Months you spend on boat in a year

[belizesailor]

Depends on the year. Have lived aboard full time. Have cruised full time. However, typically we've spent about 4 months per year aboard. I also spend a lot of time on OPB (Other People's Boats)...often 1-2 months per year.

[Wckoek]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

I was told a while ago by a Beneteau dealer that there was a research done to better understand customers’ needs, and the conclusion was that the magic number is 8 days in a year. People tend to keep the boats if they spend more than 8 days a year, and sell if less.

I still work full time; spend about half of the weekends (2-3 days long) and two-three vacation weeks on the boat. Seventy days a year, maybe. I don’t think size has anything to do with it. Size may drive a ratio of time spent in a marina vs actually cruising; bigger boats typically go out less frequently than smaller ones.

Yes, my experience is similar to yours, I think 2-3 months max a year if I didn't do a longer passage, and there are weekends that I couldn't use the boat as well.
It would be a hassle for bigger boats owners to go out for a short spin on the weekend, something like day, so with exception to motorcruisers I think 40 feet plus boats probably won't go out like in the normal weekends.

[ziva]

Hi all, I should not have read this post. I went to the boat twice this year for half a day due to the pandemic (only to clean it). How do you manage a full time job and being on the boat? I only have 5 weeks holidays a year.

Maybe the pandemic will help in the future with more home working. Do you home work on the boat?

Thanks and keep sailing.

[CaptainMCT]

12 🤪😅🙃

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by ziva

Hi all, I should not have read this post. I went to the boat twice this year for half a day due to the pandemic (only to clean it). How do you manage a full time job and being on the boat? I only have 5 weeks holidays a year.

Maybe the pandemic will help in the future with more home working. Do you home work on the boat?

Thanks and keep sailing.

The boat is about one hour driving time from home, so it is easy to go there for weekends. I try to alternate time on the boat and hiking in the mountains, so I do not go there that often. I do have unlimited vacation time, so that helps too. Technically, I can work while being on the boat, but it does not make sense. Defeats the purpose.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by ziva

Hi all, I should not have read this post. I went to the boat twice this year for half a day due to the pandemic (only to clean it). How do you manage a full time job and being on the boat? I only have 5 weeks holidays a year.

Maybe the pandemic will help in the future with more home working. Do you home work on the boat?

Thanks and keep sailing.

In 1996 when I was deciding between a better more hi-tech beach cat to race or getting a monohull, the first thing a broker friend of mine asked me was how much time do you have?

At that time, I was working full time and had 5 weeks vacation/year

So I got the beach cat and when I wasn't racing it, I could explore the area.....a lot of the area by water because the boat would cruise along at 15 knots pretty easily.

Now days, I have a monohull, a slow one.

I work full time and have 5 weeks vacation/year, (plus just about every named holiday and weekends) and my boat is about a mile from my apartment and is on the way to work. The slip is maybe 1/2 mile or so from the bay wide open low Chesapeake Bay and 3-5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

Many weekends I have the boat loaded by Thursday Night including supplies and ice so on Fridays I'm ready to go and depending on the weather I might leave at noon or early afternoon to start my weekend "cruise" which usually covers maybe 45-100 miles plus hiking, kayaking, and fishing

Basically I use the boat 2-3 weekends/month from Mid-April to November to include the short cruises and daysailing and I usually stop by daily for one reason or another sometimes just to be out in the Sun for a while after work and near the water......even though I can see a popular anchorage right outside my office door.

I can be out of the city (s) and anchored in about 4 hours on a Friday but still have a view of the city lights with a plan to get further away early on Saturday am.

[ziva]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

The boat is about one hour driving time from home, so it is easy to go there for weekends. I try to alternate time on the boat and hiking in the mountains, so I do not go there that often. I do have unlimited vacation time, so that helps too. Technically, I can work while being on the boat, but it does not make sense. Defeats the purpose.

Same for me the boat is a 1.5h drive but in another country so I could not visit it during the lockdown.

I always though that working from the boat will be nice and you beat the traffic.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by ziva

Same for me the boat is a 1.5h drive but in another country so I could not visit it during the lockdown.

I always though that working from the boat will be nice and you beat the traffic.

But you have to live on the boat.

There's a guy at our marina that's been doing just that for a couple years on his 46' Formosa. He's setting it up to cruise but I haven't seen him take it out in all that time.

He says it's a bitch to dock alone.

He just bought a Condo in Florida and says he can't wait to take a real shower etc and have all that space!

[Pegu Club]

Even before we started cruising full time, it was notable that most boats, to include ours, motor or sail only went out on weekends the majority of the time, Vacations are the exception. As to larger boats, it’s like larger homes, the majority of it is not in use, it’s done for ones psychological well-being. Recreational boats never have been nor ever will be an economical choice, the best case is not having a mortgage, and even then the money still goes out...

Fair winds,

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Pegu Club

Even before we started cruising full time, it was notable that most boats, to include ours, motor or sail only went out on weekends the majority of the time, Vacations are the exception. As to larger boats, it’s like larger homes, the majority of it is not in use, it’s done for ones psychological well-being. Recreational boats never have been nor ever will be an economical choice, the best case is not having a mortgage, and even then the money still goes out...

Fair winds,

Right!

Definitely get the house paid off so you don't have a mortgage, and the boat paid off as well.

That's my plan. Well, I paid cash for the boat......a whole $2,000.