My wife and I lived aboard and cruised the Eastern Seaboard and the
Bahamas for many years and with that in mind I have been trying to form an answer to your question. I realize that it is almost impossible to answer because the it is all so very subjective. By that I mean that
money is certainly a necessary consideration, but the answer is much more about you and your adaptability and capabilities than it is about the
money. We kept expenses down by eating a lot of
fish (lobster included) and I did all of the
maintenance. We needed money to buy
parts, but I never hired anyone to
work on the
boat. Doing my own
maintenance not only saved money, but then we were confident in the quality of the
repairs. By adaptable I mean that we spent a lot of time at
anchor rather than in
marinas and we loved it. We bathed by jumping over the side and swimming while at
anchor. If you need a fresh
water hot
shower to "get the
salt off", you are not as adaptable as you could be. Think seriously about your maintenance abilities and your adaptability and expectations before you make the jump. That will help define a
budget.