling repairs on the vessel type and construction method, and you have not stated your level of spryness either.

Additionally, how comfortable are you using the head in the sight of your friend, how often do you need to actually shower or bathe, have you desire for a lifeboat, do you have a Radio operator's license or a Marine VHF or SSB radio laying around, do you have/desire an AIS unit, can you use a sextant, do you have a GPS unit, do you need water purification facilities, how much do you eat and are there any foods you don't want, need refrigeration, need AC, want an icemaker, crock pot, alcohol stove, electric devices (TV or fans?), LED or incandescent lighting for navigation, engine type, spares, engine servicing skills, do you require any medical coverage in terms of prescriptions or items for first aid (which you will most likely need sooner or later), what time of year are you wanting to start this, how much can you forfeit comforts for tech, do you need other navigation technologies that may or may not already be in the mystery vessel when you obtain it, I mean, who knows what the answers to these things are? Are some or none of these things already in that boat, I mean, we need something to go by here. You may have an idea of what you are willing to do without and what your skills will allow, but you will only know what you don't know if you have some experience (and we don't know if you even have that).

Essentially, we have no way to answer you yet, as you have not given anything specific with which a real suggestion can be formulated, other than stay ashore until you take such a venture more seriously (so that you will have a better chance of surviving these thoughts).

Also, you can get a boat for free if you look for it long enough, you can pay $150k OR MORE for the boat you describe (vaguely), and either of them can be easily lost at sea if you are a novice or just plain unlucky and without a backup plan (as could you and your associate). Unless you have rich relatives that leave one to you, the free boat will likely not live long until it is refurbished PRIOR to departure, and it can cost you many thousands (and more) just to make it barely seaworthy, or it may already be ready. We have no way to predict the condition of a theoretical vessel that you may one day locate.

I don't want to rain on the parade, but surely you do realize that this question as originally posted is ridiculous and unanswerable, don't you? I have never boated the Pacific, and can still formulate a better estimate of what I would need for my boat than you can for the mystery vessel you are thinking you will locate at some unknown location. And that is with me transiting the Panama Canal to get there. In fact, even making that transit, there is no way I can predict the cost of the Pacific because I don't know where you are going (she is a mighty large ocean), when you are going, your skill level, boat condition (rigging, sails, spars, winches, deck condition, hull condition, last haulout, engine status, battery banks, electrics and electronics...).

There is a reason that this sort of question does not get answered well until about five pages into the thread, most of which will be not sunshine and wildflowers for your wild hair "plan"...

I dont believe this guy will ever take a risk & possibly be tied to the dock forever....in some ways he is right though. ..some can sail a very small boat around the world on food alone,some will camp at the dock because it's to dangerous out there..it's all about risk management. ..just be aware it could be your life you are risking, but I know I am not like this fellow,I will take a risk sometimes. .that's what life is,this guy might live to old age being careful but I bet that with great risk comes great reward. .I hope I am never like this fellow. ..but know I have great respect for him,just seems a dull life with no risk involved. .

[markwesti]

I have no idea what it would cost , but these people know first hand . Good luck and keep us posted !
Latitude 38 - The West's Leading Sailing and Marine Magazine

[rosatte]

last yr i sail.d great lakes for 1 month straight to c how much it would cost.boat was fully provisioned..i only went to a marina once and that was to empty holdi g tank..u can.t discharge anything in great lakes...at the end of the month i had spent 20 dollars for the pumpout...thats total cost o used next to nothing for fuel and anchored every nite..so costs...its up to you.

[hamburking]

To go cheap, you must be flexible. Let the wind and your luck be your guide. For instance, start your trip where you find a good/cheap boat. Here are a couple on the US east coast:

HUNTER 34 FOOT SAILBOAT 1983 WITH DIESEL YANMAR DIESEL INBOARD | eBay

NO RESERVE! 1981 35' Pearson Classic Sailboat Best Value Boat for Fall Sailing! | eBay

Either of these would be a good start that could take you south to the Caribbean for a couple of years of exploring. In that time, who knows what may happen next on your adventure.

If you are truly on a shoestring, I would allocate $1000 per month for 2 people. That should keep you in food and fuel, with something left over for minor repair. Keep in mind you will be living on the hook, eating plain foods, and drinking water. I think it would be awesome. In fact, you could make it into a career by documenting how cheap you could go...lots of people would like to see it done...perhaps get a book deal out of it!

However, if you want to cross oceans, you will want a better boat, perhaps something more like:

1978 Southern Cross 28 Footer | eBay

OR

Bruce Roberts Steel Cutter Sailboat | eBay

And finally, learn the routes...study this book:http://cornellsailing.com/publicatio...uising-routes/

[Steadman Uhlich]

While the boat they used would likely cost more than $10K USD, it was small 6.5 meters and they did sail around the world.

