What will our second sailing adventure cost? Hopefully a lot less than our first. We’re starting out this time in a much different frame of mind and with a much different type of boat. We bought our Spindrift for a little less than half of what other Spindrifts were on the market for. There were reasons for this of course. Number one being that the boat hadn’t moved out of it’s slip in a decade and for most of that the engine hadn’t been started and the engine compartment itself sat half full of water. Fortunately for us the engine ran and a lot of the other systems onboard worked too.
Anyway, we’ve been steadfastly tracking every penny we spend for a decade now, so when we say this is what it cost us to buy, outfit, live, and cruise in a forty-three foot monohull, this is really what it cost.
| 1982 43′ Spindirft Pilothouse | 48,000.00 | |||
| misc. boat bits | 7,964.76 | |||
| 3 new sails, lazy bag, ship to Mexico | 7,477.00 | |||
| autopilot w/install | 5,369.64 | |||
| dodger (welder/canvas) | 2,920.78 | |||
| canvas (sunshades, saloon) | 2,707.00 | |||
| 15 hp Yamaha outboard | 2,615.84 | |||
| new hyphalon 11′ RIB | 2,045.00 | |||
| TackTick wind/speed/depth | 1,918.22 | |||
| new batteries (5 house/1 starter) | 1,334.40 | |||
| 300′ chain | 1,062.00 | |||
| lines/rigging | 960.29 | |||
| companionway hatch repair | 925.00 | |||
| EPIRB | 710.39 | |||
| engine parts | 699.19 | |||
| inverter | 691.08 | |||
| refridgeration service/parts | 658.72 | |||
| lifelines | 656.81 | |||
| 88,716.12 | ||||
| charts | ||||
| MacENC Chartplotter | 179.95 | |||
| Mac GPS | 46.10 | |||
| Navionics Charts Central & South America, Caribbean | 209.99 | |||
| jan 2012 | feb 2012 | mar 2012 | apr 2012 | |
| diesel | 117.77 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 426.64 |
| walmart | 514.46 | 294.51 | 358.44 | 47.65 |
| food | 600.29 | 576.12 | 690.54 | 738.67 |
| marina/mooring | 524.63 | 876.17 | 757.82 | 620.85 |
| boat expenses | 857.19 | 2,085.11 | 633.36 | 216.90 |
| other | 720.39 | 651.96 | 1,262.00 | 633.49 |
| 3,334.73 | 4,483.87 | 3,702.16 | 2,684.20 | |
| Jan: half month in a marina; deposit for new dinghy davits $450 | ||||
| Feb: month in a marina; finished dinghy davits $667; fridge compressor fix/new $568 | ||||
| Mar: half month in a marina; fridge repairman $298; 3 nights in condo for boat work $354; 2011 Federal tax payment | ||||
| may 2012 | jun 2012 | |||
| diesel | 468.11 | 59.51 | ||
| walmart | 282.63 | 291.00 | ||
| food | 919.13 | 656.54 | ||
| marina/mooring | 302.29 | 773.94 | ||
| boat expenses | 211.83 | 765.93 | ||
| other | 513.78 | 543.79 | ||
| 2,697.77 | 3,090.71 | |||
| May: Puerto Escondido mooring fees $90, taxis to/from Loreto $104, Ouest E.R. $93 | ||||
| Jun: La Paz and Puerto Vallarta marina fees; new water pump | ||||
23 Comments on “Spindrift Cost”
Hi guys –
Quick question – From the data above on the purchase of the boat and related stuff. 88k in expenses. This had to be cash right? Dipping in
the principal? I ask because banks will not loan on that old of a boat.
Another question you may have been asked is what do you keep in your principal to keeping funding going. At today’s rates it has got to be close to a mil. Or, like you say, you have some passive income (which is a good thing). You said you like franchises, but that a big chunk of principal. You would have to wait a while before you could go cruising.
I am trying to run the numbers on doing the same as you – but, there are a lot more zeros that what I expected. What am I missing?
