Cruising Budget?

[PilotMike]

Long story short, the wife and I are tired of our jobs and might take a year or two off to sail. This is still 1-2 years in the future. As I make my very preliminary plans, the question I have trouble answering is how does one budget for cruising? Obviously there are the usual costs of owning a boat, but then there's a lot of costs related only to cruising/living aboard. Certainly costs can vary considerably by location. I'm wondering if anyone has any ballpark figures or rules of thumb to estimate a monthly cruising budget. I'd hate to get to Tonga and have to sell the boat and hitchike home because I didn't budget properly.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

[uspirate]

my friend just returned from sailing tonga/ south pacific region (gone 3 years) and i asked him the same question. his answer was $1000. per month. he's getting ready to take off again, so based on his experience i'm going with that figure. hope this helps.

[camaraderie]

Well...paying for your health insurance and boat insurance for all ocean coverage can be $10k per year...unless you decide youand the boat aren't worth it! After that...you need to BUDGET about $5k annually to cover normal maintenance AND unexpected breakdowns and bank whatever you do not spend towards next year. I would budget after that, your expenses for food, drink, cutoms/immigration, marinas, fuel etc. which largely depend on your own choices and lifestyle.
The above numbers are ballparks for 40'+ cruising boats and couples in their 50's. You can go "barebones" camping for $1000 a month in a smaller boat ith no insurance or live it up.

[ebs001]

Mike, there are a lot of excellent articles in the Featured Aticles section of Sailnet. Here's one on bugeting http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showth...ghlight=Budget.

[eryka]

I think that's an awful lot like asking "What does a car cost?" (are you thinking of a Chevy or a Mercedes?)

We have friends who can't figure out how come we can make it on less than $100/day ... but they stay in marinas and go out to eat several times per week, and if the boat needs maintenance they mostly hire it done.

[Sapperwhite]

Check out The Voyagers Handbook. the author breaks everything down based on three different "cruising styles", simple, moderate, and luxury. When you are reading it be dynamic, don't put yourself in just one category. Know how you spend and realize that you may spend more or less in certain categories. Its a great book, not like the usual reference book. Also, the newest edition is 2006 I think, so the costs and pricing scales are fairly up to date.

http://www.amazon.com/Voyagers-Handb.../dp/0071437657

[uspirate]

just a quick note i earlier stated my friends cruising budget of $1k per month=$12k annually.
their boat was a 34' Columbia, they are in their mid 20' (her)early 30's (him) and they did not have insurance (health or boat). also they're pretty much tightwads. they sold the columbia, went boatless for a year and just bought a CSY 44. but he still sticks with his $1k per month budget.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by eryka

they stay in marinas and go out to eat several times per week, and if the boat needs maintenance they mostly hire it done.

That chews up a lot of boat bucks from the cruising kitty.

[GySgt]

Originally Posted by PilotMike

Long story short, the wife and I are tired of our jobs and might take a year or two off to sail. This is still 1-2 years in the future. As I make my very preliminary plans, the question I have trouble answering is how does one budget for cruising? Obviously there are the usual costs of owning a boat, but then there's a lot of costs related only to cruising/living aboard. Certainly costs can vary considerably by location. I'm wondering if anyone has any ballpark figures or rules of thumb to estimate a monthly cruising budget. I'd hate to get to Tonga and have to sell the boat and hitchike home because I didn't budget properly.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

My wife and I are about 3 years out from our 1st cruise. The cruising forum on here is a great place to start. Bumfuzzle.com is a good account with a list of financials and wisdom, both good and bad. The book 4 hour work week will help you think of ways to add to your cruising kitty while under way. Congrats on the decision.

[uspirate]

Originally Posted by GySgt

My wife and I are about 3 years out from our 1st cruise. The cruising forum on here is a great place to start. Bumfuzzle.com is a good account with a list of financials and wisdom, both good and bad. The book 4 hour work week will help you think of ways to add to your cruising kitty while under way. Congrats on the decision.

Pat and Ali spent more money per month cruising than the average person makes. i cant find the page anymore but if i recall, one month was $4600 another $3600 and the cheapest a little over $1400. yeah, they were living it up! must be nice to have a $4k per month cruising budget