Cost to outfit a bluewater cruiser?

[RyanC]

Like all said, ‘It depends’ (on vessel, perceived needed level of comfort, lust of toys. . .), but my wife and are going through this at the moment. We purchased a new boat, though well equipped with genset, AC, all the latest electronics; a lot still has to be purchased. Through safety equipment (life raft, EPIRB, gumby suits, life slings, sat phone, etc), power bank (additional batteries, solar, inverter, etc), comfort (watermaker, microwave, etc), spares (engines, genset, plumbing, electronics, rig, hardware, etc), dink & outboard and toys. We will be spending between between $25k to $60k depending on feature sets and quality of all the items on our list; we are $13k in and not even half done. PM me and I can give much more specific details.

[David_Old_Jersey]

In one of my signature links below is the collected wisdom of CF on the subject (and also in a spreadsheet format).........additions always welcome .

The answer varies .

[bloodhunter]

Originally Posted by Navicula

Look no further................I have the answer..........it will cost you as much as you have.......................the end.

...And 50% more.

[carstenb]

I can give you a cheap answer- somewhere on this forum is a thread about a swedish guy who is building a 10 foot boat to circumnavigate in. Since it is only 10 feet, there is little in the way of extra equipment. Start there and keep adding boat length and things and watch the price climb.

A couple of years ago, a Danish fellow completed a 7 year 2 1/2 circumnavigation. He did it in a 27 footer. Believe me - it was cheap. I think the boat was 25 years old.

Better you spend some time thinking about: How many people are going with me? Who? Their needs/wants? level of comfort required? Route to be taken (east/west? west/east? north/south?)

Then come back and ask...........

[Boatguy30]

HAHA

That's like asking "How much does a house cost?"

"How much does a divorce cost?"

You could do it for less than less 50K all in for 5 years on a small simple boat. Or spend over 100K a year if you figure up all the costs involved in buying maintaining insuring a newish 50-60 footer.

[TacomaSailor]

Bought a new boat in early 1995 - went cruising in August 2000

I had been sailing 20+ years when we bought the boat AND we were in a bit of "cost is no object mood" so we outfitted Mirador with all the comfort and safety features we thought she and we deserved.

By the time we left San Diego for Mexico in Nov 2001 we had spent about 60% of the price of the new boat on "important" additions. Now - 11 years and a lot of cruising miles later I can tell you that most of the stuff we added was well worth the cost.

We added three staysails and a trysail, sea anchor, drouges, liferafts, survival gear at a cost of over $15,000 and never used any of it and are very pleased to say that.

The new main and genoa ($16,000) were designed for serious offshore sailing in snotty conditions and have proven their value many times.

The asymetrical spinnaker ($2,000) and Code 0 reacher ($4,000) were our everyday sails for three years in Western Mexico.

The Spectra Watermaker at $6000 was essential as were the two upgrades to the refrigeration systems at about $3000.

The Sailomat Windvane ($4000) and Raymarine autopilot ($4000) were things we could never have lived without.

Big anchors (Fortress FX55 and Spade 66) at about $2000 with 600 feet of chain ($2500) and 1000' of various anchor rodes ($2000) were also important as we were at anchor for over 900 days while in Mexico.

ICOM HAM/SSB/Practor modems ($3000) allowed us to stay in touch and feel like we could reach out for help.

Raytheon radar ($3000) made those long night passages a lot safer while navigating thru the inevitable fishing fleets.

Our 600 watts of solar panels, arch, controllers and wiring cost about $3,500 but we have not plugged into shore power for 10 years.

The list is long and varied.

You can see the entire list of what it took to get our Caliber 40 from a new dockside boat to a liveaboard cruiser at the following link: INSTALLED EQUIPMENT - a list in chronological order of what we installed, cost, and our opinions about the equipment after a decade of usage.

As someone else said - the cost is about ALL of what you have. But - the important thing to remember is after you have the basics for safety and comfort - the single most important thing is GET OUT THERE AND DO IT!


You will never have everything you think you need nor everything other cruises tell you that you need - but what you really need is to go cruising and figure out what works for you

[Hudson Force]

I like TacomaSailor's list of equipment and, looking at the list, I'm not surprised at the cost. This, however, does represent a huge difference in expense compared to my own. I am on a different "Caliber" vessel (pun intended) and find that I can crusie well for much less on a far cheaper boat. One factor is having all these shallow protected anchorages on the US East Coast where I rarely anchor in more than 20 ft depths as well as being a fair weather coastal sailor without commitment to long passages. As others have said, the cost of cruising can be pretty much whatever you expect.

