Cost Of Living Aboard A Sailboat & Not Going Anywhere | 2018 Recap

Although I post regularly on our cost of cruising and living aboard Tickety Boo, our Moody 346 sailboat {see our How Much It Costs page} I thought it would be useful to do a recap of how much we spent during all of 2018. That way you can see the total picture including yearly spend and average monthly spend by category.

So let's cut to the chase - we spent $20,567 during 2018, which comes out to a monthly average of $1,714. That's around $4,000 less than what we spent the previous year.

If you want to see the breakdown behind those numbers, have a read below. Be warned, it's a long post so I'll throw some random pictures in to jazz things up.

By the way, you'll notice that I titled this post, "Cost of Living Aboard a Sailboat and NOT Going Anywhere." That's because our boat didn't move out of her slip in 2018. Well, actually she did, but it was just to go to the other side of the marina to be hauled out. We had hoped to be in the Bahamas in early 2019, but we've discovered an issue with our boat which means we're in the boatyard and need to do some repairs.

But before we get started, here are a few thoughts about expense tracking vs. budgeting, income, and categorizing expenses.

Expense Tracking vs. Budgeting

We track our expenses on a monthly basis. We do not track our expenses against a budget. In fact, we don't have a budget. For some people budgeting (i.e., setting limits on how much you're going to spend in certain categories) is a very useful tool to control expenditure and prioritize spending decisions. For example, they might allocate $200 a month for eating out. Once they've reached that cap, they don't go out to eat again until the following month. Or they might only spend $150 that month, which means they've got an extra $50 in next month's budget.

We've found that by tightly monitoring and managing how much we spend, we don't need to budget. We know that in some months and some years we're going to spend more than in others. We're naturally frugal (some might call it cheap) and tend to consider what we spend our money on quite carefully. Keep in mind that this approach works for us, but it might not work for you.

Income

The questions everyone really wants to know are How much money do you have? and How can you afford this? If you're hoping that we'll answer those questions, then you're going to be disappointed. Suffice it to say that we have a little bit of income and some savings.  By taking a minimalist approach, living frugally, and stretching our dollars, we've been able to enjoy this lifestyle for now. It may not last forever, but we're going to keep at it while it's still fun and we still have our health. {FYI, for what it's worth, we're in our 50s, so we're not collecting retirement income, social security etc.}

Categorization

Everyone categorizes their expenses differently, which can make it tricky to compare different people's reports of their cost of cruising.

For example, some people categorize everything they buy in a grocery store as groceries even if it includes things you can't eat. And I can see why - it probably makes for easier tracking. You just enter the total on the grocery store receipt under the groceries category. I like to make things hard for myself, so I go through each grocery store receipt line item by line item and assign things to separate categories. That way I know exactly how much we spend on food versus things like shampoo.

There's no right or wrong way to categorize things. Whatever works best for you is the right way.

* * *

When you look at the nitty-gritty details of what we spent below, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1 - All costs are in US dollars.

2 - Not all expenses are included - here's what we've left out:

(a) We don't report how much we spend on alcohol. I remember reading some horrible, judgy comments in a blog post a few years back about how much someone spent on booze, so I left it out when we first started tracking our cruising costs back in New Zealand. For consistency's sake, I've continued to leave it out when tracking our cruising costs.

(b) We've also left out our costs for medical insurance. We didn't think it made sense to include insurance costs as they can vary so widely depending upon your nationality, where you cruise, what level of coverage you want and can afford, whether you get subsidies etc. In case you are curious, while we're back in the States, we do have insurance through the health insurance marketplace (aka the Affordable Care Act), primarily to protect our assets and cover us in case of a catastrophic medical condition.

3 - I've included any shipping and taxes we've paid in what we report. Florida has a 6% sales tax.

4 - We have two people living on board full-time - my husband and me (although Scott was gone for much of the year overseas working). No pets and no kids.

5 - Because Scott was away for an extended period, our expenses for things like groceries and entertainment are less than they normally would be.

6 -  I haven't included any expenses related to my writing (e.g., editor, book cover design, publishing expenses, author website).

A gloomy day at the marina.

 >>Marina Costs<<

Yearly Total = $8,428
Monthly Average = $702

We include all costs for marina slips and mooring balls in this category. Basically a place to park our boat when we're not anchored out. You can think of it like rent. We spent all of 2018 at Indiantown Marina in southern Florida. We were in a slip until mid-December (around $672 a month for a boat our size) when  we moved into the boatyard ($30 a day). I've also included out costs for pump-outs in this category.

Tickety Boo on the hard in the boatyard.

>>Boat Stuff<<

Yearly Total = $4,029
Monthly Average = $335

This includes everything we buy for the boat, items related to repairs and maintenance, insurance, and other miscellaneous costs.

One of the big ticket items was boat insurance ($937 a year through Geico). We also have Tow Boat US insurance ($124) which offers peace of mind should we need need a tow or assistance (you can think of it like AAA or CAA insurance for your car).

In terms of boat equipment, we bought new house and starter batteries ($484), a new-to-us Walker Bay sailing dinghy ($250) and a new-to-us windlass ($160). We also bought some components to build a composting toilet including a urine diverter, coconut coir, and a 3-gallon jerry can, however this project has been put on hold (along with other boat projects) while we work through the insurance process for the repairs to the crack in our hull.

The other big cost captured in here is related to hauling out boat out of the water and moving her to the boatyard ($288).

Other expenses in this category include $27 for a Customs & Border Protection decal (which allows you to clear back into the States over the phone as part of the Small Vessel Registration System) and $26 for our annual Coast Guard documentation renewal.

Experimenting with meal kits.

>>Groceries<<

Yearly Total = $2,726
Monthly Average = $227

This category includes everything we put in our bodies in terms of food and drink (excluding booze) that we prepare ourselves. It doesn't include things like paper towels and ziploc bags, which I know some people would classify as groceries. Sure, you could probably eat them, but they wouldn't taste very good.

Our monthly average probably looks quite low, but that's due in large part to the fact that Scott wasn't here during much of the year. When it's the two of us, our spending usually comes in around $400 a month.

