retirement

[RiffRaff]

I retired at 58 (64 now). Switched from sail to power. Much nicer live aboard to be above waterline. Lots of different brands that will do what you want. You haven’t mentioned how handy you are. When cruising it is not thrifty to maintain your boat unless doing majority of work yourself. Consider that. You will change priorities over next 5 years. For me there is no going back to sail.
Retirement is grand. Enjoy.

[Gary Bode]

Only $250k? You peasant.

[MicHughV]

I think y'all are doing it all backwards.

I had a play now, work later plan.

I left to go cruising on my home built boat in my late 20's. My entire "nest egg" at the time was $500. That was it. My boat did not have GPS, a/c, refrigeration and all the other mods people think are necessary these days. No boat insurance, no health plan and no children, etc. I was not alone either. There were plenty others just like me who simply left for the adventure of it all. Several sailed with young children.

I lasted 35 years and saw a good part of our planet. Never needed nor wanted for much of anything. Amassing money was never the goal. I did the odd job here and there, but having $10 in my pocket made me feel like a "rich person". I have boxes and boxes full of memories.

Retiring at 55...60...65.....you will have other issues...family...children....health....a home....blah blah...

I ran into a couple not so long ago. My guess is, they were in their 70's. They had both been diagnosed with some or other cancer and given 6 months to live. They had very little money. They said to hell with it, lets buy a boat and go...so they did. They had an old, rather decrepit looking boat, but the cruising community embraced them. The 6 months had turned into 6 years when last I saw them.

This fixation on wealth flies in the face of what cruising is all about, imo, for sure, you can't take it with you.

You don't really need a lot of money to enjoy yourself cruising, you need a lot of positive attitude. You will meet many people, who can't rub 2c together, but are having the time of their life.

I'd like to close this missive with this story. Not so long ago, I was on a trip to Bermuda. I was about 5 days out from Florida, when I spied a sail on the horizon and determined it was coming my way.

Sure enough, about 30 minutes, this small fiberglass sloop pulls alongside me, I'm guessing it was maybe 25-27' long. Aboard were an elderly couple. Myself and my crew mates guessed their ages somewhere in their 80's. They were both naked as jaybirds and brown as berries.

The asked me for "directions" to Bermuda.....yep, I'm not making this up. Their sole navigational tool was a schoolboy atlas and a compass. I gave them a lat/long, and compass bearing to Bermuda and pointed my hand to the horizon....go that-a-way I said.. They required nothing else. We found out they had left from the Florida Keys.
Without further ado, they started their engine and were soon a blip on the horizon.

We arrived at Bermuda a few days later and kept our eyes out for them, but never saw them again, but they could have been anywhere.

'jes sayin'....hope someone finds some inspiration here somewhere...

[Captain Graham]

I do not think I could find a sailboat that I would like to use for both cruising around the world and then cruising around the Caribbean.

So I would take it one step at a time.
First I would buy a long distance blue water boat to see the world.
Something that can handle a storm, easy to solo sail and has a cockpit that is protected from wind and waves.
Something like a Westsail 32 or a Cape Dory 30.

Then after I have had enough world traveling I would change to another sailboat designed for more comfort and shallow water.
I would target a little larger and one that can be kept cool under that hot Caribbean sun.

Check out the website https://www.tomdove.com/sailcalc/sailcalc.html

[rob d]

That was my dream about 25 years ago but I didn't have the money to do it.

From reading though the posts I'd think that your plans are far better thought out than many who have wanted to do this no matter what the budget was.

From what I have seen from those I have followed over the years and personal friends experiences when you get over 40 ft you start needing crew a lot more than under 40 ft.
A new or newer well built boat that is designed for off shore use shouldn't need the repairs that an older boat might and as much as I love the look of Teak that is not only a big maintenance item, it is also a leak and weight item on a lot of boats.

