Serious question for the younger sailors. How do you maintain an income when sailing abroad?

[sailaboutvic]

$155 an hour is not better than my land-based day job, but I suspect that for every Delos there are 1,000 wanna-be Deloses making tuppence an hour. And when I go cruising, I don't want to be working a 45-hour week.
The kiddies on Sailing Kittiwake say they get a bit of copywriting/web dev work, but I've worked in those businesses and they pay ain't great. Which would explain why their calls for Patreons are getting more insistent.
Simple truth is that if there were a way to bring in a decent living by faffing off sailing, a lot more people would be doing it. Despite what YouTube would have you believe, the majority of cruisers have made their money the old-fashioned way are enjoying the fruits of their labours.

Basically you hit the nail on the head , most full time liveaboard who last longer then just a few years have earned there money the old fashion way , hard graft , or they been lucky to have been left a large sum by some one .
We have a nice NZ family here in the marina , who taken a year out , brought a boat in Europe and after one year there about to leave the boat and return to normal live back in NZ with the hope to recover most of the money they spend on the boat by selling it , wish them the bast of luck .
More and more each year this is what we see , short term liveaboard,

 

[nortada]

Basically you hit the nail on the head , most full time liveaboard who last longer then just a few years have earned there money the old fashion way , hard graft , or they been lucky to have been left a large sum by some one .
We have a nice NZ family here in the marina , who taken a year out , brought a boat in Europe and after one year there about to leave the boat and return to normal live back in NZ with the hope to recover most of the money they spend on the boat by selling it , wish them the bast of luck .
More and more each year this is what we see , short term liveaboard,

So true, liveaboards until the money the money runs out then go home and sell the boat.

Sometimes they sell the boat in situ. Others (especially if they sold the family home to fund their adventure) sail it home and either continue to live on board or sell and move back ashore.

For some it is a planned exercise - others are hit by misadventure.

In the past, we had a number of working liveaboards but as I write, so far as I know there are none.

I suspect current events (Covid and Brexit) have accelerated the demise of the working liveaboard and the same situation is leading to a gradual drift back to the UK.

I anticipate, a few years hence liveaboards from the UK will become an endangered species and could become extinct.

Interestingly, their places seem to be taken increasingly by Dutch and Germans, who keep a foot very firmly in the old country and frequently return home for long periods (months), so not really liveaboards. It appears they seldom work from their boats.

 

[Plymsea]

On the subject of YouTube channels, I follow a few and all fund their sailing (some comfortably, some by living frugally) through their channel:

* Odd Life Crafting - Brazilian couple who refitted a steel hulled yacht and launched it last week. Very easy to watch and their thoroughness is a delight to watch, inspirational really 208k

* Sailing Florence - British couple travelling the world. Good quality video with interesting pieces about their kit and their situation. I find them a little preachy/serious but the travelogue style is easy to watch. 63k

* SV Dalos (mentioned above) - American couple with a baby and a long back story of cruising. Very positive and uplifting material aboard a huge and well appointed yacht. The baby is becoming the star of the channel! 617k

* Sailing Uma - Canadian couple, currently in Scandiwgia. They have a massive following and make well crafted entertaining videos that are often of a professional standard. Last episode annoyed the hell out of me though as it was a blatant product placement and had no real value. 285k

* Millenial Falcon - Aussie/Brit couple who spend money like it is going out of fashion but make neat videos that are reliably entertaining. The Oz guy seems to know his stuff. 47k

* Sailing Cadoha - South Coast couple who started out as clueless and who make very high quality (especially drone footage) videos that are good fun and amusing to watch their learning curve climb new heights. Their dog Hank is a hoot. 15k

* See The Little Things - new find, still seeing what they are up to. 16k

* Sailing Magic Carpet - likewise. 84k

As said, all of these have good revenue from their YouTube efforts. All spend an appreciable amount of time and skill on their videos. Cadoha have decided to retreat to the Solent for Winter, which is a shame and I fear they may lose their following if they are not careful.

Number of subscribers for each is listed.

 

[newtothis]

Ok I'm too nosy to not ask: what are you doing just now that pays that sort of money? That's about ten times my hourly wage.

Fortunately, I don't make my living as a typist... that should have read: $155 an hour is not a lot better than my land-based day job. If my land-based day job had been paying $155 an hour I'd have been out cruising a long time ago, and not worrying about making money while doing it.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Fortunately, I don't make my living as a typist... that should have read: $155 an hour is not a lot better than my land-based day job. If my land-based day job had been paying $155 an hour I'd have been out cruising a long time ago, and not worrying about making money while doing it.