Chloe the Coconut Husking Lab, one of the adorable boat dogs at the marina.

>>Personal & Hygiene<<

Yearly Total = $200
Monthly Average = $17

This is the category where we include household things (like paper towels and ziploc bags) and personal hygiene items (like soap and shampoo). We also capture items for the "home" here, like bug spray.

Ethiopian food with friends in West Palm Beach.

>>Entertainment<<

Yearly Total = $1,107
Monthly Average = $92

In terms of drinks and eating out, this includes everything we don't prepare ourselves, even if we get something to go and eat it back on the boat.

Tracking pizza, fast food, coffees etc. in the entertainment category helps to remind ourselves that, in an ideal world, we would only drink and eat out as a form of entertainment - enjoying the company of friends (Taco Tuesday comes to mind), as part of our travels, or indulging in Ethiopian food (one of our favorite cuisines). However, we don't live in an ideal world and fall prey to the lures of take-away food from time to time.

We also track how much we spend on books, magazines, DVD rentals, and going to the movies in this category, as well as the occasional lottery ticket.

This is one of the categories where we can really try to control costs and look for ways to cut back on spending as part of our yearly review.

One of the marina's resident alligators.

>>Communications<<

Yearly Total = $660
Monthly Average = $55

Our cell phone is actually one of our biggest non-boat related expenses. We have a $55 monthly GoPhone plan with AT&T which includes 8GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. We continued with that plan while we were out cruising so that we can keep our US cell phone number.

Our vehicle broken down on the side of the road.

>>Vehicle<<

Yearly Total = $652
Monthly Average = $54

This includes registration, gas, repairs, and maintenance for our 1995 Nissan Pathfinder.We spent about $300 on gas, mostly going into the "big city" of Stuart to run errands. Our vehicle also broke down twice during the span of a week. We ended up getting a new battery and a belt replaced. Our Pathfinder is holding up pretty well considering how old she is.

Sunrise at the marina.

>>Medical Expenses<<

Yearly Total = $333
Monthly Average = $28

This category includes medical expenses outside of our monthly insurance premium (which aren't included here - see section on exclusions above), like over the counter medications, prescriptions, and things for our medical kit. It also includes the costs of doctors visits and medical tests which aren't covered by our insurance.

The only real boat ride of the year - being towed out of the St. Lucie lock on a friend's boat.

 >>Other<<

Yearly Total = $2,432
Monthly Average = $203

In this category, we include how much we spend on clothes and travel expenses. We also include a catch-all miscellaneous group for stuff that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else, things like laundry ($3.25 a load)..

Some of the larger expenses were for plane tickets ($772) - one for Scott from the UK back to Florida and one for me to visit my family in Portland.

We spent $212 on clothes, $156 on Amazon Prime, $1 on library fines (oops!), and lots of other money on random things like a frying pan, eyeglasses case, bike lock, hand mirror, solar shower, sheet music, tiny toy dinosaurs, storage boxes, and food for the marina cats.

Did we spend more or less than you would have expected? Do you track your expenses? Any frugal tips and tricks to share?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!

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Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com 

Cost Of Cruising & Living Aboard A Sailboat | 2017 Recap

Although I post regularly on our cost of cruising and living aboard Tickety Boo, our Moody 346 sailboat {see our How Much It Costs page,} I thought it would be useful to do a recap of how much we spent during all of 2017. That way you can see the total picture including yearly spend and average monthly spend by category.

So let's cut to the chase - we spent $24,095 during 2017, which comes out to a monthly average of $2,008.

If you want to see the breakdown behind those numbers, have a read below. Be warned, it's a long post so I'll throw some random pictures in to jazz things up.

But before we get started, here are a few thoughts about expense tracking vs. budgeting, income, and categorizing expenses.

Expense Tracking vs. Budgeting

We track our expenses on a monthly basis. We do not track our expenses against a budget. In fact, we don't have a budget. For some people budgeting (i.e., setting limits on how much you're going to spend in certain categories) is a very useful tool to control expenditure and prioritize spending decisions. For example, they might allocate $200 a month for eating out. Once they've reached that cap, they don't go out to eat again until the following month. Or they might only spend $150 that month, which means they've got an extra $50 in next month's budget.

We've found that by tightly monitoring and managing how much we spend, we don't need to budget. We know that in some months and some years we're going to spend more than in others. We're naturally frugal (some might call it cheap) and tend to consider what we spend our money on quite carefully. Keep in mind that this approach works for us, but it might not work for you.

Income

The questions everyone really wants to know are How much money do you have? and How can you afford this? If you're hoping that we'll answer those questions, then you're going to be disappointed. Suffice it to say that we have a little bit of income and some savings.  By taking a minimalist approach, living frugally, and stretching our dollars, we've been able to enjoy this lifestyle for now. It may not last forever, but we're going to keep at it while it's still fun and we still have our health. {FYI, for what it's worth, we're in our 50s, so we're not collecting retirement income, social security etc.}

Categorization

Everyone categorizes their expenses differently, which can make it tricky to compare different people's reports of their cost of cruising.

For example, some people categorize everything they buy in a grocery store as groceries even if it includes things you can't eat. And I can see why - it probably makes for easier tracking. You just enter the total on the grocery store receipt under the groceries category. I like to make things hard for myself, so I go through each grocery store receipt line item by line item and assign things to separate categories. That way I know exactly how much we spend on food versus things like shampoo.

There's no right or wrong way to categorize things. Whatever works best for you is the right way.

****

When you look at the nitty-gritty details of what we spent below, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1 - All costs are in US dollars.

2 - Not all expenses are included - here's what we've left out:

(a) We don't report how much we spend on alcohol. I remember reading some horrible, judgy comments in a blog post a few years back about how much someone spent on booze, so I left it out when we first started tracking our cruising costs back in New Zealand. For consistency's sake, I've continued to leave it out when tracking our cruising costs.

(b) We've also left out our costs for medical insurance. We didn't think it made sense to include insurance costs as they can vary so widely depending upon your nationality, where you cruise, what level of coverage you want and can afford, whether you get subsidies etc. In case you are curious, while we're back in the States, we do have insurance through the health insurance marketplace (aka the Affordable Care Act), primarily to protect our assets and cover us in case of a catastrophic medical condition.

