Price Hike

What an eye opening thread. Life onboard is more expensive than I thought. We lived aboard a 56' boat for 3-1/2 years and my father always said it was CHEAP. Maybe in the 70s it was, but even on a mooring, there's a significant annual outlay of money when you consider all the costs of boat and tender wear and tear, fuel and or time to row ashore, dinghy dock membership fees, parking fees. Only for the love of sailing.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

Will, given that home maintenance and boat maintenance, are about equal, I find living aboard, which I have been doing since 1969, to be pretty reasonable.
For instance, in Charleston SC, I had a slip in a fabulous marina in downtown Charleston (basically on the waterfront millionaire manor row) for around us$700.00 a month. It was walking distance to most places on the peninsula and included free parking, garbage, water, electricity, internet, clean showers, and laundry machines. Not to mention a very friendly dock staff that helped with anything they could, including golf carts for lugging heavy items to and from the boat.
Almost all my adult life I have lived aboard where most people vacation, at rates significantly cheaper than the tourists paid for the cheapest, most barebones hotel. On the pick or a mooring it would be even more affordable, of course.

 

You suspect rightly Capta, i know when i am onto a good thing and that doesn't even include the beauty of sailing in Maine.

 

$4 per month. Oh dear.

When rates are below market, inflation is not a valid reference. Happens all the time.

 

Bless your heart. Worst case of gouging I've ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I had to check your location. I had no idea Yankees were into heart-blessing!

 

The cheapest I've seen in the Chicago area was $600 in the toxic waters of Lake Calumet. That place was so toxic that when they went to clean it up workers had to wear full body suits with oxygen tanks. I'd happily trade a steak dinner for an entire summer's mooring/slip

 

Our government “Mooring Fee” (“Tax”) doubles last year to $500. We own the mooring itself, and this increase was justified as needed for “enforcement”. We are on the mooring full time year round, except for 3 months during hurricane season, when it is in a marina hurricane hole. That’s another $1000 per month (plus electricity). We don’t plug in and just continue to use our solar.

 

I think boat maintenance is MUCH higher than home maintenance. Insurance is comparable, at over $5000 per year each, but haulouts, bottom paint, mechanical, varnish, constant replacement of “something”... and varnish really add up. I concluded long ago that the two of us could live full time on a cruise ship and save money!

 

Having not actually lived in a house, you may be correct, but from what I've heard and read, when you consider the big ticket items like a new roof every so often, digging up the lawn or tearing into walls or floors to fix water or electric problems, especially on an older home, I'm not sure they are so far apart. Then there is snow removal which we never, ever have to do. lol
However, you have chosen a much prettier, bigger (and older?) boat than most, so perhaps that has some influence on your outlook.

 

I'll bet John might be rethinking that statement right about now.

 

True that. And certainly , as you well know, the Caribbean has its perks. But that salt environment does take its toll, especially on a steel boat. As we speak, we are hauled out for a week to repack the shaft, weld some stanchions due to hurricane damage, and do lots of button spot treatment before a new application of anti fouling paint before relaunching. Snow would make all that a lot more problematic...

 

Another thing we both forgot to mention is taxes, which might be considerable on a home and are not applicable on a boat if one is outside their home country. I haven't paid one single penny in taxes on this boat in the US, but of course, I do not use any services either.