The sailors are "Alex and Flo."
Alexandre Seux and Florian Masniere

This video is a summation of the voyage of two intrepid young French sailors who sailed around the world in a 6.5 meter Mini TransAt boat, had fun, and created a video series of their voyage. The narration is in French, but I enjoyed watching their video and seeing their good spirits as they sailed along (rather fast) in a small simple boat. There are other videos you can find of the different segments of their circ.

https://youtu.be/zRgIst0XMp0

Here is the video that first caught my attention (Polynesia)
https://youtu.be/Xb66tpISyAI

[varkpilot]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

To keep things cheap, the easiest way to do things is to use the technology (& levels of complication/gear) found in say 1900, or 1950. You can still sail quite safely, & have grand adventures... while exhibiting/learning much better seamanship than currently is common. And do it on a fraction of today's budgets. The how much depends on where one's priorities lay.

Good for you, Uncivilized. I guess it's silly by today's 'be safe', 'remain insulated from everything', 'get that many thousands worth of electronic that you can't do without', 'be sure to take several thousand dollars with you' - but for some reason, the thought of the people many centuries ago setting out in small outrigger craft to discover and populate new (to them) islands in the Pacific keeps popping into my mind. Is 'modern man' so inferior to those sailors of long ago? Hmm. Kon-Tiki anyone? In the late 1940s?

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by rosatte

last yr i sail.d great lakes for 1 month straight to c how much it would cost.boat was fully provisioned..i only went to a marina once and that was to empty holdi g tank..u can.t discharge anything in great lakes...at the end of the month i had spent 20 dollars for the pumpout...thats total cost o used next to nothing for fuel and anchored every nite..so costs...its up to you.

In 2011 I bought a Paceship 29 in Toronto (Lake Ontario) for $100 (one hundred). I sailed it home (with my kids!!!) and spent less than $1000 on a refit that took me about a month, with most of the work done while at beautiful anchorages in the thousand islands. While underway I spent no money at all, but I did have to go into town to buy groceries. However, I would have been eating every day anyway. And I feed my kids daily too. I think I actually eat much less, and much cheaper while aboard. Everything tastes better on a boat! And there is no temptation to waste money at Tim Hortons (canadian version of starbucks) or McDonalds. There are a couple enterprising kids out of Gananoque who go around the major anchorages selling ice cream treats on the hottest days...I confess to giving them a few of my dollars, but well worth it.

At the end of the summer, I put the boat up for sale and got all my money back...plus a little bit for all my hard work. So, net cost for a summer of sailing...$0!

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Lt.,

Fwiw, unless you have ever been sailing on the ocean, it is too soon to offer you very much of an answer, for all the reasons Sailing Fan is getting at. Heck, you don't even know if you get seasick. Now, most people get over it in 3 days, or less, but it can make life miserable, and is an issue that needs addressing.

If you're independent in thought to take the UNCIVILIZED approach, back to the '50's, it might cost very little. That's up to you and what you are willing to forego. If you're addicted to electronic toys, it won't work. If you have high risk tolerance, you'll be better able to handle food and water rationing. Creativity, adaptability, and the interest in and capability to fix *stuff* will stand you in good stead.

Ann

[SailingFan]

Originally Posted by Kita

I dont believe this guy will ever take a risk & possibly be tied to the dock forever....in some ways he is right though. ..some can sail a very small boat around the world on food alone,some will camp at the dock because it's to dangerous out there..it's all about risk management. ..just be aware it could be your life you are risking, but I know I am not like this fellow,I will take a risk sometimes. .that's what life is,this guy might live to old age being careful but I bet that with great risk comes great reward. .I hope I am never like this fellow. ..but know I have great respect for him,just seems a dull life with no risk involved. .

Kita, if I am "this guy", please don't be so afraid I won't go out. I have been in some danged hairy sea states, worked in oilfields at 50 below zero weather, camped on mountainsides at under 20 below weather with very strong winds, I have driven a semi over riverbeds and plowed fields, and have dang near been killed on several occasions in the oilfield as well as in a holdup where I was the target (because I took a stupid risk and hitched a ride). Believe me when I tell you, I know about risk.

However, I also know about how I keep seeing people taking STUPID risks, and that if I seriously tell someone "go on, get out there, take a rowboat, someone rowed in an open dory from the US to England in 1876 so there is no reason you should not do it" I would be in my mind morally corrupt, and ethically I would be a horrible person. It is like telling someone "don't worry, that three year old cannot make a gun work, let them play with it" and this is definitely no exaggeration, in my opinion.

