[chris_gee]

Never mind the my boat is bigger than yours stuff.

I think some of the figures cited are a bit questionable. There seems some doubt as to what current inflation really is let alone predicting what it will be, with money supply growing at 8-10% pa. 5 million in 40 years may well be the cost of the average home based on the last 40.

It seems to me (setting aside the young person in a small boat working here and there scenario) there are two main options.

The mid-life two years or so time-out, and the older say twilight time.

For the first essentially one needs the money to live on plus I would think buy and equip the boat. Say $140-200K. I think the boat should be paid for preferably or the payments plus insurance allowed for and added. I think this should be expendable money not your capital.

At 60 or so you probably want the boat say 100k plus 150k minimum for say 5 years cruising including interest.

In both cases I would not advocate selling up everything to do it. Why? Because in retirement you probably need a pension plan, plus some cash to put jam on the bread, and a mortgage free home, which enables you to live on a pension.

Over 5 years or so to repurchase that home may well cost you 50% more, which is a sizeable chunk to pay off at that stage. Hence I think keeping some money in real estate is mandatory. The boat costs roughly 10% in annual costs, whereas property tends to produce some real return after inflation. Any money from the sale of the boat is offset by refitting costs, inflation etc. so I would largely discount it.

On a practical level I gather that most people setting out on a long-term cruise don't last 6 months. I suggest that part of this may be that women prefer a secure home base, certainly to return to. While some will take some time-out, children, grandchildren or careers tend to become issues. Hence in this country it is not unusual for a man to spend many years building a boat only to find that if he wants to go sailing it is on his own, with his share of the matrimonial property the wife having acquired other interests. Hence dreams are okay but being conservative show me the money.

Sure there is a small proportion who earn high money - they would hardly need to read this. Most don't and may even be squeezed by labour outsourcing to lower cost countries. Thus for most it will be smaller and older boats and probably cutting down on the McMansions and other spending that many consider required, to be able to afford it.


I don't see too much point in getting to say 65 and then finding one has say a few years before the health becomes an issue. But aiming for say 60 might be more achievable and rewarding. Of course it depends how far one wants to go. A few months in the Bahamas or Mexico is one thing. For that matter weekends or weeks with the kids in a small boat are great, but that is not the issue here.

Retiring early seems better to me than snuffing it and leaving one's money to the adult kids, so they can enjoy a higher standard of life than their parents ever did. They might go for a cruise themselves or more likely pay off the mortgage and spend it. Fortunately mine would prefer I enjoyed it.