Living in a sailboat is a bit like glamping. Most boats won’t have spare power for hairdryers and straighteners. I recommend having at least unlimited mobile data for research and logistics involved when cruising. And since we planned to live on a smaller budget I also wanted to be conscious of spending on food. We begin with this video that (of all things) tells the financials behind Sailing La Vagabonde: Yeah, I’d say they earn money alright. If you’ve been researching the cost of living on a boat, you know it is more economical to anchor than to dock in a marina. Be patient and keep moving forward. We always make sure to travel at an optimal time for the current. For us, our travel budget for many years has consisted of only credit card membership fees. I haven’t met any full-time boater who says that boating is affordable. Marina Fees Slip fee – $800-900 per month Live aboard fees – $75 per month ($50 for 1 person, $25 for each after) Metered electric – $35-130 (ranging from winter to summer) The people that are choosing to live on boats are the same people that are choosing tiny houses and R.V. In 2018 we spent close to $24,200 living full time on our boat. We give you the tools to calculate your own cruising budget, because you need to find a budget that works for YOU. So I’m not likely to be sailing around the Caribbean anytime soon. Learning to maintain, operate, cook, and just be on a boat will take time. A mooring field is a permanent anchorage with anchors strategically placed so your boat can tie up and swing with the wind and tide without impacting other boats in the field. } if (document.getElementById("af-form-1925292122")) { Each month, they pay around $2,200 to live on their boat. While I might consider this as a lifestyle option, my wife still has flashbacks of the cruise where we had 25 to 30 foot waves. A used liveaboard-ready monohull sailboat in good condition, on the other hand, can cost as little as a few thousand dollars and range in length from 24 to 40 feet on average, making them a popular choice. One of the problems you’ll note with many of these is they are not showing you their boat maintenance or fuel costs. This canvas gets torn and mildewed and needs to be maintained properly. They are very friendly people, the sort you’d want to have as neighbors — especially since that would mean you’re in a great location as well! They also pay an additional $250 supplement to live aboard their boat while it’s at the marina. Learning to make bread, yogurt and broth is super satisfying. Those aren’t that expensive on land either. With this carrier, we get unlimited data and 40 gigs of hot spot data each month. Paddling is free! Boating can be done for cheaper, but I find that’s not the average boater. For us, our cost of living on a sailboat isn't so far from our land-based spending. If you’ve been reading ESI Money for any length of time you know that I love the Caribbean. Yacht vacation to a great thing. When Tom first bought our liveaboard … We get dockage and fuel discounts often. But that’s a no-go from my wife. ? In reality, that’s not what worked for us out of the gate. In other words, they are not hurting for funds. Part of this journey was learning to live with less, but we still maintain some creature comforts on the water. This is on the pricier end and we have been looking into other options, but enjoy having the hotspot data. var IE = /*@cc_on! This almost always leads to running the engines more. I hit a rock while sailing last weekend. But she did share links to several people who are recording their lives living on catamarans. ",