3 - I've included any shipping and taxes we've paid in what we report. Florida has a 6% sales tax and the Bahamas has a 7.5% VAT.

4 - We have two people living on board full-time - my husband and me (although Scott was gone for ten weeks of the year). No pets and no kids. 

****

Indiantown Marina

>>Marina Costs<<

Yearly Total = $4,562
Monthly Average = $380

We include all costs for marina slips and mooring balls in this category. Basically a place to park our boat when we're not anchored out. You can think of it like rent.

During 2017, we spent about five months cruising in Florida and the Bahamas. We had to take a marina slip in Florida during this time to repair a broken dinghy davit and replace our engine's water pump. We anchored the rest of the time while we were out cruising. If we can help it, we try to avoid staying at marinas or picking up mooring balls to try to keep our monthly "rent" down.

When we weren't out cruising, we were at Indiantown Marina in southern Florida. At the beginning of the year (January and February), we were working on boat projects before we left for the Bahamas and we came back to Indiantown at the end of July to wait out hurricane season. The monthly fee for a boat our size during 2017 was $572 and included electric and water. {Note: The rates at Indiantown Marina have gone up for 2018 and they eliminated the monthly rate in the work yard.}

Rebedding a portlight.

>>Boat Stuff<<

Yearly Total = $6,745
Monthly Average = $562

This includes everything we buy for the boat, as well as items related to repairs and maintenance.

While the yearly total is enough to make me wonder why anyone would own a boat, it's lower than what I expect we'll spend in 2018 as we've got some pricey items and tasks on our wishlist (watermaker, new headsail, new batteries, AIS, bottom paint, new cooker, chain plates, lifelines, sorting out our windlass).

For those of you who want to know where all the money went, here are the details (I've also included links to relevant blog posts):

• Auto Pilot - Our Raymarine autohelm had been giving us some issues, so we bought a new wheel, new belts, and an auto pilot drive clamp kit.
• Anchoring - We bought a new mushroom anchor, shackle, and line for our dinghy. We also bought seizing wire.
• Dinghy - We had to replace one of our dinghy davits, as well as the base plate.
• Electric - We got a new solar panel and connectors, as well as a Blue Sky 3000 controller. We bought an inverter and a 12-volt socket which we installed in the aft cabin. 
• Engine - We had to replace our exhaust elbow on our Thornycroft T80 engine. We had two exhaust elbows (one to keep as a spare), end caps, and gaskets shipped over from the UK. Our water pump had to be replaced. We sourced a spare through a tractor supply outfit. And we bought some of the usual spares you would expect - Racor fuel filters, oil filters etc.
• Navigation - We bought a new Plastimo compass.
• Plumbing & Waste Management - We bought a new manual fresh water pump for the galley which is great for minimizing water usage. We installed a new galley faucet. We bought a new electric water pump, a new bilge pump switch, and joker valves. 
• Portlights & Hatches - We bought acrylic and Dow 795 sealant to replace and rebed all or our hatches and one of the portlights in the saloon. We'll replace the other three portlights when Scott gets back.
• Safety - We bought two of those cheap orange PFDs to keep in the dinghy, a tether, and a Sailrite harness kit.
• Sails - We bought a stack pack kit from Sailrite and a new fairlead for our headsail roller furling set-up.
• Other - We bought two Camfaro fans (one for the saloon and one in the aft cabin). They make life so much more comfortable on board. We changed out our bulbs to LED. We bought a new zinc, but haven't had to replace it yet. We got a clamp-on cup holder for the cockpit. Scott made a fold-out table for our galley out of a cutting board. Great solution for when you need extra counter space. And there's the usual tools, hardware, and other miscellaneous stuff you need to work on various projects .

Doing laundry at Black Point, Exumas

>>Boat Fuel<<

Yearly Total = $710
Monthly Average = $59

This includes diesel for our inboard engine and gas for our outboard engine and generator.

I use our Wonderbag all the time. It's like a non-electric slow cooker. Great for saving on propane.

>>Propane & Butane<<

Yearly Total = $138
Monthly Average = $11

Our grill and our cooker run on propane (LPG). The stove part of our cooker broke and we ended up using a butane camping stove while we were out cruising, which is why you see butane reported here. Getting a new cooker is on our wish list for 2018. While we're at Indiantown Marina, we use an electric hot plate and crockpot for cooking.

Tickety Boo in a slip at Indiantown Marina.

>>Boat Insurance & Documentation<<

Yearly Total = $953
Monthly Average = $79

This includes insurance and documentation related fees.

Previously, we only carried liability insurance as the quotes we had for full insurance were way too high considering the age and value of our boat. We opted to accept the risk of something happening to our boat and self-insured. However, we were able to get full insurance through Geico in 2017 for $776 for coverage in the Bahamas and the States. It wasn't much higher than a liability-only policy so we went for it. I'm not looking forward to sorting out insurance options for next year, if we head to the Western Caribbean. {Note: We just got our renewal notice for Geico and our premium has gone up to $937, a 21% increase. Gotta pay for those hurricanes somehow.}

We also have Tow Boat US insurance ($124) which offers peace of mind should we need need a tow or assistance (you can think of it like AAA or CAA insurance for your car).

Other costs in this category include $27 for a Customs & Border Protection decal (which allows you to clear back into the States over the phone as part of the Small Vessel Registration System) and $26 for our annual Coast Guard documentation renewal.

Views like this are why we love cruising.

>>Boat Miscellaneous<<

Yearly Total = $461
Monthly Average = $38

This includes stuff that doesn't fit into the other categories, like charts and guidebooks, pump-outs, membership in the Moody Owner's Association, and a haul-out and splash at Indiantown Marina.

Charts and guidebooks for the Bahamas

>>Groceries<<

Yearly Total = $4,012
Monthly Average = $334

This category includes everything we put in our bodies in terms of food and drink (excluding booze) that we prepare ourselves. It doesn't include things like paper towels and ziploc bags, which I know some people would classify as groceries. Sure, you could probably eat them, but they wouldn't taste very good. 

