Average costs of land living to boat living

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Shanachie

Some advice from someone who has been there: Lowering your cost of living, if you have some money, is only good if you're not depriving yourself of fun.

Wise words that for some reason many don't feel should apply to living on a boat. People post they don't eat out, don't go sightseeing, never go into a marina, don't do any travel etc. and for some reason feel that is the life to be proud of because it was low money.

[Kettlewell]

People post they don't eat out, don't go sightseeing, never go into a marina, don't do any travel etc. and for some reason feel that is the life to be proud of because it was low money.

Different people prefer different things--we don't all have to be the same! I rarely eat a meal from a restaurant that is better than our home cooking, but still enjoy the break from cooking from time to time. I have some neighbors that eat out every single night--I would find that tiring. Similarly, we vastly prefer anchoring to being in most marinas. My wife calls marinas boat ghettos. You're on top of each other, someone is always playing music you don't like or having a late-night party, the view is usually much worse, and you get to pay for the privilege. Sure, sometimes it is nice in places where it is difficult to get ashore otherwise, but I haven't stayed in a marina in many years by choice. Most of us save money on certain things so we can spend it on other things we prefer.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Most of us save money on certain things so we can spend it on other things we prefer.

Of course. But when you spend the money it is still spent!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Different people prefer different things--we don't all have to be the same! I rarely eat a meal from a restaurant that is better than our home cooking, but still enjoy the break from cooking from time to time. I have some neighbors that eat out every single night--I would find that tiring. Similarly, we vastly prefer anchoring to being in most marinas. My wife calls marinas boat ghettos. You're on top of each other, someone is always playing music you don't like or having a late-night party, the view is usually much worse, and you get to pay for the privilege. Sure, sometimes it is nice in places where it is difficult to get ashore otherwise, but I haven't stayed in a marina in many years by choice. Most of us save money on certain things so we can spend it on other things we prefer.

100%!!!!!

I can’t stand docks. Paying for one is just an insult on top of the bad setup. The boat really hates docks. Rubbing on fenders, wind coming from the wrong direction, etc.

Agree about restaurants too. The food at most is low quality and not well prepared. It’s also usually unhealthy. The secret ingredient to make the low quality food taste better is usually salt. Lol. The last refuge of people with no kitchen skills. Ha ha. Again, you get to pay for the privilege.

Not all restaurants are bad. But most waterfront ones are. Powered by industrial food supplier Sysco. Just watch the trucks pulling up. Once you see Sysco, you might as well go to Applebees or McDonalds

[sailorboy1]

Guess the land equivalent would be saying "I don't like living in a house and prefer a tent in the woods. I also don't like cooking on a stove and prefer to cook over a fire using a stick to hold the food."

I rarely stay in a marina when not at my home slip. But I know I only do so to be cheap and save money to do other things.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Guess the land equivalent would be saying "I don't like living in a house and prefer a tent in the woods. I also don't like cooking on a stove and prefer to cook over a fire using a stick to hold the food."

I rarely stay in a marina when not at my home slip. But I know I only do so to be cheap and save money to do other things.

I guess it probably depends on your boat to a great extent.

If I go to a dock, I don’t plug in or use anything anyway. This boat doesn’t even have shore power. No need. The boat is self sufficient for months and my boats always are. Not just this one.

There is no operational difference between a dock and an anchorage for my boats. They work the same and life flows the same way in either one.

I guess if a boat wasn’t made to be self sufficient the camping analogy works.

But extending it to camping and RVs it’s like enjoying staying at a KOA instead of on BLM land. I go to the BLM land and quiet beauty. I also don’t prefer getting crammed into a campground.

PS: RV is almost as self sufficient as the boat

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Different people prefer different things--we don't all have to be the same! I rarely eat a meal from a restaurant that is better than our home cooking, but still enjoy the break from cooking from time to time. I have some neighbors that eat out every single night--I would find that tiring. Similarly, we vastly prefer anchoring to being in most marinas. My wife calls marinas boat ghettos. You're on top of each other, someone is always playing music you don't like or having a late-night party, the view is usually much worse, and you get to pay for the privilege. Sure, sometimes it is nice in places where it is difficult to get ashore otherwise, but I haven't stayed in a marina in many years by choice. Most of us save money on certain things so we can spend it on other things we prefer.

