A look at how the system works, this is just cool, and how about a slim mini-Simmons...
A reader of Boat Bits who, apparently, can do basic math dropped us a line pointing out that by not buying a HR34 I mentioned in yesterday's post I could use the money left over and cruise pretty much forever... His thought process was that on a $500 a month budget the $200,000. would last something like thirty-three years.
Of course, the proverbial $500-a-month ($6000 a year) cruising budget is a much discussed and oft-argued premise. My personal take is that it is doable and not nearly as impossible/horrible as some of its detractors claim but certainly not for everyone unless, of course, you're poor and have no choice...
Which, I should add, is the important point that most people living frugally have zero choice in the matter. Discussions on sailing forums about low budget cruising tend to forget this point and treat it like some sort of game... It's not.
Getting back to the fact that sailing off into the sunset on an old CAL 34, Bristol 24, or sharpie you cobbled together out of formply instead of paying top dollar for a fashionable yacht does mean that the money you save can be applied to your future sailing and living expenses.
Do the math on buying a $50K boat instead of a $100K. You'll come up with a cruising kitty of $50,000 and, even if you were to cruise on the much more doable/comfortable $1000 a month budget, that would give you four years of unencumbered cruising... It's something to think about.
Listening to The Offspring
So it goes...
Bruce+
1 day ago
