How much does it cost to cruise ?

[Sandyman]

What a great thread. People full of enthusiasm & excitement. Makes me feel good
just reading it. We've been full time liveaboards for just under 10 years now & not regretted it for even one moment. You're in for a great life believe me. You only get one life so make sure you enjoy it. The rest just does not matter. Good Luck to one & all.
Sandy

 

[Thedreamoneday]

Didn't know what boat you have. Yours should be mainly if not all metric. Main problem I had was with bits and pieces added by previous owners and the old shaft coupling, couldn't get get new nyloc nuts so just replaced the bolts as well.

Thanks Graham,

I need a 20mm spacer for the Ambassador Striper, so possably need to change the bolts like you did.

 

[Thedreamoneday]

S

What a great thread. People full of enthusiasm & excitement. Makes me feel good
just reading it. We've been full time liveaboards for just under 10 years now & not regretted it for even one moment. You're in for a great life believe me. You only get one life so make sure you enjoy it. The rest just does not matter. Good Luck to one & all.
Sandy

For me, it's reading posts like this of people who've been in my position years ago, gone through the emotions we're having and have plenty of positive things to say which is reassuring :encouragement:

 

[GrahamM376]

S

For me, it's reading posts like this of people who've been in my position years ago, gone through the emotions we're having and have plenty of positive things to say which is reassuring :encouragement:

Problem is, some people want it both ways. They dream about doing it but don't want to change their present life style to make it possible. If some got out of the marina on to a mooring, they would most likely have between £30,000 & £50,000 more in the bank in 10 years and get more sailing in as well in the meantime.

 

[Boo2]

This range was borne out by my own questioning of blue-water yachts in the Pacific (a couple of which are in Cornell's survey). My average was £22,500 per annum: this included one trip back to the UK annually, which was our largest expense.

Does that just cover the flights or UK living expenses too ?

Boo2

 

[Thedreamoneday]

Problem is, some people want it both ways. They dream about doing it but don't want to change their present life style to make it possible. If some got out of the marina on to a mooring, they would most likely have between £30,000 & £50,000 more in the bank in 10 years and get more sailing in as well in the meantime.

Lots of different people out there, some plan, save, prepare, sacrifice to make it all come true, some enjoy the dream of doing something but never actually do anything to make it happen, maybe because the reality is the dream is more enjoyable than the truth, maybe they're actually too scared to do it. I suppose some do everything they can but just can't make that dream come to life, no matter what they do- there's also probably loads more situations out there too.

 

[sailaboutvic]

S

For me, it's reading posts like this of people who've been in my position years ago, gone through the emotions we're having and have plenty of positive things to say which is reassuring :encouragement:

Most full time live aboard will have positive comments to make other wise we wouldn't be doing it .
For us we love it and enjoy every min .
We encourages people we met who dream is to live aboard to make the move , but only if they can affords it .
The three big stoppers are , relationship break down , ill Heath and running out of funds .
What I find worrying read thread on how much You need to be a full time live aboard is , how little some people say you need , in some cases as low as 6 or 7k , which is clear to me as someone who has been living aboard is impossible unless you single , don't move the boat and do nothing other then sit on boat and read waiting for the day for the boat to sink for lack of maintenance.
another worrying thing we read is the advise to sell property to fund the dream .
Countless of time we met cruisers who have became ill and can no longer Live aboard and have no where to go , some would say if this should happen they would sell the boat and reinvest , only to find what the boat is worth much less then they paid for it , that's if they can sell it, and property price have shot through the roof ,
Someone will always come alone on these thread and says it's happened to them and they found a way around it and all you need to do is , XXX
But for the most people the reality is very different .
The big question you need to ask your self is ,
if we invest every thing we have in a new lifestyle and if it go badly wrong have we got a way out ?
We all have dreams , we all need dreams but can we afford that dream .
This posting isn't meant to put any one off living on boards but hopefully to make you think carefully and plain better before taken that step .

 

[AndrewB]

Does that just cover the flights or UK living expenses too ?