Originally Posted by Chotu

100%!!!!!

I can’t stand docks. Paying for one is just an insult on top of the bad setup. The boat really hates docks. Rubbing on fenders, wind coming from the wrong direction, etc.

Agree about restaurants too. The food at most is low quality and not well prepared. It’s also usually unhealthy. The secret ingredient to make the low quality food taste better is usually salt. Lol. The last refuge of people with no kitchen skills. Ha ha. Again, you get to pay for the privilege.

Not all restaurants are bad. But most waterfront ones are. Powered by industrial food supplier Sysco. Just watch the trucks pulling up. Once you see Sysco, you might as well go to Applebees or McDonalds

The above are my thoughts exactly

Our vessel is 100% self sufficient and we know how to cook and do it well
All appliances are 240v same as a house and similar amenities, if not better.

Been in a marina for a month now for the first time in 7 years through necessity, not choice
Still haven't plugged into shore power.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

The above are my thoughts exactly

Our vessel is 100% self sufficient and we know how to cook and do it well
All appliances are 240v same as a house and similar amenities, if not better.

Been in a marina for a month now for the first time in 7 years through necessity, not choice
Still haven't plugged into shore power.

Agreed. I guess those who aren't very self-sufficient, and either don't have a good galley and storage areas, or lack the skills to prepare good food, will find themselves drawn to shore-based services. We never seem to lack for adventure and exploration, and we can do it comfortably, and without the need to seek expensive tie offs.

[Kolchac]

I have lived aboard no longer than 2 months, so could've been mistaken. I wonder why many skippers here are saying that the boat leaving is chipper. I pay approximately the same money to the marina as the property tax. The insurance is cheaper for the house. The internet, TV, remote work, and similar things are more expensive for the boat living. In addition, for the boat living, you have to use Uber, not your car (if you are sailing). The rest depends on what you need other than sailing (tennis, swimming lessons, alpine skiing, pub friends, a party for more than 10 people...).
Am I wrong?

[sailorboy1]

My boat is pretty self sufficient. Been living on it 7 years. I think the longest without going into a marina or plugging in to shore power is 15 months. But I was very happy to end that when did go in to a slip.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Kolchac

I have lived aboard no longer than 2 months, so could've been mistaken. I wonder why many skippers here are saying that the boat leaving is chipper. I pay approximately the same money to the marina as the property tax. The insurance is cheaper for the house. The internet, TV, remote work, and similar things are more expensive for the boat living. In addition, for the boat living, you have to use Uber, not your car (if you are sailing). The rest depends on what you need other than sailing (tennis, swimming lessons, alpine skiing, pub friends, a party for more than 10 people...).
Am I wrong?

It's all very specific to the individual. Location matters, your boat matters, your lifestyle matters big time. This is why it's hard to answer the question: What does this life cost? It depends...

It's certainly possible to spend as much, or more, while living on a boat. It's also possible to live less expensively. But it depends on the choices you make.

[Fore and Aft]

SailorBoy I guestimate around 10k a year to dock and maintain our 32 foot yacht. That's about all the cash a family man with two kids in school can spare on my income. I am also a big internet shopper and are always looking for a bargain. Just yesterday I purchased three new four litre cans of Micron antifoul paint for $100 each.
Personally I love docks. The convenience to get on and off the boat and the random meeting of like minded people makes it good fun.
One of my clients down sized after years of cruising on a 40' cat to a 40' mono just so she could go in the marina more often. Her social life just got busier.
As for eating out it's the deep fried food we don't cook at home home that we buy.
Cheers

[Simi 60]

Like for like comparisons need to be made.

For example,
I could say it was cheaper to live on land if the house I was using as an example was a dog box100 miles up Satan's Colon overlooking a toxic waste dump.
A place like that would quite likely be cheaper than living on OUR boat.
It'd likely be cheaper than living on a 30fter tied to a marina.


