Yearly Cost of Family Cruising

[rexposeidon]

Wow the amount of money some of you are spending on cruising is more than I am earning in a year. When I cast off, I expeect my expenses to be alot less, under $7k USD/year. I plan to anchor out alot, using municiple piers and public moorings when I feel the need to walk on the beach. I wont be making car payments. Insurance will be my greatest single expense, and since I'll be living on a sailboat, I intend to use sailboat fuel if I want to go somewhere else.
Of course I did not include sending my kids to college in my anual expenses because I'm investing in 529 plans now, to pay for it sooner rather than later.

[Mike Banks]

There are many costs in cruising, not the least if which is the interest you did not get because you spent the money on a boat--and the depreciation of the boat. Add to these the costs of insurance, and maintenance of sails, cordage and engine. Now add fuel--oils etc for the engine plus spares, battery replacements, and we have not lost any gear or broken anything yet.

Now add marina costs--you DO have to go in there every now and then for the sheer joy of a long hot shower, and to do some provisioning and fuelling--even if only for a couple of hours.

To own and run a forty foot sailing boat in the land of Oz and berth it on a marina costs about twenty grand a year, but one can pare this back if one does anchor out.

[svbeausoleil]

Hi Sailors,
I have cruised actively for 40 years, that includes 2 1/2 circles. The cost of cruising depends largely on your personal style of life. If you like to go out to eat, like to bar hop, hate to shop, hate to do things the time consuming way, bring loads of money when you cast off the lines.
On the other hand, if you like to shop (Our biggest expense is groceries, insurance? Put those premiums into bigger anchors.) like to find bargains your cruising costs go way down. Be prepared to stock up on an item with a year's supply if the price is right. It is easier to go to one grocery store and do all your shopping there, it is easier to buy the brands you are accoustomed to, but it is not cheaper.
Even 20 years ago, I cruised for $100 a person a month and $100 for a haul out once a year-- but she was a 24' engineless Columbia I took around via Panama and Suez. To haul out I put her on the beach and painted her--read above about doing things the hard, but cheap, way.
Now days, we are on a Dickerson 41, (Which we circled in via Panama and Good Hope) are cruising a bit slower, spend more time on the computer but cruise for $250 a person per month.
Education?
Wow!!! Are you talking to the right person!!! Check out:


education.of.a.falcon - Â*Â*Â*Â* The Education of a Falcon var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://

or

sailingbooks - Â*Â* Mike Riley's Sailing Books PageÂ*

We homeschooled our kid while sailing around the world!

You can too.

If you have the guts...

Cap't Mike

[shibbershabber]

No posts in a while... how are those funds doing now guys? Hope you werent hurt by the 'economic downturn' too bad.

I can recall only once actually making more than $35k/Yr, let alone spending that much each year cruising! It sounds crazy to me. But Some people might be used to a certain lifestyle and roughing it means different things to different people.

We are selling our house, everything in it, and everything outside of it and buying a boat to live on. Since the economy is slowly circling the drain, I am selling it all before I lose it.
No longer will I slave away working multiple jobs trying to make ends meet on land. Having to come up with $2200/Mo just to cover bills, not counting food and gas has taken its toll. I am far to jaded with the 'American Dream' to play that game anymore.
The things I own have ended up owning me.

The Sloution:

Work for 5-6mo living simply and saving money whilst living on the boat. Then when winter approaches, its time to head south. I can easily save $6-$7k in that time, giving me a budget of around $1k/Mo. for a family of four.

I can only imagine what $3k/Mo would get me

[capcook]

No offense intended, but I read these stories of folks cruising for USD$ 1500-2000 per month and wonder what they are really doing... perhaps this will get you a life in the Islands, but unless you plan to be on the boat 24/7 I don't see that it is nearly enough. If you are traveling around Europe are you just going to wave to Barcelonia or stay for a while and get to know the place? Can you really live on the Hook around major metro areas? When you take a land excrusion do you leave the Dingy at some dock for a week or more? What about a coffee and a morsel of food at some nice little cafe with a view a few times each month? I am not cruising today, but know what it costs to take my family of 4 on a trip anywhere, heck McD's costs 20 bucks now for the 4 of us... We are going to take a 10 day trip to Munich, Prague & Salzburg later this month, average hotel is 200 Euros per night for a family of 4 (they don't have big rooms/beds like in the states so you end up with Jr Suites or family rooms and the such). The 8 Day 4 country Euro Pass is USD$ 1700 for 4... and you get the picture... I am figuring on about $10k/yr for maintenance on say a Lagoon 420, $500/mth fuel/oil/water/Port fees/internet etc.. or about $6k/yr, another $600/mth for Health and Boat Ins plus USD 2000/mth "land travel/sightseeing/eductional expenses/Marinias" plus another 1k/mth living expenses (food, spirits and everything else) and you are looking at more around $60k/yr... Am I really missing something big? How do folks really see the countries they visit vs just the coast line ? Backpack and camp outside?

