Should I buy another boat or save for cruising???

[bawlmer]

It is NEVER good financial sense to own a boat. But that is not why we do it. We do it because we love it. Don't wait until you are too old to enjoy something you could be doing now. But do take your time looking for it and make sure you get the right one. but don't pass up the right one when it presents itself, and it eventually will if you look hard enough. I spent 2 solid years looking for a boat and when I found it I bought it right away. If you get the boat sooner than later you can spend time getting zen with it and preparing it to cruise. I know some liveaboard cruisers and they do quite well on their pensions. That is my vote anyway.

 

[centerline]

to me, thats not a tough question at all....

if you dont live to see retirement, then whats the difference where or how you spent your money, or how much fun you did or didnt have doing it.

I choose option 3.... live for now, because you arent getting any younger, or healthier or richer, (if you are getting richer, then you will soon be able to change your lifestyle again anyway) and your dreams probably wont change until you live it and get it out of your system, or you have a life altering accident that kills the dream.

why wait to start living your dream until its too late?.....if you have a boat, and retired from the job, its not really even a monetary thing, as its cheaper to cruise than it is to own a home, pay taxes, insurance and with all the maintenance and yard work, garbage and water bills included, plus all the other peripheral expenses that occur just because you are living there...

almost everyone, rich and poor alike, is waiting for their dream to materialize for a couple of different reasons, or at least using them as an excuse for not going now and making it happen.
we are either waiting for retirement, or for when we get to feeling better, or until we make more money, or until we get the "right" boat.....(or until the kids leave home)
sometime these are legitimate reasons, but sometimes they are only an excuse to set on our butts and do nothing but dream about it.... cuz dreaming takes no effort and is without risk....

buy the boat you want, fix it up and start living toward the dream now. tomorrow or next month may not be too late, but next year might... but then it wont matter anyway.

Live like YOU want to, live for now while planning for later and YOU will be the happiest....

 

[25yearslater]

A fellow once told me, "You never see an armored car in a funeral procession." Aside from that here is a true story. Work like hell, save lots of dollars, retire at 55, buy boat in the 60 - 80 foot range, sail the world. A funny thing happened on the way. Wife stricken with MS (no sympathy as she has remained in remission for 12 years) but this did change everything. The cost of the medicine that keeps her in remission is something you can't believe. Her physical ability to handle that lifestyle went poof. Such is life. As we age the probability to have the necessary physical ability for a cruising lifestyle diminishes. So the option was to salvage some opportunity to just get the sails up and enjoy what we could when we could. Even if we only get a few years at least we won't have regrets for never having tried to just get out on a boat again.

 

[dlandersson]

It's called "opportunity cost"

What happens if something happens before ten years?

 

[shemandr]

The revered yard manager around here once advised me never to add up the expenses for my boat. It was good advice. You have done this and now have this number preventing you from enjoying life as a sailor. As others have said owning a boat makes no financial sense. But if you can take care of your responsibilities and own a boat you should if that is your passion. And you should do it now. Buy a boat for the way you will use it now - not the blue water cruiser for later, that I doubt you will ever use for blue water cruising. In thirteen years you may be tired of sailing, or want a powerboat, or a RV. And by the way, aren't you blessed with double pensions! And at such a young age. There is a point to stop pinching pennies and start using them.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Have to agree wholeheartedly with Centerline ... don't waste your time waiting. Think of how much richer your life becomes by learning and doing. You sound like you have the patience to make a good boat-buying decision, so good luck with a search. It's clear that you can't be comfortable on a 27' boat (and having one myself, I don't blame you!), just make sure your wife has more input in this decision than anybody else here on this forum!

However, I'd guess that there is at least an even chance that you will learn enough about your sailing preferences over the next ten years to find that you may want to shop for another boat for the following ten years or rest of your sailing career. Learning those things will make it all worthwhile for living in the present rather than attempting to predict the future.

