First Month Cruising Costs

[chuckr]

We never judge what other people actually spend - our judgement is reserved for those who have not been out and think they know what it costs -- what we do do is simply tell folks what it costs us and we publish those each year in this forum and the latest is last spring with 7 years of cost data

As such Sailorboy spend what you like as it is your life and your budget - we eat in mostly and spend about 150-200 for food but that does not include alcohol that you have included so say another 150-200 -
we know some folks out here that eat out a lot more than we do and that is their choice
also not all meals are created equally - we can eat out a cheaper in Turkey (where we currently are) than you can in the USA -

Our only caution would be when the big expenses hit they hit hard - we live on a fixed income - social security - so we do watch a bit on what we spend as to us the boat comes first and everything else comes second

keep on keeping track and publishing as it will be beneficial to some

[GILow]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

So after 1 month we are in Hampton VA after leaving Salem MA. We have been going maybe a little fast, but at the same time have gotten stuck at places for 8 days due to weather conditions. Yesterday we did a first after 8 years of boat ownership and popped our cherries and pulled into a marina slip for 4 days and can see how one could get "trapped" by having all the water and power you would like.

Since I pay almost everything with a credit card it is easy to track where our money has gone and I post for your amusement.

Food/sundries/soda/alcohol - $432.11
Boat maintenance/repair/new accessories - $646.27
Dining Out - $799.58
Fuel - $197.68
Marina costs - $63
Entertainment - $201.50
Communication & storage - $217.36

So that's $2548.50, which less than our monthly budget of $3000, but doesn't include large deferred boat costs that need to be planned for like sails etc. in the future.

As can be seen we prefer to anchor out and use the saved money to dine out

Thank you for this breakdown. Of course some of it won't convert too well to the Australian cost/market, but I get the feeling that life aboard your boat is a lot of fun. I suspect our costs will apportion themselves in a similar fashion when we get going.

[Dave22q]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

So after 1 month we are in Hampton VA after leaving Salem MA. We have been going maybe a little fast, but at the same time have gotten stuck at places for 8 days due to weather conditions. Yesterday we did a first after 8 years of boat ownership and popped our cherries and pulled into a marina slip for 4 days and can see how one could get "trapped" by having all the water and power you would like.

Since I pay almost everything with a credit card it is easy to track where our money has gone and I post for your amusement.

Food/sundries/soda/alcohol - $432.11
Boat maintenance/repair/new accessories - $646.27
Dining Out - $799.58
Fuel - $197.68
Marina costs - $63
Entertainment - $201.50
Communication & storage - $217.36

So that's $2548.50, which less than our monthly budget of $3000, but doesn't include large deferred boat costs that need to be planned for like sails etc. in the future.

As can be seen we prefer to anchor out and use the saved money to dine out

Marina slip, 4 days = $63 for a 42' sailboat ???????? Think you lost a digit someplace.

[kmacdonald]

Don't know if anyone else picked up on this but 4 days in a marina for $63 seems a little on the low side.

[hsi88]

Interesting thread. I too pay with cards, so I took a look at what I pay for food. I spend between $500 and $1000 a month. Not a cruiser yet, but I will probably continue to eat out when I can. I often eat alone, but also tend to cover the cost of meals when dining out with the ex-wife, kids, friends. That extra expense should diminish with time.

As social security is right around the corner, I'm guessing that I won't be able to sustain that. But perhaps a change in habits could provide a solution. As I get older, I find I don't eat as much, nor should I as I'm a big guy (too big). If I got into the habit of splitting meals and taking home leftovers instead of eating everything on my plate, I could cut some of these costs in half and still get out to eat which I enjoy immensely.

I read with great interest these threads on cruising expenses. I'm lucky enough to be very handy with a set of tools, but other expenses like food have me a little worried. So threads like the ones on getting by on x amount of money get my full attention.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Thanks for the break down. It is very informative, helpful and quite interesting. Even four days at $161 is quite good. Here in NYC and the northeast people would kill for those rates. Which marina was it?

[thomm225]

Fuel - $197.68 to cover 600 miles or less

I thought you were on a sailboat?

