Cruising on a budget

[salty76]

Is it possible to do the loop*with short money? I have skipper Bobs book cruising on a budget . But i would like more info thats up to date

thanks Jeremy

 

[Jon]

If you have Skipper Bob's, it's easy..... anchor out, can meat before you leave and don't go to restaurants, minimise your electrical / electronic requirements and do good planned preventative maintenance ( yourself if humanely possible.).Your biggest discretionary expenditures are :-
Restaurants
Bars
Marinas
Car rentals
Cell phones/Internet

Jon

 

[salty76]

Thanks Jon

I thing we would only hit a marina 2 or 3 times a month. We like to anchor out . i thing you are going the loop now how often do you grub up the boat? And how is the price off fuel ? And do you think you could do it with 20 thousand dollars?

Thanks sorry asking so many questions

Jeremy

 

[Daddyo]

You could do it for 20k easily if your boat gets good enough mileage.

 

[FF]

Having done the loop ,$ 20K , would buy a boat AND do the loop.

If you do it all its 6000 stat miles , much of the time speeds are limited so use your 5k fuel burn to plan.

At 6K mant boats will burn under 2 gph , at a guess of $3.00 A gal thats about 6K for fuel.

Anchoring out is a snap , and multi hour free docks abound , so groceries are easy.

Since the engine hours are known , oil filters and other routine goodies can be bought in bulk , before you go.

The food and entertainment budget will be lolwer than staying home , as food cooked aboard is 1/4 resturant prices.

An XM radio will keep you up with the world , if you chose.

For my bucks the Loop after Chicago showed us nothing , and we would run to Charlavoy and just make a U turn .

Enjoy

 

[Capn Chuck]

Jeremy, First consider advise from folks that have actually cruised in the 20th century. The cost to make any trip will vary considerably depending on a lot of variables. The size of your boat, your life style, the CURRENT price of fuel, and your cushion for the unexpected. Can you do it on $20K, probably, but you need to sit down and determine your hours under way, the consumption of fuel based on your boat, the top end for the price you will pay, your average food bills over the period of time you will be cruising, any fixed expenses you might have and lots more. Then YOU need to decide whether it can be done on $20K. All we can tell you are our experiences and we are not you and we did not do the trip on your boat. We have done a couple of detailed breakdowns on both of our websites on the cost of cruises we have made and they are quite different for the same boat and different years. Also you will most certainly need a cushion for any unexpected repairs, a major breakdown is always a real possibility and can easily wipe out half of your cruising budget. If you are only half way through the cruise, then what? There is much more to consider than food and fuel and whether you anchor out a lot. Good luck And I hope it all works out. Chuck

 

[Jon]

Hate to disagree with FF (me being a furrina n all) but we really enjoyed Chicago South especially the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. We've now been 3 times on the Tenn-Tom south of Demopolis, and I could return again since there's lots we missed.
Jon

 

[Baker]

Chuck, you do realize we are a full decade into the 21st!!!!!....century???!!!!....just sayin'!!!

 

[FF]

Chuck, you do realize we are a full decade into the 21st!!!!!....century???!!!!....just sayin'!!!

I think he is still wrapped up in naming thunderstorms,
FF

 

[Capn Chuck]

Yes, I do realize that, and it goes to my point. Chuck

 

[Capn Chuck]

FF wrote:

Chuck, you do realize we are a full decade into the 21st!!!!!....century???!!!!....just sayin'!!!

I think he is still wrapped up in naming thunderstorms,
FF

That makes about as much sense as many of your other posts. Chuck

 

[salty76]

Well thank you guys for the info . Maybe i will just wait save more money.

 

[FF]

. Maybe i will just wait save more money.


Dont.

Boat prices are really low right now , and will most likely go UP (in dollar terms) if this Washington bunch gets to continue to destroy the dollar.

There is (my guess 25%) a chance that deflation will win , and prices will continue to plummet .

You chose,

Since the Loop was done in the 50's with a wooden boat and an outboard , and recently by jet skis and folks in Kyaks , the only question is weather the trip is the goal , or your surroundings is the goal.

As the world has been circumnavigated in 20 ft sailboats , and power boxes have far more sheer volume just pick your comfort level.

A $100 gps is all the electronics you might desire , and a spare outboard is reasonable to have on board in case of major* engine failure.

FF

FF

-- Edited by FF on Sunday 3rd of January 2010 07:36:27 AM

 

[salty76]

I have the boat 43 gulfstar i bought it 6 years ago to do the trip. But with a death in the family and problems at home we have not done it yet. iam a Merchant sailor and we have all the things we need onboard such a extra part scooter the raft and all the books and charts we need . Just being a young guy i have to work i paid alot of bills off but i still have some . I was thinking if i could just get to Florida i could maybe work a little .

 

[Capn Chuck]

Salty, This might not be the best time to pack up leave a job if you have one now and move to Florida to work. We were based out of South Florida and cruised from there for over 12 years. We are currently in the frigid north, the Chesapeake, rather than warm Florida because the employment opportunities here are much greater. That is unless you have some specialized skills or experience in an industry that will translate to immediate jobs and equal pay to the degree that you have now. Florida is a tourist and service economy and has been hit very hard in the job market so pay is generally low compared to other areas and competition for positions is fierce. We too could head out next season and maybe be OK, but we prefer to be in a better position to take our time, enjoy ourselves, not have to worry about where we need to be to start working again, so we will deal with the winters, enjoy the Bay in the spring, summer and fall, and fill the cruising kitty, then take off. It is easy for others that won't have to deal with YOUR financial issues to say, go for it now. I understand the desire to get moving and especially to get somewhere warm and exotic. But for us, the logical, practical approach has proved time and again the correct approach, and we have been cruising extensively for over 17 years now. Good luck with whatever you decide and when the time comes you will have a wonderful time. We have done several posts on our Sea Trek and Beach House sites with breakdowns of the expenses for a few of our cruises. These are realistic numbers so it might be helpful. Chuck

 

[salty76]

Well thanks Chuck i will take a look at your site.

 

[Tom.B]

Did you ever do a budget on your whole trip(s) to have an idea what it cost to do the whole loop?

 

[salty76]

Hello Charles

Thanks for the info do you have a webpage? We have the same power so thats what i was thinking we would burn for fuel. The parts of the loop that i have been on we never did more
than 7 knots . Doing all those side trips you did must have been great!! But as we would only
be taking a year off we would have to keep moving and get off the lake before the begining
of fall.

Jeremy

 

[salty76]

Sorry i did not see that . New at this site

 

[motion30]

I look at it this way No matter where you are, on dirt on aboard your boat you are going to eat so that expence is fixed , now if you can just pay for fuel....

 

[salty76]

Paying for the fuel is no problem its the bills that we would have to drag along.