So, there are two extremes to the spectrum, people see mega yachts and then they see derelict boats. The expenses of the two are also opposite on the spectrum. We like to think we have a nice-looking boat with all our necessities. But at the same time, we are not living large by any means. We are however living a happy adventurous life. People always wonder how we do what we do and how much does it cost. Below are a list of our general expenses and how much they cost. This year we have traveled to the Bahamas and up the East Coast as far as Nantucket. This is an estimate of what we have spent and will spend for the remainder of the year.
Mooring/Docking:
Trawler on a Mooring
90% of the time we are on the hook. The only time we dock is if there is extremely bad weather or if we are broken down like we were in Daytona where we paid $9.00 a foot for the week. When traveling, sometimes protected harbors are filled with moorings that you have to pay for. They usually range from $20-70 per night.
Average monthly total: $58
Yearly total $700
Boat Payments:
Neverland is completely paid off. We did not have to take out a loan and we do not have any payments on her.
Average monthly total: $0
Yearly total: $0
Maintenance:
Ford Lehman Diesel Engine
We always try to do all of the maintenance work ourselves which saves us a lot of money. We had to learn a lot and that is where Youtube how to’s and books such as “This Old Boat” come in handy!
Bottom Paint: $200
Zincs: $200
Haul Out & Storage: $900
Paint & Oil: $200
Dinghy Engine & Generator Maintenance $200
Random Repairs $300
Engine Maintenance $2000 (This year was our highest yet… new tranny)
Average monthly total: $330
Yearly total: $4,000
Food:
Grocery shopping with reusable bags
We generally spend about $200 every two weeks on groceries. We also like to go out to eat a few times a month and we spend about $400 a month at restaurants (something we need to cut back on)
Average monthly total: $800
Yearly totally: $9,600
Water:
At most marinas in the states the hose water is potable and they do not mind you filling up your tank. In the Islands, fresh water is harder to come by so they do charge but luckily, we did not need to fill up this year.
Average monthly total: $0
Yearly total: $0
Pump-out:
The price varies from marina to marina but it is generally under $10 including a tip for the dock attendant. We pump out every two weeks. Our tanks usually fill up the same time our water runs out so we make the most of our trip to the marina.
Average monthly total $20
Yearly total: $240
Fuel:
We will travel right around 2000 nautical miles this year. We burn about 1.8 gallons per hour and our average speed is 5.5 knots. The average price of marine diesel fuel is about $2.80. In one hour we spend around $5.04. In the 2000 miles we will spend around $2000.
We also use gas in our tender and for the generator. We use about 40 gallons of gas a month between the tender and the generator which has us spending around $100 a month.
Average monthly total: $270
Yearly total: $3,200
Insurance:
YIKES so we do not have insurance on Neverland. BAD BAD BAD! If you have a boat you should! We will definitely have insurance on our next boat!
Average monthly total: $0
Yearly total: $0
TowBoat U.S. :
Trawler being towed by TowBoat U.S.
With an old timer like Neverland or even with a brand spanking new boat you never know what could happen. We always make sure our TowBoat U.S. Unlimited Gold towing membership is up to date it only cost $170 for the year. Our short little tow from New Smyrna to Daytona would have cost us over $500 without it!
Average monthly total: $14
Yearly total $170
Registration:
In New York you renew every three years so we do not have to pay this year.
Average monthly total: $0
Yearly total: $0
Total:
We expect to spend around $17,900 this year. That is about $1,500 a month for both of us including food, living on our own personal island! For two people living an endless vacation I don’t think that is too bad!
But do not let this number scare you. There are plenty of ways to lower the yearly cost. For starters maybe not traveling as far! Fuel cost is a big expense and if you prefer to stay in one awesome location your specific cost will be much lower. Our biggest expense is food. We are generally super active and that leads us to be pretty much always hungry. When we do our shopping we also always try to buy the good stuff, such as organic, grass fed, and free range products which can make the grocery bill skyrocket.
Living within your means does not have to mean being stuck in a tiny apartment in a bad neighborhood. It could mean glorious waterfront property with dolphin to greet you every morning! Anything is possible!
If you want to know how we make money to be able to afford this check out our article on how we make money while living on a boat!
Consider visiting Bristol, great restaurants, beautiful harbor, Herrschoft museum. Aidan’s Pub was my favorite (fish and chips 3x), also favorite of locals we met. Quitos is interesting – they also retail live lobster. Was in Bristol for about 10 days split in 4 visits while surveying, taking delivery of my trawler.
Norfolk – came in over Hampton Bay Bridge Tunnel from Thimble Shoals light, followed medium endurance class USCG cutter that had stayed 200 yards to our port for almost an hour before moving ahead. Tug/barge was overtaking to starboard from outside the ship channel to starboard, and kids were using a ship channel marker for a race (not too bright…..), and with all of this, a Helicopter Assault Ship (think small aircraft carrier) is appearing 2 miles away coming out of the mist toward the tunnel cut in the ship channel….sort of a pop quiz in right of way, common sense. Thank you USCGA for the boating course 42 years ago and subsequent reading up now and then…..