Thanks
Yes, we paid cash. I would never finance a boat.
While I appreciate your curiosity I’m really not about to divulge my bank balance here. What your wording seems to suggest to me is that you view this lifestyle as the end all. Meaning that you plan to retire once and for all, never work again, just cruise until you die. That’s not my plan for my life or my finances. Ali and I started traveling at 29. We absolutely were not thinking that we had enough money in the bank to retire for life, i.e. fifty or sixty years.
What are you missing? I’ll tell you—you’re missing the fact that you don’t have to retire just once in your life. Take a mini-retirement. Go cruising for a year, five years, ten years, whatever. Along the way find a way to earn some income—not a lot, but enough to extend the burn. And then when you’re ready, or when finances dictate it, go get a job, or start a business, or whatever it is you want to do. I think everyone needs to lose this mindset of work for forty years, retire for ten, die.
I sincerely mean this. It’s my wish that everybody do this in their lifetime. Good luck.
Pat & Ali,
I stumbled onto bumfuzzle today and LOVE it. you guys are living a lot of peoples dream! You have courage. My wife and I have considered taking some time off and doing something similar, but as i read journal entries and scroll through pictures I (perhaps kind of like Mike) start to wonder “ok, did a wealthy realitive pass away and leave an inheritance? Did they win the lottery? HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS? But it really does make sense to just save save save until you can justify getting away for a while (not forever). The Thought of “work 40 years retire for 10..die” just doesn’t really do it for me. best Regards and God bless.
Zac and Alyssa
The thought of “Work 40 years, retire for 10, die” shouldn’t really do it for anybody. Yet, there it is, everywhere you look. Mini-retirements are where it’s at man. Whether that be for six months, a year, or ten years. Get out and live. Good luck!
Hey bumfuzzle crew. Since my last comment on the day I stumbled onto your blog up till now I have found o’Kelly’s webpage, followed yours pretty much everyday and bought “live on the margin” you all rock! Needless to say, I feel like im a lot more up to speed now then I was a couple months ago. Once my kids are out of diapers (which will give me a chance to read the book a few times through, along with my own research and learning a lot) my crew may just be ready for a little time off. 🙂 cheers!
Cool, thanks for reading. Good luck with everything.
I was going through the usual Sunday routine , you tube , boats online , and came across your site.
I watched you guys on you tube a few years back and was really moved by your decisions you have made …inspirational! I’m now starting on my personal journey to do the same thing , as most of the guys that get in touch with you seem to be. I’ve just read Marcus Aurelius book of meditations which was fantastic. I think your last comment in reply to Mike regarding …..”what are you missing……I’ll tell you ….” Would not have looked out of place in that book.!
Great way of looking at things , thanks for the inspiration !
Mark
Hello Pat and Ali.
I am part way through reading Bumfuzzle and am enjoying it very much so thought that I would take a look at your website. Great to see that you now have two beautiful children. Congratulations! One question please – you seem very happy with the performance of the catamaran during your first voyage and as I am in the early stages of planning my own I started to think that maybe I should investigate multi-hulls (as I have only ever sailed mono) . Yet I now see that you are now sailing a mono. Is this purely because you need a bigger boat now or are there other factors?
Thank you for your time.
Peter
Hey Peter. Glad you found us and are enjoying the read. Check this link out for the answer to your question. https://www.bumfuzzle.com/blog/2012/08/06/cat-vs-mono-the-great-debate/
Thank you very much. Peter.
Hey Pat, Ali and the crew,
Jenell and I are back in the OC. Thailand was fun but not what we wanted. Back in the market for another boat and with the help of your book “Live on the Margin” (excellent by the way, and at my recommendation a few friends here have bought also) we just may try the dream again. I have been using the methods and suggestions we just mey get back on the water.
