# Expenses of Cruising?



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hey all...
I wanted to post a query (I hope this is the right place to do it). I am totally new to sailing but my ultimate goal is to ditch the land life (call it retirement I guess).
Trying to plan ahead to making this change I was wondering what costs people usually run into once they have started their cruise.
Insurance? Slip fees? Common maintenance and consumables costs? That kind of thing.
Oh...and unexpected costs--what was the most money you had to spend on emergency repairs etc. The more info the better!
Thanks!
Dave


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## sander06 (Sep 18, 2003)

Google this one. There is a ton of info on the internet about the cost of crusing. The answer is usually "How much you got?".


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## ehmanta (Sep 12, 2006)

Have you searched this site for old responses to this?


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## SURV69 (Feb 2, 2008)

This could be an on-going conversation.

Any numbers in cruising might be meaningless, if you were going to spend a lot of time in Georgia, on the hook.

Numbers would be meaningless, if provisions almost doubled in price because of fuel costs.

My brother went "Thoreau", about 20 years ago. He got rid of almost everything he owned and had a ceremonyous(sp), burning of his other things.

He then lived in a 16' trailer for the next 20 years, until his death(cancer) . . . I've always tended to be much like him and I'm contemplating the day I can get rid of basically E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Except, I hope top live on a 26' boat and not see too much of the marinas, after my retirement(in about 3-1/2 years).

Till then, I plan on "practicing", for my retirement and attempting to keep track of expenses to see if such a live is viable on the pension I'll be getting.

This particular subject is so subjective . . .


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## speciald (Mar 27, 2007)

Cruising World magazine did a nice series on this topic a few years ago. Search their archive.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

A quick search would lead to several recent threads on this very topic. 

Basically, there are too many variables to say what your costs would be. It depends on the boat, the tastes of the crew in terms of lifestyle and food, cruising region, your skills and self-sufficiency level. 

if you stay on the hook and eat simple, low cost foods on a small, easily maintained boat, your budget will look one way. If you stay in marinas, on a large boat with complicated systems and eat at restaurants every other night, your budget will need to be considerably larger. 

If you have a fairly self-sufficient boat and are able to do most of the maintenance on it yourself, your cruising costs will be far lower than if you need to constantly go into the marina to re-charge your batteries and replenish your water supplies, and have them do the basic maintenance on the boat.

Your boat's size will often influence costs. The larger the boat, the more expensive it is to maintain, haul, repair, dock, etc. A 40' boat will cost two-to-three times as much to maintain as a 30' boat. It is also almost 135% larger than a 30' boat, not the 33%, since it is larger in length, depth and width. 

The way your boat is setup will often influence costs. Do you have enough of a battery bank and passive charging capacity to not have to run the engine or use shore power to recharge your battery banks? Electricity costs money--either in passive charging systems, fuel or dock rental. Same with water. A boat with solar panels, a wind generator and a watermaker can avoid using marinas for a long, long time.

Beth Leonard's book, The Voyager's Handbook, has some costs for three different types of boats, a very basic cruising couple with small boat and modest needs, a medium level for a family of four, and a burn-through-money-like-water budget. However, the book's examples won't take into account the price increases caused by the extremely high fuel costs over the last two years. The cost of diesel and gasoline has basically doubled in many areas, and the costs of transporting all goods has been affected, causing increases in the price of food, manufactured items, etc.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Awesome info guys, thank you! This site is a wealth of info. And thanks for the tip on the Beth Leonard book--I will pick that up!


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## wantokex (Feb 29, 2008)

I would have to second Beth Leonards "The Voyager's Handbook" one of the three books that does not leave my desk top as we do our re-fit.

-Wantokex


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## ebs001 (May 8, 2006)

Sailnet use to and may still have in the articles archives that will give you all kinds of information on just about anything you want to know about cruising. There were at least two articles on budgeting. Go to www.sailnet.com and go to "articles" at the top and search out the topic(s). Here's one for example http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruising-articles/20392-retirement-cruising-budgets.html


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Be aware, as the articles get older, the costs related in them are less and less accurate.


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## ebs001 (May 8, 2006)

The nice thing about some of these articles, including the one I listed, is that the costs are done as percentages.


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## Paul_L (Sep 16, 2004)

ebs001 said:


> The nice thing about some of these articles, including the one I listed, is that the costs are done as percentages.


A percentage of what you own

Paul L


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## ebs001 (May 8, 2006)

No, it's not income tax - how much did you make: send it to us. % of your total buget.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Depends on your lifestyle*

We are planning the same escape and in my research it seems to really boil down to how you like to live and where you want to go. Some places are much cheaper than others. 
If plan to not spend money eating at restaurants, hanging out in bars and anchoring out instead of hooking up to shore power then you can get by pretty cheaply maybe in the neighborhood of $800.00 to $1000.00 a month but is seems that more often it is closer to double that amount. This includes insurance, moorage fees and such. It doesn't include major replacements of items such as sails or engines. 
I am also hearing that the cost making landfall is getting out of hand&#8230;. Due to extortionate government rip-offs for "cruising fees" $150-$300 fee per boat for entry is becoming typical in many areas. 
We do not currently have our boat yet so all my info is definitely second hand. We are on the "two year plan" and intend to start retirement at least semi retirement by 2010.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

My wife and I moved aboard our 41 ft. sailboat last fall. In addition to articles in various mags that help with cost models, you can make one of your own. I remember a very good article by Leonard (I think) which profiled costs in three categories which you can use to calibrate against your own lifestyle. Use their categories as a starting point and add important items of your own. Then, get specifics for yourself. Copy your food budget into the spreadsheet, same for entertainment, etc., unless you plan to make a lifestyle change. Consider your onboard equipment carefully, you will be anchoring out a lot and dinghying around for provisions and to sight-see.
If you start your own spreadsheet, you can modify your items and costs as your research progresses. However, the cost of unforseen events, like the nearly 100% cost increase in diesel fuel, is difficult to predict. So we have a little 'nest egg' for contingencies that is not used for operating expenses, it's for repairs, equipment replacement, etc. For us, food costs a little more than we planned, and we motored a little more than we planned. I think if you develop a basic budget and tweak it as you read these articles, you'll get pretty close, and when you finally start living aboard you'll do what everyone else does -- adapt. Happy sailing!


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## moanasailing (Apr 17, 2008)

cruising costs "as much as you got". We just returned from cruising for three years across the South Pacific. Our average monthly expenses were under $1000. One of our most enjoyable months we only spent $100. We found we spent less in isolated places and expensive places. Ironically in cheap places we often went out more and spent more.


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## SYMandalay (Nov 9, 2007)

You might find article #8 on the page below helpful.

It's almost impossible to answer your question unless you define what to include. Insurance? boat payments? stuff back home? just expenses underway?

Colin


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## buckeyesailor (Mar 9, 2008)

Great Link Mandalay!.......Lots of stuff I can use there for my trip to the Bahamas next winter........


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## SYMandalay (Nov 9, 2007)

Glad you like the link.....I will be adding more from time to time.

Colin


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