Month nine for a middle-aged couple on a modest boat.

[Cthoops]

We just finished up our ninth month of cruising full-time on our Bristol 29.9.

This month we left the Bahamas and made a beeline north, landing in Cape May, NJ on the last day of the month. We are heading up to Connecticut where we will haul out and do a bit of traveling to visit friends and family before coming back to take care of some boat chores and splash again.

Our expenses spiked primarily because we purchased airline and train tickets for our anticipated travels. We spent quite a bit in marinas, although two days were unplanned due to our getting dirty fuel before leaving the Abacos, resulting in a tow to Beach Marine in Jacksonville Beach. Our fuel costs were also high because we had to replace the dirty crappy fuel when we arrived in the states.

Below is 100% of what we spent in May. I don't leave anything out in these monthly reports because I don't believe "not counting" is particularly helpful for those still planning and dreaming.

Expenses:

Groceries/Non-food Groceries: $464.66

Diesel/Gasoline: $231.40

Propane/Denatured Alcohol: $16.45

Cell phone and internet (2 phones, iCloud storage, Garmin inReach subscription, and myislandwifi because the T-Mobile service is so slow in the Bahamas): $124.12

Mail: $100 (deposit for future costs to forward packages/mail)

Laundry: $13.00

Ice: $9.75

Amazon Prime: $1.99

Restaurants/Entertainment: $376.36

Uber: $9.36

New York Times subscription: $20.20

Marinas: $441.01

Clothing: $64.05

Life Insurance: $767.50 (annual premium)

Plane, train, and bus tickets: $1,084.29

Random: $167.50. (disposable gloves, box of rags, screen material for port in head, DVD's, dock tips, flyswatter, spatula, ATM withdrawal fee, shower sprayer, funnel, small strainer)

Total: $3,891.64

September, 2018 through May 2019 monthly average: $3,807.85.


I hope this is helpful.

[MV Wanderlust]

Great information! Thanks for posting.

[sailorboy1]

I could have done all that on $4231

[Kenomac]

New York Times???

[a64pilot]

Where did the dirty fuel come from?
I don’t want to buy from there, water, algae or what was the contaminant?

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Where did the dirty fuel come from?
I don’t want to buy from there, water, algae or what was the contaminant?

Answer: Review fuel polishing threads.

[a64pilot]

Ken polishing is just a bigger filter, best to not buy dirty fuel.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Ken polishing is just a bigger filter, best to not buy dirty fuel.

Not so, you have some homework to do. I would have no problems or concerns if I’d have purchased that same contaminated fuel.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I could have done all that on $4231

Clearly I have some work to do before I can snatch the pebble from your hand.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Where did the dirty fuel come from?
I don’t want to buy from there, water, algae or what was the contaminant?

It was from Orchid Bay Marina on Great Guana Cay in the Abacos, and we are 100% sure it came from there.

We put their fuel in jerry jugs (we use biocide, etc.), and we had zero issues until we put the jerry jugs in the tank a few days later while we were crossing from Great Sale Cay to Jacksonville. We stalled out, changed the primary fuel filter, stalled out again a few hours later, and ended up getting a tow from the St John’s inlet to Beach Marina in Jacksonville Beach. We’ve had zero issues since changing both fuel filters, removing all of the fuel, and replacing it with diesel from Beach Marine.

I’m not sure what the contaminant was, but it appeared to be some sort of sediment (not from our tank - it’s less than a year old).

[chris mac]

Wow,I can't believe it's month 9 already. You guys are doing great! Keep it up and thanks for reporting

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

New York Times???

We like to keep up with what’s going on.

[Franziska]

Great info! Thank you for being so open about a very personal matter.

Btw. NYT, thumbs up ;-)

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by CaptJohnEasley

Great information! Thanks for posting.

I’m glad it’s helpful!

Originally Posted by chris mac

Wow,I can't believe it's month 9 already. You guys are doing great! Keep it up and thanks for reporting

Thanks! The time is flying by - we can’t believe it either!

[hellosailor]

It won't stop anything, but a "Baja Filter" funnel will clean a lot of crap out of fuel before it gets in the tank.