If you’ve ever fantasised about leaving your land-based life behind to live on a boat, keep in mind there is a golden window that never exists for some, and at some point shuts for everyone. The golden window is that period of life when you are financially stable and have no other pressing obligations requiring you to stay put. For many, this is when their children have left home but their parents don’t need regular assistance.
For those of working age, it might be before having children – if that’s your plan.
Nick and I met while travelling in India nearly 20 years ago. Nick has been sailing for more than 25 years, but my first experiences on a yacht were with him in cold, rainy London. Nick dreamed of spending a summer sailing the Mediterranean, but that grew into crossing the Atlantic, and we spent nearly 10 years living aboard. We gave up our careers (Nick was a dentist and I was a paramedic) to live and travel full-time by boat. We documented most of it on our YouTube channel, Sailing Ruby Rose. Over that decade, we gained first-hand experience of everything from coastal cruising to long ocean passages. We’ve also learned the realities of maintaining, managing and actually living aboard.
Living on a boat comes with plenty of trade-offs. You give up space, convenience and a degree of certainty in exchange for freedom and simplicity. Every aspect of daily life – from power and water to weather and maintenance – needs constant attention. There’s no landlord or call-out service when something breaks. But those challenges are also what make it rewarding. You become more resourceful, more adaptable and more aware of what matters. Boat life demands effort, but it gives back in forms it’s hard to replicate on land.
If you want to fulfil that fantasy of sailing the world, first you’ll need to work out how much it will cost.
How much does a boat cost?
Let’s begin by looking at the biggest upfront expense: the boat. Like everything, there is a huge price range depending on size, age and build quality.
When considering your budget, you must understand the total cost of ownership. The bigger the boat, the more expensive it’ll be to run and maintain – a little like a house. The bigger your home, the more you have to pay for insurance, council fees, electricity and everything else. Need a new anchor? The bigger your boat, the bigger the anchor. Do you want a spinnaker? Same thing. Even marina fees cost more not just overall, but per foot.
We are big proponents of buying smaller, simpler boats and, therefore, having a healthier budget to enjoy cruising.
For around US$130,000, you will be able to afford a well-maintained and comfortable monohull. They are often suitable for live-aboard cruising but may need significant upgrades, particularly if you plan to cruise remotely. Any boat that’s more than 10 years old will soon need some major refitting, such as new sails, standing rigging and electronics.
From US$150,000 upwards, you can start to consider a mid-sized catamaran that is less than 20 years old. Above US$500,000, new but small monohulls from premium brands such as Hallberg-Rassy start becoming feasible, and if your budget is closing in on the US$1m mark or higher, you will have many options, used and new.
The cost of life aboard
Everyone’s monthly budget is different and depends heavily on their boat, lifestyle, preferences and financial acumen. Particularly with recent inflation and increased cost of living, realistic cruising costs are difficult to estimate because they’re so variable and because, generally speaking, cruisers aren’t particularly good at documenting their expenses. I say this with some authority, having spent an inordinate amount of time researching this topic and finding very few cruisers who do.
US couple Behan and Jamie Gifford are cruising coaches and, as such, have a broader understanding of expenses than the average cruiser. They believe most cruising couples will spend between US$2,000 and $3,000 per month while out cruising, including fixed annual costs.
In our experience, especially more recently in countries such as Turkey, which have experienced exceptionally high inflation, it’s usually on the upper end of this range.
Cruising location plays a role in monthly and yearly budgets but not as large a role as you might expect. Some parts of Europe, such as Greece, as well as Asia, are less expensive options; and the eastern Caribbean, the Pacific, Australia and the US are more costly. It might be tempting to assume a cheaper location means cheaper cruising, but the reality is monthly budgets don’t change much by region – cruisers’ spending habits do.
For example, Nick and I ate out far less in the Caribbean and the Bahamas than we did in Asia or even Europe. Most cruisers felt the same in the Caribbean. Instead of going to restaurants, we often opted for potluck dinners onboard (generally, the biggest catamaran would play host). Dinghy raft-ups were also fun, although invariably more chaotic than we’d envisaged: picture half a dozen dinghies tied up to a spare mooring ball with their owners climbing over each other to sit next to someone, then clambering back to their own dinghy to retrieve a fresh drink. This was far more economical than going to a bar ashore and much more fun.
Larger annual costs depend on your boat. Insurance, for example, typically costs between 1.5 and 3% of the value of your boat. For many cruisers, including us, a major annual cost is boat storage, which is also boat size dependent. Other large, fixed annual costs might include flights home to visit family and friends and boat maintenance or equipment upgrades, which tend to get done once a season.
Another factor is depreciation on your boat, which occurs at a rough average of 5% per year, though this figure will vary tremendously based on the state of the used boat market, the particular boat in question and its age to begin with.
Should you sell everything?
If you are a homeowner, the natural question is: “Should I sell my house to buy a boat?”
After all, your boat will be your home, and you might need to release that equity to raise the capital, so it is a reasonable proposition. But there are many arguments against it. There are tax implications which, along with the increasing cost of property, might mean you’re locked out of the housing market should you ever return home. After all, a boat is a liability that will depreciate, and bricks and mortar are an asset. Apart from the financial arguments – which you should get professional advice on – there are practical and emotional considerations too.
We decided to keep our apartment, not based on the figures involved but because it was less of a psychological wrench. Keeping some ties to our previous lives was a better choice for us. We took out a marine mortgage and rented out our apartment instead. We knew we were not done working and would hopefully be able to earn an income while cruising, which we’d use to help fund our new lifestyle. Years later, when Covid-19 forced us away from our boat and back to land life, we were grateful to have our apartment to move back into.
If you are not a homeowner there are still options to raise the capital required for a live-aboard boat. We’re not in the business of advising you on strategies to save – you’ll need a financial planner for that – but it’s possible to get a marine mortgage or boat loan, depending on your circumstances and jurisdiction. This can be done through a broker or by some manufacturers offering finance options. If you’re in a financial position to service the loan, this might be a good option, and would likely suit younger people who are planning to continue working while they’re cruising.
It often surprises people to learn the cost of living aboard can be lower than renting a small apartment. A modest live-aboard yacht, financed with a marine mortgage, can sometimes result in monthly payments well below the average rent for a one-bedroom flat in many coastal cities.
Of course, there are ongoing costs to consider, such as mooring fees, maintenance and insurance, but for those willing to take on the lifestyle, the numbers can make sense. Instead of paying rent that disappears each month, a marine mortgage allows you to build equity in your boat, even though the purchase depreciates in value.
What is the least you can spend?
It’s possible to live on a boat surprisingly cheaply if you already own it outright. For sailors who anchor out rather than stay in marinas, manage their own maintenance and keep eating out to a minimum, living costs can be as low as about US$1,000 a month. That covers essentials such as food, fuel, basic upkeep and communications, but little else.
It’s a simple, pared-back lifestyle, but for many, the trade-off is worth it: low overheads, a slower pace of life and the freedom to move whenever and wherever you choose.
