I have followed this budget discussion and must be living in a different world. We are on the boat (Krogen 42) for six months and anchor out. However, our insurance alone is $4,600. Storage for the six months off the boat is $4,500. Usually there is a bottom paint of $2,000 - heck the paint alone is $1,500. Fuel is minor at $1,200. Replacing zincs, fuel filters, oil filters and impellers is several hundred dollars. The lubrication oil is $200. Routine maintenance parts for the stabilizers $100. The water maker is always good for a few hundred dollars in parts. Each year one of the major systems needs replacing or updating, 2010 the radar, 2011 the inverter. I just spent $150 for replacing my 10 year old sanitation hose. At least one float switch is replaced each year. Repainting the deck and staining the teak is not free even though I do the work. The refrigeration system (one freezer one refrigerator) has been worked on 4 or the last 5 years. Usually I replace 2 pumps (bilge or fresh water) in a 3 year period. Thus the $2,000 per month estimate is very low for me without counting food, our travel expenses to the boat, or any repairs that may come up. Marty Campanella Bay Pelican KK42

I have been tracking our ATM withdrawals and CC charges since 2009. We were in SE Asia during that time, leaving in January this year arriving in Turkey on April 30. We spent $39,000 in 2009, $55,000 in 2010, and the first six months of this year, $18,791. The only addition is to the 2011 cost and it’s a big one, $31,200 to ship the boat past the #%$^&* pirates. Our annual insurance in Asia was around $4,500, here in the Med its $2,800. We fly home once a year for around $3,000 for the two of us, and we stay in Marinas when not underway. We also do quite a bit of inland traveling including two trips to China last year and one to Tibet. The fact of the matter is, you can spend as little or as much as you want, just as you do in your land based life. We have met many couples in Asia who were cruising on a small pension. Yes, they anchored out all the time and were mindful of expenses but enjoying themselves just the same. Sincerely, Randal Johnson www.mydoramac.com "It is not the strongest of species that survives, or the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change" - Charles Darwin

I'm more in line with Marty and Randal. We've only been cruising with our powercat for 18 months, mainly in Brazil, the Guyanas, Carribean, Cuba and East Coast. We anchor out 99.9% of the time. We did charter sailboats in Tahiti and are aware of the horrendous prices in French Polynesia. - Fuel: We move quite a bit, say 8,000 NM/year, that's roughly 8,000 gallons of diesel. We've averaged $3.15/gallon since our departure, which is cheap considering that you pay $4.50 in the US and something like $6 in Polynesia. So, for us, it's 25K/year in fuel, but I would double that for a year in the South Pacific. How many miles a year are you planning on? - Insurance: at the minimum, liability-only *Jackline* insurance can be as low as $1,000/year depending on cruising grounds and schedule. - Registration: do you have boat registration or agent/corporation fees? For us, add $500/year. - Maintenance: yep, we always need filters, parts, a shackle here, an anchor line there, an outboard oil change in the mix, an improvement that we feel needed ... it all adds up to some $500/month somehow. If you need parts shipped to you in the Pacific, FEDEX will deliver... at a premium fee. For labor, JP does everything himself. - Cruising fees: cruising the USA is the cheapest you'll find anywhere in the world. Most other countries charge cruising fees, anchoring fees, customs fees, port captain fees, insurance fees.... our 2 weeks in Cuba cost us $300 (entry and exit MUST be done at a marina = $$$) and 2 weeks in Mexico about the same, just in fees. Temporary import in Brazil cost us $300. In many countries you have to pay a fee even if you stay at anchor (Mexico, Europe) and some charge by square footage ("shadow over the water") (Spain, France). Except for Papeete where you'd have to pay at the town dock, anchoring out is usually free in Polynesia, but check on import and/or cruising fees. We budget $2,000/year for cruising fees and forced marinas. - Food: notoriously expensive in Polynesia, even local fruits and vegetables. We rarely eat out; we catch our own fish (but you have to account for cost of fishing gear and dinghy fuel), and eat local fruits and vegetables. Eating out is what kills the budget. Plan $100/week on the cheap, or 6K/year with holidays. - Alcohol: booze is never cheap and adds up to the budget. The less you drink, the longer you'll stretch your budget. OK, I'll give 2K/year for booze. - Medical: do you want insurance? Drugs in the South Pacific are expensive, even if medical care is reasonably priced. Plan at least $1K in your kitty. I busted my Achilles tendon in Paraguay and it only cost me about that much (surgery, hospital, crutches, rehab)... but that was cheap Paraguay. JP did fall in the boat and had to stitch himself back when in French Guayana, a cosmetic surgery that would have cost some 5K anywhere else! Stuff happens, be prepared. - Telecommunication: one of our biggest expenses is Internet access and telecom. We like to stay connected and traveling makes it a challenge. The I-pad, the Blackberry phone, the various computers.... in the US, we use the Virgin Mobile MiFi, our own hotspot good for 5 computers on board. We find that our hardware expense for telecom is about $1,000/year (lost, broken, outdated) and various services can add up to $200/month. - Weather and emergency: IRIDIUM is fantastic when out of the US and provides AMOSCONNECT email- We top it with $500/year. (we didn't install SSB) - Do you want to get home? Travel around the area you're cruising? Add air fees, car rentals, hotels... if you wish. We find that between JP flying home to France once a year and me going to California once a year, plus a little tourism here and there, even if using our free airline miles and low fares, we can spend 4 to 5K/year in travel expenses. - Yearly haulout: last year in Trinidad, bottom paint+labor and minor things: 10K; planned haulout and paint for this year: ditto. Total: 65K after taxes.... Remember that we are full-time cruisers and we move an average of 1,000 NM/month. That's for us, DOMINO. JP & Marie Dufour http://dominocatamaran.blogspot.com On Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 6:18 AM, Randal Johnson <randal462@msn.com> wrote: > > > > > I have been tracking our ATM withdrawals and CC charges since 2009. We were > in SE Asia during that time, leaving in January this year arriving in Turkey > on April 30. We spent $39,000 in 2009, $55,000 in 2010, and the first six > months of this year, $18,791. The only addition is to the 2011 cost and it’s > a big one, $31,200 to ship the boat past the #%$^&* pirates. > Our annual insurance in Asia was around $4,500, here in the Med its $2,800. > We fly home once a year for around $3,000 for the two of us, and we stay in > Marinas when not underway. We also do quite a bit of inland traveling > including two trips to China last year and one to Tibet. > The fact of the matter is, you can spend as little or as much as you want, > just as you do in your land based life. We have met many couples in Asia who > were cruising on a small pension. Yes, they anchored out all the time and > were mindful of expenses but enjoying themselves just the same. > > Sincerely, > > Randal Johnson > www.mydoramac.com > > "It is not the strongest of species that survives, or the most intelligent, > but the ones most responsive to change" - Charles Darwin > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/passagemaking_lists.trawlering.com > > To unsubscribe send email to > passagemaking-under-power-request@lists.samurai.com with the word > UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message. > > Passagemaking Under Power and PUP are trademarks of Water World > Productions. > > -- Marie Dufour M.V. DOMINO www.dominocatamaran.blogspot.com Skype USA #: (714) 881-1045