But the fair comparison for anyone us would be a decent sized waterfront 2 bedroom appartment with an entertaining deck with stunning views.
Full sized bedrooms kitchen. and bathroom (not cabin, galley or head)
Modern 240v appliances, big refrigeration, laundry, comfortable lounge etc

(For those on smaller boats who don't have full sized bedrooms, beds, facilities, maybe a studio appartment with water views is more true)

Here in Oz the above near good facilities is near $1000/week in rent
To buy a unit ticking the above boxes it's nearer $1 million or $7000/MTH repayments
A house nearer $2 million or $14,000/MTH repayments

Yep, living on a boat is considerably cheaper
And we don't need no stinkin marina

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Like for like comparisons need to be made.

For example,
I could say it was cheaper to live on land if the house I was using as an example was a dog box100 miles up Satan's Colon overlooking a toxic waste dump.
A place like that would quite likely be cheaper than living on OUR boat.
It'd likely be cheaper than living on a 30fter tied to a marina.


But the fair comparison for anyone us would be a decent sized waterfront 2 bedroom appartment with an entertaining deck with stunning views.
Full sized bedrooms kitchen. and bathroom (not cabin, galley or head)
Modern 240v appliances, big refrigeration, laundry, comfortable lounge etc

(For those on smaller boats who don't have full sized bedrooms, beds, facilities, maybe a studio appartment with water views is more true)

Here in Oz the above near good facilities is near $1000/week in rent
To buy a unit ticking the above boxes it's nearer $1 million or $7000/MTH repayments
A house nearer $2 million or $14,000/MTH repayments

Yep, living on a boat is considerably cheaper
And we don't need no stinkin marina

So when I was 39 years old I was able to get a waterfront apartment after moving back to the coast from Tennessee.

It was on the wrong side of town but I did care.

It was in Pensacola, FL where I was recently transferred

I parked both my beach cats just above the high water mark and tied them down.

My rent for the 2 bedroom apartment was $450/month.

I was recently separated also and there were quite a few single ladies in apartments there which was quite convenient when dating.

The Gulf was maybe a 5 miles sail to the Pass.

Pensacola Beach 9 miles or so.

Since we had the beach cats my 15 year old son had transportation to the beach where he and friends would sail to for tacos and to meet girls. They also carried a radio cassette player along which didn't even get wet when the flipped the boat over. He was an experienced Skipper having been my racing crew since age 10 or so.

The link below is how it looks now. The apartment complex was closed for 2 years after Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

I lived there from 1996 - 2001. Picture of me in front of my Jeep is probably 2002. I had moved but paid $50/month to keep my boats there.

There was no seawall or pool there then.

There were lots of full keel boats at the dock though and I would hang out there with the cruiser guys. The slip fee was $50/month if you lived there.

The cruiser guys had lots of good stories and would critique every boat at the dock from the Tayanas to the S2's and Tartans.

I had to decide on a monohull or larger faster beach cat after I arrived because Hobie 16's were old school there.

So instead on a slow monohull I bought a Nacra 6.0 brand new. The broker I spoke to about buying a monohull basically said you can't really sail far if you are working on a boat with a max speed of 6-8 knots but with something like a Nacra 6.0 you can.

There was a really nice Cape Dory 30 with the stern wheel / helm which was really nice.

https://landingsofpensacola.com/

[Mike OReilly]

This is exactly the problem with these kinds of comparisons. It's very hard to get apples to apples. Unless you're in exactly the same situation as the person who posts all his financials, the data is largely meaningless.

One can try and extrapolate from one person's situation, to yours. But that is challenging, and fraught with unconscious bias. This is why I say the best measure of what you will spend on the water is to look at what you spend on land.

I think that living in a smallish boat is a lifestyle that lends itself to a more frugal living. By its nature, a boat is likely smaller than any land home. Living smaller is a great way to reduce costs. And a smaller space is easier to make self-sufficient.

But it's certainly easy to go the other way. If you you insist on locating your boat in a popular, dense urban area, the costs will be high. If you insist on being a tourist all the time, the costs will be high. If you can't find joy in your own space, in your own galley, then your costs will be high.

It's all up to you.