cost of living on a sailboat

This “dream” (if you can call it that) started many years ago. We use a lot of the credit toward Ubers and Lyfts - great for when grocery stores aren’t within walking distance. We booked a cruise to the Caribbean to escape the cold. There are several guys and girls, somewhat of a rotating cast (or so it seems), in their 20’s, sailing all over creation together. I am surprised by the costs. If you’re buying second-hand, a pre-purchase survey (costing around £700 for a 62ft boat) would normally be done out of the water - i.e. The Cost of Living: The highest cost of living on a yacht is the mooring and the maintenance. This doesn’t always work out but being conscious of it has helped us stretch our gas budget. In many ways, living on a sailboat is like living in a small apartment without access to a store. It’s still something I would like to give a try. I was clueless when it came to creating a budget for our future life aboard. After that period of my Iife Isat down and figured the cost of living on the boat was approximately $20,000.00 including repairs, reprinting hulls, sail work, and a flight home once a year. We also get an annual travel credit with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. This post may contain affiliate links. We also have a Boat US membership which more than pays for itself. If it’s a short trip to the dock and we aren’t carrying supplies we use the kayak. But let me try and wrap it all up into a somewhat cohesive set of conclusions: In the end I think this is an exercise in futility for me. LIVING COSTS. A game I often play with myself is to see how long we can go without provisioning. My wife who by the way gets sea sick when it’s rough, refuses to stop living aboard as the adventures we’ve be had, the peace the quiet the nature is all she wants. If it was up to me, we will go there at least once per year for the rest of our lives. document.getElementById("af-header-1925292122").className = "af-header af-quirksMode"; You can also subscribe without commenting. Unless you are approaching the 1% tier of wealth, it’s just not affordable to be a snow bird and vacation all over the place, PLUS pay for an expensive house. You sacrifice the space, but make up with excitement, adventure and living with nature. I loved this post as well. a rug for the salon), our USCG documentation, Amazon Prime membership, etc. We get dockage and fuel discounts often. In case it’s not clear, La Vagabonde is the name of the boat. Love Gone with the Wynns! The above expenses are based on actively cruising on our 38 foot catamaran. but I think it is worth trying some time later. })(); Having a good system in place for handwashing clothes helps limit our laundry budget. There are times you need a car to get a project done, or to book a last-minute flight to visit family. That’s a thing? I’ll simply post titles, links, and summaries: Lots of information here and quite a spread on costs. The path to get there involves three simple steps starting with the letters E-S-I. This almost always leads to running the engines more. I love being on boats so I completely get where you are coming from. The reality is that you still have to have the appropriate funds to cover maintenance and living costs. I hit a rock while sailing last weekend. Too much isolation away from family, and too much stress to have someone awake at all times on overnight sails and too much stress with the constant repairs. They bought their boat for 3000 dollars, spent 10k to fix, and at 13k, went sailing. You are forced to get outside no matter what the weather, meaning you don’t miss those stunning sunsets, rainbows or dramatic thunderstorms. I still prefer a mono hull over a cat, Hi, could you elaborate on your comment a little please “We have made good money on each boat, buy wise get professional advise get a survey. See our full list of zero waste swaps. Turns out this seems to be on the high side of things…moving on to this video: There are different budgets and different styles of cruising – you can spend from $500 to $2,000+ dollars per month while sailing. Top 10 Aspects of Living on a Boat. . And yes, marinas make it easier. Definitely not a life that I would choose. We loved it so much, that we are already planning two months there next winter. (Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m going for dramatic effect here.). While I might consider this as a lifestyle option, my wife still has flashbacks of the cruise where we had 25 to 30 foot waves. Lived in Panama for a few months to really learn the boat and then sailed to San Diego with a couple friends. My friend, Michelle, from Making Sense of Cents gave up her RV living for what????? This is on the pricier end and we have been looking into other options, but enjoy having the hotspot data. But what about going a bit smaller? Anyone out there have a boat and/or ever want to sail/live on one? If you decide to spend 1/3 of the year in an apartment somewhere, this means you now need to pay for the apartment and the marina slip. Maintenance costs, fuel and marina services all add to the cost, as do insurance fees, upgrades (every liveaboard boater makes them) and licence fees. And over time we have been able to spend less time (and money) at marinas. That’s a bit of what SV Delos seems to be about. This will help you create a cruising budget which will be unique to you. } (And by boat I don’t mean those nasty houseboats