Ron
Awesome Ron. Glad you enjoyed the book and are giving it a shot. Can’t believe you’re back in the boat market though. 🙂
I bought you guys a pizza a while back, like four or five tears ago….through pay pal I think. You guys kept me sane while I watched my Mother suffer in the hospital for two and a half years before finally losing the battle and passing. I took a year off of work and sat in the corner of her hospital room, mostly ICU, assassinating every fucking doctor and nurse who didn’t do,there job, (see, she went in for a routine “simple” procedure and never came home) because of a infection known as MRSA. I blame the hospital and all the……whatever.
Thanks for your blog, and allowing me to live vicariously through you guys. I wish you guys all the the best. Seriously! If your ever in NC and need a place to crash, I feel like I owe you. Joe
Pat, I actually spoke with you on the internet during one of your web interviews you did while cruising in you van. Your story has been inspirational, to say the least, and we are now proud owners of a 1995 Fountaine Pajot 42′ Venezia. I became a nurse just for the reason you explained above; work a bit, get what I need, take mini seasonal retirements or two, and then maybe work a bit more – as a nurse, it makes it much easier. Thanks for the great story I read back when I was still dreaming of the lifestyle. We’ll spend this entire season re-fitting a neglected boat and look forward to the splash.
I just finished listening to your audio book on my flight to Las Palmas. Guess what I am doing on November 24th? I bought a one year old Lagoon 38. I had a lot of people on the cruisers forum who tried to discourage me from sailing in the ARC since I was accepted on a wait list at the last minute (2 months before) and I did not have a boat yet. The boat just arrived in Las Palmas from Croatia yesterday. I will be there tonight to see the boat I bought that I have never seen except in pictures. I have sailed on a lagoon 38, and several other boats. Soon I will find out what it is like. I enjoyed that last part of the book about your trip with the ARC. Thank you for sharing your trip in a book. It was fabulous to listen to!
Hey I was wondering how much your Ford Lehman 80hp rebuild cost you as i just purchased a boat and I’m curious on what it may cost me.
I have had the ‘mini retirement’ idea for a few years.
We dipped our toes into the idea, and then to be honest the lure of money-making and jobs made us retreat. Yet despite ‘mini retirement’ seeming like a darn good and perfectly sensible idea to us, it is so counter cultural and so foreign amongst our friends and family that we start to wonder, maybe we should just plug away at it for another 40 years……….are we being silly??
Thankyou for continuing to inspire and make us think. Even if you guys are now Landlubbers with tyres rather than sails 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Today was my first day to look at your blog. I live in Oklahoma and basically enjoy Harley’s, classic cars and guitars. However, the lure of the sailboat is staring to bite.
So, I am wondering about your home base resources while you are out and about. Are you simply totally unshackled from “stuff” that follows most of us through life (i.e., pictures, heirlooms, etc.). And, health costs; what has that experience been like. I noticed Ouest went to the ER once. Is the lifestyle that great that health issues deminish at some level?
I also wonder about the safety of the world in terms of places you have been. Is the sea safer than the open road? By safe, I mean threat from pirates, others, etc. What do you do to better protect your family?
Lastly, any religious take for those who would be looking for answers about your believes and how you made that happen in all of your great adventures? Just asking. Thank you.
Hi Pat and Ali,
Love Bumfuzzle; thanks for sharing the journey.
You mentioned in an earlier comment that you would only pay cash for, and never finance, a boat. Would you go into your thoughts on why? Definitely agree if the boat is a weekender, racer, or toy, but why not consider financing a liveaboard, if your passive income exceeds the boat payments plus all monthly (living/traveling) expenses?
The idea of paying interest on a depreciating asset makes me cringe. As does the idea of being forced to insure a boat at rates that I don’t think are commensurate with the risk involved. And lastly, the idea that I would have a bank and an insurance agency telling me when and where I could cruise, and how many people I need to have onboard, and how much experience they need to have, well, there is just no way I could ever stomach that. I’d much rather purchase something within my means, and within my means to lose.
Couldn’t agree more with that statement.
Great points Pat; thanks for your response!
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