Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by w1651

It depends on what you consider fooling around. If that's sitting at the dock or the local taverns drinking rum and cokes. Ya I can do that at the local bar here.

But

If you mean grabbing a back pack and hiking to the tallest peak on the island your seeing meeting and talking to the locals along the way or grabbing your air tanks filling them and diving that islands reef just to see what's down there as well as maybe getting dinner.
To me that's fooling around and I haven't spent a dollar on anything but the cruising visa yet.

Thanks very much for reminding all of us that life experiences can carry one far beyond the confines of bars and bistros...

Personally, we find potlucks on the beach, snacks in the cockpit, high tea in the saloon much preferable to drinks in bars. Cheaper too!

INDY

[goprisko]

Let's recap much info from earlier pages....

Should you be interested in building a boat to cruise on, you need experience building boats and experience sailing them. How to achieve both so as to be in the Caribbean at Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke in time for Christmas 2015?

A) Build Chameleon with sailing rig by 30 Apr 2011.

B) Sail Chameleon on your local lake or river in May 2011

C) Join the local boat/yacht club by Memorial Day 2011

D) Take Chameleon on a 2 week cruise on any of the following:
Chesapeake, Florida Bay, MacGregor Sound, Kentucky Lake, Sacramento Delta, Sea of Cortez, Long Is Sound, Gulf of Maine, Finnish Isles, Greek Is, Bay of Plenty, Cebu Sea

E) If you like sailing, get plans for a drascombe, dovekie, lightning, or some other 19-20 ft pocket cruiser. and go racing with the yacht club on their boats as crew.

F) Winter 2011-2012 build your 20 Ft pocket cruiser, finishing it by 1 May 2012. Sail it weekends and on vacation and take at least 1 long cruise in it.

G) If you still like sailing, sell the 20 ft pocket cruiser to a member of the yacht/boat club, buy plans for a cruiser 28-36 ft LOA and start scrounging

H) Build your cruising boat from Oct 2012 - Sept 2014

I) Cruise your new boat weekends, and holidays until April 2015.

J) In spring 2015 take your boat south to the Leewards and Windwards, summering in Grenada/Trinidad.

K) In mid Nov 2015 island hop north to Foxy's arriving in time for Christmas.

INDY

[goprisko]

Whenever I find a person proclaiming that it is impossible to maneuver a boat in tight spaces without an engine, one thing is clear............

He doesn't know how it's done! He has never watched junior sailors in Optimist Prams maneuver to and from the club dock as they go to the practice area.

As mentioned many times... an engine and micro-budget cruising do not mix. Not only does the engine's operation and maintenance kill the budget, the fuel does to too. Having an engine adds about $ 250 / month to the budget.

The choice is yours.

Regardless, engines in boats will be a luxury within 10 years. We simply won't be able to afford the fuel.

Think not? Take a good long hard look at what is going on in: Libya, Egypt, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Bahrain, Jordan, Sudan, Nigeria. Revolution... is going on... and if past is prologue... lower oil production follows...

INDY

[goprisko]

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

My beer-related surprises always come in the morning. As a micro-budget cruiser, I can't afford Charlie Sheen's babes.

This is really what's wrong with $500/mo cruising: zero bucks for entertainment as earlier posters noted. Why sail around the world or the Bahamas if you're not going to stop and fool around?

This is most certainly taking things out of context

OR

Admitting that all the gadgetry aboard his boat has run up his costs....

Recapping our proforma budget.........
Our annual cruising budget now is:
Maintenance and Repair $ 970
Provisions $ 2,400 ( diet high in legumes, all meals cooked aboard)
Entry & Clearance Fees $ 150
Fuel $ 100 ( LPG for galley stove )
Mooring & Marina Fees $ -0-
Communication $ 200
Excursions/ Entertainment $ 800
Navigation $ 700
Insurance, Boat $ -0-
Insurance Health $ 240 (money put in rainy day fund)
Souvenirs $ 150
Clothing and Sundries $ 290


TOTAL $ 6,000


We have allocated a significant sum to Entertainment ans Souvenirs nearly $1,000/ yr...


INDY

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by goprisko

... Having an engine adds about $ 250 / month to the budget ...

Absolute bull !!!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by tgzzzz

I like Boatman's prarie dog avatar better than his last one which was an actual photo of Phil himself. That is why sailors drink.

