Realistic Cruising budget for a young family?

[Hardrightrudder]

Hello there-
We have a 1973 Ericson 39 in pristine shape (new engine/ electrical systems/ sails/Navigation systems/ etc). I’m trying to gauge what a yearly cruising budget might look like. We are in our 40’s with a 4 year old. We prefer to anchor as much as possible. We are a do-it-yourself family with regard to boat maintenance. We’re thinking of cruising Maine-Caribbean and possibly heading through the Panama Canal heading towards Mexico.
Any advice regarding budgeting would be greatly appreciated from those who have done something similiar.


Cheers-

[Benz]

Ten years ago I did San Francisco to Panama with three kids aboard, spent $11,000 in one year. It's not a sustainable number: the boat was new; we had stocked up huge before leaving; the children were small and didn't eat much. The next year's budget started with a haulout in Colombia: bottom paint, caulk, routine maintenance--it all adds up and has to be factored in to a long-term budget, even with a pristine boat. It's impossible to tell other people what they'll spend knowing nothing of their habits or abilities (do you need to eat out a lot? drink? party? pay for boat repairs? it all factors in).
Someone here has a detailed list of all his expenses for over a year now--it's worth looking up in your case.

[JPA Cate]

Two different members have been detailing their expenses, neither with children aboard. They are sailorboy1 and hpeer. If you use the search function to look for their posts, you can compare their expenses.

Usually, people continue their spending patterns from land based life, so if one is exceptionally frugal, one continues to be, but if you eat out a lot or buy expensive entertainment they'll be higher.

Ann

[dannc]

There is a maintenance spreadsheet and discussion on the Morgan's Cloud website, it is behind a pay wall, but the website is WELL worth every penny, https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/07...ging-sailboat/.

The spreadsheet has a bunch of variables you can set, boat size, level of maintenance, who does the work, system complexity, miles sailed, etc. The spread sheet assumes 10 year length of ownership. Looking at what other people have posted for 10 year periods of time, the spreadsheet looks to be in the ball park.

What you spend outside of keeping the boat up depends on many personal variables.

Later,
Dan

[MightyWalrus]

Check out YouTube ‘Mothership Adrift’. Family of 5, 3 young kids. Been sailing for 3 years on a tight budget and doing a lot of work themselves, mostly around the Med and now in South America. I’m sure they did an episode of budget. Might help.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Hardrightrudder

Hello there-
We have a 1973 Ericson 39 in pristine shape (new engine/ electrical systems/ sails/Navigation systems/ etc). I’m trying to gauge what a yearly cruising budget might look like. We are in our 40’s with a 4 year old. We prefer to anchor as much as possible. We are a do-it-yourself family with regard to boat maintenance. We’re thinking of cruising Maine-Caribbean and possibly heading through the Panama Canal heading towards Mexico.
Any advice regarding budgeting would be greatly appreciated from those who have done something similiar.


Cheers-

My favorite answer to the question: How much does it coast to cruise? Is how much have you got. Delos advises that it costs about $100 US per week per full sized person which would be about $1,000 a month in your case since your four year old won't be eating or drinking much (at least not the good stuff ) Can you get by on rice and beans or will it be T-bones and Artichoke hearts? Lots of variables there. If you end up being out for years, you'll find much of the stuff you just refitted will be due again and you know what that costs not omitting inflation. Sailorboy 1 seems to average around $3,000 a month but he manages to hang out with his fellow "boat scum" a lot which you probably won't be doing with a four year old in tow. As you can see, this is a fairly open question depending upon your individual life style. I think I'd use the $3,000 a month number to start - if you don't need it, it'll still be there and you can adjust your number accordingly. Let's
not forget all the navigation, weather and communication subscriptions which can really blow that budget if you're running a home office aboard but usually runs less than $300 a month for a moderate offshore package.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Hardrightrudder

Hello there-
We have a 1973 Ericson 39 in pristine shape (new engine/ electrical systems/ sails/Navigation systems/ etc). I’m trying to gauge what a yearly cruising budget might look like. We are in our 40’s with a 4 year old. We prefer to anchor as much as possible. We are a do-it-yourself family with regard to boat maintenance. We’re thinking of cruising Maine-Caribbean and possibly heading through the Panama Canal heading towards Mexico.
Any advice regarding budgeting would be greatly appreciated from those who have done something similiar.


