If you are reading this you may be contemplating ditching the whole house with a yard thing and thinking about sailing the seven seas. I am writing this to give you an idea of how much it cost to live on a sailboat. These numbers are strictly based on how we live and can range pretty dramatically based on your wants and needs.
Cost of the Boat:
We LOVE our sailing catamaran Adrenaline.
In most cases, this will be your biggest expense. We have always bought project boats and fixed them up little by little (pretty much the only way we can afford this lifestyle). Our current boat and home is a 1988 Crother Spindrift 41ft. Catamaran. I am not going to get into exact numbers because that is a bit too personal. I can tell you that our initial cost and all the work we have put into her she is now worth around $90,000. We save a lot of money by buying project boats that we can fix up ourselves.
Insurance:
It is important to have insurance or a special savings for worst case scenarios.
Prices can range all over the place. The cheapest quote we have gotten for our boat has been $1800 for full coverage (staying out of the hurricane belt for the season). We also debated just having liability insurance and our quotes for that were coming in around $500 a year for liability. Prices vary drastically depending on what kind of boat you have, how old she is, captains experience, and the area you want to travel. Insurance on a boat is not technically required like it is on a car. However, if your anchor drags and you run into a fancy yacht you better hope you have liability or a nice stack of cash hiding somewhere.
Documentation:
Even your dinghy should be registered!
We decided to document Adrenaline through the Coast Guard. The initial documentation cost was $150. Certain states require you to also be registered within the state as well. If we were planning on staying in Florida for more than a 90-day period we would also have to register the boat in Florida.
Our dinghy is registered in the state of New York (because we were there for more than 90 days) for three years and that cost around $400. A registration renewal for a boat under 16ft typically cost $27. Since our dinghy was new and never registered before we also had to pay sales tax on the value of the boat.
Maintenance:
Adrenaline hauled and waiting for new bottom paint.
We completed many refit projects this year but I included that number in the cost of the boat. Our general maintenance this year has been pretty minimal (knock on wood). Water pumps, fuel filters, belts, exhaust hose, oil, coolant, and a replacement autopilot motor. We will, however, be hauling the boat out in just a few weeks to paint the bottom.
Our maintenance costs will be about $3,000. This includes all the minor maintenance throughout the year and the haul, storage, and bottom paint job.
Dockage:
You can save thousands of dollars by anchoring!
Prices for this can either be $0 or up to a few hundred dollars a week depending on if you prefer to stay securely tied up to a dock or anchored. We definitely prefer to anchor but we have spent right around $1200 on dockage/mooring fees for the year 2018.
Fuel:
Fueling up in Hope Town
We have traveled right around 4,000 miles this year and have only spent around $1100 in fuel.
That is double the distance and almost half the cost of our 2017 fuel bill on our trawler!
Traveling by the wind is awesome!
Food:
We spend right around $400/ month on groceries and we average $400/ month on eating out. That means we spent around $9,600 on food for the year. We spend more on groceries than the average person because we try to buy the highest quality meats and veggies. We also go out more than necessary because we love to experience new cultures and one of the best ways to do that is by trying their food!
Phone/Internet:
We go through data very quickly..
Just as if you were living in a house you will be paying for phone service. The only difference is that you will almost certainly need the unlimited data plan because your phone will also double as your internet hot spot. We are on the Verizon unlimed data plan with three devices (both of our phones and our Ipad for navigation) and it cost us $275/month ($3,300/year). This monthly cost includes our service, phone payment plan, and insurance for all devices. We also spent $280 total on service and data in the Bahamas. Our data usage is higher than most people because we upload our YourTube videos but if you are a Netflix and chill kind of a person, streaming movies uses A LOT of data too.
Tow Boat U.S.:
We have the Tow Boat U.S. unlimited saltwater towing membership which cost us $150 a year. Thank goodness we did not need it for 2018 but it sure did come in hand last year with this incident… ↓
Health Insurance:
Just in case…
Lucky for me I am still under my mom’s coverage for another year and a half. Thank you momma! Billy’s health insurance cost about $1200 a year.
Miscellaneous:
Bahamas import permit: $300
Ipad for navigation: $300 plus the phone service mentioned above.
Gym fees: $790 includes both of our memberships and drop in classes. This number would be much higher if we were in one place for an extended amount. We freeze our memberships when we leave Jupiter and pop into random classes here and there. Our health and fitness is something we always strive to improve. We pay more than the average person in gym fees because we attend gyms with highly trained coaches and in turn are more expensive. You can totally scratch this number if you prefer to workout on your own outside or find a gym that cost as little as 10$ a month.
New Canon G7X to improve video quality: $560
In 2018 we spent close to $24,200 living full time on our boat.
That means we spent about $2,020 a month for two people.
I did not include the cost of the boat in these numbers because we technically bought her last year (2017) and everything we have spent on her this year has been to increase her value. I did, however, include our maintenance cost.
We try to live a very simple life and keep our expenses to a minimum. These are our personal expenses for 2018. I hope this gives anyone thinking about moving onto a sailboat an idea of the cost they could be looking at.
To see what it costs us to live on a trawler click here!
Thanks for reading!
Sierra:)
Tanks Sierra!
You guys are the best. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Billy and Jetty.
All the best in 2019.
Fair winds,
Poppy Tortuga
Thank you Sierra. Very helpful. Someday I will be having my own great adventure. You and Billy have been my inspiration.
All the best to you in 2019.
Jim Callens
I love the fact that you two buy project boats and put a bunch of sweat equity into them. I hope to do the same after I retire in a few short years.
Merry Christmas and I hope 2019 brings you many fun adventures.
Rick
Hi guys!
Thanks for sharing this valuable and personal information. It really does give a good perspective. Maybe someday I’ll see you out on the water. Keep posting these great videos.
Nice budget! I consider you guys to be very bare bones in how you cruise though. Everyone’s numbers will shift around on various items by a solid $2K a year due to their circumstances. That said, I think any couple considering cruising full time could use your numbers as a bare minimum budget for estimating. As I’m planning on doing it closer to retirement age just my health insurance, which will be cheap due to my current job and pension, will still cost us about $4,200 a year until we are 65 and that’s if nothing happens to us. I will need storage for about $100 a month as hard to part with all of a lifetime of stuff. Those are just a couple of examples of things I see adding to it. So for our older selves, as probably not able to rough it as much as you young guys, I’m thinking at least $4K a month and maybe as high as $6K. Basically allowing for higher insurance, more marinas, more fuel for generator and AC, more eating out and cocktails. That’s my plan anyway, cheers😎