Our cost of sailing
We'll be keeping track of how much we are spending on our sailing. This will help us get a handle on what it will actually cost us when we start cruising. If you're thinking about purchasing this may help you along the way to get a feel for what you're getting into.
I'll break things down into eight categories. Dockage/marina will be anytime we have to stay somewhere, not at anchor. Which will be every time until retirement since we signed a year lease for a slip in Oriental, NC. Fuel - any fuel we take, Diesel for the engine or propane. Maintenance - any upgrades or repairs to the boat. Boat INS, Boat Loan - our monthly boat payment. Groceries/general - any food or items for the boat. Entertainment - eating out, tours, etc. Other -anything I don't have categorized yet.
I'll break things down into eight categories. Dockage/marina will be anytime we have to stay somewhere, not at anchor. Which will be every time until retirement since we signed a year lease for a slip in Oriental, NC. Fuel - any fuel we take, Diesel for the engine or propane. Maintenance - any upgrades or repairs to the boat. Boat INS, Boat Loan - our monthly boat payment. Groceries/general - any food or items for the boat. Entertainment - eating out, tours, etc. Other -anything I don't have categorized yet.
Estimated Cruising Budget
Sailing kitty
One of the first things people want to know when you tell them you’re going cruising is, “what does that cost?”. Like most lifestyles this isn’t exactly cut and dry. Even on land your neighbor may be in debt up to his nose in a fancy new car, but you may have no debt and no new car. The simple answer is it costs exactly what you have to spend. If you want to cruise on a $1000.00 a month budget you can easily do that. If you want to cruise on a $4000.00 a month budget you can certainly do that as well.
In developing a budget, costs will fluctuate month to month but, the expectation is that it will all average out over the course of a year or so. I may not spend what I’ve budgeted for groceries one month, but I may spend more the next depending on where we are and how much fish we can catch.
There are a few questions to determine how much it will cost for you to cruise.
How much risk can you take?
There are many pieces of equipment that you can purchase to mitigate risk. Radar, AIS, Chart Plotter, Life Raft. Many of these things are on almost all cruising sailboats today, but they don’t have to be. If you are willing to accept the risk of not having a life raft you could very likely go your entire cruising time and never need it. Some cruisers don’t want to accept that risk though. I am keeping a high deductible health insurance plan and term life while I’m traveling. Will I need it? I hope not, and probably not. But, it’s worth the $150 for the peace of mind that we’ll be taken care of if something catastrophic does happen.
How much comfort do you need?
This is one of the main cost drivers for initial purchase and outfitting the cruising life. Do you want a watermaker? Do you want a larger boat for more space? Do you want a lot of electronic assist on board? (i.e. windlass, electric winches, etc.). This will also contribute to the ongoing costs since you will need to maintain all those comfort items.
Where do you want to cruise?
There is a wide gap in the costs of living across the world. Europe and America lead the top of the lists in cost of living while some Central American and Pacific spots are near the bottom of the list. If you plan on seeing the entire world these costs should even out over time. Some months will be more than your expected budget and some months will be a pittance of what you have planned.
Original Estimate 2018 Estimate
Boat Loan $1600 $1076 $250,000 Loan
Boat Maintenance $500 $500
Boat Fuel $55 $55
Boat Insurance $420 $450 1% of $500,000
Country Clearance $200 $200
Groceries $600 $600
Spending money $300 $600
Health insurance $100 $100 High Deductible plan
Life Insurance $50 $23 10 year 200,000 term life
Communications $100 $100 Sat Phone/Spot tracker
Mail Service $25 $13 St. Brendan’s Isle
Savings $100 $100 For Emergency Fund
401K retirement $70 $70 Retirement
Total $4120 $3887
While I’m not currently out living my dream I have been reading blogs and looking into cruising for a few years now and have developed our cruising budget. It may change, but I think I have a good handle on things. If you’re out cruising now and notice I missed something please let me know. Below are some more blogs concerning the costs of cruising. Hope you enjoy and are able to use some of this information.
Monkey's Fist - A compilation of several blogs about the cost of sailing.
SeaRoom
Sailing the Waterhouse
S/V Delos
S/V BeBe
MJ Sailing
Jimmy Cornell
In developing a budget, costs will fluctuate month to month but, the expectation is that it will all average out over the course of a year or so. I may not spend what I’ve budgeted for groceries one month, but I may spend more the next depending on where we are and how much fish we can catch.
There are a few questions to determine how much it will cost for you to cruise.
How much risk can you take?
There are many pieces of equipment that you can purchase to mitigate risk. Radar, AIS, Chart Plotter, Life Raft. Many of these things are on almost all cruising sailboats today, but they don’t have to be. If you are willing to accept the risk of not having a life raft you could very likely go your entire cruising time and never need it. Some cruisers don’t want to accept that risk though. I am keeping a high deductible health insurance plan and term life while I’m traveling. Will I need it? I hope not, and probably not. But, it’s worth the $150 for the peace of mind that we’ll be taken care of if something catastrophic does happen.
How much comfort do you need?
This is one of the main cost drivers for initial purchase and outfitting the cruising life. Do you want a watermaker? Do you want a larger boat for more space? Do you want a lot of electronic assist on board? (i.e. windlass, electric winches, etc.). This will also contribute to the ongoing costs since you will need to maintain all those comfort items.
Where do you want to cruise?
There is a wide gap in the costs of living across the world. Europe and America lead the top of the lists in cost of living while some Central American and Pacific spots are near the bottom of the list. If you plan on seeing the entire world these costs should even out over time. Some months will be more than your expected budget and some months will be a pittance of what you have planned.
Original Estimate 2018 Estimate
Boat Loan $1600 $1076 $250,000 Loan
Boat Maintenance $500 $500
Boat Fuel $55 $55
Boat Insurance $420 $450 1% of $500,000
Country Clearance $200 $200
Groceries $600 $600
Spending money $300 $600
Health insurance $100 $100 High Deductible plan
Life Insurance $50 $23 10 year 200,000 term life
Communications $100 $100 Sat Phone/Spot tracker
Mail Service $25 $13 St. Brendan’s Isle
Savings $100 $100 For Emergency Fund
401K retirement $70 $70 Retirement
Total $4120 $3887
While I’m not currently out living my dream I have been reading blogs and looking into cruising for a few years now and have developed our cruising budget. It may change, but I think I have a good handle on things. If you’re out cruising now and notice I missed something please let me know. Below are some more blogs concerning the costs of cruising. Hope you enjoy and are able to use some of this information.
Monkey's Fist - A compilation of several blogs about the cost of sailing.
SeaRoom
Sailing the Waterhouse
S/V Delos
S/V BeBe
MJ Sailing
Jimmy Cornell