Budget for a year's cruising in EU

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Normanby

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I know, it's a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string question.

I've spent some time on websites like these to try and figure out how far my cash will stretch:
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries.jsp
http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living

So i have a bit of an idea, but i'd be grateful for some pointers from folks doing the kind of thing i hope to do. Or anybody else with an opinion.

If i cruise in a modest boat under 30', potter about the UK coast, and later wander over to the French canals and work my way through to the Med, then continue pottering.

I eschew marinas where i can, only going in for fuel and water if i have to. I don't drink much but i do like a cafe meal from time to time.
I'm not too addicted to remaining connected with mobile and internet, and the dog and i have modest food demands.

Let's assume for the purposes of the exercise the boat doesn't need money spent on repairs and upgrades.

As a rough guide, could one get by comfortably on, say 1,000 pounds a month?

Any UK & EU liveaboard cruisers getting by on less?
 
I find it difficult to live on the meagre amounts stated in some books. When i sailed south with the wife in 2004 we spent circa £ 500 per week. Last year i SH circumnavigated Channel islands & England (31ft yacht) via the Cally canal & cost for 17 weeks was £5800-00. This included the charts & pilot books plus air fair from guernsey to home for 1 week
I stayed in marinas. I am not sure that one can actually anchor as much as one might wish because of the hassle.

I have to say that i was surprised by how many sailors were circumnavigating the UK in very small boats ( by that i mean 25 ft & under) they were mainly doing short hops. Generally i think their level of seamanship was high partly due to the constraints placed on them by their boats. Ie where i could do Newlyn to Milford Haven in one 25 hour trip one chap went to all the ports in the Bristol channel taking 14 days. He had to really work the tides & go to all the more difficult locations to keep his trip length to day sails. His boat was under 20 ft

Even so i do not think that the cost saving is quite as much as one might hope & you would have to be quite frugal on £250-00. If you use marinas then you immediately need £25 for 7 nights which is £175-00 of your budget gone. I do not know about the French canals but if they are like the Dutch then you do need to budget the marina fee.
Good luck it will be memorable
 
It is a question the comes up probably once a week because there is no definitive answer. There are too many variables.
I could say that Daydream believers budget was quiet high compared to many but there are others who will say you need more. I would be more than happy on £500 a week.
 
We've just set sail towards the Med to liveaboard for a couple of years and have budgeted £1,000/month for two of us. We've already spent a considerably sum of money prepping the boat so barring any catastrophes we're hoping not to spend too much on maintenance. We're also going through the French canals and are currently in Rouen. Costs of marinas through the canals seems to be a bit hit and miss. Many places seem to be free or very cheap (with corresponding facilities) however the biggest kicker is fuel. The canals are all under motor (as you have to drop the mast) and the miles do add up. We're predicting going fairly over budget during our two months through the canals but are hoping we'll average out when we are anchoring around Greece later on in the year.
 
The only thing I'd add is eat what the locals eat, don't try to eat same as at home, sure you know that already. From everything else you've said, assuming you don't have a major boat expense or get stuck for ages in marinas due to bad weather, you'll be fine...
 
Costs are in four main categories. Subsistence, socialising, maintenance of boat and mooring. The first will be very little different from shoreside, although there is a temptation to eat out which can blow a budget. socialising is discretionary but you need for a holiday to consider travel costs such as hiring a car, sightseeing excursions etc. Maintenance costs would include fuel, which is a bigger factor if you do the canals, but otherwise dependent on the boat you have - size, age condition. Most maintenance and repair costs in Europe are higher than the UK. Mooring fees can end up the biggest item of all, particularly in the Western Med and to an extent in the Atlantic/Channel European coast.

You need to think very carefully about how much you can actually achieve in a year. Even in the Med, boating is very seasonal - April to September in northern Europe and to November in the Med. Unless you do everything in a rush, you are unlikely to achieve both north European cruising, canals and anything meaningful in the med in one season, even if you have a ready to go boat at the start of the season.
 
My last major cruise on the continent was 10 weeks in Norway which if I remember cost about three and a half grand. It could certainly have been less if we'd anchored more and drank less.

The way you describe your living and sailing I think you could quite happily live on an average of £1000 a month. I wouldn't advise rationing your spending to £250 a week though, just accept that some days will cost more than others and enjoy yourself.
 
Best leave the dog at home if you don't want him to spend 6 months in quarantine when you arrive in the uk....
 
Just to give you some ideas of costs...

Diesel is now circa £1.30 per litre...
Mooring or even anchoring at a lot of South coast harbours will set you back between 15-25 pounds per night in a 9 metre boat... Anchorages in the west country with shelter are rare...
A pint of milk is 65p
A shower at the royal fowey yacht club Is £1


So.... 5 nights mooring in the west country, 4 pints of milk, and 5 showers in a week, plus a bit of diesel will set you back half your weekly budget....

