We often get asked about the cost of sailing. In fact if you go on any sailing forum you’ll see pages and pages of threads dedicated to discussions about what it costs to sail full-time. Several fellow sailing bloggers have written great posts about this and the general consensus is:
It costs as much as you want it to cost.
I know that’s a disappointing answer because people want specifics, but that’s the simple truth. There are so many factors that come into play:
- Where you’re cruising
- The size of your boat
- The type of boat you have (which will affect insurance costs)
- The condition of your boat
- Your diet (Do you eat organic only? Vegan? No processed food? Gluten free?)
- Whether or not you cook on board
- How handy you are (Are you a DIY-er, or do you prefer to hire someone)
- How much alcohol you consume regularly
- Hobbies (Do you like free stuff like walking, visiting parks, going to the beach…)
- etc.
If you are frivolous with your money on land, chances are, you’ll be frivolous with your money while on a boat. However, if you’re frugal and love saving money on land, you’ll be that way when you’re on a boat.
Our Cost of Sailing Broken Down
I will say for us, we spend more than I thought we would when we first started doing this, but I’ve also learned a lot and know a lot of things we could cut back on.
Eating out is our biggest unnecessary expense. It’s not that we don’t like to cook because we actually love cooking on the boat, but when you travel around from place to place, it’s nice to go into town and find out where the locals hang. We’ve met a lot of really cool people just by going to a restaurant and sitting at the bar, talking to the other patrons or the bartender.
Lately we’ve changed our tactic a bit. We still go out to dinner once or twice a week but we skip the alcohol (because that will totally rack up your bill). We get water to drink, we order an appetizer, and share an entree.
By doing this, we walk away totally full and our bill is half what we used to spend. We then go back to the boat and enjoy a beer or glass of wine that we bought for a fraction of the price. I would estimate that we spend about $300 a month on dining out / entertainment.
Grocery shopping is another big expense of ours, mainly because we are really conscious about what we eat. Aside from the occasional condiment and very rare treat of Totino’s Pizza Rolls, we don’t buy anything processed and we buy organic as much as possible, which, as you know, costs a little more than the non-organic counterpart. We figure the additional expense is a small price to pay when it comes to our health.
If eating clean and healthy food keeps us from getting sick, that’s fewer medical bills in the long run, smaller insurance premiums, etc. It all balances out and at the end of the day, we don’t feel like crap. We probably spend about $400-500 on groceries a month but are looking at better ways to do our shopping.
Another expense is marinas. Oh boy – even though we have a shower on our boat, it is so nice to be able to go and stand under a hot (or cool) shower for as long as you want. Oh and what was that? You have a pool? Why, it’s 95 degrees outside and I’m sweating like a stuck pig… don’t mind if I do! Free coffee? So I don’t have to fire up the propane stove in this 95 degree weather to make my own? Get the picture?
Marinas are expensive because they are so convenient, especially when you pay a nightly transient rate, which can vary anywhere from $1.00 per foot/night to $2.50 per foot/night. We have a 35′ boat, so you can do the math.
Although we’ve been cruising the Chesapeake Bay all the way down down to Florida, repairs, friends and freelance work have kept us in some places for longer than others.
If we’re in a place for any length of time, we definitely stay in a marina. We have our dog with us so his bathroom breaks require a dinghy ride to shore, plus we don’t yet have a wind generator or sufficient solar panels to anchor out for more than a couple of nights without running the engine to charge the batteries.
If we’re staying for more than a couple of weeks, we always ask for a monthly rate (rather than pay a daily or weekly transient rate). The monthly cost varies depending on the area as well as the marina. Our average dockage rate so far between the places we’ve stayed for a month or more has been about $600/mo. Hopefully one day in the near future, we’ll be able to get rid of the marina fees, but until we make a few upgrades, we’ll have to suffer that expense.
Other than that, we really don’t spend a lot on ourselves – most of it goes towards the boat. This is where your expenses can really vary. You see, when we bought the boat, we had two options:
- Get a boat that was ready for cruising and thus a lot more expensive and may require a partial loan OR
- Pay cash for a boat that needed some upgrades and spend the first couple of years traveling, getting to know her, and fixing her as we go.
We opted for the latter. We are slowly but surely adding elements, taking some out, replacing this part or that, changing this, etc. I’d guess we’ve put at least $20,000 into her, probably more.
But I can say that we haven’t really changed our spending habits too much from our life on land. We are spending less in many aspects, but the money we put into the boat evens it all out.
My goal is to cut our everyday costs as much as possible so we can sink more into the boat.
If we have the major things done, we just have to make sure to do the upkeep. Everything left over goes into savings, or “the cruising kitty“.
I estimate that our monthly spending (including marina fees, entertainment, boat work, food, wifi, phone, laundry, etc.) is around $1800 – $2000.
But you CAN do it on a lot less, and I know people who spend a lot more.
I would love to reduce our cost of sailing by spending considerably less, but to be honest, as long as we’re stateside, we’re going to spend more than we would if we were in say, Grenada, Dominican Republic or Panama. For now we’re still in plan-making mode and as always, plans can change.
