Greetings- I'm curious what it costs for thrifty travellers who live aboard. Especially, 1. boat slip fees, and the rarity of finding one to spend the night in when you come into shore. How much per night on average, east coast west coast and abroad? 2. food, do you fish, im assuming you do, how much money do you spend monthly on food? C. lastly, do you have a business, or trade that makes you money, or are you living off of savings? Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you answer, doubly so. peace. Oh, and some miscellaneous questions if you feel up to spec for em: 1.Biggest problem you've ever faced at sea, monetarily, or natural danger (waves, storms), dangerous ports, burglers, pirates, you name it. B. Computers and water: Have a laptop, one of those panasonic tough laptops, desktop? III. Heating, are you equipped for cold weather Four! Think I can find an acceptable deep water cruiser, live aboard for 15 thousand? 25 thousand?
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PS
For the record, I have sailed little lasers, 15 foot FJs, a Catalina 22. I know sailing is for me, except I have never been on my own completely. I want to try. I have enough of a beginner knowledge of sailing to know that I want in. I don't have the experience you all have, or any one to talk to who has lived aboard and travelled the seas. I know you will recommend reading up on it, so I'll pick out a book at B&N today or at the library and read it fully through. But I would still like answers from you fogeys : ) Thanks in advance.
For the record, I have sailed little lasers, 15 foot FJs, a Catalina 22. I know sailing is for me, except I have never been on my own completely. I want to try. I have enough of a beginner knowledge of sailing to know that I want in. I don't have the experience you all have, or any one to talk to who has lived aboard and travelled the seas. I know you will recommend reading up on it, so I'll pick out a book at B&N today or at the library and read it fully through. But I would still like answers from you fogeys : ) Thanks in advance.
costs
you're asking an impossible question. for example, the cost for a slip for a forty foot boat in newport on july fourth and the cost for a catalina 25 mooring in october in bar harbor probably vary.
you're asking an impossible question. for example, the cost for a slip for a forty foot boat in newport on july fourth and the cost for a catalina 25 mooring in october in bar harbor probably vary.
read the archives....
Almost ever question you've asked has been answered at sometime in the past.
Almost ever question you've asked has been answered at sometime in the past.
Costs about the same as a house
Seriously. Of course my house cost a lot less than some on this board. Same for food...steak or beans??? Same for slip..some neighborhoods are much more expensive than others. Acceptable for who???? Tastes vary but $25000 is bottom fishing for most. The price reflects a lot more than size. A smaller well equiped boat in good condition can easily cost twice as much as a larger boat. Think quality. Also a bigger boat costs more in every way. The worst thing to do is buy a big boat in poor condition and be stuck with something that you can't use or sell. It can easily cost $12,000 to replace a small diesel.
Seriously. Of course my house cost a lot less than some on this board. Same for food...steak or beans??? Same for slip..some neighborhoods are much more expensive than others. Acceptable for who???? Tastes vary but $25000 is bottom fishing for most. The price reflects a lot more than size. A smaller well equiped boat in good condition can easily cost twice as much as a larger boat. Think quality. Also a bigger boat costs more in every way. The worst thing to do is buy a big boat in poor condition and be stuck with something that you can't use or sell. It can easily cost $12,000 to replace a small diesel.
Fox, The answer to most of your questions
depends upon your life style and expectations. How well can you cook? It costs about thirty cents to make a batch of muffins (12). How easily are you entertained? I have friends that used to live aboard in Maryland in the summer time and cruise south to Florida for the winter. Between them they could earn a subsistance living. He working in boat yards and she either working in the yard office or waiting tables in a pub. They often referred to themselves as starving artists. They are both very capable in every aspect of boating and life. They spent most of their non-sailing time at anchor and took a dinghy to shore. You can drag that up the beach for free. They received some assistance from their parents when the old folk found out that they needed some help. But they had their standards and didn't broadcast news of any hardships. I taught her to can meat for their trips and she learned how to cook with canned meat. When you can buy a turkey for less than a dollar per pound and get twenty jars of meat for about 75 cents per jar you can afford to eat meat more than once a week. Know how to do you own repairs and offer to barter labor for parts. Remember that for the cost of a movie ticket you can eat your own cooking for a week. For the price of a good tool kit you can avoid hiring a mechanic. Learm to splice your own lines. Go to the public library for your books, save money. my friends would go to the library for internet time.