Boo2

Everything. The two big items were flights and the marina fee for where we left the boat (this was the only time we used marinas other than for the odd day). Typically we came back for around six weeks. When we got home all our friends and relatives in the UK expected us to tour round visiting them, and this meant a hire car plus odd hotel costs. Staying with friends and relatives kept our accomodation costs down but then we seemed to spend a lot on socializing. Even so, sometimes we ended up renting an apartment as it's a bit wearing visiting relatives non-stop.

 

[mikenfi]

So we are just about to set off on our voyage South. We have been reading all the posts and worrying we don't have the money you guys are mentioning, but we do share the dream. I feel there may be some major differences in our way of life and the size of our boat. We managed 7 months in a marina in the north of France when our engine blew up on our first attempt. Now the boat is in tip top condition; We rebuilt the engine, new head, stripped and treated the hull, skeg keel, rudder and are currently awaiting the fitting of a solar arch with Rutland wind turbine. Also new electrics, chart plotter, led's in every light fitting, new rigging, offshore clothes... You name it we've fixed it in the 9 months we've been back from France. And we're off again in May. We hope to get further this time!

Where we may differ is our boat is 27 foot, and therefore probably costs significantly less than the majority in fees, insurance, heating etc... Our diesel engine, if we run it, uses a litre an hour and we could eat fish every day if only they would bite! When we go to other countries we like to immerse ourselves in the local community and try speak to people in their own language and before you know all sorts of people have to have you over for dinner, drinks and dominos.

We like to spend small to live big.

 

[OldBawley]

Mμpáβo !

The good spirit. Most would have quit when the engine died.
Also a proof not everybody believes 38 feet is a minimum and 22 k a year for sailing is living in poverty.
27 feet ( WL ) is what we sail also, costs do go down with smaller boats.
I ordered two new sails, and had to pay half the price the guy next to us had to pay for just one head sail. But then, that boat could sail twice as fast as we do.
That's another thing, speed. Your passage time will be almost double from an average 50 feeter and seamanship will have to be triple that.
I have skippered big cats, and know the difference between sailing a big boat or a small one. Big is easy. ( and a lot less scary )
Marinas often calculate a minimum length, mostly around 31 feet. No gain there.
Maintenance costs can be a lot less than what most pay if you know how to do maintenance yourself. Our maintenance costs are low. Except for me, no one ever worked on our boat. I can do everything myself AND do it better than Piereko the mechanic from the marina.
Before we left I took the Perkins out, reconditioned it myself, just to be sure I could do it.
Low tech also helps. We have no instruments and manage anyway to get where we want to be, no radar, just one loo.
Hard dingy, saved a lot of money. Is more expensive but lasts for ever. Most soothers have to be replaced every five years.
As to fishing, each place you arrive at has different soil, different fish. Stealing with your eyes. Learning from the locals. Don't forget, small fish tastes better than big fish.
I prefer shellfish. Octopus, Calamari, clams, mussels, crabs. Whelks ( have even made traps ) and Noah ark shells. You only need time .
And that is what you just bought. Congratulations.

 

[mikenfi]

Mμpáβo !

The good spirit. Most would have quit when the engine died.
Also a proof not everybody believes 38 feet is a minimum and 22 k a year for sailing is living in poverty.
27 feet ( WL ) is what we sail also, costs do go down with smaller boats.
I ordered two new sails, and had to pay half the price the guy next to us had to pay for just one head sail. But then, that boat could sail twice as fast as we do.
That's another thing, speed. Your passage time will be almost double from an average 50 feeter and seamanship will have to be triple that.
I have skippered big cats, and know the difference between sailing a big boat or a small one. Big is easy. ( and a lot less scary )
Marinas often calculate a minimum length, mostly around 31 feet. No gain there.
Maintenance costs can be a lot less than what most pay if you know how to do maintenance yourself. Our maintenance costs are low. Except for me, no one ever worked on our boat. I can do everything myself AND do it better than Piereko the mechanic from the marina.
Before we left I took the Perkins out, reconditioned it myself, just to be sure I could do it.
Low tech also helps. We have no instruments and manage anyway to get where we want to be, no radar, just one loo.
Hard dingy, saved a lot of money. Is more expensive but lasts for ever. Most soothers have to be replaced every five years.
As to fishing, each place you arrive at has different soil, different fish. Stealing with your eyes. Learning from the locals. Don't forget, small fish tastes better than big fish.
I prefer shellfish. Octopus, Calamari, clams, mussels, crabs. Whelks ( have even made traps ) and Noah ark shells. You only need time .
And that is what you just bought. Congratulations.

