$ Cruising ??

[bljones]

Step 1: Determine how many months you want to cruise.
Step 2: Take the amount of cash you've got, can raise, or will have when you leave, add in whatever total monthly income you expect to have, (pensions or annuities or investment income) subtract the cost of whatever boat you plan to buy, add 25% of boat purchase price for refit and add-on costs, then divide the total by the number of months you want to cruise.

Now you have your monthly budget. How you spend that budget is up to you. You can spend it in marinas and eat ramen noodles and canned beer, or you can anchor out and drink good rum and eat conch and crab.

[Skippyman]

Thank you for your site. It will keep me busy for a good while.

[zeehag]

there is a book named cruising on a small budget....might wanna find and read it too... gooodluck---smooth sailing

[CaptainForce]

We're full time liveaboard coastal cruisers who find it easy to stay within $700/month for all the costs associated with the boat maintenance, refits, docks, utility fees, moorings, diesel, custom fees, etc. If you can add your home costs, lawn care, utilities, property taxes, car ownership, maintenance, auto insurance, etc. and have a similar sum; then, it should be easy. All other costs are likely to be equivalent wether you're in a house or a boat. I'm just making a guess since I haven't lived in a house since I moved out of my parent's house in 1964. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[zeehag]

easiest things for me were ridding myself of car-- lol and i didnt have a house to worry about---only thing i find prohibitive is rent in a marina..... i prefer anchoring, as does my cat--he doesnt like the tether situation he needs on a dock--he knows is needed and is part of him, and loves me for the safety, but he doesnt like the restriction......
no9t owning a house makes the cost overall of cruising much lower....

.home is where the boat is...

[chall03]

This thread is a month old I know, but forgive me for bumping it as I think this is one of those topics that Cruisers-to-be stress about. We certainly did.

I believe that cruising is not that dissimilar to life on land. It essentially costs as much as you are willing or able to pay for it...you can live in a apartment, ride a bike and eat what is fresh/seasonal and cheap, or you can live in a mansion with every conceivable gadget, drive a BMW and eat and drink yourself silly.

Having said that it pays to be realistic about expectations as well and what cruising is about for you. If you enjoy eating out at home chances are you probably will enjoy it cruising. If you are into gadgets, you will probably want a boat full of them. If your wife needs certain comforts then sailing off into the blue yonder in a boat with no refridgeration and a cramped cabin might end your cruise prematurely.

Our mistakes????
We underestimated the amount of time we would spend in Marinas, that's not to say that we have spent huge amounts of time in them necessarily, but it added up quickly. Bad weather leading to a decision to stay put in a Marina for a few days would blow that month's budget to shatters....we are now careful about Marina's but they for us are still sometimes a necessary evil.

I didn't know enough about boat stuff. While we were preparing the boat it became very obvious that 'calling a man'( my wife's catchphrase for when I couldn't fix something) would bankrupt us before we even left the dock. Professionals also sometimes have different priorities to you( why should they try to fix your old windlass when they are a dealer for Muir??) I have been on a steep learning curve ever since, and saved myself thousands in the process.

[Don0190]

$1,063.44/mo for the boat, add money for food, entertainment, clothing, drink, fees, travel etc

[wingNwing]

It depends so incredibly much on how you like to live, as others have already stated. Here's ours: Cost of Living ... Afloat | Jaye Lunsford - Life Afloat | Blogs (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital)

[mdi]

Here is a report by several different types of cruising boats

SV Estrellita - Cost of Cruising

[Brent Swain]

Ask the locals in the Carribean what they eat. They are experts in low cost living in the area. They certainly don't need $1,000 a month