depends upon your life style and expectations. How well can you cook? It costs about thirty cents to make a batch of muffins (12). How easily are you entertained? I have friends that used to live aboard in Maryland in the summer time and cruise south to Florida for the winter. Between them they could earn a subsistance living. He working in boat yards and she either working in the yard office or waiting tables in a pub. They often referred to themselves as starving artists. They are both very capable in every aspect of boating and life. They spent most of their non-sailing time at anchor and took a dinghy to shore. You can drag that up the beach for free. They received some assistance from their parents when the old folk found out that they needed some help. But they had their standards and didn't broadcast news of any hardships. I taught her to can meat for their trips and she learned how to cook with canned meat. When you can buy a turkey for less than a dollar per pound and get twenty jars of meat for about 75 cents per jar you can afford to eat meat more than once a week. Know how to do you own repairs and offer to barter labor for parts. Remember that for the cost of a movie ticket you can eat your own cooking for a week. For the price of a good tool kit you can avoid hiring a mechanic. Learm to splice your own lines. Go to the public library for your books, save money. my friends would go to the library for internet time.
Thrifty travellers
Live on shore & use public transit. You're talking about moving into an area which is pretty sharply focused, and your questions are so general that I suggest that your first step better be to do some reading. This isn't intended to be a 'put-down', but you should learn more abt.marine things in general. You'll be able to appreciate the answers to your questions better, and perhaps live longer too.
Live on shore & use public transit. You're talking about moving into an area which is pretty sharply focused, and your questions are so general that I suggest that your first step better be to do some reading. This isn't intended to be a 'put-down', but you should learn more abt.marine things in general. You'll be able to appreciate the answers to your questions better, and perhaps live longer too.
The friends that I referred to lived aboard
a 27 foot O'Day with a cat, a dog and a parakeet. I believe that they had about fifteen k in the boat if you don't count sweat equity. They bought a fixer-upper and did everything that needed doing new running rigging ,new wire, new yanmar engine, new paint, repaired their sails. built the dink. They just plain didn't pay for labor.
a 27 foot O'Day with a cat, a dog and a parakeet. I believe that they had about fifteen k in the boat if you don't count sweat equity. They bought a fixer-upper and did everything that needed doing new running rigging ,new wire, new yanmar engine, new paint, repaired their sails. built the dink. They just plain didn't pay for labor.
Start the other way
best way to do this is to start with the amount of money that you have and the amount that you think that you can earn over a year. Then decide how much of a boat that you can afford and how much you can spend per week. I have lived aboard a boat twice, once in the late 60 on a 27 footer in Santa Barbara an in the mid 70"s on a 72' ketch near Newport RI. It can get cold, wet and lonely. The biggest problems that you will face is that most marinas don't welcome live-aboard any more. Best thing to do is start with a boat, next find a place that will take you and that you can afford and then try it for a while. Good luck.
best way to do this is to start with the amount of money that you have and the amount that you think that you can earn over a year. Then decide how much of a boat that you can afford and how much you can spend per week. I have lived aboard a boat twice, once in the late 60 on a 27 footer in Santa Barbara an in the mid 70"s on a 72' ketch near Newport RI. It can get cold, wet and lonely. The biggest problems that you will face is that most marinas don't welcome live-aboard any more. Best thing to do is start with a boat, next find a place that will take you and that you can afford and then try it for a while. Good luck.
How do you know if you even like ...
boat ownership. You don't say if you own a boat or not ... I'm assuming not. You might want to own a boat for a while before thinking about living on it! Try owning one and find out if you like it enough to deal with all the chores, find out if the expenses are managable, and find out if you like it enough to single-hand if you don't have a reliable mate. Maybe you like it when you crew on somebody else's boat but it may be a different story if it is your boat and you spend most of your time on it alone.
boat ownership. You don't say if you own a boat or not ... I'm assuming not. You might want to own a boat for a while before thinking about living on it! Try owning one and find out if you like it enough to deal with all the chores, find out if the expenses are managable, and find out if you like it enough to single-hand if you don't have a reliable mate. Maybe you like it when you crew on somebody else's boat but it may be a different story if it is your boat and you spend most of your time on it alone.