Thank you very much, filling us with confidence again!!! We both believe if at first you don't succeed try try again!!! We have chosen to take a solid tender with us so there's a one plus there!!! Regarding tech, we have only have only added the chart plotter and new VHF ourselves. The radar navtex and clipper duet came with the boat and we rarely use them only once in fog. I also installed a top end sound system as I cannot listen to poor quality audio.

we also have a new mattress in the v birth , sleep will be needed if we are to cover the distance!

We will update people on how we get along as far as finances go, if it runs out I'm sure we can head for a holiday hotspot and find some bar work. Failing that I can always fly back to the UK for month long contracts although I'd like to think we can go and make a bit of money Enroute.

Thanks again!

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Good luck ! I hope you get as much pleasure as we did .

 

[geem]

Reading these posts always make me smile. We all have different ideas about what live aboard means. One mans meat is another mans poison. Very hard to know how to answer a question like this as my frugal life may not suit others. Some others may see my live aboard life as extravagant. We are on our second season in the Caribbean and haven't been in a marina for over a year. Our costs are therefore food, beer and boat maintenance plus the cost of a summer haul out and storage and flight back to Blighty to visit friends and family.
If you boat is in perfect condition and set up for sailing in a hot climate your cost will easily be calculated but if you want to spend you time in expensive marinas and eat out every night and you blow your budget on boat maintenance then you may spend a fortune. Only you can answer this question. Good luck on your future sailing

 

[BigJoe]

Great thread everyone.

Like most, we have a dream, and are planning to cast off full time in just over one years’ time, as I have recently been made redundant / retired.

We will do a 3 to 4 month’s shakedown cruise this summer, we are located in mainland Spain, so an extended Balearics cruise will see how we adjust to extended life afloat, as we normally only mange 3 to 4 weeks at a time.

We utilise an Excel spreadsheet that we use for our expenditure for the house, quite detailed and will transfer that over for fulltime living aboard, as we found out ways to save money, when all our expenditure is listed.

We could get by on 10K to 15k a year, and still live the dream, but hopefully, if several things come to pass, we can do it on a bit more than that.

My point is you could spend 100k a year if you had it and wanted to spend it, however you would miss all the fabulous sunsets in quiet anchorages, as you would be in some 450 a night marina.

Feel the fear…………………… and do it anyway.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Where is the cheapest cruising area anywhere in the world?

 

[sailaboutvic]

Where is the cheapest cruising area anywhere in the world?

Another , how long is a bit of string ? ,
Reading some posting here over time people would expect Croatia would be one of the most expenses country to cruise , but has we don't use Marinas , we found it to be no more expenses then say Greece , althought you do have to pay some fees to cruising There .

 

[BigJoe]

Spain is very cheap to live in.

My local, (not Spanish) you can get a bottle of beer for 1 euro, 1.50 for a wine, if you go to a Spanish bar, it’s cheaper than that, .85 for a small beer, also food is just over ½ the UK price, even cheaper if you buy form the local markets. A bottle of Rioja for less than 2 euro, with the exchange rate that’s less than 1.50 GBP.

We pay just over 4K for a 14.3 meter berth for 12 months, with water and electric the same as standard Spanish house rates.
You can get a 2 course meal for 9 euro, if you go for a late lunch, you dont need anything else that day.

Apart from all that…………………………… is good.