Our spend on groceries over the year is really variable. We spend lots in months where we're provisioning for the Bahamas and not as much in other months when we're out cruising. That's why I like to look at the monthly average, which actually turned out to be lower than I thought it would be. However, keep in mind that Scott was away for ten weeks of the year so I spent less on groceries during that period.

Making chocolate chip cookies in our tiny galley.

>>Personal & Hygiene<<

Yearly Total = $204
Monthly Average = $17

This is the category where we include household things (like paper towels and ziploc bags) and personal hygiene items (like soap and shampoo). We also capture items for the "home" here, like bug spray.

Taco Tuesday at a bar in Indiantown.

>>Entertainment<<

Yearly Total = $1,233
Monthly Average = $103

In terms of drinks and eating out, this includes everything we don't prepare ourselves, even if we get something to go and eat it back on the boat.

Tracking pizza, fast food, coffees etc. in the entertainment category helps to remind ourselves that, in an ideal world, we would only drink and eat out as a form of entertainment - enjoying the company of friends (Taco Tuesday comes to mind), as part of our travels (like the chicken dinner we had a church fair in the Bahamas), or indulging in Ethiopian food (one of our favorite cuisines). However, we don't live in an ideal world and fall prey to the lures of take-away food from time to time.

We also track how much we spend on books, magazines, DVD rentals, and going to the movies in this category, as well as the occasional lottery ticket.

This is one of the categories where we can really try to control costs and look for ways to cut back on spending as part of our yearly review. For example, I was spending about $8 a month on online sci-fi/fantasy magazines (Amisov's, Analog etc.), but I have a number of back issues which I haven't gotten around to reading yet, so I canceled the subscriptions. $8 a month may not seem like a lot, but over the course of the year it adds up to $96.

Camping in the Everglades

>>Vehicle & Camper<<

Yearly Total = $877
Monthly Average = $73

This includes gas, repairs, and maintenance for our Nissan Pathfinder, and storage fees for both our vehicle and camper. It also includes any parking, public transport, taxis, Ubers etc.

We have a 13' Scamp travel trailer which we store at Indiantown Marina for $21 a month. We go back and forth on whether we should sell it or not and, until we decide, it lives here at the marina. We also stored our vehicle while we were out cruising (also $21 a month).

We spent $455 on gas, primarily for going into the "big city" of Stuart for shopping (about 20 miles away), as well as our evacuation to Atlanta as a result of Hurricane Irma. We try to batch errands together to minimize the amount of trips we need to make so that we can save on fuel.

Bimini repair at Cave Cay, Abacos

>>Medical Expenses<<

Yearly Total = $1,278
Monthly Average = $106

This category includes medical expenses outside of our monthly insurance premium (which aren't included here - see section on exclusions above), like over the counter medications, prescriptions, and things for our medical kit. It also includes the costs of doctors visits and medical tests which aren't covered by our insurance.

The majority of the spend this year ($1,206) was for some hospital and doctor bills for treatment in 2016. It took ages for insurance and the medical providers to sort out the billing, which meant I was still paying the last of it this year. Our insurance policy is primarily for catastrophic coverage which means we have a huge deductible and out-of-pocket expenses to be met before insurance kicks in. {Sigh}

Staying connected on board.

>>Communications<<

Yearly Total = $884
Monthly Average = $126

Our cell phone is actually one of our biggest non-boat related expenses. We have a $60 monthly GoPhone plan with AT&T which includes 8GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. We continued with that plan while we were out cruising so that we can keep our US cell phone number.

In the Bahamas, we had a 30-day data plan ($35). The data plan we bought was billed as "Limitless" which the woman at BTC assured us had no data cap, nor would it choke down our speed after we used a certain amount of data. Turns out that was rather misleading. Once you used 15GB of data, they shut you down without warning. Fortunately, we didn't use up our data allowance, but I know other people who did. To be fair, the cost per GB was actually pretty good compared to our AT&T plan.

Tickety Boo anchored at White Cay, Berry Islands

 >>Other<<

Yearly Total = $3,371
Monthly Average = $281

In this category, we include how much we spend on clothes and travel expenses. We also include a catch-all miscellaneous group for stuff that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else, things like laundry and trash disposal.

Our biggest expense was on travel - clearing into the Bahamas ($150), Scott's plane ticket to Glasgow ($260), my plane ticket to Portland to see family ($464), and a dodgy motel when we evacuated from Indiantown as a result of Hurricane Irma ($30).

We spent $263 on clothes and shoes. In some ways that surprises me because I actually need to get rid of some more of my clothes, but in other ways it doesn't. Shoes wear out and t-shirts get holes in them.

We bought some new electronics including a Kindle, laptop, earbuds, flat screen TV, and printer. We both got wetsuits and I got new snorkeling mask (one of those full-face ones, can't wait to try it out). And the list goes on and on - new stuff for the galley (mixing bowls, mortar and pestle, English muffin rings etc.), fishing gear, Amazon Prime, photocopies, a toy dinosaur from the dollar store, and a water hose.

Did we spend more or less than you would have expected? Do you track your expenses? Any frugal tips and tricks to share?

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Tickety Boo Speaks | Berry Islands, Bahamas

I've often wondered what our sailboat, Tickety Boo, might say if she could speak. In English, I mean. After all, she does talk to us in her own way.

The creak of her anchor chain as the wind shifts direction. The snapping noise as her sails fill with air. The rumble of her engine when we're under motor. The clanging of her halyards if they aren't tightened up correctly.

We're used to that kind of communication from her, but what if she was able to use complete sentences instead? I imagine it might sound something like this.

****

"Finally, we're anchored someplace decent. Just look at those views. Wait, wait, turn me back around so I can see! Stupid wind, always pointing me in a direction I don't want to look at."

"Sure, go ahead. Take off in the dinghy and abandon me. Again. I wouldn't be surprised if something 'accidentally' breaks while you're away."

"How come I don't get to play in the Blue Hole too? And don't give me the excuse that it's a landlocked body of water. If you really loved me, you'd find a way for me to anchor there."