Likewise, having been going through my own sailboat more fully now she is on the hard, I can see tons of places where it is possible for things that are not apparent to be wrong, and in some cases, terribly and dangerously so, and yet invisible to casual observation on a low price sailboat of this size and age.

Let me ask you, how will you personally feel if the person just ups and sails out, and his family comes on here crying because he and pal took a crappy pos out to the open sea, then drowned in the Pacific because they had no idea what the hell they were doing, or what to do in the case of a minor leak? You could have saved them but instead sent them to their doom because you did not want to appear to be too safety minded? Please....

If I am not "this guy" then please disregard, and consider that you may have left a vague reference to who you were referring to.

By the way, I am also a firm believer in jackline tethers and lifejackets... Even in cold as hell water northern latitudes in high seas. Even another minute or two of air is ok for me should I go in, and I have seen folks pulled out of very cold water who were revived, brain still intact, several minutes after they should have been dead. Just because the odds are against me is not a good reason to leave the safety gear at home, on the docks, or locked in a locker under the vee berth or behind the head. I also believe in watchstanding, a logbook, and monitoring VHF, as well as using navigational aids and charts to plot a course rather than simply hoping for the best and weighing anchor, casting lines off the pilings, or disconnecting from the mooring ball.

I will send pics as we move forward, and yes, I am still going to replace the damaged mast step before heading out. I don't care if it might not fall, I am just not stupid enough to chance it just to get out there a moment sooner. The internals that are cosmetic will happen as we go. The OP should consider all this thoroughly before risking his or anyone else's life on a poorly conceived and planned venture such as this. Remember, they are also risking the lives of rescue personnel and other mariners...

[anacapaisland42]

In Cabo, 30 years ago we met a man who had transited the Atlantic on a 27 footer with no engine...just a sculling oar.
We were in Cabo on our 32 footer with an intermittent engine having navigated there by compass and depth sounder (flasher).
Just be VERY prudent about the weather
Bill

Originally Posted by Lt.

So, in all honesty, I'm going to place a crazy question to y'all. If me and a buddy got the wild notion to sail the Pacific, live aboard a fair amount, how cheaply could we do it?

Looking at as small a budget as possible, a 25-35 foot boat, and the plan bring to sail from Cali to Hawaii and around the SW Pacific, with little need for too many creature comforts, how cheaply could this be safely ccomplished?

[Mauro47]

I suggest you to reading "Sailing the farm" for the food. For the boat, a 27 ft plastic ship in good shape will probably cost you $3,000/year in maintenance and for live expenses and permits I would budget another $3-5k/year,, unless you do want to live like an homeless. Say a total of $10k/year could you into a sailor.

[Dougtiff]

It can be done, Google Shane Acton Shrimpy, a circumnavigation in a 18 foot plywood Sloop over a period of 8 year's, starting from England, i had the pleasure of meeting Shane in Malaysia, sadly he passed away of cancer, he was a real sailer.

[boatman61]

$5000 for a boat that can take you round the world.. Google 'Cooking Fat'
$25,000 for a Bene 321 that did a solo 47day non stop from the West Indies to the UK.. no extra's
$25,000 for a Hunter37 that solo'd from NC to the UK.. only extra's an autopilot that failed..
Often its not the boat that fails the owner.. its the owner that fails the boat..
Google Rebel Heart..
And.. ignore the 'beans and rice' crap.. that's for folks who either are lazy and lack imagination.. or don't know how to cook..

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by varkpilot

.......Hmm. Kon-Tiki anyone? In the late 1940s?

69 years on Kon-Tiki 2 didn't work out quite so well ... Official page for the Kon-Tiki2 expedition - home

[Sandibar]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

While the boat they used would likely cost more than $10K USD, it was small 6.5 meters and they did sail around the world.

The sailors are "Alex and Flo."
Alexandre Seux and Florian Masniere

This video is a summation of the voyage of two intrepid young French sailors who sailed around the world in a 6.5 meter Mini TransAt boat, had fun, and created a video series of their voyage. The narration is in French, but I enjoyed watching their video and seeing their good spirits as they sailed along (rather fast) in a small simple boat. There are other videos you can find of the different segments of their circ.

https://youtu.be/zRgIst0XMp0

Here is the video that first caught my attention (Polynesia)
https://youtu.be/Xb66tpISyAI

Hey, thanks for this, very cool! I think Delos bumped into these guys somewhere in SE Asia, at least there's a similar sized boat with two French guys on one of the videos.

Edit: here's a link to that part of the video, indeed the same boat: https://youtu.be/l0my1VSrS-k?t=3m19s