Preparation - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 37

The Costs of Cruising
The most difficult question to answer is how much cruising costs, because every sailor has
his or her own definition of “necessity” and “comfort.” The best answer may be Bernadette
Bernon's “it costs what you've got.”
We know sailors who have crossed the Pacific on an average of US$500 per month and
others who might multiply that number by five, ten, or even more. A frugal crew with an
older vessel that never ties up at a marina, goes out for a meal, or hires help for repairs will
be able to go on a long way on a tight budget. Their principal expenses will be boat parts,
food, cruising permits, fuel, and insurance (if they purchase insurance at all). Of these, the
latter two are highly discretionary. Given fair conditions, we often chose to drift along for
days instead of motoring through hundreds of dollars of diesel just to make landfall sooner.
Similarly, the costs of outfitting a boat vary widely. Some crews spend top dollar for safety
gadgets, electronics, and creature comforts, while others are happy with a back-to-basics
approach. All in all, most cruisers report that they spend a fraction of what they do back
home since transportation and accommodation costs are essentially zero. After all, anchor-
ing is free, wind is our primary source of propulsion, and deserted atolls offer limited op-
portunities to spend money.
We consider ourselves cost-conscious sailors. We pay for boat and health insurance and
treat ourselves to the occasional meal out while making our own repairs and otherwise
watching our wallets closely. We cruised the Pacific from 2011-2014 for an average of
US$90 per day - which included everything but the cost of the boat itself: food, fuel, insur-
ance pro-rated by day, cruising fees, and parts/repairs. (We paid approximately US$1700
per year for boat insurance and US$1500 per person per year in health insurance.) Our nor-
mal daily operating expenses were much lower than that $90 average, but the overall aver-
age is skewed by periodic investments in the boat: new rigging, haul-outs and bottom paint,
new engine mounts, plus one-time costs such as transiting the Panama Canal. We saved a
great deal of money by cruising on a sturdy older vessel: our 1981 sloop (loaded with many
extras) cost €50,000 in 2006 and sold for the equivalent of €44,000 in 2014.
That's us. You can compare the cruising costs of various crews on Bill Dietrich's web-
site [#1] . Just remember, it doesn't have to cost a king's ransom to cruise the Pacific - unless
you want it to!