"Who do they think they are coming into the anchorage? This place is mine, all mine!"

"What, are you some sort of savage. Get your feet off of me!"

****

Cruising Log | Thursday, 25 May 2017 - Monday, 29 May 2017
 
25-26 MAY
Passage from the Abacos to the Berry Islands. Lumpy getting out of Ginn sur Mer, heading directly into the wind. Turned, then lumpy on our beam. Good size waves, but nothing breaking. Motorsailed most of the way. Lots of traffic, but all freighters and cruise ships so hopefully they saw us on their radar. A number of squalls, but we managed to avoid them. Anchor up at 7:00 PM. Anchor down next day at 10:00 AM at Goat Cay (near Great Stirrup Cay). A "clothing-optional" Canadian boat anchored nearby. Nautical Miles = 79. Engine = 14 hours 15 mins. Night Sailing = 10 hours. Spending = Nil.

27 MAY
Anchor up at 9:00 AM. Anchor down at 12:00 PM off of White Cay (near Hoffman Cay). Got our outboard motor out of the lazarette and put it back on the dinghy. Went swimming in the Blue Hole on Hoffman Cay. Amazing! Saw sea turtles and dolphins while sitting in the cockpit. Super amazing! Nautical Miles = 17. Engine = 3 hours. Spending = Nil.

28 MAY
Very roly-poly overnight. Went to the Blue Hole again. Love that place. Went for a walk on White Cay. Love that place too. More sea turtle spotting, plus rays and sharks. A number of boats came in and anchored nearby. Our little slice of paradise has become crowded. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine = Nil. Spending = Nil.

29 MAY
Passage from Berry Islands to Nassau. Anchor up at 6:00 AM. Anchor down at south side of Rose Island at 6:00 PM. A very long day due to fighting current, wind and waves. Very little traffic until got to Nassau. Nautical Miles = 51. Engine = 11 hours. Spending = Nil.

Did you ever wonder what your car, boat or RV might say if it could speak? What kind of voice would it have?

Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!

Cost Of Cruising In The Bahamas & Florida | May & June 2017

 
We track and report every penny we spend living aboard and cruising on Tickety Boo, our Moody 346 sailboat for a couple of reasons.

1 - It helps us see where our money is going, helps us make informed choices about where to spend our money, which in turn helps us stretch our money further so that we can keep adventuring longer.

2 - We found it really useful to check out other people's cost of cruising when we were starting out, so we figure we can return favor by sharing ours.

You can find details of how much we spent cruising in the Bahamas during May and June 2017 below. Keep in mind that this is what works for us. Everyone has their own budget and priorities and everyone tracks and reports things differently.

You can find links to other cost updates from ourselves (on Tickety Boo, camping across the States and our previous boat in New Zealand) and others on this page, as well as on The Monkey's Fist.


Cost of Cruising In The Bahamas & Florida  | May & June 2017

Overall, we spent $2,986.23 during May and June, which was almost $1,000 more than we spent in the previous two months. 

It's interesting to note that there was a big difference between what we spent in May ($2,619.36) compared to June ($366.87). That's because during May we had to head back to the States to fix things that broke on our boat (dinghy davit and water pump). That meant money being spent on boat parts and marina fees, plus some Little Caesar's pizza and Taco Tuesday. We spent all of June back in the Bahamas. Nothing broke on the boat, we anchored every day (which is free) and we only ate out a couple of times (cheap snack type food).

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details of the details of what we spent, here are a few things to note:

1 - All costs are in US dollars. The Bahamian dollar is on par with the US dollar, so no conversion was required. It's pretty cool that you can use US currency in the Bahamas. No need to worry about exchanging money.

2 - Not all expenses are included - here's what we've left out:

(a) We don't report how much we spend on alcohol. I remember reading some horrible, judgy comments in a blog post a few years back about how much someone spent on booze, so I left it out when we first started tracking our cruising costs back in New Zealand. For consistency's sake, I've continued to leave it out when tracking our cruising costs.

(b) We've also left out our costs for medical insurance. We didn't think it made sense to include insurance costs as they can vary so widely depending upon your nationality, where you cruise, what level of coverage you want and can afford etc. In case you are curious, while we're back in the States, we do have insurance through the health insurance marketplace (aka ACA/Obamacare), primarily to protect our assets and cover us in case of a catastrophic medical condition.

3 - I've included any shipping and taxes we've paid in what we report. Florida has a 6% sales tax. The Bahamas has a 7.5% VAT.


GROCERIES | Total = $433.20

This category includes everything we put in our bodies in terms of food and drink (excluding booze) that we prepare ourselves. It doesn't include things like paper towels and ziploc bags, which I know some people would classify as groceries. Sure, you could probably eat them, but they wouldn't taste very good.

While we were back in Florida, we took advantage of Walmart and Aldi and restocked the provisions on our boat. We also bought groceries in the Bahamas - mostly dairy, meat and produce. 


PERSONAL & HOUSEHOLD | Total = $20.88

This is the category where we include household things (like paper towels and ziploc bags) and personal hygiene items (like soap and shampoo). We also capture items for the "home" here - like bug spray.


ENTERTAINMENT | Total = $96.50

In terms of drinks and eating out, this includes everything we don't prepare ourselves, even if we get something to go and eat it back on the boat. We also track how much we spend on books, magazines, DVD rentals and going to the movies in this category, as well as the occasional lottery ticket.


COMMUNICATIONS | Total = $190

Our cell phone is actually one of our biggest non-boat related expenses. We have a $60 monthly GoPhone plan with AT&T which includes 8GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. We continued with that plan while we were out cruising so that we can keep our US cell phone number.

In the Bahamas, we're on a 30-day data plan ($35). The data plan we bought was billed as "Limitless" which the woman at BTC assured us had no data cap, nor would it choke down our speed after we used a certain amount of data. Turns out that was rather misleading. Once you use 15GB of data, they shut you down without warning. Fortunately, we didn't use up our data allowance, but I know other people who did. To be fair, the cost per GB is actually pretty good compared to our AT&T plan.