Danke
Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to my posts. I appreciate the discouragement, really I do, that I found throughout the archives. Don't get me wrong, there are specklings of encouragement here and there. Pondering: Is this because you all are just boatowners, and not actually living on board and travelling the world, sort of like hobbyists who begrudge others the chance to pillage and plunder the mighty waves?. I mean, cmon, I did some research and there are proven inexpensive offshore boats, like the Albin Vega 27 for instance. This is easily within my price range, and Id work my way up in intercoastal waterways and such until I could handle offshore sailing. I'll keep researching, but eventually I'll just have to do it if I have the balls, trade in and trade on. Thanks again for the replys all. peace
Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to my posts. I appreciate the discouragement, really I do, that I found throughout the archives. Don't get me wrong, there are specklings of encouragement here and there. Pondering: Is this because you all are just boatowners, and not actually living on board and travelling the world, sort of like hobbyists who begrudge others the chance to pillage and plunder the mighty waves?. I mean, cmon, I did some research and there are proven inexpensive offshore boats, like the Albin Vega 27 for instance. This is easily within my price range, and Id work my way up in intercoastal waterways and such until I could handle offshore sailing. I'll keep researching, but eventually I'll just have to do it if I have the balls, trade in and trade on. Thanks again for the replys all. peace
- Jan 22, 2008
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Costs
Remember that in the total cost of boat ownership, just like in horse ownership, the horse is the cheapest part of the deal. I bought a really cheap boat, and put at least a 1/3 of the cost again each year in expenses, repairs, maintenace upgrade, fees, gas, parts, charts, food etc.
Remember that in the total cost of boat ownership, just like in horse ownership, the horse is the cheapest part of the deal. I bought a really cheap boat, and put at least a 1/3 of the cost again each year in expenses, repairs, maintenace upgrade, fees, gas, parts, charts, food etc.
Mfox I wouldn't attempt to discourage you
But I will suggest that you try living in a small space as self suffiently as you can on your budget. Yes, the Albin Vega is a very capable boat but find out for yourself if you can live in that space.
But I will suggest that you try living in a small space as self suffiently as you can on your budget. Yes, the Albin Vega is a very capable boat but find out for yourself if you can live in that space.
Swashbuckling romantic life
MFox, I think that you hit upon one truth, which is that (almost) everyone on this board does not currently lead the swashbuckling live aboard life you seem to be yearning for. How else can they answer threads on this forum so quickly? That is not to say that you cant get internet access in the middle of the ocean, you can, but I hear it is quite slow through the DSS radio band and in the middle of the ocean you need to save your battery power for weather reports, not chat boards. I recommend you read anything by Tristan Jones ("Yarns", "Incredible Voyage", One Hand for Yourself, One for the ship" in particular) as his books paint the kind of picture I believe you want to see. His books were sold as non-fiction but there is some debate over how much he embellished the truth - there is sufficient truthiness here however. I also do not think that anyone here would "begrudge" you the experiences you are seeking. Nearly everyone here owns a sailboat and have enough experience to know that Mr. Murphy (of Murphy's Law fame) was overly optimistic. Sailing is fun. Part of the fun is that it can actually be quite dangerous in certain situations. Knowing how to judge those situations can mean the difference between sitting at the dock nursing a beverage while watching a gale blow by, OR having to place a Mayday call to the CG, OR drowning. Read Tristan Jones' books, all of them. I am sure you will enjoy them.
MFox, I think that you hit upon one truth, which is that (almost) everyone on this board does not currently lead the swashbuckling live aboard life you seem to be yearning for. How else can they answer threads on this forum so quickly? That is not to say that you cant get internet access in the middle of the ocean, you can, but I hear it is quite slow through the DSS radio band and in the middle of the ocean you need to save your battery power for weather reports, not chat boards. I recommend you read anything by Tristan Jones ("Yarns", "Incredible Voyage", One Hand for Yourself, One for the ship" in particular) as his books paint the kind of picture I believe you want to see. His books were sold as non-fiction but there is some debate over how much he embellished the truth - there is sufficient truthiness here however. I also do not think that anyone here would "begrudge" you the experiences you are seeking. Nearly everyone here owns a sailboat and have enough experience to know that Mr. Murphy (of Murphy's Law fame) was overly optimistic. Sailing is fun. Part of the fun is that it can actually be quite dangerous in certain situations. Knowing how to judge those situations can mean the difference between sitting at the dock nursing a beverage while watching a gale blow by, OR having to place a Mayday call to the CG, OR drowning. Read Tristan Jones' books, all of them. I am sure you will enjoy them.