Blood hell , I just had to delete my begging letter to you .

 

[Kelpie]

Re: Youtubers

(no it's not some sort of root vegetable)

It's amazing how sailing channels have proliferated, at a seemingly exponential pace. FollowTheBoat were explaining the other day that when they started producing videos, the only other channels out there were Delos and White Spot Pirates (German woman stuck in Panama on an aluminium colander). For a couple of years it trickled along with a few new channels each year, and now it's just exploded. Too many to keep up with, and the quality of video production is incredible now.

My recent favourite is probably Wildings, who at first glance seemed completely clueless, but they have grown on me and unlike almost everybody on this forum they are actually out there living their dream- good on them.

 

[Clancy Moped]

A long time ago we inherited a mystery shopping job for Coca-Cola, which covered our berthing costs, mind you I think austerity will have put paid jobs like that, TEFL teaching is a thankless task...

 

[DangerousPirate]

So its either working and saving money,, renting out, youtube or inheritance?

I am sure there must be other possibilities. Are there no trades people who offer services while at harbour? Welders maybe? Or builders?

Maybe someone runs an automised business from their boat? I mean you dont have ti be a millionair. A couple hundred quid a month and cutting back on luxuries would definitely be a possibility.

 

[Stingo]

So its either working and saving money,, renting out, youtube or inheritance?

I am sure there must be other possibilities. Are there no trades people who offer services while at harbour? Welders maybe? Or builders?

Maybe someone runs an automised business from their boat? I mean you dont have ti be a millionair. A couple hundred quid a month and cutting back on luxuries would definitely be a possibility.

In most foreign counties you'll need a work permit, and the locals don't like it when you steal their jobs.

 

[Clancy Moped]

If you're on the move internet will be a bugbear.

 

[DangerousPirate]

Oh Im pretty sure if you go to a temp agency no ones gonna stop you. But Im asking out of curiosity. (I have my own money concepts)

 

[FlyingGoose]

the Money that the you tubers earn is based on subscribers , and watched , via the add revenue the minimal is around 100000 subscribers for a very small amount , the serious money comes at 1 million plus , were the money generated is crazy, my little girl watches these young American gamers wit 6 millions subs,
the sailing tubers mainly really on patreon and does not brink a lot in It all depends on who watches , not all subscribers watch or contribute, so the more you ave the better odds are.
thencomes product placement and usage .
the last I heard it was about 600 to 1000 dollars for around 60000 subs average, which is pretty good ,but it takes a few years of video to get that many subs, and camera and good computer to edit are expenDive

 

[newtothis]

Maybe someone runs an automised business from their boat? I mean you dont have ti be a millionair. A couple hundred quid a month and cutting back on luxuries would definitely be a possibility.

The trouble is that setting up an automated business that runs itself usually takes years of effort and hardwork first.
I did come across one couple on youtube that ran an organic pet food (I jest not) company remotely while living aboard. But they were living aboard in the US where their company was based. Might be a little harder in the remoter parts of the Pacific where you're more likely to talk to the taxman about poetry than get an internet signal.

 

[Rappey]

I've always liked watching sailing nahoa. They go places others don't and are very good at interacting with the locals with some pretty good stuff.
Old sea dog is a solo guy who makes very good and easy going vids.
Youtube is just amazing when it comes to anything you like watching

 

[Poignard]

Last time I was in Vannes the man on the next boat was happily earning his living by busking. (Fortunately out of earshot)

 

[Yngmar]

We're mostly living off our savings and recently a bit of rental income from a small flat, which helps but doesn't cover the expenses. The other trick is to not spend much! The frugal lifestyle suits us and we think it's a fun challenge to keep costs low. Certainly learnt a lot doing all the boat work myself.

On the other end of the spectrum are cruisers that spend over €100 a night in a restaurant several times a week, must have two watermakers aboard and constant visits from very expensive workers that clean their boat and do even simple jobs like an oil change for them. And that's not superyachties, just "normal" cruisers.

We had a go at the Youtube thing, mostly to see what it's like and make some videos for friends and family. It's a lot of work, you constantly have to wave a camera around and then end up spending hours editing, looking for music, doing voiceovers and trying to upload things over poor internet connections. All for a couple views, unless you partake in a rather silly marketing nonsense that involves writing stuff like SAILORS get STUCK IN PARADISE, faking it up on Instagram and flashing a lot of T&A in your videos. Stopped a long time ago ourselves and got rather disgusted with the clickbait rubbish from others.