[hsi88]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Get yourself one of those NuWave induction cooktops for $99 and you'll never go back to propane. You have a generator, so just do your cooking and battery charging at the same time, it's been working great for us for three years now. We also use the NuWave oven for baking, and have a full propane and butane bottle which haven't been used since 2012.

Did some reading on this and plan to order one. This is one of the best suggested products yet. Hopefully it works with my stainless coffee pot. Had been looking for a faster way to boil water and this could be it. I also have a pressure cooker that is supposed to work with induction cookers.

[chouliha]

Having just read thru this thread I wanted to mention a couple of thoughts. First 3-4 months cruising you are in a adjustment period and the $$ just flow out. By month 4 you should be more in tune with your expenses and where to save some $$. It's very common for those just out in the first few months to spend lots more than at your first year mark.

We are now in year 11 full time cruisers currently in Tahiti where the prices are very high. People always ask us what does it cost. Our answer as much as you have

Have a great time.

Chuck
Jacaranda

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Don't know if anyone else picked up on this but 4 days in a marina for $63 seems a little on the low side.

This past summer we stayed in a marina in beautiful downtown Brindisi Italy for $32 per day water and electricity included on a 53ft boat. Some of you doubters just need to shop around a bit I guess.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

This past summer we stayed in a marina in beautiful downtown Brindisi Italy for $32 per day water and electricity included on a 53ft boat. Some of you doubters just need to shop around a bit I guess.

It's more that marina's on the AICW tend to be a bit spendy with many 60-$100/night slips. They know they will have a stead stream of snowbirds arriving. I was shocked at what marinas charge per day on the east coast.

[sailorboy1]

3pages and still people are focused on last months marina costs and mixing it with this month.

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

3pages and still people are focused on last months marina costs and mixing it with this month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY7tPn-XbvU

[Dbtindale]

Originally Posted by Teknishn

Thanks for the breakdown Sailorboy1,
I move aboard my boat in April of next year and will be spending most of my time around Hampton/Norfolk, Va.

As I have a few months ahead of me for planning and will be the only one on the boat. One of my many ex-wives in the states is an assistant manager at one of the local supermarket chains and she has been kind enough to send me current food prices (and beer prices too! ) which, based on my current diet here in Egypt, I will eat better there than here on less than $300 a month.

I plan on swinging on the hook for the most part but marina visits for fuel, pump out and water will be inevitable. So am planning one week in a marina per month (not all at once). Your numbers on 4 days in a marina pretty much coincide with what I am budgeting for myself.

Transportation while ashore....what kind of costs did you incur for taxi's, buses, courtesy cars, etc.?

As I will be outfitting my boat prior to launching, most things should be up to par (but we all know how those plans go, don't we). Initial outfitting budget is $5K but will probably come in closer to $4K. After that, monthly maintenance fees should be pretty low in my case.

$799.58 on dining out while in the marina for 4-days? Must have been some really good food! That's almost a third of my monthly budget. (Me? I'd hit Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, maybe a movie....and then go buy boat stuff instead with the rest of the cash).

Thanks for the info! It has helped with my planning[emoji2]Fleming

Instead of taxi's try Uber. A lot cheaper.

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by hsi88

Interesting thread. I too pay with cards, so I took a look at what I pay for food. I spend between $500 and $1000 a month. Not a cruiser yet, but I will probably continue to eat out when I can. I often eat alone, but also tend to cover the cost of meals when dining out with the ex-wife, kids, friends. That extra expense should diminish with time.

As social security is right around the corner, I'm guessing that I won't be able to sustain that. But perhaps a change in habits could provide a solution. As I get older, I find I don't eat as much, nor should I as I'm a big guy (too big). If I got into the habit of splitting meals and taking home leftovers instead of eating everything on my plate, I could cut some of these costs in half and still get out to eat which I enjoy immensely.

I read with great interest these threads on cruising expenses. I'm lucky enough to be very handy with a set of tools, but other expenses like food have me a little worried. So threads like the ones on getting by on x amount of money get my full attention.

We live on social security only and I do mean only - have not touched our savings -- we watch what we spend and adjust accordingly -- but the boat never get short shifted - boat comes first and then we go from there -
I assume you have looked at our cost data in the dollars and cents area
you just have to adjust life styles a bit IF you really want to come out here