 

[Bigjer40]

The option for living aboard now does not make sense for us at our location. We live in SW Washington on the Columbia River (which is the border between Oregon and Washington). The only places to live aboard are in Oregon. We were real close to doing it before we bought our house but after more research realized it would cost (month to month fees) as much as owning a house. As Washington resident s we do not pay income tax and moving to Oregon we would have to. The slip fee’s plus the additional live aboard fee’s, the numbers just didn’t make sense. Not to mention we will have a good amount of equity in our house when we retire that we wouldn’t see living on the boat.
I do like the trailerable idea and considered it as well. Very few of them will give me the comfort I would like for a couple days trip. I don’t have storage for it at my house and so I would have to factor in storage fees.
I am leaning towards agreeing with what seems to be the majority in that I am not guaranteed tomorrow. I also like the idea that I have plenty of time to figure out the boat design that works best for us and wait for the right one to come along. Maybe I will get my bareboat cert and we can do some chartering in the meantime.
I really appreciate all the time it took to write these responses. It really made me think about what my priorities are. Here I am sweating 30K in slip fees and I started thinking about my budget. It never dawned on me what I spend on stupid things (Comcast $236 month AT&T $210 month). At ten years that is a stomach turning $53,520.
By reading my responses, it probably sounds like money is a huge issue because I don’t have any. This is not the case. We are doing very well I am proud to say. I am just one of those people that will read every review for months before I buy a TV and will pay more for a better product so I don’t have to spend the money twice. I am sure that will make sense to some of you and those of you that live life by the seat of your pants will have no idea what I am talking about. How I envy those with the “it will all work out attitude”. The misers seem to give themselves heart attacks and strokes while the free spirits don’t have security but seems to have a smile on their faces and get by just fine. God help me find the middle ground!
Thanks again sailors,
JB

 

[Bigjer40]

The revered yard manager around here once advised me never to add up the expenses for my boat. It was good advice. You have done this and now have this number preventing you from enjoying life as a sailor. As others have said owning a boat makes no financial sense. But if you can take care of your responsibilities and own a boat you should if that is your passion. And you should do it now. Buy a boat for the way you will use it now - not the blue water cruiser for later, that I doubt you will ever use for blue water cruising. In thirteen years you may be tired of sailing, or want a powerboat, or a RV. And by the way, aren't you blessed with double pensions! And at such a young age. There is a point to stop pinching pennies and start using them.

You are absolutely right! I should not be keeping a running expense log. It is a slow and inhuman way of torturing yourself. I should have learned that lesson on my last boat (which is where I came up with the yearly maintenance figures by the way :cry. Truth is, the boat is therapy to me. When I am out on her, I am not thinking about bills or work or politics or etc etc etc. Thanks for the important reminder!

 

[Bigjer40]

to me, thats not a tough question at all....

if you dont live to see retirement, then whats the difference where or how you spent your money, or how much fun you did or didnt have doing it.

I choose option 3.... live for now, because you arent getting any younger, or healthier or richer, (if you are getting richer, then you will soon be able to change your lifestyle again anyway) and your dreams probably wont change until you live it and get it out of your system, or you have a life altering accident that kills the dream.

why wait to start living your dream until its too late?.....if you have a boat, and retired from the job, its not really even a monetary thing, as its cheaper to cruise than it is to own a home, pay taxes, insurance and with all the maintenance and yard work, garbage and water bills included, plus all the other peripheral expenses that occur just because you are living there...

almost everyone, rich and poor alike, is waiting for their dream to materialize for a couple of different reasons, or at least using them as an excuse for not going now and making it happen.
we are either waiting for retirement, or for when we get to feeling better, or until we make more money, or until we get the "right" boat.....(or until the kids leave home)
sometime these are legitimate reasons, but sometimes they are only an excuse to set on our butts and do nothing but dream about it.... cuz dreaming takes no effort and is without risk....

buy the boat you want, fix it up and start living toward the dream now. tomorrow or next month may not be too late, but next year might... but then it wont matter anyway.

Live like YOU want to, live for now while planning for later and YOU will be the happiest....

Your signature defines exactly what I am attempting to accomplish Centerline: "The most affordable way to do anything, is by doing it right the first time....."

I would love to just say this hamster is jumping off the wheel like Alex Dorsey of Project Bluesphere did. I just need to make sure I do it right the first time. I saw your signature and thought, I am stealing that

 

[Bigjer40]

I should add that those of you that keep pounding in the notion that tomorrow is not a guarantee is ringing in my ears. On Monday, we have a funeral for one of my co-workers. I have watched many of co-workers pass and the cold hard fact is that if you do make it to retirement in my line of work, the average life expectancy after retirement is SIX years. But, my genes are strong! Still, dangerous job that takes it’s toll on your longevity, it should be a no brainer

 

[capta]

. As others have said owning a boat makes no financial sense.