Cheers-

this much for me and my wife the last 4.5 years full time and if you click my user name you can find each monthly report for the story bind each month

[Hardrightrudder]

Thanks for the info everyone-like most of you stated, a lot depends on our habits and boat needs, which we understand.
Cheers-

[Fore and Aft]

HardRightRudder we had a holiday for the first time with a new family we hang out with. The wife and I were amazed at how different people are with spending money. We are on similar incomes yet they would have spent twice what we did on the same holiday, even though our kids had the exactly same experiences. I can still remember the look on there face when I mentioned that the local supermarket had a great special on drinks, you would have thought I had just peed on the ground in front of them!
Whatever happens you can always come back and earn more money, but you can't earn more time with your wife and child.
Cheers

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Two different members have been detailing their expenses, neither with children aboard. They are sailorboy1 and hpeer. If you use the search function to look for their posts, you can compare their expenses.

Usually, people continue their spending patterns from land based life, so if one is exceptionally frugal, one continues to be, but if you eat out a lot or buy expensive entertainment they'll be higher.

Ann

Also Cthoops...

Our Cruising Costs - Month 29 for a Middle-Aged Couple on a 30' Boat
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...at-245902.html

Fair winds and good luck, HardRight!
LittleWing77

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by dannc

There is a maintenance spreadsheet and discussion on the Morgan's Cloud website, it is behind a pay wall, but the website is WELL worth every penny, https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/07...ging-sailboat/.

The spreadsheet has a bunch of variables you can set, boat size, level of maintenance, who does the work, system complexity, miles sailed, etc. The spread sheet assumes 10 year length of ownership. Looking at what other people have posted for 10 year periods of time, the spreadsheet looks to be in the ball park.

What you spend outside of keeping the boat up depends on many personal variables.

Later,
Dan

Morgan’s Cloud is a very big, very nice and very expensive boat.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Morgan’s Cloud is a very big, very nice and very expensive boat.

Well, all of the above are subjective. I think Morgan's Cloud is a nice sized boat for what she was designed to do and has done. Very big, not so much. It is a nice boat but it also does not have all of the bells and whistles that many boats have onboard. Expensive is relative.

The OP has a 39 food boat, which is not exactly a small boat, and I suspect they have similar systems as Morgan's Cloud.

A key variable of the spreadsheet is DISPLACEMENT. Anyone using the spreadsheet can change the variables, including displacement, system complexity, how well the boat is kept up, who does the work, how many miles sailed, etc., to get a decent estimate on the cost of maintaining a boat. Members of the website seemed to think the spreadsheet was accurate. Where I have figures on boat upkeep costs, from people who have published many years of budget information, the spreadsheet seems in the ballpark, but maybe, hopefully, on the high side.

Later,
Dan

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Hardrightrudder

Hello there-
We have a 1973 Ericson 39 in pristine shape (new engine/ electrical systems/ sails/Navigation systems/ etc). I’m trying to gauge what a yearly cruising budget might look like. We are in our 40’s with a 4 year old. We prefer to anchor as much as possible. We are a do-it-yourself family with regard to boat maintenance. We’re thinking of cruising Maine-Caribbean and possibly heading through the Panama Canal heading towards Mexico.
Any advice regarding budgeting would be greatly appreciated from those who have done something similiar.

As you can gather, "realistic budgets" are in the eyes of the beholder. In other words, it really depends on your boat, your location, your crew, and mainly your cruising lifestyle. Some spend many thousands per month. Others (of us) spend few. It really depends on you.

There are some good budget threads that have been mentioned. I encourage you to look at them.

As another data point, my partner and I cruise on a 37-foot older boat. It sounds like we have similar styles with regards to DIY and being away from marinas. We spend 1/2 the year on board, and the other 1/2 doing land things. We are on a fixed budget so I know what we spend: ~19,000 US per year.

[SV_Galateia]

Mike,

How would you say your $19,000.00 breaks out between your land life and your sea life? Even split or is one life style definitely more expensive than the other?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by SV_Galateia

How would you say your $19,000.00 breaks out between your land life and your sea life? Even split or is one life style definitely more expensive than the other?

It's definitely cheaper for us to live on the boat. Although, to be fair, that's mainly due to the fact that on land we are travelling great distances (crisscrossing Canada), and incurring motel and eating-out costs along the way.