The nitty gritty, Making money while you're cruising The South Pacific

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by ol1970

My wife can sing and play the acoustical guitar and has no problem doing a 2-3 hour set of all the songs that people love hearing in the tropical beach bar environments. For fun, she plans on seeing if she can set up and play in a few spots we stop along the way and if we get drinks and dinner out of it that is a bonus! It doesn't hurt her chances of being successful that she's a 6' tall drop dead gorgeous blonde Scandinavian.

20 years ago I bumped into a cruising couple who were doing this. She (Eileen Quinn) was a talented singer-songwriter with a knack for cruising/nautical songs. They were Canadiens and cruised on a 36 foot sailboat, mostly the Bahamas and such. Also sold CDs that did fairly well for them. I don't think they were getting rich, but seemed to be enjoying themselves and were deeply immersed in the cruising community.

Peter

[rkarakai21]

Originally Posted by ol1970

My wife can sing and play the acoustical guitar and has no problem doing a 2-3 hour set of all the songs that people love hearing in the tropical beach bar environments. For fun, she plans on seeing if she can set up and play in a few spots we stop along the way and if we get drinks and dinner out of it that is a bonus! It doesn't hurt her chances of being successful that she's a 6' tall drop dead gorgeous blonde Scandinavian.

Yeah we have an advantage in this department too, my partner is a musician, has been playing the fiddle since she was a kid and singing. Plays mostly Bluegrass. I can definitely see the value in being musical, I'll have to learn some guitar to accompany her. She busked her way across Europe and Asia years ago.

[ol1970]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

20 years ago I bumped into a cruising couple who were doing this. She (Eileen Quinn) was a talented singer-songwriter with a knack for cruising/nautical songs. They were Canadiens and cruised on a 36 foot sailboat, mostly the Bahamas and such. Also sold CDs that did fairly well for them. I don't think they were getting rich, but seemed to be enjoying themselves and were deeply immersed in the cruising community.

Peter

Yep, I think it will if nothing else be a way too meet some fun people along the journey. Thankfully we won't need to do this in order to put food on the table though.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, there, rkarakai21,

The suggestion, upstream for you working part time in the US for large dollars makes sense to me, and would leave your good lady to be able to do a whole quarter of substitute teaching, or busking, if she prefers. We have some friends who, back in the 90's, did a little busking. You will be in competition with other, local, buskers. And in the Islands, you will make music because the islanders love it so much. Our friends had some puppets, and made little puppet shows out through the galley port for the kids, too. No money, but by golly the kids loved it. The lady wrote magazine articles with photos about the cruising that she sold. We knew a number of folks who did that.

What you will want to do is see how you can fit into the economy somewhere there is money to be made. For instance, if your good lady can get a certificate in teaching math, there IS a big demand for math teachers in Australia. A friend of ours made good money doing "relief" teaching (substitute teaching on an on call basis) here.

I'm quoting you back at you because you and your partner may want to consider the working at home strategy, together, too, leaving the boat in a marina, for the return trip. Then, you could cohabit the whole time. Best deal would be if you can save up a good sized kitty to start with (and allow for re-entry costs, at the end of the voyage). Perhaps part of your 5 yr. plan would be an effort to live as low on the hog as possible, and get serious about savings and investment.

For you, we knew a guy who was a diesel mechanic, professionally. How he worked it was, consultation aboard his boat was free; if he brought tools to your boat, it was on the clock and he was (at that time) charging $40/hr. to cruisers. So a diesel ticket might be of some use to you. Cruisers these days seem to have more money and less skills. You might be able to teach a bunch of them to make soft shackles.

We did know a guy who made ends meet in the Sea of Cortez, by mending sails. Today, with so many laminate sails, i don't know how practical this would be. One time I sewed back on the Sunbrella UV protection for a friend's headsail, but Jim and I gave away our labor (he turned the crank, I sewed), and the lawn where we did the work was also donated.

The most common problems cruisers have to solve in their first year cruising are usually focused on having enough power to run all the things they want to run, and finding that their refrigeration sucks down their batteries too much. (For your own planning, I'd suggest you plan for 25% more than you need in the beginning. People use a lot more power now than they used to.) Some of these people may well pay you to clean their hulls (used to paying for it), and possibly for consulting on refrigeration, insulation, and electronics. When you need to be paid, you need to find a comfortable way to ask that, while still keeping your integrity. The more you learn about being frugal, the more it will stand you in good stead.

Good luck with it, I think you're going to have a blast!

[Mithril Bham]

Find local partner to work with and don't expect to make much. Electrical is good.
Hang out at docks and offer free help to get to know locals.