Cruising from Rhode Island to North Carolina, I used navionics on my ipad while also relying mostly on old chips in a Raymarine c-70 and c-120 (flybridge). How comfortable are you with using navionics on the ipad only? C-70 screen is burning out, chips need updating, Replacing Raymarines evenutally will be expensive. I’m considering using Navionics on the
i-pad alone. Do you use the free version or the paid version of navionics? I also track with current paper charts – all they had when I started sailing, a security blanket. (Noteworthy: Best crab cakes from RI to the Pamlico – chef Andy at Sunset Cove restaurant behind quaint Point Lookout Marina, north side of mouth of the Potomac.) A full day on Delaware Bay was no more fun downwind from Cape May for me, than it was for you in the other direction. C&D canal and docking/eating on the north side at Chesapeake City were such a welcome relief.
Looking forward to hearing about your sailboat preferences….did I hear “trimaran” or “catamaran” on a prior video? Wondering if a roomy cruiser like a Pacific Seacraft, R/C like a C&C, or beamy/solid Island Packet would work for you two? So many good choices out there…..
My preferences for content in your videos: I especially like your addressing maintenance issues, nav issues, sketchy water, local history, fishing, lots of nautical terms/skills, seamanship, etc. I’ve had 3 sailboats and now a third power boat, my first big water capable boat of either kind. So, I’m enjoying all that you share about your vessel and your nautical experiences aboard the most. The haul out video and the recent New England and Sketchy Water videos are favorites of mine. Thanks for addressing speed/fuel consumption for your MT trawler. Your displacement and beam make for a very comfortable ride. At 10,000 pounds displacement, 10’3″ beam, I turn 6.5 kt at 1600 RPM, flo-scan reads under 1 USG/hr., but I have not verified over a long cruise – vary speed too much to make an objective by nightfall. At 3400 rpm I can top 12 kt, and flo-scan reads over 5 USG/hr., and I suspect it’s really higher, so I don’t crank it up that high often, and 2400 RPM looks like 8.5 kt @ 2.5 USG/hr., not impressive. 200 hp turbo Volvo. Time to run at 6.5 kt. is money in the bank….
Lastly….give some thought to exploring the NC inner banks – Elizabeth City, Herford, Edenton, Plymouth, Columbia on Albemarle Sound, and Belhaven, Bath (super charming – Blackbeard lived there, first town in NC, still only 400 or so people), Washington, Oriental, New Bern, Ocracoke (where Blackbeard was killed – near “Teach’s Slew” – still on nav charts, named for Blackbeard), and Manteo – so very close to The Lost Colony historic site. Eastern NC’s Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds are the second largest estuary in the US, and are seemingly undiscovered by cruising sailboats and trawlers, dock fees are roughly 1/2 of what you find on the Chesapeake, far fewer boats, much more undeveloped shores, so many great anchorages. Sailboat and trawler heaven, because there are so many places to go, so much protected water, and more! Great food, too! Marabellas in Washington, Spoon River in Belhaven, and just docking at River Forest Manor in Behaven is a special treat – enjoying the grounds.
Alex
Hey Guys – Thanks for the breakdown and insight on living aboard. Planning on doing so right about now next year. Btw my t-shirt is awesome! Safe travels.
Wow. That’s great living- BAD BAD BAD no insurance
That’s your home, you must get insurance (peace of mind). Love watching you guys from Australia (Riviera aft cabin owners with 2 boys 9&11yo) Big inspiration.
Hello
Thanks for the information, very helpful! I’m looking forward to following your adventures, keep the information coming. The little details aren’t good to know!
*ARE— autocorrect ~ thanks
We were on a mooring ball right next to you in Nantucket last week (Nordhavn 47, ROAM). I was sitting at the table in, poking around on YouTube, and ended up watching a couple of your videos, thinking, I know that boat! Then I looked out the window and there you were! Small world! We would have come over to introduce ourselves, but we headed out that afternoon (Sunday), headed for Delaware Bay. We’re going through the C&D and will spend a month in the Chesapeake. BTW, I really WISH we could get by with your expenses. We average about $11K per month on our 47 foot trawler :(.
Health Ins, cell phone,internet, what other items did I miss?
Good info… I plan to do the same thing very soon when I retire, I think you have the perfect size boat for such. I am in Florida and cruising over the last 25 years with my boat that I restored and have owned since 88. I have pretty much had the same philosophy, trying to spend as little as possible while cruising. I can remember only once paying for a marina! One thing you might do for your next boat, or this one when it is time, is to register it in Florida. The registration is FREE for antique boats, I think over 30 years. You pay just a couple $ processing fee. They might have similar in NY, worth checking out.
As far as insurance, I have never had it either……I figured for an older boat, the replacement value they would assign would not justify the premiums.
My 1974 MT 34 DC insurance runs $250 a year 10,000 declared value with Half a million liability on the Great Lakes. Not sure the bump in cost to do the AICW
We have a Mainship 390 and probably are tripple what you do. We stat at Marina for 9 months of the year and we eat out more. Good to know we could live on $18,000 if we had too.
Thank you for the info…. I’m looking at a Mainship 34 70’s ish ….. With trying to crunch basic numbers this really helped..Again thank you !!
What about health insurance? And do you ever go on land trips to visit family?
Thanks for the input. We’re thinking about switching from sail to power and this is very helpful.
Deb
SV Kintala
http://www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com
Thank you for this information! I am looking for my floating island now. 😁
You two are doing it right! Keep being awesome. Paul
Great article! Thanks for the information. All the best to you!
Great article! Well written and very informative!