Cruising is driving me to the poor house.

I typically put on 250 hours a years at 4 gph which puts fuel at about
$6,000.

The dockspace is costing me $5,000 a year.

Maintenance, insurance is $3,000 a year.

Depreciation of the trawler is $8,000 a year.

Opportunity cost(@ 5%) is $10,000 a year.

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

If I just took the money I paid for it and invested I could getting
checks for $10,000 a year rather than being 30K+ in the hole each
year. In 3 years I could have 30K in cash by foregoing the boat or be
100K in the hole.

On the horizon I only see higher fuel costs and everything else going
up in cost, the boat plummeting in value and no increased return on my
retirement egg. I love the boat but this is really draining me, I am
seriously considering pulling the plug before things get worse. Does
anyone here have any creative solutions or are we all in the same
mess? I figure I need 25 years of retirement funds and won't make it
with the trawler. Is there an American friendly country with cheap
fuel, good health care and low expenses? Thanks everyone.

Tim Shavinsky

"Tim Shavinsky" wrote in message
...
Cruising is driving me to the poor house.

I typically put on 250 hours a years at 4 gph which puts fuel at about
$6,000.

The dockspace is costing me $5,000 a year.

Maintenance, insurance is $3,000 a year.

Depreciation of the trawler is $8,000 a year.

Opportunity cost(@ 5%) is $10,000 a year.

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

If I just took the money I paid for it and invested I could getting
checks for $10,000 a year rather than being 30K+ in the hole each
year. In 3 years I could have 30K in cash by foregoing the boat or be
100K in the hole.

On the horizon I only see higher fuel costs and everything else going
up in cost, the boat plummeting in value and no increased return on my
retirement egg. I love the boat but this is really draining me, I am
seriously considering pulling the plug before things get worse. Does
anyone here have any creative solutions or are we all in the same
mess? I figure I need 25 years of retirement funds and won't make it
with the trawler. Is there an American friendly country with cheap
fuel, good health care and low expenses? Thanks everyone.

Tim Shavinsky



Short answer.. get a sailboat as Roger suggested, or you can move to China
(lol). Even including taking classes, which I recommend if you don't know
how to sail or it's been a while, you'll be way ahead. I easily go a whole
summer without using 1/2 tank. If you gain confidence, you can anchor out a
lot, and perhaps you'll save a few $$ on dockspace. You'll need insurance
and have repair bills. Forget about depreciation. Forget about resale value.
Forget about opportunity cost. For every day you sail, you get to add that
day to your lifespan!

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

I typically put on 250 hours a years at 4 gph which puts fuel at about
$6,000.

The dockspace is costing me $5,000 a year.

Maintenance, insurance is $3,000 a year.

Depreciation of the trawler is $8,000 a year.

Opportunity cost(@ 5%) is $10,000 a year.

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!



Short answer.. get a sailboat as Roger suggested, or you can move to China
(lol). Even including taking classes, which I recommend if you don't know
how to sail or it's been a while, you'll be way ahead. I easily go a whole
summer without using 1/2 tank. If you gain confidence, you can anchor out
a lot, and perhaps you'll save a few $$ on dockspace. You'll need
insurance and have repair bills. Forget about depreciation. Forget about
resale value. Forget about opportunity cost. For every day you sail, you
get to add that day to your lifespan!



HUH???

Only 6K of that is Fuel.... Dockspace, maintenance, insurance and Depr will
be similar for a similar priced sailboat. Alternatives for dockage are
also the same. So sail vs trawler is only about a 20% difference in this
example.

BTW.. if you want to feel better about your 6K in fuel... I just canceled my
10 day Exuma run because that trip alone from FLL to Exuma and back in a 48'
FBSF was going to be 8K. I can spend 5 weeks in keys with dockage and fuel
for 1/2 of that....

"Tim Shavinsky" wrote in message
...
Cruising is driving me to the poor house.