Met a guy going from Guadalcanal to Japan
I was stationed in the Phillipines back in the mid 70's and met a guy traveling in a homemade rowboat with sails and a young woman. He had made it quite a ways to get to Luzon. He looked pretty rough but seemed basically happy. Very "basic" living conditions. Survived by bumming /working with the natives. You can do most anything but who would want to??? We need very little to survive and the closer to survival conditions you get the less it costs. But do a reality check. A cheap reality check is to go backpacking. If you are happy living with what you can carry on your back then a small sailboat will feel even better. By the end of four or five days I'm ready for a hot bath and some real food. But some stay out months and hike the whole appalachian trail... But spending the night with a bear sniffing around the tent discourages some. As does rattlesnakes and ticks. Not to mention possums and mice. My last night at sea was fantastic..for me. My wife was scared and wouldn't take the helm. The wind was only about 20 kts and the seas 5-8'. The moon was almost full. I loved it!!!! But you do get the sense that if something goes wrong that it could be bad. The sad thing is that you won't know how you'll react until you are out there.
I was stationed in the Phillipines back in the mid 70's and met a guy traveling in a homemade rowboat with sails and a young woman. He had made it quite a ways to get to Luzon. He looked pretty rough but seemed basically happy. Very "basic" living conditions. Survived by bumming /working with the natives. You can do most anything but who would want to??? We need very little to survive and the closer to survival conditions you get the less it costs. But do a reality check. A cheap reality check is to go backpacking. If you are happy living with what you can carry on your back then a small sailboat will feel even better. By the end of four or five days I'm ready for a hot bath and some real food. But some stay out months and hike the whole appalachian trail... But spending the night with a bear sniffing around the tent discourages some. As does rattlesnakes and ticks. Not to mention possums and mice. My last night at sea was fantastic..for me. My wife was scared and wouldn't take the helm. The wind was only about 20 kts and the seas 5-8'. The moon was almost full. I loved it!!!! But you do get the sense that if something goes wrong that it could be bad. The sad thing is that you won't know how you'll react until you are out there.
Tristan Jones never let the truth stand in
the way of a good story. There is an awful lot of wisdom in his writing. all of the things I have written concerning the ability of someone to live this desired lifestyle. are quite accurate. You can substitute money for knowledge and skills if you can find a supplier. I hear that they are hard to come by at 38 north and 60 west.
the way of a good story. There is an awful lot of wisdom in his writing. all of the things I have written concerning the ability of someone to live this desired lifestyle. are quite accurate. You can substitute money for knowledge and skills if you can find a supplier. I hear that they are hard to come by at 38 north and 60 west.
Just Do It!
Buy the Albin Vega and try it. If it doesn't work out for you sell the boat. The potential $ loss is small. It is not that hard to think of the important issues involved and you, yourself, have the answers. Frankly I think the key ingredients are weather and willingness to live in a very small space. I live in Oregon. The idea of living on a 27' boat in the rain and cold is depressing and I don't care if I could do it for free. Put me in a 35' boat in a sunny climate and that's a different story!
Buy the Albin Vega and try it. If it doesn't work out for you sell the boat. The potential $ loss is small. It is not that hard to think of the important issues involved and you, yourself, have the answers. Frankly I think the key ingredients are weather and willingness to live in a very small space. I live in Oregon. The idea of living on a 27' boat in the rain and cold is depressing and I don't care if I could do it for free. Put me in a 35' boat in a sunny climate and that's a different story!
Try reading this
The Liveaboard Report: A Boat Dweller's Guide to What Works and What Doesn't By Charles Wing. This is an interesting book written by a man that interviewed many (over 100?) sailboat liveaboards. There are many graphs depicting things like what size boat do you have, what size do you wish you had, what power plant, are you in a marina or a mooring or just an ancorage, and many more things that you many not of even thought about. Good luck. You can buy it on line at Amazon for under $15.00
The Liveaboard Report: A Boat Dweller's Guide to What Works and What Doesn't By Charles Wing. This is an interesting book written by a man that interviewed many (over 100?) sailboat liveaboards. There are many graphs depicting things like what size boat do you have, what size do you wish you had, what power plant, are you in a marina or a mooring or just an ancorage, and many more things that you many not of even thought about. Good luck. You can buy it on line at Amazon for under $15.00
Here is the best way of looking at it
take all the money in your checking account right now and throw it into the water. Now your going to have to do that every month.
take all the money in your checking account right now and throw it into the water. Now your going to have to do that every month.
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