Our humble plan

[broken2bfree]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

7 years ago I was in the same position. My recommendation is to stop thinking about boats etc and just go sailing. Bound to be a member near you who would take you out. Otherwise just find a way to crew etc.

I guarantee that whatever boat you currently think you need/want, it is wrong and you wouldn't have any idea till you have sailed a while.

If someone would have stressed the above to me I would be $20k closer to leaving.

It's very difficult for me to get away from work. On call 24/7, but we will defiantly be on the look out for an opportunity in the coming year. We would like a casual sail before do something like this-
Blue Water Sailing School - Sailing Lessons, Sailing Courses, ASA Bareboat Charter Certifications

[robert.]

I think it is good to have a dream and to share it with your wife. If you are both involved in the process and love the water it can come reality. I agree that you need to spend a lot of time on the water. We are preparing to leave on our voyage and we are minimizing everything. Selling most of what we own because we didn't need it anyway. We both had a vehicle and I had a motorcycle. I just sold my truck and we share a car. If I need to go somewhere by myself I take the bike. It saved us on insurance and the money feels better in the bank. We will sell her's last and I will take my bike to the USVI where we are settling after a year long cruise. My point is, if you want it, take actions and get behind the decision 100%- both of you. People may think you are crazy but you could be crazy living in Cleveland or Toronto. My wife used to want it less than I but now wants it more. It is our dream and we love it.

My wife and I started planning a long time ago and it didn't seem real until we started selling things we didn't want to keep forever and set "the date." If feels real now and I can see myself on the water with my family. Good luck!

[a64pilot]

Once it's paid for, you can make land pay for itself tax wise, but it's tough to turn a profit. So if you have the cash to buy the land, that is a viable option.
What I think your trying to do is escape from the rat race, doesn't really matter too much how, but escape is the biggest draw, not sailing and not cruising, I understand that as I am very similar. I had never sailed on a boat before I bought the one I have now, I went about it with what I hope was a purely logical approach, not romantic although nothing wrong with that.

Most important thing I believe whether boating, owning a chicken ranch is to become debt free and get on a cash basis.
Dump the new cars, do you really need two?
Secondly develop some kind of income, however you can, if it's savings and you can save that much fine, but somehow your going to have to have a monthly income. I've beaten this "how much does it cost to cruise to death" myself and the answer is, it depends, but in my opinion $1,200 a month for two people assuming no debt is very marginal. You can live on that maybe, but insurance and boat upkeep? Now this is opinion only as I have not done it myself.

My opinion is reduce your costs as much as possible, start selling off in a slow controlled manner trying to get as much as you can, first pay off debt until your debt free, then start saving money. Try the $1,200 a month thing, maybe it works for you, if so great, you now have a number. I believe you can live on land as cheap as you can on water, boats aren't free either.

I plan on leaving in two years, I'm debt free, boat is paid for and I'm re-fitting now. I'm the type that has to have a plan, yes plans evolve, but winging it hasn't worked well for me in the past.

It's do-able I beleive, you just have to want it bad enough to make it happen


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by broken2bfree

About me:
I am a 48 year old IS Director at a local hospital. I work 7 days a week, almost every week of the year. I am constantly stressed at work, and want to retire before I get too old to enjoy being active. My wife is quite a bit younger than me, by 20 years, but we share many of the same intrest, and we have an excellant relationship. We are not fans of people, and we like our privacy and space. My wife and I love to fish, and try to get to the coast at every oppertunity. I have never stepped foot on a sail boat.
The Old Plan:
Our origional plan was to sell the house and buy acreage to start a self sustaining farm (the wife loves animals). While researching being a land owner, I realized that the cost would never stop growing. It seems un-sustainable in a retirement situation. You can never truely own property, you will always be paying ever increasing property taxes. With all that in mind, I switched to researching cruising. I was hooked after just a couple of hours of reading on the internet. The life style is so appealing and I was astonished at how low cost the liveaboard lifstyle could be.
The Current Plan:
My 2015 resolution is to become debt free as soon as possible. We have a couple of new vehicles that wont payoff for four more years. I'll need to double up on payments and cut that in half. We have started the process of eliminating unnecessities from our life. We have 6 trash bags of clothes and shoes to be donated to a local church. I have been culling through belongings for weeks. I read that it took a long time to unload a life time's worth of belongings.
The Future Plan:
When the cars are paid for and the house is sold, we are looking at relocating to Cape Coral FL. With a small nest egg in hand, I want to find a job (in my field), and a 30 foot plus boat. I have only a few boats in mind, and I am sure my preference is arguable. My first choice (as any newbie) would be the 2000 model lagoon 340 cat. I've looked
at many of these and am quite sure I can get a decent one around 75k. My second choice would be the Beneteau 1990 to 2000 model at around 50k to 75k. The cost of a wet slip in the area would run about $600 a month with electric. Slip fees combined with a boat payment, and our cost of living will be cut in half. The new goal will become refitting the boat and getting it paid off. The monthly cost of sailing varies among bloggers. I've read that costs can be as little as $500 a month and as much as $2000. $1200 seems about right to me, so that is the goal. My best guess is 12 months of
savings equals 12 months of sailing. Five years of slaving away in Cape Coral, and I hope to have the boat paid for and five years of sailing funded. By the time we start sailing I should be very close to receiving social security (provided it still exist) which I hope will carry me thru.
BVI by 2025

broken2bfree,

Here's a couple of things to think about, based on many years of cruising....

a) inflation, marina fees, insurances, costs of routine maintenance, including repair and replace sails. If you hope to attain your $1,200/month goal, it would be useful for you to look at the CF $500 per month thread.

b) who is going to be working on your boat. What A64pilot has going for him that you may not be aware of is that he is quite accomplished mechanically, and able to fix most everything. He once wrote that his boat is a simple machine, or something to that effect (I'm not misquoting on purpose, just don't remember the exact wording). If you, too, are mechanically adept, it will be a great help to you. Remember, if you get a cat, you'll have two engines to maintain, two hulls with wiring, and so on.