A meal out at SAMs say 30 quid, a visit to Trellesick house, £7, 4 pints of proper beer £15, a weeks groceries not including any meat or wine, £25....

Leaves you with 20 quid or so....


I thinks you should budget another another hundred or so for those times that you actually want to see and do things, everything in the uk costs money... It's a pita.
 
photodog said:
Just to give you some ideas of costs...

Diesel is now circa £1.30 per litre...
Mooring or even anchoring at a lot of South coast harbours will set you back between 15-25 pounds per night in a 9 metre boat... Anchorages in the west country with shelter are rare...
A pint of milk is 65p
A shower at the royal fowey yacht club Is £1


So.... 5 nights mooring in the west country, 4 pints of milk, and 5 showers in a week, plus a bit of diesel will set you back half your weekly budget....

A meal out at SAMs say 30 quid, a visit to Trellesick house, £7, 4 pints of proper beer £15, a weeks groceries not including any meat or wine, £25....

Leaves you with 20 quid or so....


I thinks you should budget another another hundred or so for those times that you actually want to see and do things, everything in the uk costs money... It's a pita.
Click to expand...
Why does he need an extra 100 quid when you've just outlined a fairly full week with 20 to spare?
 
Woodlouse said:
Why does he need an extra 100 quid when you've just outlined a fairly full week with 20 to spare?
Click to expand...

I thought the point was to live??? We haven't included any transport costs for instance... There isn't any point of coming the Europe for a year and only seeing the inside of a boat...

I think it could be done... But it would be dull.
 
photodog said:
I thought the point was to live??? We haven't included any transport costs for instance... There isn't any point of coming the Europe for a year and only seeing the inside of a boat...

I think it could be done... But it would be dull.
Click to expand...

A lot of cruising Europe is exploring the coast, visiting anchorages and out of the way places. It's not all about cultural visits to museums and the like.
 
Woodlouse said:
A lot of cruising Europe is exploring the coast, visiting anchorages and out of the way places. It's not all about cultural visits to museums and the like.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but what if he wants some cake? 20 quid doesn't go far in the cake stakes...
 
photodog said:
Yeah, but what if he wants some cake? 20 quid doesn't go far in the cake stakes...
Click to expand...

It does when you've already had a week in port, a night in a restaurant, an evening in the pub and a jolly to the local national trust house. Plus you've stocked up on food. That 20 is in pocket and could buy quite a lot of cake.
 
Cake is fairly low in some people's budget.

Funnily enough (and you'll know what I'm talking about) we were sorting out some filing cabinets at the Great Tower Scout Camp on Windermere. We came across the provisioning lists for Jamborees all over the world.

All of them had one item in big letters.

Cake
 
Lakesailor said:
Cake is fairly low in some people's budget.

Funnily enough (and you'll know what I'm talking about) we were sorting out some filing cabinets at the Great Tower Scout Camp on Windermere. We came across the provisioning lists for Jamborees all over the world.

All of them had one item in big letters.

Cake
Click to expand...

Exactly.

You can't do a European tour without a decent cake budget...

1) you will need a steady supply on the boat... So, maybe two morrisons sultana loaves per week... That's 7 quid.
2) you will need to partake when visiting historic sites ashore... So in my trellesick house example above, You are going to want to have a cup of tea and peice of cake in the national trust tea room.. So, thats gonna be 2.50 for the tea, and if you fancy a nice bit coffe and walnut cake with a bit of cream it's gonna add at least 3.50.

So that's eleven quid for just One shore expedition alone plus the boat supplies. Add a slice of cheesecake at SAMs and its another fiver, add a visit to the hanging gardens of Heligan and boom! your over budget.

That is no way to live.
 
Good advice everyone, thanks.

FWIW i've been to the EU a dozen times as a regular tourist, and have had my fill of that kind of tourism. Driven all over the UK, and chartered yachts in France and Greece.

This is the semi-retirement, liveaboard lifestyle i'm after. My favourite type of exploring the places i visit nowadays is simply waking for hours and hours. I love exploring on foot, especially with the dog. I don't feel the need as much these days to do the regular paid touristy things, content to simply stroll around and soak it all up by osmosis.

I hardly ever drink (gives me a headache) and eat little sugar (i like my flat tummy) - so that's beer and cake off the menu.
 
Normanby said:
I've looked into this in some detail, and with all the vaccinations (including rabies) there's no quarantine going from Oz to UK.
Did i miss something - what do you know that i don't?
Click to expand...

This i did not know.
 
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