As we were getting ready to cut the
dock lines, I found Sailorboy's monthly posts listing his cruising expenses were very helpful as a real world example of the costs of cruising. In the interest of paying it forward, I thought I'd list our monthly expenses for those who are dreaming and planning as we once were.
As background, we are a middle-aged couple (I'm 49, Mr. cthoops is 59) and we are cruising full-time on our 1977 Bristol 29.9. This is our second
boat and we've spent the last few years sailing her in the summer and refitting during the winter.
This month we finally entered the
ICW upon leaving Hampton, VA and made our way south to Graham Creek, SC.
The cash outflow was slightly better than last month, but it skewed high due to the need to return to Connecticut for scheduled doctors appointments for Mr. cthoops. This meant that we left the
boat in a marina while we were away, rented a car, etc. Fortunately the appointments went well and he doesn’t need to return for six months, assuming nothing changes.
We also decided to bite the bullet this month and buy a new
iPad (we were using a second generation which is now our backup) and upgrade my
iPhone which was on its last legs (it was an
iPhone 5 that I bought used several years ago). If it’s not obvious from the age of our old
electronics, we rarely upgrade so unless they fall into the ocean we won’t be needing to buy new ones for several years.
We’re hoping that December’s numbers will better reflect what we’d prefer to spend in a typical month. Here's what we spent in November, keeping in mind that Mr. cthoops has congestive heart failure so we don't drink alcohol (his cardiologist says no) and we eat out infrequently (because of his sodium restrictions):
Groceries: $426.57
Diesel/Gasoline: $133.28. This includes five gallons of ethanol-free gasoline in a jerry can for the
dinghy.
Propane/Denatured Alcohol: $37.08. Eight cans of
propane which we use for heat and the
grill.
Health Care: $140.37
Cell phone and
internet (2 phones, one
iPad data plan, iCloud
storage, and a
Garmin inReach subscription): $164.39
Mail
Service: $100. This covers future mailing expenses when we have the UPS Store forward our mail.
Laundry: $6.00. We did
laundry on our trip to Connecticut and Belhaven Marina had free laundry which helped keep this monthly expense low.
Ice: $9.00
Showers: $2.00
Netflix: $11.10
Boat stuff: $114.27. This included tea tree
oil,
antifreeze, a heat diffuser for the
stove, a box of latex gloves, replacement short-fingered gloves, and thick rubber
anchor gloves.
Restaurants/Entertainment: $303.64
Uber/Bus: $30.32
New York Times subscription: $20.20
Marinas/moorings: $502. This is for two nights in Hampton after we returned from Connecticut (the other five nights are in Connecticut expenses); five nights in Belhaven where we were delayed by
weather; five nights on a
mooring in Carolina Beach where we were again delayed by
weather; and one night in
Georgetown, SC.
Clothing: $263.52
Connecticut-related expenses: $1,096.23
Random: $1,192.09. This amount includes the iPad and case, iPhone, a magnifying glass so I can read the
charts more easily, hand and foot warmers, boat cards, and tips for marina staff.
Total: $4,552.06
September- November average: $5,152.29
I hope this is helpful.
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