Our cruising costs - month 28 for a middle-aged couple on a 30' boat.

[Cthoops]

December was our 28th month of cruising full-time on our Bristol 29.9.

In December we went to the Bahamas and we are planning (hoping) to be here until early May.

Typically our expenses are very low when we're in the Bahamas because there simply isn't much to spend money on. This month was high, however, due to expenses related to required Covid testing and check in fees. We're looking forward to January through April which should be a lot lower.

As for the year in general, the monthly average for 2020 was significantly lower than in 2019. It appears that COVID made a difference. We didn't fly out to the west coast to visit family and we spent about $1,700 less for the year in restaurants and entertainment expenses. Non-Covid related, we also had fewer medical expenses in 2020 and we spent less on boat upgrades over the year.

Frankly, our 2019 monthly average isn't sustainable long-term so we're glad to see that it went down for 2020.

Here we go:

Groceries/Non-food Groceries/Alcohol: $328.30

Gasoline/Diesel: $144.66

Cell data, iCloud storage, and Garmin inReach subscription: $336.13 (This was high. We are keeping our AT&T account in the U.S. active while we are away, plus we topped off our BTC SIM card, switched to an Aliv SIM card, and added a Skype number.)

Restaurants/Entertainment: $154.56 (Golf cart rental in Green Turtle, and we feel much more comfortable eating outside at restaurants in the Bahamas.)

Marinas/moorings: $310.76

Subscriptions: $28.76 (New York Times, Microsoft)

Check in fee for the Bahamas: $150.00

Covid test and health visa: $481.60

Rental car to get to Covid test: $86.87

Boat Maintenance: $256.93 (carburetor and parts for the water maker, spare carburetor for the dinghy outboard in an abundance of caution)

Random Items: $268.20 (marina tips, gifts, Kindle book, snorkel mask for Jeff, 1 gallon gas jerry jug, printing fees, spotlight, bucket, spare washers)

Total: $2,546.77

2020 Monthly average: $2,758.15

2019 monthly average: $3,457.97

2018 monthly average (September – December): $4,465.95

Monthly average since starting to cruise: $3,302.05

I hope this is helpful.

[sailorboy1]

food costs look low, take some of that savings and get a steak :-)

[AA3JY]

Guys..can you all break down/separate from your marina fees the cost of electric (kWh/hr rates) when applicable? Such as what the marinas charge if metered (charge per kw/hr)or flat fee.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

food costs look low, take some of that savings and get a steak :-)

LOL! It’s because we’re eating from what we stocked up on the previous month. As for a steak here? Those thin frozen pieces of meat don’t do justice to the word. We’ll stick with the occasional burger until we get back in May.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by AA3JY

Guys..can you all break down/separate from your marina fees the cost of electric (kWh/hr rates) when applicable? Such as what the marinas charge if metered (charge per kw/hr)or flat fee.

We never plug in if there’s a separate charge, so I don’t know what the fees are when we stay in a slip.

[sailorboy1]

times the last 4 years when i got electrid at marina in Bahamas it varied from $10-20/day for fyi

[01kiwijohn]

looks pretty reasonable, to me. I've not updated my "aboard" costs for this year yet but I think we're close to you. I've been trying to eliminate anything which does not contribute to boat function and safety, utility or personal long term enjoyment. The benefit must outweigh the cost. Hence, I'd question the NYT subscription.https://www.cruisersforum.com/images...es/popcorn.gif

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by 01kiwijohn

looks pretty reasonable, to me. I've not updated my "aboard" costs for this year yet but I think we're close to you. I've been trying to eliminate anything which does not contribute to boat function and safety, utility or personal long term enjoyment. The benefit must outweigh the cost. Hence, I'd question the NYT subscription.https://www.cruisersforum.com/images...es/popcorn.gif

Mr. cthoops has a saying: “Don’t take the bait.”

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Cthoops

Mr. cthoops has a saying: “Don’t take the bait.”

Oh come on. He was just trying to help you, help yourself in how you spend YOUR money. Not like he was telling you that you didn't need that carburetor for the watermaker

[fred4936]

Thank you once again for keeping us in your expense loop! I watch for these every month so we know what we may expect. Helpful is an understatement!

[My_Breakaway]

I’m prepping and planning to start the cruising live a board lifestyle this coming May. Can I assume if you were to stay in the Bahamas there would not be a recurring check in fee and Covid testing? Are you staying in a slip for the entire month? If I were to drop a hook and dingy to shore can you tell me are there any “dingy dock fee” lastly why do you use so much diesel?

[sailorboy1]

-there isn't a recurring covid testing fee (at least currently)
-she stays mostly by far on anchor
-I have never seen a dinghy fee in the Bahamas except Chubb Cay, but there is bound to be one somewhere
- she uses the diesel because she is a cruiser and that is the way it is

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by My_Breakaway

I’m prepping and planning to start the cruising live a board lifestyle this coming May. Can I assume if you were to stay in the Bahamas there would not be a recurring check in fee and Covid testing? Are you staying in a slip for the entire month? If I were to drop a hook and dingy to shore can you tell me are there any “dingy dock fee” lastly why do you use so much diesel?

Unless you are Bahamian, you can’t stay in the Bahamas in perpetuity so you’ll have to leave at some point. I think it’s a maximum stay of nine months? So if you want to come back, you’re going to need to pay again. The check in fee is based on the length of the boat, and, for us, we’ll need to pay another $150 after we’ve been here for three months if we want to stay longer. Just an FYI.

We typically anchor out 100% of the time in the Bahamas, so no, we did not stay in the slip for the month. This was just a treat and our way of expressing our appreciation to the Green Turtle Club Marina for jumping through the hoops of getting government approval to be a check in spot. Without that, we likely wouldn’t have come to the Bahamas this winter.

We’ve never paid a dinghy dock fee in the Bahamas, but I think there may be a one-off here and there (Chub Cay comes to mind). There isn’t one at 99.99% of the places.

Your question about the diesel made me laugh because I used to think the same thing before we started cruising. We actually don’t use a lot of diesel. This time we topped off before we left (we had last topped off in Jacksonville Beach, one month earlier) plus another 15 gallons to top off when we got to Green Turtle (no wind made for a motor fest for the entire 160 NM trip). The diesel in the Bahamas was over $4 a gallon so that made the number higher. The total amount also includes gasoline for the dinghy and water maker. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you won’t motor as much. If you are like 99% of the rest of us, you will motor much more than you ever imagined.

[CapnR]

Thanks for sharing. Sure helps us plan!

[My_Breakaway]

Thanks for the reply. And yes I’m planning to carry extra jugs of diesel🤣somewhat unrelated regarding my safety planning, I have a spade rudder so I need to plan for the worst. Do you carry an emergency rudder?