I typically put on 250 hours a years at 4 gph which puts fuel at about
$6,000.

The dockspace is costing me $5,000 a year.

Maintenance, insurance is $3,000 a year.

Depreciation of the trawler is $8,000 a year.

Opportunity cost(@ 5%) is $10,000 a year.

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

If I just took the money I paid for it and invested I could getting
checks for $10,000 a year rather than being 30K+ in the hole each
year. In 3 years I could have 30K in cash by foregoing the boat or be
100K in the hole.

On the horizon I only see higher fuel costs and everything else going
up in cost, the boat plummeting in value and no increased return on my
retirement egg. I love the boat but this is really draining me, I am
seriously considering pulling the plug before things get worse. Does
anyone here have any creative solutions or are we all in the same
mess? I figure I need 25 years of retirement funds and won't make it
with the trawler. Is there an American friendly country with cheap
fuel, good health care and low expenses? Thanks everyone.

Tim Shavinsky


Think 'downsize'...and the sooner the better.

Dnia Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:40:12 -0400, Tim Shavinsky napisał(a):

Cruising is driving me to the poor house.
(...)
Is there an American friendly country with cheap fuel, good
health care and low expenses? Thanks everyone.

Tim Shavinsky

Greece, perhaps? And most of the Med, I guess?

I cannot state their attitude towards Americans, but the country is
certainly worth consideration. Lots of Britons there (which may be
advantage or disadvantage ;-) ). English is widely spoken, climate and
geography perfect for cruising. Personally, I plan to move to Corfu
Island on February and make it my basecamp to explore the whole
Mediterranean for next couple years.

More options can be found at http://www.retiretothesun.com/ At the moment
they are offline, but normally you'd find tons of information there.

As for your cruising costs, that is interesting issue. As a future
liveaboard I am keen to analyse it.

I may have some practical suggestions regarding two items on your list.
Perhaps somebody else would add more.

1. Fuel. For a rather heavy diesel working less than an hour per day, I
would try to do three things:
- check up the biofuel option, which becomes more and more promising here
in Europe.
- implement photovoltaic and wind generators to cut the engine time and
load when topping your batteries up.
- the major change would be switching into hybrid-electric system, one
smaller diesel or petrol (LPG fueled) electric generator, that in turn
powers electric engines and propellers. Having it done properly, you may
cut your fuel rate by 20 percent. It would also raise the reselling value
of your boat.

2. Dockspace. I do not know your boat, but here (http://
www.yachtworks.info/Compare_Marinas.htm) you'll find raw estimates.

Cheers,

Peter

--
*** no offence meant, no offence taken ***

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

So you get off cheap, eh?

I ran the numbers, once. Sure, it's a lot of money. But if you can't
afford it then it's not worth it.

Stress management has it's price.

The admiral does state, categorically, that will will not be stopping at
fuel docks during retirement. Which is fine, but meanwhile we both
recognize the time=money proposition. Right now our time is worth the money
being spent.

Sold mine when I realized it cost me about a thousand bucks a night to sleep
on it.


"Bill Kearney" wrote in message
...
The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

So you get off cheap, eh?

I ran the numbers, once. Sure, it's a lot of money. But if you can't
afford it then it's not worth it.

Stress management has it's price.

The admiral does state, categorically, that will will not be stopping at
fuel docks during retirement. Which is fine, but meanwhile we both
recognize the time=money proposition. Right now our time is worth the
money being spent.

Tim Shavinsky wrote:
Cruising is driving me to the poor house.

I typically put on 250 hours a years at 4 gph which puts fuel at about
$6,000.

The dockspace is costing me $5,000 a year.

Maintenance, insurance is $3,000 a year.

Depreciation of the trawler is $8,000 a year.

Opportunity cost(@ 5%) is $10,000 a year.

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

If I just took the money I paid for it and invested I could getting
checks for $10,000 a year rather than being 30K+ in the hole each
year. In 3 years I could have 30K in cash by foregoing the boat or be
100K in the hole.