I do not understand this statement at all. Though I must admit I have not lived ashore and have no idea of what it costs to keep a house going, I can't imagine it is significantly more than a cruising boat.
I pay absolutely no taxes, no registration, no dockage, no sewage, garbage or for city water and only very rarely for outside help for repairs. My gutters don't need cleaning, I don't need snow removal, get the chimney swept, or to put up and take down winter insulation.
My boat is my home, my transportation and can contribute to my income. My fuel costs, which I consider as my utilities, are about $160.00 a month. My dink is very fuel efficient and it doesn't get the wear and tear of a car, so repairs and maintenance are minimal. It doesn't need tires, air filters or wiper blades, nor does it cost 20k+ every 4 or so years for a new one. When I was in a marina in the US, I paid around $500.00 a month (all inclusive), for a waterfront "place" in down town Charleston! This boat would be closer to $700, but that's still very cheap rent.
I just do not understand why folks think owning a boat is such an expensive thing, when property taxes alone on a 3 bed/2 bath home are probably more than my annual maintenance on the boat.

 

[shemandr]

Yes you have a good point. But for the vast majority of boat owners, whose boat expenses are over and above their living expenses, this isn't the case. I really don't care to get into a tit-for-tat discussion of why one guy can cut the land ties and 95 out of 100 can't or won't. It's just a fact that for most of us, our accountant's would advise us to lose the boats as a financially sound decision.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Capta, you don't have a boat, you have a house that happens to be a boat. The fact that it is an inexpensive way to house yourself isn't relevant (Bigjer40 didn't really say that they want to live on their boat - just have it for recreation). How much economic sense would it be, for example, for you to own another boat (say it's similar to the boat you live on?)

 

[centerline]

Your signature defines exactly what I am attempting to accomplish Centerline: "The most affordable way to do anything, is by doing it right the first time....."

I would love to just say this hamster is jumping off the wheel like Alex Dorsey of Project Bluesphere did. I just need to make sure I do it right the first time. I saw your signature and thought, I am stealing that

go ahead and take what you need, we'll both be happy you did

 

[zeehag]

enjoy your life and do what you wish to do as long as it doesnt hurt others

 

[John Nantz]

Truck the boat up to Puget Sound

If you've got so many years to go to reach retirement that is a major problem because *stuff* can happen. Stuff like changes in health, like the government moving the finish line, like an accident, .... all kinds of stuff.

What I'd suggest is consider getting a boat that you'd want for the intermediate term (until you can go cruising), sail it around the Columbia River and vicinity, and for the periods when you want to cruise Puget Sound just have it hauled up on a truck and trailer, do the cruising for the vacation period, then haul it back home again. It isn't that far and the cost for the size range I think you'd consider wouldn't be a deal breaker.

The plan would be to haul it up a week or a few ahead of time, get it rigged, then do the vacation sailing, and heck, maybe even leave it up here for the season (!), and haul it back home again where it is easier to do maintenance and avoid Washington taxes.

A friend of mine had a Union 36 and he'd sail it up the coast every year from Portland. With a smaller boat maybe harbor hop up/down the coast.

We aren't getting any younger and when the time comes, the thing that you'll regret the most is not doing the thing(s) you wanted to do. Think about that for a bit. It's also called a "bucket list", as in "kick the bucket".

 

[Bill1565]

Ditto to the above!

Meet tooo. Do it while you can.

 

[Bigjer40]

Now let the Yachtworld and Craigslist obsession begin!!!!!!

 

[Bigjer40]

I have sifted through and so appreciate everyone's input. I raised myself with nothing, trying to figure out where my next meal would come from, and where I would sleep. Joined the Marine Corps and it changed my life and put me on a successful path. Now I have security and that is a very hard thing to walk away from. Not to mention 3-4 more years of significant child support payments that would make cruising impossible at this point anyway. When child support is gone, I will be a few years away from early retirement which will guarantee me income for the rest of my life. I think it is a happy medium to retire at 53 and get the income and not try and work a few more years to just try and add a couple more hundred dollars a month to the retirement.

 

[Delezynski]

VERY GOOD!

You can always find a way to make more money, you can't get more life!!!!

I retired at 55, and never looked back. Still having a GREAT time.

Greg

I have sifted through and so appreciate everyone's input. I raised myself with nothing, trying to figure out where my next meal would come from, and where I would sleep. Joined the Marine Corps and it changed my life and put me on a successful path. Now I have security and that is a very hard thing to walk away from. Not to mention 3-4 more years of significant child support payments that would make cruising impossible at this point anyway. When child support is gone, I will be a few years away from early retirement which will guarantee me income for the rest of my life. I think it is a happy medium to retire at 53 and get the income and not try and work a few more years to just try and add a couple more hundred dollars a month to the retirement.