Why dya think I changed it....
I woke up sober one morning...

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Absolute bull !!!

I agree with you 100% Gord. And without an engine, you can't enter most inlets, go up rivers, dock in many places, maneuver in a crowded anchorage, or set the hook well in soft mud, (which requires backing down slowly for an extended period of time). I hate being downwind of folks that didn't set the hook.

If you are told to take a circuitous route to the customs dock, like in Trinidad, you do it! Can't do this under sail. In the old days, they launched several fully manned longboats to row ships in tight places. Without an engine, you are severalty handicapped!

All of these numbers and calculations, jeez... **** happens! People get sick, tools break, boats break, necessary equipment fails, it's life... "You never know what yer gonna get" (Forrest Gump).

On my first cruising boat, (34 years ago), I lived on about $100 per month, and only had huge dive fins for a dinghy. EVEN that 23' boat had an OB motor!

When it was run down in Key West while I was on shore, that sure change my cruising plans... If I had had money, I would have tried to rebuild it, but being soo broke, I sold it as a wreck and left town. After years of effort and $16,000 in materials, it was lost 7 months after launch! (Of coarse I was uninsured, as I still am)...

In my experience... Nothing happens according to plan, but good luck to you nonetheless...
Mark

[boatman61]

I agree about the $250/mth being over the top but I disagree about not being able to do a lot the rest if theres some wind...
especialy if it a small cat upto a 30ftr..
I've entered many a spot and 3 point turned under sail in tight spaces... turn head to wind and let go head sail, centre main, reverse rudder and haul in genny and your away again in your own length...
Going alongside the same... in fact on a Tiki 26 I delivered to Scott Brown in Plymouth from Poole I had to sail it into the slips...
Even done tight quarter work in mono's up to 37ft when the engines failed...
I can understand Marks prob with a tri.. but up to 12ft beam you should be fine...
To many folk rely on the engine to much...

[frank_f]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Absolute bull !!!

What size and what type of motor though?

Does it need to be an inboard with all the tanks, filters, hoses and repair acrobatics or can it be an outboard?

I would think an outboard would more than fit into 250 dollars a month. An inboard,.. well, good luck with that.

I don't see (and I don't have much experience so I may be wrong) why an outboard couldn't handle getting in and out of port. If you're talking about motoring through a calm, well, I go sailing to...sail.

We're talking about cruising on $500 per month. At this point, you're not going to be late for a lot. It's not like you have to be back Monday to head to the office. You've shucked all that and you're cruising. Everything is 'island time', like it or not.

If you're talking about beating some nasty weather to shelter, do you really want to risk being that close to land when all hell is breaking loose around you? I think I'd rather have some sea room between me and things that are going to go 'crunch' on my hull if I'm not absolutely 100% sure I can't get in, hook down and secured, sails stowed and all hatches battened down before it hits.

Like I said, I don't have much experience so I might be way off on this but I do work with electronics and mechanical devices daily. I know how often (and badly) they can fail.

I'm just thinking that I'd rather put my trust in sails and ropes that I can see the condition of rather than a motor where everything is hidden until it fails. And when it does fail, better an outboard that I can sling in the dink to take to shore to repair than an inboard.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by frank_f

What size and what type of motor though?

Does it need to be an inboard with all the tanks, filters, hoses and repair acrobatics or can it be an outboard?

I would think an outboard would more than fit into 250 dollars a month. An inboard,.. well, good luck with that.

I don't see (and I don't have much experience so I may be wrong) why an outboard couldn't handle getting in and out of port. If you're talking about motoring through a calm, well, I go sailing to...sail.

We're talking about cruising on $500 per month. At this point, you're not going to be late for a lot. It's not like you have to be back Monday to head to the office. You've shucked all that and you're cruising. Everything is 'island time', like it or not.

If you're talking about beating some nasty weather to shelter, do you really want to risk being that close to land when all hell is breaking loose around you? I think I'd rather have some sea room between me and things that are going to go 'crunch' on my hull if I'm not absolutely 100% sure I can't get in, hook down and secured, sails stowed and all hatches battened down before it hits.

Like I said, I don't have much experience so I might be way off on this but I do work with electronics and mechanical devices daily. I know how often (and badly) they can fail.

