Another "how much does it cost to cruise" thread, but with a twist

[nuru05]

So I know the question of how much do I need to cruise has been done to death. However, instead of the normal "how cheap can I do it" I'm curious how much do you guys think you would need to cruise in a 40'ish foot Cat and be comfortable. To the point that you didn't frivolously waste money but at the same time didn't have to worry about the cost of eating out, or staying in the marina for a week, or just having all of your maintenance for you.

[Simi 60]

How long is a piece of string?

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by nuru05

So I know the question of how much do I need to cruise has been done to death. However, instead of the normal "how cheap can I do it" I'm curious how much do you guys think you would need to cruise in a 40'ish foot Cat and be comfortable. To the point that you didn't frivolously waste money but at the same time didn't have to worry about the cost of eating out, or staying in the marina for a week, or just having all of your maintenance for you.

5k usd is a very comfortable number IMHO.

[daletournier]

Per month I meant to add. I would want for very little with a 5k/mth budget.

[boatman61]

Calculate what it costs to live on land then double it..

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by nuru05

So I know the question of how much do I need to cruise has been done to death. However, instead of the normal "how cheap can I do it" I'm curious how much do you guys think you would need to cruise in a 40'ish foot Cat and be comfortable. To the point that you didn't frivolously waste money but at the same time didn't have to worry about the cost of eating out, or staying in the marina for a week, or just having all of your maintenance for you.

$3,727.31/mo

[ausaviator]

Give this a read if you haven't already and then add extra for what you think you'll be up for to make yourselves comfortable, like steaks, entertainment and other expenses that you think you'll be up for.

https://www.bumfuzzle.com/what-does-it-cost-to-cruise/

[nuru05]

Thanks for the answers guys, it's really helpful. My wife and I are on track to set out in about 10 years. Barring any major changes to our finances we should have about $72k/year (gross) in rental income so it sounds like that will keep us comfortable.

[wesevans]

How much it cost depends on life stile, location, size of boat (maintenance, dockage, insurance). When considering docking a month is often cheaper than a week as a transient. Anchoring vs mooring vs marina some areas anchoring is discouraged.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by daletournier

5k usd is a very comfortable number IMHO.

I would guess on the higher side given the criteria.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

$3,727.31/mo

And that is a documented amount!

[Hobiehobie]

There are two of us, we have a 2007 Hylas 54 that we sail approx 6 months of the year then live in a house for 6 months. I took our 2017 actuals and removed all the house and car expenses and other expenses related to land living. I took full year expenses like groceries and halved them to reflect approx what we spent during the six months on the boat. We spent winter of 2017 cruising the BVI. We went to Marinas only occasionally when we needed to fix stuff, most of the time on hook, sometimes on $30 per night mooring balls, but not often (say 10% of time). We ate out one or two times a week, usually lunch. We had four sets of guests for a week each so we were catering for more than the two of us quite often, but guests also often paid for groceries, dinner, or made up for it in some other monetary way. So we had fun, but were not extravagant. We do our own maintenance most of time unless it is advanced electrical or complex engine work.

Marina and Moorings $2396 (this includes some marina time before we left for BVI in Ft Lauderdale, and some as we were putting boat to bed)
Registration and Customs $678
Laundry $200
Sat Phone, email and weather $263
Charts flags software $314
Parts/upgrades $13,736 (note this includes one time costs of approx $7000 for water maker purchase and install, $1800 Sat Phone purchase, but note, in our experience most years there are other one time purchases)
Insurance for year $7,000
Fuel and CNG $2115
Haul out and Storage $5036 (includes extra for hurricane cradle and some of the off season yard storage costs incurred in 2017)
Eating/drinking out $3000
Liquor $2000
Healthcare $100
Groceries $5,000
Gifts $1000
Clothes $500
Cell phone (2) $900

Taking a monthly average is not logical as some of these expenses related to the boat are annual expenses, but it comes to $7450 per month for the six months we are sailing.

Happy to describe what drives some of these numbers to anyone that is interested.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

$3,727.31/mo

Isn't this misleading because it only covers one hull? Doesn't the second hull add 33.333%
( + or - .1%) more?

[KS84047]

I have read many of these posts and am always amazed at the answers. I have several friends that cruise full time and I regularly ask them about their costs. I know one family of 4 that live around the sea of Cortez. They eat out regularly and live well on $1000 dollars per month. They anchor out, do their own maintenance and live as the locals do. I have a long time friend that cruises between Trinidad and St Marten. His words to me are that he lives large on $1800 per month. He sails, does his own maintenance, eats what he wants, drinks all the rum he wants and pulls the boat out once a year. You can’t live like a rich tourist but can live well on $2000 per month if you anchor and do most of your own work. I am leaving in a year on a dudget of 2 K per month. I will anchor out, sail between islands and do most/all of my own maintenance. Good sailing.

[nuru05]

Originally Posted by Hobiehobie

There are two of us, we have a 2007 Hylas 54 that we sail approx 6 months of the year then live in a house for 6 months. I took our 2017 actuals and removed all the house and car expenses and other expenses related to land living. I took full year expenses like groceries and halved them to reflect approx what we spent during the six months on the boat. We spent winter of 2017 cruising the BVI. We went to Marinas only occasionally when we needed to fix stuff, most of the time on hook, sometimes on $30 per night mooring balls, but not often (say 10% of time). We ate out one or two times a week, usually lunch. We had four sets of guests for a week each so we were catering for more than the two of us quite often, but guests also often paid for groceries, dinner, or made up for it in some other monetary way. So we had fun, but were not extravagant. We do our own maintenance most of time unless it is advanced electrical or complex engine work.

Marina and Moorings $2396 (this includes some marina time before we left for BVI in Ft Lauderdale, and some as we were putting boat to bed)
Registration and Customs $678
Laundry $200
Sat Phone, email and weather $263
Charts flags software $314
Parts/upgrades $13,736 (note this includes one time costs of approx $7000 for water maker purchase and install, $1800 Sat Phone purchase, but note, in our experience most years there are other one time purchases)
Insurance for year $7,000
Fuel and CNG $2115
Haul out and Storage $5036 (includes extra for hurricane cradle and some of the off season yard storage costs incurred in 2017)
Eating/drinking out $3000
Liquor $2000
Healthcare $100
Groceries $5,000
Gifts $1000
Clothes $500
Cell phone (2) $900

Taking a monthly average is not logical as some of these expenses related to the boat are annual expenses, but it comes to $7450 per month for the six months we are sailing.

Happy to describe what drives some of these numbers to anyone that is interested.

That is actually really helpful, thank you. I took your numbers and doubled the appropriate ones (don't need to pay for haul outs/storage or twice as much insurance) and came to about $38k/year before maintenance/upgrades. With my expected budget (in today's dollars) I'd have about $20k/year left over for maintenance and upgrades, which I assume would be less on my 35-40foot boat compared to your 54 foot. This would work just fine especially since we always have the option to return to work for a few months to pay for some needed extra expense. We are fortunate that are careers are such that we make a very good wage and can come and go as we please.