Retire and live aboard

[Daydream believer]

When we went away we spent about £500-00 per week. That was after we realised expenditure was high so started to cut back & get into a more frugal existence. We did not have any boat repairs as it was new
So £ 2K per month provided one does not have any surprise costs . I would allow another £ 500-00 per month to be on the safe side. That still only equates to £ 30K per annum so is a big drop from normal expenditure living on land at home & reflects the cuts one has to make to do it.

 

[Budgieboy]

Finances need very careful consideration , you will do a lot of what you did on land , if you drink 3 beers a night you will still do that , if you eat out 3 times a week you still will ....etc etc .... things will change slightly but not much .

 

[GrahamM376]

I don't think you're a cheapskate,Graham----miserable old buggah,more like!

It never ceases to amaze me whwn this old chestnut crops up. I think it possibly points to the composition of the Forum-----rich old armchair sailors sitting at home watching TV.

Hey old Git, hope all's well with you and the new engine finished

 

[charles_reed]

About the same as you need to live comfortable in UK.

Actually considerably less, in my experience, comparing the UK with Greece.

That's before you take account of all the Kleptocrats - councils, power companies etc.

My monthly costs, aboard, for 6/12, run @ a mean of €1726/month with a range of between €2700 - €1350. That's one person - includes all mooring and repair costs.
My UK Council Tax, alone is £175/month, food costs are about 45% higher and eating out x3 to x5 as much as Greece.

 

[Wansworth]

Being neither young nor monied, I wouldn't fancy wintering aboard an uninsulated boat with less than full headroom, even if I could afford one...

...but what I'm asking, is whether harbour-governing authorities object to boat owners paying bare-minimal dues for annual use, then using big anchors as virtual moorings, and basing themselves in prime spots for weeks at a stretch, budging perhaps a quarter-mile at a time in order to escape being accused of actually laying a mooring.

If it is that easy, I'm rather excited to discover it. Now, where can I find a nice cheap uninsulated low-headroom floating refrigerator?

The harbour dues cover your boat for anchoring... only if you pick up one of the conservancy buoys will they charge you.As a retired person without a schedule to maintain you could live comfortably at anchor especially if you had a proper tender to nip down to the pub etc.Occasional splurges such as a few days in a marina to stock up or renew library of books in town break up the time... and of course you go sailing..

 

[LadyInBed]

Of course it's easy to spend far more money if you have a big marina based boat which rarely ventures far, eat and drink out most days, have a valeting contract and pay for all maintenance etc.

To my mind, if you're going to live like that, you might as well buy a house in the sun.

 

[Uricanejack]

The cost to live-aboard, Depends. I know people who live very frugally aboard.

My wife says I can live-aboard and come back and visit anytime I want. So for me the cost is quite prohibitive.

 

[GrahamM376]

Finances need very careful consideration , you will do a lot of what you did on land , if you drink 3 beers a night you will still do that , if you eat out 3 times a week you still will ....etc etc .... things will change slightly but not much .

But, as Charles says, the cost is much lower. Cost of eating and drinking out in the UK is far higher than many countries and a single gin & tonic here often costs more than a 70cl bottle in Portugal.

 

[Seven Spades]

Way too high for most of our roaming liveboard friends who, in the main, have "average" sized boats which are generally just below or around the 12m mark or, larger old steel ones and avoid marinas most of the time. Of course it's easy to spend far more money if you have a big marina based boat which rarely ventures far, eat and drink out most days, have a valeting contract and pay for all maintenance etc. We and most of our friends are considered cheapskates by them.

EDIT. To answer your point about pensions. A surprising number of people don't have a private pension but can manage very well on their state one and savings.

Well I don't see how anyone can run a boat and live for less. For a start boat mooring and maintenance is going to cost at least £10,000 per year if you include a sinking fund for sails, upholstery etc. The you have to eat, drink play insurance and but fuel. People doing the Arc World need a budget of at least £30,000k so unless for you going to live a substance lifestyle I cat see how you can do it.

 

[GrahamM376]

Well I don't see how anyone can run a boat and live for less. For a start boat mooring and maintenance is going to cost at least £10,000 per year if you include a sinking fund for sails, upholstery etc. The you have to eat, drink play insurance and but fuel. People doing the Arc World need a budget of at least £30,000k so unless for you going to live a substance lifestyle I cat see how you can do it.

£10,000 p.a for mooring and maintenance? Must be a very big boat and pretty knackered if you're having to lay that much aside for maintenance and replacements. Get into reality, you are quoting a tiny minority of people who can afford and wish to do the Arc World with everything laid on for them 1st class. They and their costs bear no relationship to the average liveaboard. Why don't you get out there and try it, rather than guess at costs?

 

[Ludd]

£10,000 p.a for mooring and maintenance? Must be a very big boat and pretty knackered if you're having to lay that much aside for maintenance and replacements. Get into reality, you are quoting a tiny minority of people who can afford and wish to do the Arc World with everything laid on for them 1st class. They and their costs bear no relationship to the average liveaboard. Why don't you get out there and try it, rather than guess at costs?