[alitaptap]

Originally Posted by JohnHolland

A few ideas from SP cruising in the 80's:
- bring a sailrite sewing machine...many cruisers need sail and canvas repairs for a reasonable price
- write for a cruising or association magazine or local paper
- learn marine diesel repair and get tools for the difficult jobs...you'll need to know the basics anyway
Bring a guitar and busk?
- contact resorts in isolated places if you have good mechanical/electrical skills, or to teach SCUBA, often in demand with limited local supply
- NZ AUS work visas for teaching and skilled trades

Good luck

This is a good starting point.



If you buy the sewing machine idea then also buy many spools of UV-resistant thread as that is hard to find as you travel remote and gives you the "professional" edge.



I have sailed around SE Asia for 30 years and the most common NEED from both local and cruising yachts are a good diesel and/or electrical / electronics person for the "occasional" (frequently, if word spreads that you have the knack) / prolonged-occasional work; refrigeration / aircon experience is secondary but also a NEED in some cases. Best advice is to find a "local" who you can "train" and that will overcome most employment-visa/resentment objections - you will not be anywhere for too long probably, so training someone will be beneficial to the local community for the future.


Another growing NEED for tourist spots, or wannabe tourist spots, is to have
high-quality drone photography so that they can update their websites with video or just great aerial images. [website maintenance and design is another one you can do while voyaging] So, buy a drone with a high-resolution camera and learn to use it creatively, and perhaps your partner can add background acting/music/song to a "production". In my experience, resorts, especially foreign focused resorts, will pay a sensible package price for a package delivered.


Rigging jobs: not many, sorry.



Wherever you or your partner find opportunities to teach, do not forget to blend in the imperative that even the most insignificant of people can make a difference if they all sing with one voice - if Everyone demands a cooler world it can happen. After all, what's wrong with being cool?

[lyndon.nz]

Hi guys, exciting times ahead! My wife and I funded our adventures buy purchasing the right boats at the right price in the right places ( Europe, New Zealand, Japan, China). Each time we undertook our due diligence and sought to offset the cost of the adventure through the sale margins. While we have not made up the loss of earning for the period we did this or make enough for the ‘future’ , we did cover all living and adventure costs. Like you my wife is a teacher and we did explore opportunities to teach but contracts tend to not align with trade wind sailing windows. If however you are prepared to go slow ( which does compromise the resale model above) then teaching contracts can and do work. While my wife taught we also set up a sailing school in main land China (lived there for 7 years) . If your interested in sailing and committing to staying in these waters for a full summer season then I can help conect you to a very cool community there. We still return there (pre Covid) to help out for a couple of months in the club, it’s an absolute blast and joy sharing sailing with another culture. Oh and we did this with kids, so to you I say go for it, what’s the worst that can happen… (that’s rhetorical….

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by alitaptap

This is a good starting point.



If you buy the sewing machine idea then also buy many spools of UV-resistant thread as that is hard to find as you travel remote and gives you the "professional" edge.



I have sailed around SE Asia for 30 years and the most common NEED from both local and cruising yachts are a good diesel and/or electrical / electronics person for the "occasional" (frequently, if word spreads that you have the knack) / prolonged-occasional work; refrigeration / aircon experience is secondary but also a NEED in some cases. Best advice is to find a "local" who you can "train" and that will overcome most employment-visa/resentment objections - you will not be anywhere for too long probably, so training someone will be beneficial to the local community for the future.


Another growing NEED for tourist spots, or wannabe tourist spots, is to have
high-quality drone photography so that they can update their websites with video or just great aerial images. [website maintenance and design is another one you can do while voyaging] So, buy a drone with a high-resolution camera and learn to use it creatively, and perhaps your partner can add background acting/music/song to a "production". In my experience, resorts, especially foreign focused resorts, will pay a sensible package price for a package delivered.


Rigging jobs: not many, sorry.



Wherever you or your partner find opportunities to teach, do not forget to blend in the imperative that even the most insignificant of people can make a difference if they all sing with one voice - if Everyone demands a cooler world it can happen. After all, what's wrong with being cool?

Just be careful with the drone thing to make sure you're following each country's patchwork of regulations. Often you need to get pre-approval to bring a drone in, and that comes from one guy who may or may not be feeling up to responding to your requests in a timely manner. No approval and they keep it until you leave, hopefully you were planning to leave from the same port and hopefully it's still there. Not to mention many places require you pay full VAT and duty on it, which can be in the 50% range.

[Dogscout]

really. who wants to work when you are out cruising? I fly back to the US on occasion and put more gold in the box. Retirement became an excuse to leave and buy the boat. Consulting for what I did for 30 years pays for the refit.