A boat that can handle conditions, protects you (I'd want a pilot house) and has systems and equipment that are known to have great support behind them world wide. Meaning that the "I'm sitting in __________ Needing a _________ for the ____ that no one has in stock post probably won't happen.

Last thought, having a 250 K annual income/budget doesn't mean that you will spend 250K a year cruising. It means that You don't have to skimp on food or beverages because you had to replace a part, You can spend time in an interesting marina at the dock rather than out on the hook if you like. That makes getting out there a hell of a lot easier because you aren't so worried about things that can eat several months cruising budget for a lot of folks.

[David Mathis]

Dhenline applied logic and suggested that a Nordhavn is the way to go. Since you're alone, have adequate resources so you don't have to pinch pennies for the fuel budget, I second his choice. Marlow and Defever also make great boats for a permanent year-round residence. Up to 45-50' you should be able to handle it alone although you will occasionally find yourself in a situation where you wish for a couple of crew to help.

[gterrill]

Want to sail and see as much of the world as I can while I'm still young and then maybe settle into the Caribbean when older. will live on the boat and have no other expenses, on a fixed income of 250,000 a year what would you buy and why.

Very similar to us. I'm semi-retired at 56 and my wife just retired at 49. Even though we are long time sailors we are going with a 55' power catamaran for our travels. Cat for the stability and space. Power because we don't want to be dealing with sails as we get older and we want to go fast when we have/want to.

Roughly, plan is to travel around Australia/NZ first, then South Pacific islands, Med and end up in the Caribbean/Bahamas. We prefer anchoring as opposed to docked in marinas but like our comfort so are going big on solar/lithium battery capacity.

[NPCampbell]

Originally Posted by outbound_308

will live on the boat and have no other expenses, on a fixed income of 250,000 a year what would you buy and why.

If you are from the US and during your career you realized you needed a large multiple of generally poor social security returns to be comfortable in retirement, then your single largest expense will likely be taxes.

What is your retirement income classified as? Ordinary income, capital gains, etc? Are you a resident of a high income tax state? Are you single?

Depending on how you answer these, you may not be as comfortable as you think.

One of the primary goals heading into retirement is to have your mortgage paid off and you would effectively be financing 100% of yours. A $1M boat will run $86k per year financed at 6% for 20 years.

As for taxes, let's say your $250k annual income was classified as ordinary income and you lived in California. You would lose around $90k or 36% to federal and state income tax and the parts of FICA/Medicare that apply to non-wages. One time sales tax would be around $85k. $10k per year in personal property tax. If you rent a slip at a public marina you would pay possessory interest tax.

Adding up approx annual recurring expenses:

$250k income
-$90k income tax
-$10k personal property tax
-$86k boat loan (6% at 20 years)
-$20k boat insurance
-$8k health insurance

This leaves $36k per year for beer, food, boat maintenance, beer, fuel, slip and mooring fees, beer, etc.

Doable but not a slam dunk ... depending on your taxes.

[ms.lau]

I'd pay someone to build me a yacht (small, around 26/27ft, cold moulded, very simple and seaworthy, maybe even no engine). I'd sponsor individuals or charities with half my income and set sail, knowing that I was seeing out my days in simplicity and sharing my good fortune.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by NPCampbell

One of the primary goals heading into retirement is to have your mortgage paid off and you would effectively be financing 100% of yours. A $1M boat will run $86k per year financed at 6% for 20 years.

I don't know where one can 100% finance a $1m boat, but it's not a problem I'm ever likely to have . So there must at least other assets. Maybe the OP could confirm, but the size of the available retirement income suggests that the person likely owns outright a principal residence, and possibly more than one... and so would be selling, downsizing or even renting that out, so no I wouldn't expect anyone to be carrying 100% of the price of a posh boat with retirement income. And I'm sure that someone in that potential retirement income bracket has access to the sort of tax advice that would keep their tax bill well below $100k.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by ms.lau

I'd pay someone to build me a yacht (small, around 26/27ft, cold moulded, very simple and seaworthy, maybe even no engine). I'd sponsor individuals or charities with half my income and set sail, knowing that I was seeing out my days in simplicity and sharing my good fortune.