BOAT FUEL | Total = $238.52

We've bought 15 gallons of gas (for our generator and outboard motor) and 55 gallons of diesel during the past two months. It's definitely cheaper in the States than in the Bahamas.


LPG & BUTANE | Total = $37.17

We have a LPG (or propane) cooker on our boat. Not long after we left Indiantown Marina, our stove broke while we were cruising in Florida. Fortunately our oven still worked, so between that and our BBQ, we were able to get by cooking-wise until we got back to Indiantown Marina and picked up our butane camping stove. The camping stove works fine as a temporary solution until we're able to replace the cooker sometime this summer, but butane cartridges are pretty expensive, especially compared to LPG.

We refilled one of our propane tanks when we were back in the States, as well as buying six more butane cartridges. To our delight, we found butane cartridges are cheaper in Rock Sound, Eleuthera than they are at Walmart. We bought four more cartridges there.


MARINA COSTS | Total = $519.40

Anchoring out is one of the things we love about cruising. Not only is it nice to relax on the boat in a quiet anchorage and fall asleep to the waves gently lapping against the side of your boat, it's also free. We like free! Of course, anchoring out isn't always all that it's cracked up to be - we've been in our share of roly-poly anchorages and not been able to sleep at night wondering if we're going to drag anchor, but it's still free!

Sadly, because we had to come back to the States to deal with our broken dinghy davit and water pump, we ended up shelling out a pretty penny on a slip and pump-outs while at Indiantown Marina.


BOAT STUFF | Total = $1,031.42

This category is for all the stuff we've been buying for the boat, as well as repairs and maintenance costs. The big expenses were for a replacement Kato dingy davit ($660) and a new water pump ($144).


TRANSPORT | Total = $78.87

This category is for costs related to our vehicle, mostly for gas to keep it going and drive into the nearby "big city" of Stuart for errands. We put $36.47 worth of gas in it while we were back in Indiantown. We also pay $21.20 a month to store our vehicle at Indiantown Marina while we're off cruising.


MEDICAL EXPENSES | Total = Nil

This category includes medical expenses outside of our monthly insurance premium (which aren't included here - see section on exclusions above), like over the counter medications, prescriptions and things for our medical kit. It also includes the costs of doctors visits and medical tests which aren't covered by our insurance.

Although there were a few cuts and bruises while we were cruising, neither of us needed medical attention.


OTHER | Total = $330.37

In this category, we break out how much we spend on clothes and travel expenses. We also include a catch-all miscellaneous group for stuff that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else - things like laundry and trash disposal.

The big expense in this category was a flat screen TV, which we installed in our aft cabin so that we can watch shows from our hard drive at night. I know a lot of cruisers would look down on having a TV on their boat, but we're really enjoying it.

Did we spend more or less than you would have expected? Do you track your monthly expenditure? What are your cost saving tips and tricks? 

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Inside The Heart Of Every Good Sailboat Lurks A Tractor | Thornycroft T80 Engine Repair

Can you tell which is the old water pump and which is the new one?

When we lived in Portland, we adopted an adorable black puppy from the Oregon Humane Society. She was part Labrador Retriever and part something else. We never did figure out what the something else was - possibly German Shepard?

Some people think mixed-breed dogs are better. Some people think purebreds are better. To us, it didn't matter what her lineage was. One look at us with those large brown eyes and we were hooked. We took our little puppy home that day.

I hadn't really thought about the whole mutt vs. purebred debate since then until I discovered that Thorny, the diesel engine in our Moody 346 sailboat, was a mutt.

Thorny is a British-made Thornycroft T80 engine. I had always assumed he was a purebred - 100% English from the top of his glowplugs down to the bottom of his oil pan. Usually he just growls at us, but if he could talk, I'm sure he would have one of those lovely English accents you hear on Downtown Abbey.

Turns out Thorny is a mutt. His mother was a Japanese lady who came from the venerable Mitsubishi clan. His father was a sailor from England. I'm not sure how they met, but the result of their happy union was a diesel engine based on the Mitsubisi K4D engine block with marinized parts added on and fitted out for use on a sailboat.

Thorny's mother must also have had some sisters because you can also find the same engine block used in tractors. Yes, tractors. I should have probably whispered that. Thorny is a bit of a snob and doesn't like to be reminded of the fact that he has lots of cousins out there who are tractors. He thinks sailboats are far superior to farm equipment.

Are you wondering how I found this out? Sure, it's possible I have way too much time on my hands and research the oddest topics on the internet. But, in this case, it was all due to the fact that we had to replace Thorny's water pump.

We couldn't source one through our usual supplier of spare parts, ASAP Supplies. So we started looking into spare parts of the Mitsubishi K4D engine block. You know where you can find them? Places that sell tractor parts. I ended up calling a few places in the States and found a nice man in Pennsylvania who had exactly what I needed in stock.

He was a little befuddled when I told him it was for a sailboat and not a tractor. I guess no one told him about the British side of the family.

Eventually the part arrived and we replaced it. Thorny assumed the water pump came from England. I think if he knew it came from some rural town in Pennsylvania he would have kicked up quite a fuss.

Cruising Log | Thursday, 11 May 2017 - Friday, 19 May 2017

I won't bother with giving you a day-by-day recap of what we did while we were at Indiantown Marina repairing our water pump. It basically came down to sourcing a water pump, waiting for the water pump to arrive, replacing the water pump and eating more Little Caesar's pizza. We also installed a flat screen TV in our aft cabin. Ah, the glamorous life of a cruiser.

Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine Hours = 2.5 (flushing antifreeze). Spending =$583.47 (water pump, hardware, groceries, TV, gas, propane refill, misc stuff)

What do you think about the whole mixed-breed vs. purebred debate? Have you ever adopted a dog or cat? Have you ever driven a tractor or worked on a farm?

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Killing Time In Marsh Harbour, Bahamas

How do you kill time when you’re waiting for something? Do you twiddle your thumbs? Do you stare out the window? Do you binge watch TV? Do you take a lot of long naps? Do you read? Do you make treats?