On the horizon I only see higher fuel costs and everything else going
up in cost, the boat plummeting in value and no increased return on my
retirement egg. I love the boat but this is really draining me, I am
seriously considering pulling the plug before things get worse. Does
anyone here have any creative solutions or are we all in the same
mess? I figure I need 25 years of retirement funds and won't make it
with the trawler. Is there an American friendly country with cheap
fuel, good health care and low expenses? Thanks everyone.

We haven't cruised yet this season, but last year the four of us went on
about five long weekend trips. I spent about $50 total in fuel. We
stayed in five different really cool marinas and had some mild
adventures, exploring. The boat hasn't depreciated that I know of. I
paid $7500 for it about five years ago. It's a '79 Hunter 33'. Sleeps
five. No insurance. I paid about a hundred for the tabs. I have it
anchored off a buddy's property, no cost there.

A great investment, IMO.

Stephen

"Stephen Trapani" wrote in message
...
Tim Shavinsky wrote:
Cruising is driving me to the poor house.

I typically put on 250 hours a years at 4 gph which puts fuel at about
$6,000.

The dockspace is costing me $5,000 a year.

Maintenance, insurance is $3,000 a year.

Depreciation of the trawler is $8,000 a year.

Opportunity cost(@ 5%) is $10,000 a year.

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

If I just took the money I paid for it and invested I could getting
checks for $10,000 a year rather than being 30K+ in the hole each
year. In 3 years I could have 30K in cash by foregoing the boat or be
100K in the hole.

On the horizon I only see higher fuel costs and everything else going
up in cost, the boat plummeting in value and no increased return on my
retirement egg. I love the boat but this is really draining me, I am
seriously considering pulling the plug before things get worse. Does
anyone here have any creative solutions or are we all in the same
mess? I figure I need 25 years of retirement funds and won't make it
with the trawler. Is there an American friendly country with cheap
fuel, good health care and low expenses? Thanks everyone.

We haven't cruised yet this season, but last year the four of us went on
about five long weekend trips. I spent about $50 total in fuel. We stayed
in five different really cool marinas and had some mild adventures,
exploring. The boat hasn't depreciated that I know of. I paid $7500 for it
about five years ago. It's a '79 Hunter 33'. Sleeps five. No insurance. I
paid about a hundred for the tabs. I have it anchored off a buddy's
property, no cost there.

A great investment, IMO.

Stephen


I hope you have at least liability insurance. An accident could ruin your
day.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

On 2008-06-23 11:40:12 -0400, Tim Shavinsky said:

Cruising is driving me to the poor house.

I typically put on 250 hours a years at 4 gph which puts fuel at about
$6,000.

The dockspace is costing me $5,000 a year.

Maintenance, insurance is $3,000 a year.

Depreciation of the trawler is $8,000 a year.

Opportunity cost(@ 5%) is $10,000 a year.

The thing is costing me $32,000 a year!

If I just took the money I paid for it and invested I could getting
checks for $10,000 a year rather than being 30K+ in the hole each
year. In 3 years I could have 30K in cash by foregoing the boat or be
100K in the hole.

On the horizon I only see higher fuel costs and everything else going
up in cost, the boat plummeting in value and no increased return on my
retirement egg. I love the boat but this is really draining me, I am
seriously considering pulling the plug before things get worse. Does
anyone here have any creative solutions or are we all in the same
mess? I figure I need 25 years of retirement funds and won't make it
with the trawler. Is there an American friendly country with cheap
fuel, good health care and low expenses? Thanks everyone.

Tim Shavinsky

If you drop the opportunity cost (already gone) and depreciation, your
actual numbers are in better shape.

Lose the dock (and house?) and anchor out and you're down to fuel,
insurance and maintenance.

Slow it down a knot or so, and you'll likely boost fuel economy.

Slow your life down to cruising speed and you'll likely live longer, cheaper.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/