The delusion is strong in this one.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Captain Graham

I do not think I could find a sailboat that I would like to use for both cruising around the world and then cruising around the Caribbean.

So I would take it one step at a time.
First I would buy a long distance blue water boat to see the world.
Something that can handle a storm, easy to solo sail and has a cockpit that is protected from wind and waves.
Something like a Westsail 32 or a Cape Dory 30.

Then after I have had enough world traveling I would change to another sailboat designed for more comfort and shallow water.
I would target a little larger and one that can be kept cool under that hot Caribbean sun.

Check out the website https://www.tomdove.com/sailcalc/sailcalc.html

This is an approach not nearly enough people think about. So they end up struggling to find anchorages for their bluewater boat in the shallow waters of Florida or the Bahamas.

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

This is an approach not nearly enough people think about. So they end up struggling to find anchorages for their bluewater boat in the shallow waters of Florida or the Bahamas.

My Herreshoff/Vaitses Meadowlark only draw 20 inches, and she's beachable. It's one of the main reasons I bought her. I don't expect to be crossing the North Atlantic, but she should do marvelously in the Keys.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Jdege

My Herreshoff/Vaitses Meadowlark only draw 20 inches, and she's beachable. It's one of the main reasons I bought her. I don't expect to be crossing the North Atlantic, but she should do marvelously in the Keys.

Sounds like the right tool for the job.

[shimari]

The OP wanted to know what we would do given his scenario. Here's what we would do - and actually are doing. Our financial situation is different, but the idea is the same.

Our plan is to slowly progress into retirement over a 3-5 yr period (we're older than the OP - well at least I am). During the 3-5 yrs pre-retirement, we'll be cruising weekends and some multi-week trips around the Chesapeake and east coast. We'll start taking her down to FL/Bahamas this year or next. Once we hit retirement full-time, we'll venture into the Carribean and possibly Mexico/Panama/Belize. We're not planning on circumnavigating, but do expect several blue water trips each year.

We looked at boats for a good 1-2 yrs trying to figure out what would work for us. We started with Catamarans as my wife loved the extra space. Once we investigated keeping a cat on the east coast for the first few years, we switched to looking for a 40-50 monohull. We previously had a 37' Beneteau and we were familiar with sailing and maintaining her.

We ruled out production boats after looking at a few. There are lots of great production boats available, but we wanted a slightly heavier boat. We looked seriously at: HR 40C/44, Tartan 455, Moody 45DS (yes production), Najad 450CC, Arcona 465, Southerly 42/480 and the Sirius 40DS.

We opted for the Southerly 42 for lots of reasons. The deck saloon gave us the feel of a cat without the baggage (nor space sadly), and the retractable keel gave us the freedom to explore shallow areas while still having a deep draw when needed. We actually have a Southerly 480 now, but that's another story.

The 480 is a twin wheel center cockpit with a solent rig: 100% self-tacker, and 140% genoa. She's not a speedster, but she points and rides well. I'm comfortable with her on a blue water voyage.

The biggest issues for our plan (besides family and pets) is health insurance. Fortunately, I have that from an earlier employer at a decent price. If we didn't have that, I suspect that would end-up being our biggest monthly expense as we tend to prefer a BCBS PPO which can be expensive, but covers us world-wide. When I'm old enough for Medicare, we'll have to figure things out. I think my employer plan becomes secondary and will cover us when out of the US. We also have medical evacuation insurance from Medjet. It's only a few hundred bucks a year, and ensures we don't have to be seen by a Veterinarian (I had that happen once - it's a great scar though and nothing against Vets).

That's what we're doing! I'm envious of your situation though. Single without strings attached and money in the bank. Enjoy! You really can do literally what you want!