Help?

Cheers

[shibbershabber]

Originally Posted by capcook

Backpack and camp outside?

Thats what I had in mind. Seafaring Nomads

I havent quite figured out how to secure the boat and dingy while on an inland excursion. Maybe just plan ahead and leave it at a secured marina if possible. Save an extra few dollars to allow for that.

I think that it is possible to live on less than $2k/Mo while cruising. In our case anyway, we have chosen to live a simpler lifestyle, we dont drink or smoke and will likely do our own cooking a majority of the time. I think it is possible to experience the world without staying in nice hotels and eating out every night. Since cruising will be a way of life and not an extended vacation certain things can be eliminated if you are willing to go without them. And for some of us, these expenses are something that we wouldnt even take on in our land based life.

But everyone has their own definitions and expectations. I think its possible to go cheap and still enjoy yourself.

[capcook]

Originally Posted by shibbershabber

I havent quite figured out how to secure the boat and dingy while on an inland excursion.

I would like to hear what others do with their boat when they take an extended land tour... seems to me you just about have to put a blue water equiped cruiser in a reputable marina or face not having any blue water cruising equipment when you come back... a 42 footer would cost something around 100 bucks a day at any major metro marina ??

I suspect most crusing folks are in the Islands or visit very inexpensive places.. so we may be the exception for sure...

best

[Woods Designs]

We spent last winter cruising the east coast US and the Bahamas, neither known as cheap places to visit (although cheaper than the UK).

For the first time in 7 years cruising we kept an accurate record of the day to day living expenses. That means excluding boat repairs/insurance etc. But did include food, fuel, marinas/moorings, eating out.

With 2 of us on board we spent, between us, an average of USD600 a month.

Our boat spent last hurricane season in Newport News municipal marina (Virginia USA for those who don't know) which cost us under USD250 a month.

True it was cheaper in the Rio Dulce, Guatemala when we paid USD150 a month during the hurricane season. Cheap and safe enough to leave the boat for extended overland travelling in Central America (very cheap travel, approx USD1 an hour on buses and USD10 a night for a room).

A year later we spent about the same in a marina in Panama. The 6 months away from the boat gave us time to travel in Europe and also crew for friends down the Inside Passage south from Alaska to Oregon. So we didn't miss out on sailing.

As always you fit your lifestyle round your budget.

Coastal cruising as we did last winter is very expensive compared to ocean sailing while cruising in the tropics can be very cheap. You can certainly spend more on car expenses on land than for everything when living on a boat full time.

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

Woods Designs Sailing Catamarans

[anjou]

Ive just read this thread for the first time and my calculator is working out all your costs at a conversion of 1.60 $-£.

As you may or may not know, we are taxed to death in the UK and ripped off at every chance. We cant even use the duty exempt diesel for leisure use now and its costing us £1.00 per litre. Over the last 6 months, food and fuel have lead the inflation rise here and insurances are rising sharply all the time due to factors such as more storm damage to properties and more auto insurance scams.
Home reposessions are high as are payment defaults, so the home rental market is busy, keeping prices high.

So, we are what we call 'skint'. Times are hard and budget food shops are the fastest growing of all.

BUT, im still living on a fraction of the amounts some of you claim to need as your living budget. I never eat out, its crap food, way to expensive and after seeing too many gordon ramsey type tv shows, i value my health more highly.

Sure, this doesnt include running a boat with all the short, meduim and long term maintenence costs, but cars and houses have costs too. Ive recently spent $575 on eye care and glasses and although we have a national health service, pharmacy prescriptions from the doc cost over $10 a go for each drug.

im currently living on fresh air to save money and feeding myself for 40 bucks a week.
if i drink, its at home coz its half the cost of going out, never go to the movies, keep driving to a minimum, had the heating on as little as possible in the winter and some days it was only 12c in my apartment.

Cap cook says - We are going to take a 10 day trip to Munich, Prague & Salzburg later this month, average hotel is 200 Euros per night for a family of 4 (they don't have big rooms/beds like in the states so you end up with Jr Suites or family rooms and the such).

Whats a big room/bed? I know your going on vacation, but looking for a hotel with a queen size bed is going to be expensive.

