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From: (no name) (no email)
Date: Thu Apr 14 2005 - 09:45:31 EDT
In a message dated 4/5/2005 4:42:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:
>
> Thanks Norm,
>
> I know, from reading your posts, that you live aboard full time on I
> believe a mastless sailboat. I also gather that you spend a lot of
> time in the Chesapeake Bay. Are you there full time or do you wander
> around? My plan is to not necessarily cross any large bodies of water,
> (although I could, well my boat could), but I did think I might move
> around a lot in coastal areas of the US and on the navigable rivers. I
> could bump the coast of Central and South America too, but I'm not
> sure it matters. Anyplace I haven't been is exotic to me.
>
Lately we have been wintering in north Florida and then cruising northward to
New England in the summer with some cruising in the Chesapeake area in the
fall before returning to St Augustine in mid November. But we have been as far
south as Key West and as far north as Halifax.
> I will have a small pension plus some investment income, which I
> expect to be enough. Do you mostly live on previously accrued monies
> or do you earn some or all of you income now? Or is it none of my
> business? I just wonder what your circumstances are. If you are
> living off retirement and/or savings I was interested in knowing the
> costs are about what you expected when you began.
>
We never use marinas, the only time we dock is when taking on fuel. We make
all our own electricity with seven 120 watt solar panels and two KISS wind
generators. We also have a 8KW genset but only use it occasionally.
I retired in 1996 and recieved a pension of around $1400/month. This would
suffice except for buying major equipment for the boat for which I dipped into
my savings. A smaller boat with lower expenses would be nice. Jan also has a
small social security income that just about keeps up with her personal
expense, mostly medical insurance and her car. When Social Security kicked in last
year when I turned 62, and most of the expensive gear was bought, I now have
been able to slip a little back into savings.
> It seems to me I should be able to live more cheaply on the the boat
> than I do now. Plus my disposable income will actually be somewhat
> larger than it is now since I will no longer be saving for retirement.
> Of course when I'm not going to the office for 9 hours a day I will
> have more time to spend money...
>
>
>
You can live much more cheaply on the boat if you anchor out, but sometimes
you do have to pay dinghy dock as here in St Augustine where it is $125/month.
Marina rent is a big expense.
You can't anchor out just anywhere. Some places have laws against it or time
limits. Finding a place to land where the dinghy is safe can be a problem
too. But still, if you really want to, it isnt too hard to fit in. We have
cruised up and down the coast since 1997 and always seem to go where we want and
enjoy many welcoming ports. Places that are hostile to us we simply pass by
and spend our time and money elsewhere.
We don't pay marina rent, income or property taxes. The boat registration
here in Florida is less than $100/year. Our biggest expenses are diesel fuel
and medical insurance. Others are haulout at about $1000 to $1500/year
(depending on what needs to be done - we do all our own work), and car expenses (2
cars kept here in St Augustine) insurance, maintainence and storage.
Hope this helps. You do have to be self-sufficent. We do all the work on
the boat ourselves. We also built the boat.
Norm
S/V Bandersnatch
Lying St Augustine
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