Working remotely is also tricky, and that's despite me doing exactly that before going cruising. Clients that pay a lot of money for you being there tend to have an expectation of you being available to them at certain times and typically want fixed hours, which just doesn't work with cruising. There is very little understanding for "my Internet doesn't work well in this anchorage", "the wind shifted and we needed to sail 3 hours to another bay for shelter" or "we're on a crossing and will be offline for the next couple days". The kind of work that doesn't come with such expectations tends to pay poorly.

If you got skills in doing boat work, you can always find someone that needs them, but it's best if you limit compensation to food and drink, else the local workers may feel you're stepping on their toes.

So when the savings eventually run out, it's probably back to work for us, somewhere. But with all the new wisdom we gained from cruising! ?

 

[sailaboutvic]

We're mostly living off our savings and recently a bit of rental income from a small flat, which helps but doesn't cover the expenses. The other trick is to not spend much! The frugal lifestyle suits us and we think it's a fun challenge to keep costs low. Certainly learnt a lot doing all the boat work myself.

On the other end of the spectrum are cruisers that spend over €100 a night in a restaurant several times a week, must have two watermakers aboard and constant visits from very expensive workers that clean their boat and do even simple jobs like an oil change for them. And that's not superyachties, just "normal" cruisers.

We had a go at the Youtube thing, mostly to see what it's like and make some videos for friends and family. It's a lot of work, you constantly have to wave a camera around and then end up spending hours editing, looking for music, doing voiceovers and trying to upload things over poor internet connections. All for a couple views, unless you partake in a rather silly marketing nonsense that involves writing stuff like SAILORS get STUCK IN PARADISE, faking it up on Instagram and flashing a lot of T&A in your videos. Stopped a long time ago ourselves and got rather disgusted with the clickbait rubbish from others.

Working remotely is also tricky, and that's despite me doing exactly that before going cruising. Clients that pay a lot of money for you being there tend to have an expectation of you being available to them at certain times and typically want fixed hours, which just doesn't work with cruising. There is very little understanding for "my Internet doesn't work well in this anchorage", "the wind shifted and we needed to sail 3 hours to another bay for shelter" or "we're on a crossing and will be offline for the next couple days". The kind of work that doesn't come with such expectations tends to pay poorly.

If you got skills in doing boat work, you can always find someone that needs them, but it's best if you limit compensation to food and drink, else the local workers may feel you're stepping on their toes.

So when the savings eventually run out, it's probably back to work for us, somewhere. But with all the new wisdom we gained from cruising! ?

Yngmar I would say somed it up nicely ,
only to add to that even if you had any professional skill in boat work ,it really had to be some kind of skill no one else can do ., like professional joinery or electronic as in being able to repair a circuit board , not just finding a broken wire .
Otherwise there alway be someone like my self who's happy to help out other people for free so .
So to answer the OP question , I not sure you can maintain your income while cruising unless you have a return on an investment as in rental .

 

[TonyMS]

I think we've met five couples who made a good living while sailing.

One had a big satellite comms sphere, on a very nice, big yacht The bloke, in his thirties I guess, said he spent a hour or so every day trading shares.

The second, on a big Prout cat, said he ran an ISP business, and wasn't tax resident in any country. He appeared to be working regular office hours, and his girlfriend was bored out of her mind.

The third, on a racing trimaran, had a dentistry business with his brother, fixing the teeth of the rich. He had to lay up for about 3 months a year while he went home and topped up their funds.

The fourth painted popular style pictures. Each port he visited, he did a deal with a local bar to exhibit and sell his pics.

The fifth, also a painter, went home every winter to her studio where she painted pictures that sold for thousands. Her husband managed a portfolio of ground rents, no doubt bought with the proceeds of the paintings.

So, it can be done, but you need some well-honed, relevant skill. And probably need to get the business established before you set out.

 

[NormanB]

With regards to sailing and generating income from You Tube.

1. Sailing is a minority interest. There are a handful of channels that generate sufficient interest and income this way. Clearly SLV with over a million subscribers are a country mile ahead of Delos in terms of income and on a different planet to the rest. The vast majority of sailing channels make pretty much close to FA or less when equipment, time and data plans are factored in. There are probably a couple of dozen sailing channels who generate enough to be for it to be financially worthwhile.

2. If you want to make money on YT then you need millions of subscribers (don’t bother with sailing as the subject.) The big money is found in Make up and computer gaming.

 

[Kelpie]

I don't think the majority of subscribers to Vagabond, Delos, etc, are fellow sailors. There's a wider audience than you might think. People like to see entertaining people visiting interesting and unusual places, and doing cool things there. The whole idea of living on a boat is itself quite captivating to a lot of people, even if they have never set foot on a boat. But this does lead to a bit of sensationalism and click-bait video titles.