Review of 2 Years of Cruising Costs

[sailorboy1]

I think Buffett said he pays less taxes as a percentage. I bet he paid a LOT money as taxes (probably MUCH more than his secretary even makes)

This is off topic completely, but get a grip people.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Paul L

To be fair to Warren, he wasn't bragging that he paid so little, he was demonstrating how unfair the US tax system is.

Agreed, and he said he pays a lower percentage, not a lower amount.
I got that wrong.

https://money.cnn.com/2013/03/04/new...xes/index.html

[model 10]

[QUOTE=Kenomac
Now you feel better?

Yes I do, thank you.

[ScubaTyke]

Originally Posted by DenverSailors

As aspiring Cruisers we are exceedingly grateful for your continued candor; not to mention your ability to withstand the ever-present storm of criticisms thrown at you. Thank you!

Also an aspiring cruiser currently researching and looking for a boat and posts like the OP's are invaluable to people like me. Adding my Thanks!!

[mynameismud]

Thanks for your detailed sheet.

[piloto]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Boat is insured for $115k, we fully own it. Maintenance cost as a % of value is just bullcrap. My current insurance doesn't require me to be out of the hurricane zone. But if I am in it and get damaged by a named storm my deductible goes up 10% value instead of the normal.

What company are you insured with?

[sailorboy1]

It’s a preferred group policy through New Hamsphire Insurance

[sv Stella Maris]

Thanks SailorBoy. We move aboard full time in January and are always eager for numbers.

As a numbers-as-hobby kind of guy I will say this about the 10% annual cost bit.

For the maintained vessel currently in use that is still depreciating and kept at at a ship-shape standard, 10% annual total vessel costs is a fairly accurate benchmark. Your numbers prove this point:

(Average of your two year provided costs)

Maint. $6,750
Fuel: $1,550
Comms/Storage/Shipping $2,200
Registration $330
Insurance $1,350

That is $12,180, or 10.6% of your reported agreed value at $115,000

If you shaved some money for the ‘storage/shipping’, I suspect you might actually hit 10% square in the face, hehe.

This is indeed helpful for those who haven’t yet crunched the numbers. Good on ya for sharing, I will follow your lead and add mine next year.

Sincerely,

Derek

[petermjdavies]

Thank you very much for posting this. It is a question that I often wonder when thinking about longer distance cruising.

My take is that you probably spend about the same as one might ashore, but the categories change. Boat repairs and marina fees are probably about the same as rental costs ashore.

And clearly you have made some lifestyle choices that others might not make. I like the idea of dining out but can see that it is one way to save money and eat on board if you are short on cash.

Thanks again for an interesting post. When we weent to a cruising seminar in Lymington earlier this year, it was a question that came up several times, but no one was prepared to answer it in public.

peter

[Kintala]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Incidentally, let me make very clear, I think what SailorBoy1 has done here, making all this public is a very generous act, and not one, given what the internet is, that I would ever consider doing. So you guys who are reading this, should be aware that he has gone out on a limb to help you all. And the reciprocity amongst cruisers means you need to find a way to honor that.

Ann

Ann,

There are a lot of people who post their costs. We have a sidebar on our blog that lists a lot of them. It’s important information for people in the planning stages of cruising since the lifestyle change is so daunting Nd unfamiliar that they don’t know if their budget will even make it possible. I do agree that the information should be treated with respect. It’s tough to share that kind of thing and expose yourself to criticism but it’s carry valuable for newbies.

Deb

[rgranger]

Thanks for posting that. It is very informative.

[zshipley]

Very interesting. Thanks. Of the costs you listed each year, which ones did you incur strictly to own and use the boat? In other words, what were your total costs if you exclude the ones that you would have incurred even if you had lived ashore with no boat? And what is the weight (displacement) of the boat? (Not admeasurement or "gross tonnage", which, as you have probably read many times before, is a measure of volume.) I am testing a hypothesis that the costs of boat ownership run around $2-to-$4 per pound of displacement , regardless of the size or type of boat. So I am curious to know what your boat-only costs turned out to be, in $ per pound of displacement.

[Bill Balme]

Thanks for sharing this information - helpful to see how we compare - I guess our budget is a little higher at about $60k.

Curious to know where you are cruising?

Since retiring in June 2016, we went Newfoundland - Caribbean - New England - Caribbean and have now crossed and are in Ireland.

Berthing is certainly more expensive over here. Until we got to the Azores, we were at a 96% anchoring (or free berthing) rate. That's since plummeted!

We had a lot of early expenses - batteries, generator fixes, countless spares, but that seems to have tailed off a little, but this winter we'll be putting Coppercoat on and doing some mast work that will hit hard... Our travel budget will also get killed as the Admiral heads back to the US for 3 months...

Wouldn't trade the life for anything!!

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by zshipley

Very interesting. Thanks. Of the costs you listed each year, which ones did you incur strictly to own and use the boat? In other words, what were your total costs if you exclude the ones that you would have incurred even if you had lived ashore with no boat? And what is the weight (displacement) of the boat? (Not admeasurement or "gross tonnage", which, as you have probably read many times before, is a measure of volume.) I am testing a hypothesis that the costs of boat ownership run around $2-to-$4 per pound of displacement , regardless of the size or type of boat. So I am curious to know what your boat-only costs turned out to be, in $ per pound of displacement.

All money spent is listed except for what I spent to buy a rental house in Jacksonville. There is a whole item in the attachment in post 1 for boat expenses.

[sailorboy1]

[QUOTE=Bill Balme;2732593]

Curious to know where you are cruising?

QUOTE]

We started off in Salem Ma, went to the Bahamas, then back to Carolinas, down to the Keys, then up to Maine. Current we are in the Chesapeake going south to go spend time in the Gulf coast and then to the Caribbean.

We don’t do a lot of planning, just a kind of “in general” thing.