[merrydolphin]

My wife and I made a decent living while cruising. She is an RN and an incredible sea cook.
I am a 100 ton Master Captain US Sailing instructor and Scuba instructor.
With these skill we did crewed charters. One to two week term charters. We specialized in Scuba. Not a live aboard dive boat but a dive or so per day, or less.
And of course, sailing. We had a 46 ft mono.
This was in the Caribbean, and in about 2-3 months, we made enough to last the rest of a year. We plugged in about another month for maintenance, as we had to keep the boat tip top to present it for charter. That gave us a good 8-9 months to do what we wanted. Live the cruising life and plenty of diving and exploring. Often with friends and buddy boats. I also filled my share of Scuba tanks for a little extra. And gave Scuba lessons once in a while. Mainly to cruisers wanting to get into the sport. It was a lot of work and fun too. Usually the people were enjoyable. In all the charters we did, there were only 2 bad ones. And a good number of very pleasant and memorable ones, some of whom we are still friends with. It was a team effort. And yes, you have to be a “people person” to do it. It was a fit for us. Good luck in finding what works for you.

[jordanbigel]

I met a couple on a boat once who had a pizza oven - they sold fresh pizza at anchor. Another couple I met had a bread business (in New Caledonia), they went around the anchorage handing out price lists for different kinds of bread. I assume they deliver your purchases once they are baked (I was not a customer because I like to bake my own).

I met another guy (in Taha'a) who went around the lagoon to all the cruising boats every morning with fresh breads, croissants, etc. for sale - this seems like the easiest kind of business to get into with a low barrier to entry. Baked goods of any kind in a crowded anchorage are a hot product, especially in areas with charter boaters.

[ChrisJHC]

Originally Posted by jordanbigel

I met a couple on a boat once who had a pizza oven - they sold fresh pizza at anchor. Another couple I met had a bread business (in New Caledonia), they went around the anchorage handing out price lists for different kinds of bread. I assume they deliver your purchases once they are baked (I was not a customer because I like to bake my own).

I met another guy (in Taha'a) who went around the lagoon to all the cruising boats every morning with fresh breads, croissants, etc. for sale - this seems like the easiest kind of business to get into with a low barrier to entry. Baked goods of any kind in a crowded anchorage are a hot product, especially in areas with charter boaters.

I can’t see this going down well with the locals.

Rich westerners come in on their boats that cost more than a year’s salary.
Then take away income from the local traders.
Particularly in New Caledonia with it’s French cuisine.

[IggyG]

Crypto.
Web 3.0 is upon us and legacy finance/gaming/copywrite will look like horse and buggy industries in the early 20th C. Learn the landscape and how to trade. It is early days and the opportunities are limitless. And it's decentralized. Not financial advice but you are at the threshold of the biggest transfer of wealth in our lifetimes. You're young, world savvy and educated. Take a look at it!

[opusnz]

Originally Posted by Chris Cringle

rakrakal21, I don't want to rain on your parade but you asked and you deserve an honest answer. I spent 22 years cruising, mostly in the Pacific. It is extremely difficult for a cruiser to support himself and his boat picking up boat repair jobs as he cruises. And it would be especially difficult for someone with your skill set. There are very few wooden boats cruising now and even fewer traditionally rigged boats. I know that some of your skills would be transferable to fiberglass and modern rigging, but the owners of those boat seek out experts in those fields when looking for help. How strict are Pacific nations about work permit? Very strict! If you are caught working without a work visa almost everywhere, the best you can hope for is to be simply kicked out of the country. And the local workers are not shy about turning you in if they suspect that you are taking jobs. Over the years I saw plenty of guys rowing their dinghies from boat to boat in the anchorages seeking small jobs. They seldom seemed to find anything. As for your wife teaching ESL, most of the islanders who are interested in and can afford English classes want a certified, accredited program. I think the best skills to have if people want to pick-up under-the-table income while cruising are stainless welding, refrigeration, and hair cutting. How much does it cost? We had a simple, gaff-rigged ketch and seldom went into anchorages. We were comfortable at about $2,000 a month, boat and living expenses and a flight home every three years or so. We could have been okay at $1,500. You two are young. You have plenty of time. I was 46 when I cast off. Use your skills to earn cash now, invest it wisely, and have a reliable income when you begin your cruising.Fair winds.

I spent about 8 years in the South Pacific and I agree with Chris. The authorities are very strict. Even non paid volunteers can get in trouble if they take away a job from a local so you have to be very careful. I have a good skill set and can repair most things electronic or electrical. I could have had no end of work and I helped out a lot of people when I could but most cruisers are cheap and on a budget. Usually I helped people as a favor and got a dinner or a few drinks out my efforts. I was always careful to not charge for anything and tried to keep a low profile.

Some other things to note. A leisurely lifestyle could quickly turn into a job and ruin your cruising if you end up working too much and you aren't careful. Charging other cruisers also turns your relationship with other cruisers to one from "a friend helping a friend" to "a contractor and customer". This can be bad when something doesn't turn out as expected. In my experience, if you can park a boat for awhile and fly back home to a higher paying job, you will stay refreshed and probably be financially better off. When you get back to your boat, you will be raring to go again. I know of some people who did this for 10 or more years. The ones I know of who tried to work along the way were stressed out and burned out after a year or two.

[Pelagic]

Well said opusnz