Rainy Day Pot...

[Nostrodamus]

Many people on the forum ask “How much money do I need to go sailing?” which as most of us know is a very difficult question to answer…. It all depends

What I don’t see asked is “How much contingency money do I need?”

I think or hope that when we first “go cruising” we have a rainy day pot for when things go wrong. As we continue our journey things do go wrong and we dig into that pot until it gets smaller and smaller.

Is there a point at which we should stop sailing because if something major goes wrong we no longer have the finances to fix it?

Has anyone been out there when say the engine or some other major part finally gives up and you know you don’t have the money to repair it… what did or can you do?

 

[sailaboutvic]

Good point Nost , and I can tell you from experiences that the longer you living on board the more things start to go wrong , we have to remember that we use our boat every day and that mounts up to three or more years wear and tear then the average weekend owner , we just logged over 3000 miles this year but on the other hand our yachts are better maintained and looked after because we have more time to do it and we need to keep them in tip top condition , it not so easy to to get parts or repairs when on the move , so the pot can very quickly shrink , so to answer your question , what will we do when the pot empty , I suppose we have to find work some where , lucky co skipper is very handily with a sewing machine and I can put my hands to almost any thing so with a little bit of lucky a penny ( or should I say Euro ) can be had here and there . As for given up and going home , on this yacht we both agreed that until ill Heath takes over we just keep on sailing ,
Long may we all sail and contribute to this and other forum .

 

[Nostrodamus]

Good point Nost , and I can tell you from experiences that the longer you living on board the more things start to go wrong , we have to remember that we use our boat every day and that mounts up to three or more years wear and tear then the average weekend owner , we just logged over 3000 miles this year but on the other hand our yachts are better maintained and looked after because we have more time to do it and we need to keep them in tip top condition , it not so easy to to get parts or repairs then on the move , so the pot can very quickly shrink , so to answer your question , what will we do when the pot empty , I suppose we have to find work some where , lucky co skipper is very handily with a sewing machine and I can put my hands to almost any thing so it a little bit of lucky a penny ( or should I say Euros ) can be had here and there . As for given up and going home , on this yacht we both agreed that until ill Heath takes over we just keep on sailing ,

I am with you on this one Vic although unless I can find somewhere that want to employ a village idiot it is unlikely that I would be able to find work....

 

[sailorgirl]

And its not just boat bits that break - I managed to slip a disc in the summer, fortunately in Scotland so the NHS came to my rescue but the unplanned for marina fees whilst I was in the early recovery stages made a big hole in our budget meaning we had to dig into our contingency right at the start of our cruising life.

Our view is we'll just keep going as long as there is sufficient in the pot to cover the pair of us flying back to the UK and whilst we have the health to sail our boat. If funds get low then the skipper plans to put the boat somewhere safe and get a contract but he is hoping not to have to do that.

 

[Nostrodamus]

I agree.. If all else fails you have to have money to fly back.. family crisis and aging parents means we always have to have that available.... That is a separate fund the wife calls her running away money.

 

[chinita]

The figure of 10% of the boats value for annual maintenance has often been mentioned. I subscribe to that figure (but don't do it!). In addition, if that 10% is not used, then it should not be blown on something else - but set aside at 20% for the next year, and so on.

It is the unexpected which is the crippler.

When we left UK, a (we thought) close friend, wanted to take our dog. She was away for the weekend when we left and we agreed to leave the mutt in a local kennels for her to collect on the following Monday. That was in November 2001. Easter 2002 we had a frantic call from the kennels asking when we were going to pick up the dog!

So, we had to drop everything, leave the boat in the marina in Estapona, take expensive flights, hire a car, stay in hotels, pay five months kennel charges - and we were still left with the problem of the dog! That took another couple of weeks to sort out.

That lot took out £2.5 - £3k from the pot. Right ****ed up the cruising budget that did.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Chinita ... Come on you can't keep us hanging on like that , what happen to the dog ?

 

[chinita]

Dumped it on the M1 Central reservation.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Chinita ... Come on you can't keep us hanging on like that , what happen to the dog ?

And the close friend?

 

[chinita]

We went round to her house. She had got wind of the situation and was not in. She had left the dog food and bowls outside her door.

I went back that night and torched the place.

 

[kunyang]

Ah, that must have been the post girl at number 23, who had a collection of dog bowls in the back garden, Leads and muzzles were used for the bondage sessions (so i'm told ), her house burnt down.It was said that a man wearing oilies was seen in the area with a manic grin, and a can of petrol. Not much was said after the incident, but occassionally, when the wind is in the east, you can hear cars, and small yelps fading away in the distance

I'm in to, flaggilation , necrophilia, beastiality, am I flogging a dead horse?