What is the average Liveaboard cost ?

[tracker]

Hi all

My wife & I are planning to set sail soon aboard a new 44 for a few years live aboard in the Med.

I think we'll have enough money - my wife thinks differently !

Can you suggest the sort of annual income needed to keep us fed, insured, occasional marina berths, occ budget flights to the UK, occ meals ashore, repairs, trips, phone calls etc ?

Thanks for your advice

John

 

[Formercruiser]

It depends very much on how you do it. You can survive on less than £100 a week and would be very comfortable on £200. Depends how long you are in Marinas and how often you fly home.

Some marinas will cost only £500 or £600 for a winter, others double or triple. Where do you envisage going?

There was an article published in YM a little while ago called 'The Med for Less' by Mary Neate. Mary was at the budget end of things but the cost breakdowns may be useful.

 

[mikewilkes]

Hi John,
Dont think there is such a thing as an average liveaboard. The only thing we seem to have in common is that we are enjoying doing what we want to do.
Costs can vary so much, as does the choice and size of boats.
All you can really do is look through all the books that have been written and make your own judgment.
The other side of the coin is just go and do it. If you are finding after a wee while that you are getting short of cash then stop drinking so much wine or eating out so much. If you have some left over then go buy some wine and take SWMBO out for a slap up meal.
But most of all enjoy yourselves - remember the last suit you wear has no pockets!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[snowleopard]

£10k pinch and scrape, watch every penny
£20k comfortable but careful, avoid hotels & nice restaurants
£30k everything you need.

my simple rule of thumb. others will certainly differ.

 

[AndrewB]

This is a very common FAQ, if you do a search on this forum you will come up with hundreds of views. There is no answer.

FWIW we reckon about £12,500 pa or about £250 per week for two on our 38'-er.

 

[BrendanS]

As AndrewB has said, has been discussed many times, and many answers. Have a look for posts by Stingo, then click on his website link - he did a mini poll of people he met on his voyages, and detailed the budgets different cruisers were living on

 

[Koeketiene]

We have looked at this in some detail; questioned liveaboards we knew, calculated running costs, compared countries & cost of living, etc...

Including fuel, insurance, repairs, up to 10 marina days per month, eat out every WE, money set aside for repairs... we worked out we could do it at 1,050 per month.

Good luck

William

PS: only 2 years, 9 months & 23 days to go, but who's counting?

 

[Sea Devil]

Liveaboard costs vary with where you are in the world - probably the highest are in the Western Med because there are fewer anchorages - In winter you probably end up in a marina because you need some sort of heating or the abiltiy to get ashore easily in cold weather.

In the Eastern Med - Turkey - Tunisia - the costs go down a lot as it is not necessasary to use marinas except perhaps mid winter.

In the Caribbean the costs drop dramatically. You need never ever go in a marina - the cost of living - food is far lower than Europe and rum is very cheap as is diesel.

More or less the same applies all the way round the world to the Med again.

You have to budget for annual haul-bottom paint etc - communications home - cooking gas and food - Once you are out of the 'expensive' sophisticated countries it is possible to live quite cheaply.

Across the pond, I have one friend who who actually survives on UK£60 per week but he eats lots of beans.... Another more typical with quite a reasonable lifestyle recons £150 per week - I always reconned it cost £200 a week - all these include annual maitaince of the boat - and living...

 

[itsonlymoney]

This is a very interesting topic and one that makes me reveiw my pension plan. £200 a week and I can retire somewere hot. Luverly thought.
Ian

ps - good luck

 

[snowleopard]

i's true that it is possible to live aboard for £200 a week as long as you're in the right part of the world.

there are two factors to consider - for almost all boat owners in the UK and similar countries, that rate of expenditure represents a substantial drop in standard of living which can get pretty wearing after a while, (especially for many ladies).

the other thing to consider is that there's likely to come a time when you're physically unable to continue cruising. if you don't have a house and income to come home to you'll be in a bad way.

 

[Olivebank]

Hello from New England (USA!). We did the liveaboard "thing" for three years here in the cold Northeast on a 36' Allied Princess Ketch. Discovered that our liveaboard costs were almost exactly what it would cost to live on land (your home mortgage or rent = cost of your dock space). Utilities run more or less the same, electricity a bit less - heat a bit more; but of course in the Med your weather is milder. Figure on more money for restaurants. The boat can get confining now and then and you'll want to get out and about. The BEST part of being a liveaboard is getting to see all the amazing things that being on the water can bring to your life - a glorious sunrise; an unusual fish; some amazing starlit nights. Enjoy!
Olivebank

 

[temptress]

Q: How much do you need to live ashore in the UK? Same question realy.

A: It depends on where you are and what standard of living you expect. As with liveaborading/crusing.

Do you want to eat beans and walk everywhere? When you are in port, which is in fact most of the time, do you want to eat out? buy a few beers? Visit the country/town.

Whatever your levelk don't forget the boat. we allways allow the same funds per month pro the boat as one person. Somtimes we exceed it sometimes we don't.

I know couples living in the MED happily on £5K and others suffering on £40K. So it depends on you.

But don't let that put off.

Go for it and see what happens.

Good Luck

 

[Sea Devil]

Agree with everybody except - at £200 a week in the caribbean (NOT the Virgin Islands) I eat out a lot - party a lot - hire cars sometime - do the trips - and have lots of fun - it was the same in the DR, Puerto rico, Spanish Virgins and in Cuba I lived like a lord. Once I got to Key West and up to the Chesapeake and Maine the costs became the same as in the Med - possibly more and US marinas are expensive but normally it is possible to find Anchorages.

The med is expensive by comparison but the windies are a breeze!

 

[Danthegorrila]

We're managing this and seems to be the same for many of our friends.
Somewhere between 1000 euros and £1000 per month.

Our cheapest month has been in summer and was 400 euros, winter definately costs more with time in a marina. A big cost is keeping the boat in tip top condition we think we are spending on average over 200 euros per month on boat bits and repairs, which is much more than we expected.

Hope it helps, I think the reality is that you should do it then trim your budget to what you have, every sems to want 10% more than they have, just like ashore! We did meet 1 guy who had limitless cash, but that would be boring!!

 

[chrisb]

Surely the question is what is the minimum income needed to live aboard. as already stated ym did a feature on this a couple of years ago and i think it was &100 in the med.certainly i couldnot live on that and i suspect as you also have a new large yacht neither could you