SISC wrote:
We are contemplating cruising as a step up from day and weekend sailing.
Suppose a 36' sailer with 2 or 3 person on board want to sail around and
make portcalls during a certain timeperiod.
I would like to ask the greater boating community to contribut some $$
figures for the various costs involved.
What kind of typical cost are to be anticpated; boatsize related,
legal/immigratiom/customs,harbour and berthing,
food and supplies etc etc.

My wife and I cruised from San Diego down to Panama and back in about a
year. During that time we met cruisers who were spending thousands of
dollars a month, and more than a few cruisers who were probably
spending no more than a couple hundred dollars a month, or less. When
it comes to cost of living, cruising is just like life on dry land:
different people spend different amounts depending on their means and
their tastes.

Many of the biggest expenses people incur in cruising are not for true
essentials. We had a friend who lost all of their electronics in a
lightning strike. They took a month or so off from cruising, and took
out a second mortgage on their home (about $15,000) to replace a set of
equipment that my wife and I had never owned.

Andy