I'm just thinking that I'd rather put my trust in sails and ropes that I can see the condition of rather than a motor where everything is hidden until it fails. And when it does fail, better an outboard that I can sling in the dink to take to shore to repair than an inboard.

Indeed....

[boatman61]

Mark.... dunno if they'll remember but if your ever in Sailcraft, Oriental... ask them about 'Turnaround Phil'... its how I got the nickname..
the mad Brit who sailed his Cherubini 37 from Taylors Creek, Beaufort up the ICW to their slip in Whitaker Creek, Oriental with a bent prop shaft and busted strut...
That was great fun..lol

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by goprisko

As mentioned many times... an engine and micro-budget cruising do not mix. Not only does the engine's operation and maintenance kill the budget, the fuel does to too. Having an engine adds about $ 250 / month to the budget.

To drop that $250 a month budget I suggest:-

a) cut out the waterskiing
b) drink less gasoline
c) learn how engines work. $1 of TLC is worth $100 of fixing.

I didn't say engineless cruising couldn't be done. I too have sailed into harbours. not intentionally mind just that no engine cuts down your choices. and less choice always equals more expense over the longterm. Ashore, afloat or wherever.

Regardless, engines in boats will be a luxury within 10 years. We simply won't be able to afford the fuel.

Think not? Take a good long hard look at what is going on in: Libya, Egypt, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Bahrain, Jordan, Sudan, Nigeria. Revolution... is going on... and if past is prologue... lower oil production follows...

INDY

I like a good sky is falling in scenario as much as anyone (and maybe more so ).........but my bet is we will be able to afford the fuel. We will just kill a few more furriners to keep to that price point......the recipe for gasoline has always involved blood and oil - just the proportions change over the years.

Of course when I say "we" will be able to afford the fuel I am talking (and caring) only about me

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Mark.... dunno if they'll remember but if your ever in Sailcraft, Oriental... ask them about 'Turnaround Phil'... its how I got the nickname..
the mad Brit who sailed his Cherubini 37 from Taylors Creek, Beaufort up the ICW to their slip in Whitaker Creek, Oriental with a bent prop shaft and busted strut...
That was great fun..lol

So, you're the crazy Brit! I'll ask the details...

Recently a guy stood his mast by dangling it from the Hwy 55 bridge in Oriental. The cops came to stop him, but letting the circus continue, was the easiest way to clear the obstruction...


I don't doubt at all that in an emergency, sailing in tight quarters with a monohull, could be done, especially with YOUR rich & varied sailing experience, but would you set up your boat to have to do that regularly... with the law of averages and all that? I wouldn't.

The Pardys made it into tight places too by either taking a tow, rowing, or toward their later cruises, sistering up the dink with an OB motor.

I have traveled the east coast ICW 6 times, and I couldn't have done that under sail... or anchor at the end of Spa Creek, or gone through @ Angelfish Creek from one side of the Keys to the other, or go down Adams Creek to get out the Beaufort inlet, or run up the Shark River for a hurricane, or gone up the Rio Dulce, or entered the Belize Reef at San Pedro, (requiring an immediate 90 degree turn just 30' after entering... on and on. You can't safely tack out of most East Coast inlets on a busy day, either.

I would never say that one can't "wing it" when the engine fails. I have had mine fail and cause me to broach while heading out through the surf @ Little River Inlet. I made do! Certainly one should have the skills to handle their boat under sail in close quarters, (although @ 21' wide, mine has a huge 100' + turning radius), so I wouldn't like to do it with my boat.

I was just saying that the options that a good reliable engine opens up for inland sailing as well as running inlets and such, make it a good investment in my book.

Now for going around the world, mostly at sea, always anchoring out, and no interest in the shelter of inland harbors up narrow winding rivers, THEN having no engine starts to look like a viable option. Call me Mikey Milktoast, but I would still want one. I like "options". I guess my dozen + hurricanes, left me liking the ability to motor where the wind don't blow. At times, I'd sail right up my wazoo for shelter if I could.

Mark

[boatman61]

Rofl.... know what you mean Mark... waded knee deep to the 'Bean' for my breakfast and 'French' a few times.... its on 6ft stilts for a reason....lol
they're a valiant crew there...

[hpeer]

Just stumbled upon this site.

Don't know if it has been linked in the past 80 or so pages but thought it might be of interest and on topic.

Cheers.


Living aboard a sailboat is living cheap