on the Mississippi River back where I’m from.). Spotify membership for music $11 (we can download or stream). Both the initial boat expense plus living costs are waaaaay lower than what I thought they would be. The reason living on your sailboat year-round opposed to seasonally is so much cheaper for you is because you still need to rent a marina slip regardless of if you live on the boat or not. for both. As of July this year, the only clothing I have purchased is a UPF shawl, a sun hat (to replace one I lost overboard), and a tank top. I hope you’ll try it for a couple weeks or a month sometime in the future and regale us with your sailing adventures. I love to spend time alone by the water and I often use this type of vacation. It’s hard to find a place to legally live on a boat. A lot of times I’ll kill the propane and by the time we are anchored dinner is ready. Even after the 40 gigs we still have hot spot data at 2G. Maybe it’s better (as cost effective or even less expensive) than moving to a low cost of living city or foreign country. I would guess a realistic budget for us would be around 75-100k a year which would include side trips and travel home every 3-4 months to stay connected to family and friends. Given this, I wonder if “retiring to a catamaran” is an affordable option for those struggling for retirement funds. You might be thinking - that sounds miserable. Many people mistakenly believe living on a boat will be a lot cheaper than in a house. Can you imagine crossing the PACIFIC OCEAN in a catamaran????!!!! Adventure Travel, boat life, costs of cruising, costs of living on a sailboat, costs of sailing, cruising, ... and sharing. We know how to stay warm and cool off. I live in Poland and I have my yacht here. Gosh if you were to decide to do this, (and I understand your spoise’s concern) it would be fascinating to read your blog entries on how you go through the entire process of researching boat; buying boat and tailoring it to your style. Using hot water from the engines (when we have it) to get water boiling. In other words, you can save a ton by anchoring in a harbor versus at a marina, creating/using your own energy, catching your food, etc. Snorkeling, sailing, diving, and much more are also readily available to fill your days. In the last installment of our Top 10 lists we gave you the 10 things that drive us mental as live aboards. Here’s a recent video of theirs (warning: if you watch this, you’ll likely find yourself spending the next 4-5 days reviewing back episodes): The next video blog is titled Gone with the Wynns. . } Big bonus points upfront for a cute title! One boat-living idea that I find interesting is doing the Great Loop. var IE = /*@cc_on! Your email address will not be published. (Bonus, lose the boxes at the dock and there's very little trash to contend with. When we cruise the Bahamas we are planning to use My Island WiFi service. One of the main perks of Florida is being able to go on cruises a lot for discounted prices. Living full time on a catamaran will cost between $2,000 per month and $5,000 per month for a family of four and a little less for a couple with no children, plus the cost to maintain your boat which on average costs between 5% and 10% of the cost of the boat but also varies depending on the age and condition and size of the boat. I aim to buy clothing of high quality that is durable for boat life. None. Their monohull is what is quoted in that piece you mentioned above – not their latest boat. Imagine a college fraternity and sorority got together and decided to sail. If you’ve been researching the cost of living on a boat, you know it is more economical to anchor than to dock in a marina. Of these excursions, we loved catamarans the most (my daughter and I would get on the front, feet hanging over the edge, and water splashing in our faces as we sailed.) (Even land based people do not usually truly take into account the true cost of home ownership and “deal with it” when something happens). About once a month it’s nice to have a washing machine for sheets, towels, and heavier clothing. Since then, we’ve been our own plumber, mechanic, seamstress, and electrician. if (document.getElementById("af-header-1925292122")) { Choosing a departure time around the current makes a big difference in travel time and fuel efficiency. We average $8 per month spent on machines. if (document.getElementById("af-form-1925292122")) { Joining a Sailing Club. On the low end, on-going costs seem like $500 a month. In other words, they are not hurting for funds. After that, you’ll be saving money on water, electricity, and mortgage or rent. Expect to pay about a dollar a night for every foot of your boat. I’m sure we’d be on the higher end since that’s just how we roll. Haha to the suckers in Michigan!!! Free, Hulu (included with Spotify but we don’t use it much). if (document.getElementById("af-footer-1925292122")) { ? As the freshest veggies thin out we work our way to curries and stir-fries. Once you think of it, the costs being low are not really that surprising. I love photography, living on the water, and sharing as much as I can about this alternative lifestyle. Get a free copy of "Three Steps to Financial Independence. } Living on a boat in a marina … Movie library on an external hard drive created before we ditched our DVDs. You’ll be constantly learning. We are still learning. And yet the reality appears to be quite affordable. ",