[sushirama]

$500 to $1,000,000 more or less.


All zoos are petting zoos, depending on how brave you are.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Paul L

$50 grand - ballpark

Nice. That is my going estimate...for base equipment etc.

...then there are repairs and other modifications, which depend on the boat you purchase.

[Hudson Force]

I was thinking that my response to TacomaSailor's extensive list was inappropriate because he is speaking of outfitting for offshore (bluewater) while I am a coastal cruiser, but then I took count and found that only 24 of the almost 200 items on his list are exclusively related to offshore performance or safety. I'm confident that someone could be well prepared for offshore passages with far less expense, though they would certainly have less stuff and much of it is nice stuff to have. The volume alone would be like us having our two adult children moving back aboard! It's a tough call, but I'll remain with a more simple inventory even if I had the funds.

[TacomaSailor]

A couple more observations about outfitting for "cruising"

As CaptForce pointed out we were heading out for trans-oceanic passages and prepared for that. We found that we really liked to visit every little port and anchorage (took six weeks and 10 ports of call to go from Puget Sound to San Diego the first time and five weeks & eight anchorages to get from San Diego to La Paz BCS, Mexico) and we'd probably need the rest of our cruising life to see all of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean so maybe we over prepared for what we actually accomplished.

But - we did encounter several 50+ knot wind events with over 10' seas during our passages and were always glad we had the stout and small sails, big anchors, and excellent radios.

I knew lot's of Mexican cruisers who had way less gear and amenities than did we and they were perfectly happy. Many of them were astounded at the complexity of our boat and the level of comfort on the boat - ice cubes, HD TV, unlimited electricity and fresh water.

I enjoy working on complex boat gear and am very good at maintaining and repairing stuff. I like to do it and am happy to pay the price, time and $$, to purchase, install, and maintain that stuff.

Others, with a different attitude, had way less stuff and way simpler life and enjoyed their cruising experience at least as much as we did.

The really important thing to always remember is get out there and cruise - don't let the wait for one more piece of stuff keep you from breaking the shore ties.

[TEE]

Typical expenses:
1 sixty foot cruising sailboat with all safety gear, navigation equipment, and accessories to make the boat as comfortable as home, about $1.75 million

Salaries for one captain, and one stewardess, cook, with benefits and uniforms, about $200K

Insurance for boat, liability coverage and Jones Act claims about $60K

An adequate supply of Dom Perignom, South African, and French wines, along with proper crystal in which fine wines should be served, about $20,000

Uniforms for the crew, a nice captains hat and a white coat with gold braid and epaulets for the owner another $2,000

A copy of "Finest Yacht Harbors, Resorts, Hotels and Destinations" for the boat about $50

An inventory of music, movies, tools, spares, weather gear">foul weather gear, personal electronics, and budget for paying marina dockage, customs fees, etc. another $50K

So, I know there are a few items I left out, but I feel that if one is to travel in absolute comfort, style and safety, while sipping on the finest food, wine, and bar stock, a budget of a little over $2.1 million should get you there. Of course, that estimate is for a modest sailboat, not a superyacht, and certainly not a power yacht. I think I nice super yacht, crew, insurance, and accessories can be had for as little at $20 million.

[Nicholson58]

I didn't notice that the OP actually had a boat. Many of the items recommended can be found on nicely outfitted used boats at a great saving over new.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by tmoandj

I'm just trying to budget for a big trip thats five years away. Does anyone have any suggestions for required equipment and the associated cost to outfit a bluewater capable boat for circumnavigation? Thanks!

How many people as regular crew? Any kids?
Sailing experience?
What's your budget to buy and outfit the boat? (living and cruising costs extra.)
Where are you? Where do you want to sail out of? Which coast do you want to set off from and more specifically where on that coast?
Where to you want to go?
Are you looking to cruise extensively or liveaboard and occasionally take several weeks or months off to nip around the Caribbean or Baja?
Any really strong preferences to start with? (full/fin keel, mono/multi, spade/skeg/attached rudder, sloop/cutter/mizzen rigged)