Buying the boat is only the start of it, its the running costs that are the real worry but i cant help thinking for some of us, its going to be a lot cheaper than life already is.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by anjou

Buying the boat is only the start of it, its the running costs that are the real worry but i cant help thinking for some of us, its going to be a lot cheaper than life already is.

I don't know about this. I certainly agree with your calculation of day to day living costs which will be low. However when boat maintenance is added for a vessel large enough to live aboard, I wonder if this could be less expensive than a home or a rent? Perhaps this is country dependent?

[capcook]

Folks,

I don't want to dash dreams, I have my own... I know it is possible to exist on pennies a day, sitting in a lovely bay on some remote tropical Island likely costs nothing at all and that would not be a bad "existance".

Woody, you went from Panama to Europe to Alaska... I don't think you did that on $600 bucks a month for 2... It would cost my family of 4 over $4k each to make those trips flying coach and that is assuming I had a mate on the other end picking us up at airports and letting us stay in their house... with 2 young kids we tend to wear out our wlecome pretty fast amoung our single friends anyway...

I just don't see how you can cruise past France and not see Paris... ditto for UK and not see London... Go by LA and not take side trips to Grand Canyon or Big Ben... else why do it in the first place, stay in a nice comfortable home and look at these places in National Geo Traveller... I suppose EUG crusing is probably the most expensive in the world, so everything else will be less... You might be able to circle the globe on 1500 bucks a month but I don't think you will see much beyond the coast... at least that's my calc's are telling me, I would really love to be wrong...

cheers

[Woods Designs]

As poor Englishmen Anjou and I live in a different world than do rich Americans. (who can really say that USD4 for a gallon of fuel is expensive??? It hasn't been that CHEAP in Europe for what - 15years??) Wait till it gets to USD20 in the next 5 years.

I quite agree, airfares are not in my USD600 a month budget. Indeed they are about my biggest expense these days. Having said that we paid USD105 (including all taxes) to fly from Jacksonville to San Francisco a few weeks ago, so in relative terms flying is cheap - especially when compared to 20 years ago.

I also agree that we should see the land behind the coastline that we sail past. But I also think you should try to live more like the locals rather than isolate yourself and stay in tourist hotels. It would certainly be more educational for your children. So if I was to travel to the UK I wouldn't stay in hotels, I'd use B and B's (which mean something different in the UK than in the USA) and travel by coach or train (there are many GBP1 a ticket deals available).

Last time I was in Paris (a couple of years ago) I stayed in a businessman's hotel. Even though it was within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower the room cost me EURO60.

If you sailed to the UK you could leave your catamaran at a Plymouth marina for USD70 a night. Or you could go across the river to the Multihull Centre and pay USD200 a month on their dock (and meet up with maybe 100 other multihulls). As I said before, I cruise according to my budget, you will cruise according to yours.

However I also agree that having children means your travelling lifestyle is going to be very different and probably a lot more expensive than mine.

Who is Woody??

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

Woods Designs Sailing Catamarans

[capcook]

Originally Posted by Woods Designs

Who is Woody??

Opps, for some reason I was thinking you were going by that, sorry, Richard.

I have snagged some cheap airfares in the past as well.. once flew the family from ATL to ZRH for US$ 330 RT... but have not seen those deals lately. I just had to fly down to Florida and with a weeks notice could not find a flight in my time frame for under $300 bucks RT.. I agree if you are retired and time is on your side you have a much better chance of snagging those ultra cheap deals.

Wow, I didn't think you could keep a Cat near London for US$ 200/mth ! I clearly have a lot to learn... you ever think about writing a book on "seeing the world from a CAT for under a 100 bucks a day".. perhaps way under eh...

Wow again, GBP1 for a train ticket to where? Last time I hoped a train from London to Yorkshire it cost me a heck of alot more than GBP1... I love to ride trains in Europe, so need to learn how to get these cheap tickets...

I am not opposed to using B&Bs, it's perhaps the need for a tight schedule, we need reservations, we also need to be near train stations and so rely on Hotels.com... Since there are 4 of us we have to have 2 queen size beds (we are not that small) and that puts us in "Family Rooms" or "Suites"... What I can do on my own is very different than what I can do with the family.

You have provided good food for thought... Many Thanks !

[Rhosyn Mor]

It is possible to cruise on 300- 400 a month per person. It takes some time to research things such as the one pound ferry from dover to calais, the one pound flight from london to prague on easy jet, etc etc, but it can be done. My cruising budget is about $ 5000 a year

[schoonerdog]

It costs what you have.