We did all of the above while we waited in Marsh Harbour in the hopes of getting our broken dinghy davit sorted. Well, except the thumb twiddling. I never did get the point of that. It’s a lot like thumb wrestling, except without the satisfaction of winning something. Or the distraction of getting your thumb squashed.

It’s fair to say that Marsh Harbour isn’t our favorite spot in the Abacos. It’s a great place to stock up on groceries, propane, supplies and, theoretically, get some welding done. But other than that, there aren’t a lot of distractions, especially when the weather is crappy.

So we binge watched some Lost, read some books, stared at other boats and took naps when the excitement of it all got too overwhelming.

Those of you who live on land probably binge watch TV without a care in the world. You press a button on the remote and the TV comes on. Occasionally, you press the pause button and go to the fridge to get a snack. You watch episode after episode without worrying about whether electricity is going to stop flowing from the plug to the TV.

It’s a little different on our sailboat. When we watch TV shows, we have to check out battery monitor periodically to make sure we have enough power to watch the next episode and find out whether Kate chooses Jack or Sawyer.

When the sun is shining and our solar panel is mounted on our dinghy davit, we gets lots of juicy amps flowing freely to our batteries. We get up from time to time to adjust the angle of the panel to follow the sun as it moves from east to west.

Sadly, with our broken dinghy davit, we had to temporarily mount our solar panel on top of our aft cabin.

Two problems with this:

1 - It covered the hatch which meant we couldn’t get air freely flowing into the cabin. Heat makes some of us cranky.

2 - We couldn’t angle the panel to get maximum sun exposure. Less juicy amps flowing in meant making difficult choices – run the fridge or watch Lost.

Then things got worse. The clouds and rain moved in and cut off our supply of sunshine. This was getting serious. Were we going to be stuck with a fridge full of warm beer and rotting meat and never find out why Desmond kept pushing that button?!

Fortunately, our handy Honda generator came to the rescue.

We got it this year for exactly this reason. We knew a day would come when the sun would stop shining. We plugged it in to our shore power and charged our batteries. More Lost! More cold beer! Less chance of dying from eating tainted meat! It’s the little things that count.

****

Cruising Log | Saturday, 22 April 2017 – Tuesday, 25 April 2017
 
22 APRIL
Dropped my breakfast burrito on the floor. Had to settle for a granola bar instead. Did some baking. Limited solar power, so ran generator for a while. Nautical miles = Nil. Engine hours = Nil. Spending = Nil.

23 APRIL
Rained all day. Read and binge watched Lost. Had to run generator again. Made soup and bread. The soup was awful. The bread wasn’t awful. Big squall came through late at night. Gusts around 50 knots. Turned on engine and prepared to take action if we dragged anchor. Nautical miles = Nil. Engine hours = 2.75. Spending = Nil.

24 APRIL
Contacted welder and Kato Marine regarding broken dinghy davit. Watched a guy get his bitch wings on while someone anchored next to them. Nautical miles = Nil. Engine hours = Nil. Spending = Nil.

25 APRIL
Figured out way to put solar panel back up on broken davit. So nice to be able to get lots of juicy amps from the sun. More emails about davit. Checked out an Asian market run by a guy names Johnny Cash. Went to Maxwell’s. Tried to make Bahamian mac n’cheese. Failed experiment. Very disappointing. Got an email from a blog follower anchored next to us. Made plans to meet up. Nautical miles = Nil. Engine hours = Nil. Spending = $18.04 (ground beef, carrots, cheese, tonic water, milk)

Do you ever worry about having enough power for your needs? What’s the last show you binge watched? Do you like thumb wrestling?

Internet connection has been really scarce lately while we've been cruising in the Bahamas, so apologies if it takes a while before we're able to respond to your comments and/or visit your blog.
 

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May In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Tickety Boo back at Indiantown Marina for repairs; (2) Our new water pump; (3) Our friends on Wind Spirit, anchored at Peck Lake; (4) Anchored at Ginn sur Mer in the Abacos waiting out weather; (5) Relaxing over sundowners; (6) Tickety Boo anchored in the Berry Islands.

It's time for our monthly recap by the numbers. We crossed back from the Bahamas at the beginning of the month in order to replace our broken dinghy davit. We ended up spending a lot longer than we hoped back at Indiantown Marina when we discovered that our water pump needed to be replaced. It took a bit of time to source the part, have it delivered and install it. We left Indiantown on May 20th and crossed back to the Bahamas on May 22nd. We hopped our way down from the Abacos, to the Berry Islands, over to the Nassau area and then to the Exuma Islands, where we plan on spending most of June.

Here's some tidbits about how the month went by the numbers:

• 12 – Number of nights we spent in a slip at Indiantown Marina fixing things and waiting for parts to arrive.

• $144.45 – Cost of a new water pump for our Thornycroft diesel engine (including shipping and handling). We had to order this from a tractor supply business. Our engine is based on the Mitsubishi K4D block, which is also used in tractors.

• 5 – Number of tostadas we had during Taco Tuesday at JR’s Saloon in Indiantown. We were joined by the crews of Radio Waves, Wind Spirit and Blue Wing. Fun and yummy.

• $16.41 – Our average cost per night during May, which we calculate based upon how much we spend on marina slips or mooring balls (anchoring is free). This is up dramatically from April (we anchored every night so our average cost was $0.00) because of the time we spent at Indiantown Marina. Let’s hope we can get it back down during June.

• 496 – Number of nautical miles covered during May.

• 4 – Number of areas of the Bahamas we cruised in – Abacos, Berry Islands, Nassau area and the Exuma Islands.

• 1 – Number of buddy boats we had.

• 2 – Number of days we had a buddy boat. Unfortunately, the crew of Wind Spirit had to delay their crossing to the Bahamas, so we parted ways in Lake Worth.

• 6 – Number of days we spent without getting off of our boat after we left Indiantown to head back to the Bahamas. We finally dropped the dinghy and put the outboard motor on at Hoffman’s Cay in the Berry Island.

• 2 - Number of times we swam at the Blue Hole on Hoffman's Cay. We liked it so much the first time, we went back again the next day. 