+1

 

[Ludd]

Well I don't see how anyone can run a boat and live for less. For a start boat mooring and maintenance is going to cost at least £10,000 per year if you include a sinking fund for sails, upholstery etc. The you have to eat, drink play insurance and but fuel. People doing the Arc World need a budget of at least £30,000k so unless for you going to live a substance lifestyle I cat see how you can do it.

I have a 35ft boat. For £10,000 a year I could replace genoa and mainsail EVERY YEAR, reupholster every 5 years, stay in a marina for six months of the year AND still have change!

 

[charles_reed]

Well I don't see how anyone can run a boat and live for less. For a start boat mooring and maintenance is going to cost at least £10,000 per year if you include a sinking fund for sails, upholstery etc. The you have to eat, drink play insurance and but fuel. People doing the Arc World need a budget of at least £30,000k so unless for you going to live a substance lifestyle I cat see how you can do it.

Obviously a faith-based opinion - so impossible to argue against. Facts would be meaningless to the poster.

However, do I assume he's claiming a boat is more expensive to run than a house?

 

[blampied]

£35k a year for 2 living on a 10 meter motor boat,
Continually moving about, travelling around Western Med (france/Spain)
For medical reasons we don't anchor out so every night is a harbour, Marina or river bank
eat out about 5 days a week, (the cost of food and drink in Spain is very cheep)
And travel home several times a year

 

[Daydream believer]

I have a 35ft boat. For £10,000 a year I could replace genoa and mainsail EVERY YEAR, reupholster every 5 years, stay in a marina for six months of the year AND still have change!

I have a 31 ft boat on the less expensive east coast. Being retired I keep a very accurate spreadsheet of all our costs to avoid running away with money.
In the last 2 years 9 months my boating has cost me £ 40 K not counting original purchase cost new 12 years ago. SO I agree with earlier posts that suggest a higher cost of livaboard.
Of course one can cut down for instance it is not unusual to see a boat arrive & the wife washing clothes on deck when she could have gone to a launderette. Once one is a livaboard one has to make a big change to the way one lives & for me cutting back is not what it would be about

When my wife & I went on a long sailing holiday we did see quite a few very unhappy wives who found the existence a big shock & difficult to come to terms with. If one is going to do it then I think one has to decide if one is going to cut back on life's pleasures or not. That is what governs cost to a large extent- (apart from where one is cruising of course)

 

[macd]

Well I don't see how anyone can run a boat and live for less. For a start boat mooring and maintenance is going to cost at least £10,000 per year if you include a sinking fund for sails, upholstery etc. The you have to eat, drink play insurance and but fuel. People doing the Arc World need a budget of at least £30,000k so unless for you going to live a substance lifestyle I cat see how you can do it.

You've had a bit of a thumping from other posters, but maybe you have a point if, as you seem to do, you're basing your figures on keeping a boat on the [pricier parts of the?] English south coast. Still think you're way off target, however, and mention of the Arc World is utterly...nay, majestically...irrelevant.

If this all adds to the confusion, it's only what the OP deserves: a half-assed question made even more half-assed by giving no clue as to the salient factors: location and size and type of boat, berthing preferences, etc, etc.

 

[Contest1]

Living here on the sunny Costa Blanca since May I reckon mu costs for 6 months here and 6 months home are 3000 annul marina. Flights home 600. Grub and beer is cheap so 5000 for the 6 months. Maintenance kitty set aside just in case but I enjoy doing most jobs so untouched so far bar a few bits and pieces, 500. This is euros so cheper still if useing Stg.
Still keeping the house at home so no saving there but I reckon I deserve a bit of time aboard while I got the health.

 

[PaulJ]

Depending on your circumstances, all the above are valid points however I think the overrriding issue is that eventually (with luck?) you will get old and infirm to the point where it is simply not possible to live on a boat. On my travels I have met a number of ancient mariners (3 who were 80+) and they were all struggling and not able to plan for the future. Also a number who were in their 70s and would have liked to return to the UK but could not afford to. I would not have wanted to be in any of their shoes. Liveaboard is a fine and enjoyable lifestyle on a wide variety of budgets........ until you become a bit wobbly and not as strong as you once were. So I would say "go for it", whatever your budget but make sure you have a plan for when you are physically not able to cope any more.

Paul

 

[Kelpie]

Reading this thread makes me feel like a right pauper. Most people seem to be 'surviving' as liveaboards on income that is more than what I have now. But that means that I won't feel the cutbacks when time comes to jump aboard and sail away!

 

[Capt Popeye]

Humm, would seem to me that reading most comments on this subject that the effect of ageing are perhaps not being properly taken into account. For instance, would one be able to sail a yacht with advancing age, if not then the cost of maintaining sails etc are irrelevant so one might be better off with a motor boat, much more manageable with limited mobility and strength, much lower maintainence costs,easier moorings option, as no keel etc. Perhaps a river based mooring with a motorboat might be cheaper and certainly easier with advancing age related issues. Also a better interior layout with higher headroom and facilities on board.
Hell might also consider a canal narrowboat for a live aboard, made for the job.
Of course,might not be the answer for the sailing folk, but then when all considered just how long can sailing folk carry on sailing in advancing age?