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How poor is the average liveaboard cruiser?

85K views 519 replies 84 participants last post by  uncle stinky bob 
#1 ·
I phrased it as how poor because it is amazing that everyone who does not own a boat thinks that because you do you are rich.
We have been living aboard and sailing slowly around the world for the last 5 years. We have no other property, a limited income and a very frugal lifestyle.
With our income if we lived in a house we would be classed as pretty poor.
To us this life is about more than money. It is about experiencing the world and with the places we have visited, the people we have met and the memories we have then we class ourselves as top of the rich list.
What are your thoughts?
 
#512 ·
Thought I might add to the above post. The photo below, taken last night, is an example of how this old codger makes a living while cruising. All that music gear fits nicely in the quarter berth of the Morgan 33 OI. The biggest challenge is getting the gear out of the boat and on to the dock without killing myself or any other mishaps. Once it's on the dock, it's loaded on my Rock And Roller Cart, and rolled to the van, or in some instances, to the nearby marina restaurant/bar or Tiki Hut where I set up for the job. It's probably the best job I've ever had and I have been doing it for the past 30 years.



All the best,

Gary :cool:
 
#516 ·
Many, many years ago I used to charter an Morgan OI 33 from a Naval Doctor in Charlestown SC when the Navy was still there. Probably the toughest sailboat I have ever sailed on. The decks were like iron to walk upon. She loved it in winds over 40 mph. She shrugged off waves like they weren't even there.
 
#519 ·
This is such an interesting thread. How do you measure the wealth of a person? Well, if you're either of my brothers in law, it's money money money. And more money. ( you get the drift). Thankfully my brothers in law don't sail or even begin to understand it.

I sail, and with any luck will soon be a liveaboard. I am, according to Revenue Canada a high income earner. But what seems to nurture my soul more is different things than money. What defines me is dog rescue. Cleaning dogs of quite "disgusting stuff". Lifting and schlepping dogs in a spay and neuter clinic in a disadvantaged area. Sharing my sandwich with a starving dog or a starving human. Nursing a puppy back from parvo. The privilege and burden of serving my country (20 years). Being able to glue back together wounded veterans. Watching children develop into youth and later, young men; volunteering as a scout leader. Sailing with the kids not paying someone else to do it for you. The privilege of being able to practice my profession. Talking with sailors in less-than-well-maintained liveaboards. Learning their amazing stories about their lives. Hearing stories of far away lands and tricky passages whether it's fiction or truth, doesn't matter; hopefully the story is well told. Hearing from one guy who was running the first land rover expeditions from UK to Afghanistan in the 60's. I could go on and on and on, the depth of the experiences and impact of what these people have done, words fail me. But I remember the emotions, and they were strong. Truly time and life well spent. I don't know if either of my brothers in law have had any of these experiences. But I will say they have several orders of magnitude more money than I.

Then you contrast that with time spent with Bryce trust fund the III, and mostly I've found the conversation there a bit, shall we say, lacking in substance. So, I don't know, perhaps it's the comparative wealth of the liveaboards we should be talking about. I don't know if I would use the word "poor". I guess it really depends on how you measure "wealth".
 
#520 ·
This is such an interesting thread. How do you measure the wealth of a person? Well, if you're either of my brothers in law, it's money money money. And more money. ( you get the drift). Thankfully my brothers in law don't sail or even begin to understand it.

I sail, and with any luck will soon be a liveaboard. I am, according to Revenue Canada a high income earner. But what seems to nurture my soul more is different things than money. What defines me is dog rescue. Cleaning dogs of quite "disgusting stuff". Lifting and schlepping dogs in a spay and neuter clinic in a disadvantaged area. Sharing my sandwich with a starving dog or a starving human. Nursing a puppy back from parvo. The privilege and burden of serving my country (20 years). Being able to glue back together wounded veterans. Watching children develop into youth and later, young men; volunteering as a scout leader. Sailing with the kids not paying someone else to do it for you. The privilege of being able to practice my profession. Talking with sailors in less-than-well-maintained liveaboards. Learning their amazing stories about their lives. Hearing stories of far away lands and tricky passages whether it's fiction or truth, doesn't matter; hopefully the story is well told. Hearing from one guy who was running the first land rover expeditions from UK to Afghanistan in the 60's. I could go on and on and on, the depth of the experiences and impact of what these people have done, words fail me. But I remember the emotions, and they were strong. Truly time and life well spent. I don't know if either of my brothers in law have had any of these experiences. But I will say they have several orders of magnitude more money than I.

Then you contrast that with time spent with Bryce trust fund the III, and mostly I've found the conversation there a bit, shall we say, lacking in substance. So, I don't know, perhaps it's the comparative wealth of the liveaboards we should be talking about. I don't know if I would use the word "poor". I guess it really depends on how you measure "wealth".
I never met a dog I didn't like......can't say that about humans! Good on ya Sir!!
 
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