My advice for anyone who is looking to do this is to estimate that you’ll spend close to what you spend on land, but substitute mortgage costs with marina fees (if you are getting rid of your house and plan on staying in marinas), and don’t forget to take into account costs like storage (to store what possessions you do keep but that aren’t going on the boat), cell service, wifi, towing insurance and/or boat insurance, entry fees (if traveling outside the US), entertainment expenses, etc.
These are only my experiences – everyone will be different. Do any of you live aboard a boat and/or traveling around like a gypsy? How do your spending habits compare to our sailing costs? Please comment so we can all learn!
Really well written post, it can certainly be an an expensive hobby, but definitely worth it!
Yes it can, but I would agree that itβs definitely worth it! π Thanks for stopping by!
Awesome read, thanks for sharing. I used to think I wanted to buy a sailboat and do the liveaboard lifestyle when I early retired. Then we had a bunch of kids and I realized I am totally clueless about sailing, and there is way more to learn before I could ever even think about living on a sailboat!
Oh, you can still do it! There’s a learning curve, that’s for sure, but as they say, where there’s a will there’s a way!
A good essay. I am a “retired” sailing/cruising instructor. (It sounds silly to say I retired from being a cruising instructor but I did.) My wife is a retired IT executive. Over the past few years, I have been studying the cost of cruising. You are right, it pretty much matches what you would spend ashore. The variable is the local cost of living. When you live like a local you spend like a local true in NY City or Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica.
The more offshore sailing you do and remote anchorages you use the lower the cost of cruising.
Keep sailing and keep writing.
Norm
Cape Cod
Thanks, Norman! And you are so right about local cost of living being a major variable. Living as a local also puts you in much better touch with the communities you’re traveling to, and gives a much better travel experience than simply being a “tourist.”
I have a $50,000/yr pension and plan on paying cash for a 43′ boat around 170-200K. My goal would be so spend most of our time South of Florida and the Carribean Islands. It would be just me and my wife. Do you think we could make ends meet with $50k/yr and a nest egg of 200K for emergency expenses?
Hi Tony – thanks for writing! Like I’ve said before, how much you’ll need to go cruising largely depends on you. If you stay at marinas all the time, it will be more expensive. Your boat insurance will also be more expensive with a more expensive boat, too. Will you need health insurance? That can add to your costs. That said, if you buy a good boat (and like you said, pay cash for it), even with boat / health insurance costs, if you anchor out most or all of the time, eat like a local (cooking on the boat with local and seasonal foods), I don’t see why you couldn’t easily get by on $50k a year and still have some left over for savings. I’ve known people who have cruised happily through the Caribbean on less than $20k a year. Good luck!!
you should call me about a boat in our marina a force 50 55′ ketch which is for sale for around $40,000,the owner lives in NC but the boat is in Merritt Island fl ,a truly beautiful boat.the diesel has 83-90 hrs on it it has full tropical shade canvas , 2 45lb cqr anxhors stainless and a ton of chain rode and rope hauser line. 336-269-5525 is my cell i live onboard my 1970 pearson 33 [s/v AIXA] on b dock.
While I’m not yet remotely competent enough to consider living on a boat,.. if/when I decide to make that move it will definitely be something under 30 foot to keep upfront and maintenance costs manageable,. and living primarily on the hook.
To me the whole idea of living in a marina defeats the purpose of liveaboards as living cost reduction strategy, since you’re then essentially paying rent style slip fees for what really amounts to relatively primitive accommodation.
Once the boat was bought and paid for I’d really be looking to get by on relatively little,.. say maximum 6K a year for everything, preferably less.. …so basically an actual minimalist budget(at least by western standards).
Melody, I lived on My 48′ ketch while I rebuilt her and then sailed the Caribbean for 21 years. I really enjoyed reading your blog. Yor expenses are about the same as mine once she was re-built and sailing. The cost of re-building certainly was a bigger cost but Idid most of the work myself. The re-build phase took about 5 years only working Thursday thru Sunday’s. Once she was blue water ready I spent most of the time at the islands and the expenses dropped significantly. 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. Ifyou write and get paid for the work all the better. I worked on boats and engines occasionally for some cash.
Enjoy it all. Sail and be one with the wind.
David
In Tomis Marina … in Romania .. for 1500β¬ you get 1 year ..electricity …+500 if you want to keep your boat ashore in the marina yard π
I forgot to put the “+” in front of electricity :))
Have any of you sailed with kids? My husband and I dream of living aboard with our three kids (7, 5, and 3yrs old) do you think it’s possible, and can you estimate how much you think it would cost for 5 people? We want to sail international as well. Thank you for your time!
Thank you I enjoyed your post and can only dream, keep the wind at your back..
Hi, interesting article from the point of view that the real costs of living on a boat are impossible to work out. which you almost say. The people to ask about this are the real 100% world cruisers, who are out there really living the life. Moving from marina to marina is a bit of a waste of time as it just becomes the same old same old. I have cruised the world for years and can easily live for several months on what you spend per month. A boat equipped with the right equipment for the job. I can live completely off grid for three to four months, only returning to an anchorage for certain food types, bottled gas tank changes, the odd spares and sometimes a little diesel of which I use almost non, but never the less keep full tanks in case of an emergency. As for showers, there’s nothing like a bucket of sea water for this, drinking & cooking water from a water maker solves all other water issues. Just saying!