I would also suggest that you seriously consider A64pilot's advice to sell one of the cars now. One does not really require NEW cars. They definitely fit with an image some people like to project, but think how much it could speed up the debt-free goal. Get creative about down-sizing living space, too, get used to living the rest of your life one notch above a graduate student level.
Some people enjoy the simplicity they can re-introduce into their lives. There's a thread going right now that has people writing in both about the problems they've had downsizing, and the pleasures, you'll be able to find it by doing a Google Search, under the Search button at the top of the page.

Ann

[a64pilot]

I am afraid the American Dream is broken, has been for quite awhile now, and not us but our children will be the ones that unfortunately will suffer the most from it.
Look up "tiny houses" there seems to be a pretty decent sized movement in the US that is centered on living much more simply and without a lot of luxuries. I believe more than anything that average working couple has come to realize that the American dream is essentially unobtainable for many.
Many things since the mid to late 70's have helped prop up the dream in my opinion the latest is cheap interest rates and has many essentially living off of credit, whats going to happen when that comes to an end, just like the inflated housing values did?

My personal opinion is that people that have gotten off of credit and on a cash basis will be in much better shape, regardless of what they live in. Boat offers some interesting possibilities though, like being able to leave, lock, stock and barrel.

Since your not enamored with sailing, I'd suggest looking for the best seaworthy vessel you can find. Do you really care how many sails it has, configuration, brand name or any of that? If traveling long distances is not in your plan, don't discount power boats. I'm not so sure that a trawler is not the most boat you can buy for a dollar with all expenses factored in, if you don't plan on crossing oceans.
Seemingly every newby that come on here says they have to have a Cat or course, so many seem to have that opinion I doubt that you can find a good deal on a Cat. I won't say they are better or worse because I don't have the experience to say, but if money is an object, they may not give you the best value.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[broken2bfree]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Once it's paid for, you can make land pay for itself tax wise, but it's tough to turn a profit. So if you have the cash to buy the land, that is a viable option.
What I think your trying to do is escape from the rat race, doesn't really matter too much how, but escape is the biggest draw, not sailing and not cruising, I understand that as I am very similar. I had never sailed on a boat before I bought the one I have now, I went about it with what I hope was a purely logical approach, not romantic although nothing wrong with that.

Most important thing I believe whether boating, owning a chicken ranch is to become debt free and get on a cash basis.
Dump the new cars, do you really need two?
Secondly develop some kind of income, however you can, if it's savings and you can save that much fine, but somehow your going to have to have a monthly income. I've beaten this "how much does it cost to cruise to death" myself and the answer is, it depends, but in my opinion $1,200 a month for two people assuming no debt is very marginal. You can live on that maybe, but insurance and boat upkeep? Now this is opinion only as I have not done it myself.

My opinion is reduce your costs as much as possible, start selling off in a slow controlled manner trying to get as much as you can, first pay off debt until your debt free, then start saving money. Try the $1,200 a month thing, maybe it works for you, if so great, you now have a number. I believe you can live on land as cheap as you can on water, boats aren't free either.

I plan on leaving in two years, I'm debt free, boat is paid for and I'm re-fitting now. I'm the type that has to have a plan, yes plans evolve, but winging it hasn't worked well for me in the past.

It's do-able I beleive, you just have to want it bad enough to make it happen


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Thanks for the input. We are gona do our best and follow through to make this happen. I think having the boat over having land offers many more opportunities and a much larger back yard.

[broken2bfree]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

broken2bfree,

Here's a couple of things to think about, based on many years of cruising....

a) inflation, marina fees, insurances, costs of routine maintenance, including repair and replace sails. If you hope to attain your $1,200/month goal, it would be useful for you to look at the CF $500 per month thread.

b) who is going to be working on your boat. What A64pilot has going for him that you may not be aware of is that he is quite accomplished mechanically, and able to fix most everything. He once wrote that his boat is a simple machine, or something to that effect (I'm not misquoting on purpose, just don't remember the exact wording). If you, too, are mechanically adept, it will be a great help to you. Remember, if you get a cat, you'll have two engines to maintain, two hulls with wiring, and so on.

I would also suggest that you seriously consider A64pilot's advice to sell one of the cars now. One does not really require NEW cars. They definitely fit with an image some people like to project, but think how much it could speed up the debt-free goal. Get creative about down-sizing living space, too, get used to living the rest of your life one notch above a graduate student level.
Some people enjoy the simplicity they can re-introduce into their lives. There's a thread going right now that has people writing in both about the problems they've had downsizing, and the pleasures, you'll be able to find it by doing a Google Search, under the Search button at the top of the page.

Ann

Thanks Ann,
Defiantly worried about making the 1200 work for us, but we are a pretty no frills couple. Did I mention we like fish? We don't go out much but we both work and I can be called in to work at anytime day or night. We need both of our cars till near the end I'm afraid. I am pretty handy to have around in most situations. I can't think of a more complicated machine then the 2000 Porsche I went through a few years ago. I can't think of a more fickle electronic then computers which I have worked on for 20 yrs. That cat is mostly the wife's preference as she is unsure about the lean of a mono haul underway. I'm hoping that some time on a mono haul this year will change her mind. I realize cats offer the redundancy of 2 of everything but doubles the maintenance cost.

[Frisco]

Quit NOW....before you have a heart attack worrying so much ! Dive in .....if you have the boat , sell anything that will not fit the boat ! Then when you get that on board ,go through it all again and get rid of more stuff.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum


Frisco