• 14 – Number of sharks hanging out at Highbourne Cay Marina. I asked the fuel dock attendant what kind they were and he told me that I had to jump in, tickle them under their chins until they opened their mouths and then I’d be able to tell by their teeth. Needless to say, I didn’t follow his suggestion. 

• $4.38 - Cost per gallon of diesel fuel at Highbourne Cay Marina. We bought 20 gallons. That seemed pricey to me. There was a big boat ahead of us taking on 400 gallons of fuel. I can't even begin to imagine spending that much on fuel.

 In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite posts from last month:

Good Luck, Bad Luck, Coulda-Been-Worse Luck
Cost of Cruising in the Bahamas & Florida
Tickety Boo, Tickety Boo, Barracuda Bob


How did last month go for you? What are you looking forward to this month?

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Changing Our Plans Again | The Shortest Bahamas Cruise Ever

Anchored at Lake Worth. It was gusty at times.

 
"Well, that doesn't look good," I said to Scott as we were taking our dinghy over to West Palm Beach in search of the public docks.

"You're such a worry wart. There's no way we're going to hit that boat," he replied as he glanced back at me.

"Uh, yeah, that's not what I meant," I said pointing back at Tickety Boo anchored behind us. "Besides, I'm not a worry wart."

Scott gave me a dubious look.

"Okay, maybe I am a bit of a worry wart. But about important things, like running out of chocolate or water. Or dying from scurvy because we don't eat enough citrus fruit."

Scott gave me another dubious look. I changed the subject.

"No, look at the bottom paint on our boat. That doesn't look good."

Scott looked back at Tickety Boo and then he gave me another look. I wish it had been a dubious look that meant something like, The bottom paint is fine, now stop your worrying. Instead, it was a look that said, Crap. 

****

If you're not into boats, you're probably scratching your head and wondering what bottom paint is all about. It's basically paint you put on your bottom. No, not that bottom. The bottom of your boat beneath the water line. It keeps evil wee beasties from attaching themselves to your boat.

You've probably seen pictures of boats covered in barnacles. It's not a good look. Bottom paint helps keep that sort of thing at bay for a while.

We redid our bottom paint a little less than two years ago. The paint we used is a super expensive long-lasting kind which is great for boats that remain stationary in their slips for a long time, as ours had at Indiantown Marina. (Interlux Micron 66, if you're interested. It was what the previous owners had used.)

We knew it wouldn't be in great condition, but we had hoped that it would be in okay enough condition to allow us to head to the Bahamas, spend a few months there and then we would deal with it (along with other boat projects) when we got back to Indiantown Marina and hauled out for hurricane season.

It seemed like a great plan. An awesome plan. An outstanding plan. Except for one tiny issue that we didn't think through:

Indiantown Marina is in freshwater. Our paint isn't suitable for freshwater. When it's exposed to freshwater it flakes off. 

I don't know about you, but I love a nice, flaky pie crust. But what I don't love is flaky bottom paint. Not only does it look weird, it also means it's not effective. {We discovered the bottom paint issue on Pi Day, so naturally my mind went to pie. Sorry about that. Now you probably want some pie. I know I do.}

We both sighed, took another look at Tickety Boo and headed off across the channel to find the public docks. Rumor had it that you could tie up there for free and walk to the nearby Publix grocery store. I was hoping to pick up some apple pie.

Turns out the public docks don't exist anymore due to the expansion of a nearby marina. Another disappointment for the day. Not to mention a decided lack of pie.

We headed back to Tickety Boo, circled around her in our dinghy and had another look at what we could see of her bottom paint. Which was a lot more than we could see back at Indiantown. That brings me to some fun facts:

1 - Boats are much more buoyant in salt water than fresh water. 

2 - Tickety Boo sat lower in the fresh water at Indiantown Marina.

3 - The water in Indiantown is a delightful murky brown color. Scott says that's due to tannic acid, vegetation and other marina what-not. There was a lot of what-not in our corner of the marina.

4 - Once Tickety Boo was in salt water at the coast, she floated higher in the water, giving us better visibility of her keel. The water is much clearer here, so we could see what that bottom paint looked like.  

Yeah, fun might have been an overstatement. That was Scott's description, not mine.

Over drinks and dinner, we talked about options. Should we carry on to the Bahamas and ignore our flaky bottom paint? Should we postpone the Bahamas and head back Indiantown Marina to haul out and redo the bottom paint? Should we try to figure out how to make pie with the provisions we have on board?

In the end, we decided to skip the pie and make our way back to Indiantown in a few days.

It's disappointing on so many levels - not getting to the Bahamas (yet), having to spend a bunch of money we weren't quite ready to spend at this point, not knowing how long we'll be hauled out for (the old paint may be a real nightmare to get off), not really being ready to do other major boat projects (like a composting toilet) and feeling like we're not maximizing our time on the hard etc.

But on the bright side, we'll get to see our friends again and there's always Taco Tuesday at JR's Saloon.

Of course, by the the time you read this our plans could have changed again. Stay tuned to find out what happens. It's almost better than a soap opera.

Flagler Memorial Bridge. There's construction going on. Only one boat can pass through at a time.

Boats you wouldn't want to drag into and damage unless you had amazing insurance.

Sunset at Coconut Grove anchorage in West Palm Beach.

Cruising Log | Monday, 13 March 2017 - Wednesday, 15 March 2017

13 MARCH
Anchored at Lake Worth (south of Peanut Island). Lazed about. Checked out temp and oil sensors. One of the water jerry cans is leaking. Bummer. Gusty day. 101 amp hours from our new solar panel. A new world record. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine =  Nil hrs. Spending = Nil.

14 MARCH
Very gusty in the early hours (near gale). Anchor up at 9:15 AM. Anchor down at 10:30 AM at Coconut Grove in West Palm Beach across from the Trump Plaza building. Took dinghy out - discovered public docks no longer exist, discovered condition of our bottom paint. Sad. Nautical Miles = 3.3. Engine = 1 hr 15 min. Spending = Nil

15 MARCH
Very gusty in the early hours. Lazed about. Made plans. Lazed about some more. Made more plans. Stuff broke. Nautical Miles = Nil. Engine =  Nil hrs. Spending = Nil.


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