How much does cruising REALLY cost?

[ChicagoHans]

A detailed summary of the costs incurred sailing from Greece to Grenada to Florida over the past year on our Lagoon 400.

One year and 11,046 miles on a catamaran — all the costs

https://medium.com/@hansburri/one-ye...s-d953f7440f48

[tkeithlu]

Personally, I don't want to know. I've got enough left over for beer, food, and air conditioning, and the admiral is happy, so let's just let that sleeping dog lie.

[Woodland Hills]

A lot! And a lot more than you would expect.......

[Chris31415]

Interesting article with a nice breakdown of their expenses. What caught my eye was that they installed 600W of solar and then spent $4.5k on over 1000 gallons of diesel. They said they were working, so I assume they were running the generator a lot.

[Mike OReilly]

It's great you're sharing. I always appreciate those who take the time to do so. But a little humility is in order don't you think? This is what cruising really costs for you. Not what it "REALLY costs" for everyone.

As with so much in cruising, as with life, there is rarely one right answer for everyone. There are many variables that alter the answer; from lifestyle and boat choice, to crew size, age, location, capabilities, goals, general approaches to cruising... the list is long.

At best, this provides another data point for those seeking to answer this question. It does provide endless fodder for questioning choices though, so that's always fun .

[sailorboy1]

well attached is what it has cost ME the last 4 years and I don't exclude food etc.

[Chris31415]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

It's great you're sharing. I always appreciate those who take the time to do so. But a little humility is in order don't you think? This is what cruising really costs for you. Not what it "REALLY costs" for everyone.

In all fairness, your complaint only applies to the title. The article begins with a sentence that seems to agree with your comments. I always like to see data like this, especially when there are good explanations of the story behind the numbers.

“How much does it cost to live on a boat? It is a question that fills page upon page of Google search results with answers that usually begin with on average and it depends on you.”

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Chris31415

In all fairness, your complaint only applies to the title. The article begins with a sentence that seems to agree with your comments. I always like to see data like this, especially when there are good explanations of the story behind the numbers.

Agreed. I take the headline as standard clickbait aimed at driving people to their blog. As long as it's good info that's OK I suppose, although I'd rather they do as some other budget posters do, and just post their info directly here. That's what CF is for, after all.

Originally Posted by Chris31415

“How much does it cost to live on a boat? It is a question that fills page upon page of Google search results with answers that usually begin with on average and it depends on you.”

This is the real truth that most people come to. It's great to see how others are doing it. One just has to extrapolate from their situation to your own.

[redhead]

Someone brilliant once said "It costs as much as you have"

This is a true statement.

[Maple Leaf]

Thanks ChicogaHans,

I am in the market for a similar Catamaran and it’s nice to have a reference. I am finding the brokers quite aggressive and would rather purchase privately so your comments are appreciated. Covid has scared me a bit but decided to move forward and purchase .

If anyone has a line on a good used Catamaran, I would be interested. My preference would be an owners version, privately owned that has not been chartered. 38-45 foot and newer. 2015 or newer.

Thanks again everyone and stay safe.

[Gaia]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

It's great you're sharing. I always appreciate those who take the time to do so. But a little humility is in order don't you think? This is what cruising really costs for you. Not what it "REALLY costs" for everyone.

As with so much in cruising, as with life, there is rarely one right answer for everyone. There are many variables that alter the answer; from lifestyle and boat choice, to crew size, age, location, capabilities, goals, general approaches to cruising... the list is long.

At best, this provides another data point for those seeking to answer this question. It does provide endless fodder for questioning choices though, so that's always fun .

I really liked Mike's answer but I would like to add; as much as you want or can afford. Cruising in the right boat for doing it at low cost, can be incredibly cheap. If the boat is low maintenance and generally speaking that means simply outfitted, and if marinas can be avoided, and if the owners are able to do most if not all the work themselves, and if one sails and visits low cost areas such as South East Asia then cruising costs, assuming the boat is paid for, will be much less than wasting your life ashore. This applies particularly in North America and Europe where car ownership is almost a necessity and the cost of living is high.

The average cost of cruising is going up all the time in part because people refuse to do without all the luxuries of home. Four heads on a boat? Watermakers big enough so the boat (and stainless anchor chain) can be washed off with fresh water? Or the multiple heads can be flushed with the precious stuff to avoid a little H2S? Air conditioning on a boat?? More money is spent on large watermakers than some spend purchasing their boat! And the same can be said for top of the line electronics. Or laminated sails and so on and on. All very nice, do not get me wrong but not at all necessary. Some would not cruise without always stopping at marinas. A huge mostly avoidable cost. Ditto for generators and their fuel use. And dinghies that also cost with their huge motors more than some cruising boats.

So as Mike correctly said different strokes for different folks. It is just plain wrong to say outright that cruising in a sailboat must cost a lot of money. I look back with longing to a time when the vast majority of cruising boats were simple and marinas were almost non-existent. I could be wrong but I recollect we made up in camaraderie what we lacked in expensive toys.

Jim sv Gaia

[barnakiel]

It costs as much as you spend.


It costs us USD 6k to get the boat ready and spend half a year in the Caribbean ... my friends are just now sinking USD 500k into their boat and their year 0 cruising budget.


It is a good thing cruising remains affordable and available to all sorts of pockets.



b.

[tradrockrat]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

well attached is what it has cost ME the last 4 years and I don't exclude food etc.

I love seeing your updates to costs. Thanks!

[SaltyMetals]

I agree with Jim and others. It depends on your lifestyle. In fact if you start counting the cost of cruising then maybe you should not have started cruising!
Andrew

[sailorboy1]

I feel only few people out cruising don't need to be counting in some form.