Last week Eric Grab gave us some insight into his voyaging plans.  If you have not seen his website I would encourage you to visit it at http://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog/our-plans/

Eric and Christi hope to depart in a year or two.  For all of us there are many factors that go into planning and taking this adventure.  Money, family, health, skill, the attitude of the spouse are all factors that must be dealt with.  I encouraged Georgs to start this forum several years ago when my plans to make such a voyage began to take shape.  Since then several factors have combined to make this dream more challenging.  I'm going to share some of these experiences in the hope that others will also tell the forum members how they are dealing with the challenge of putting the dream together.

First, how did I get to this point?  I'm a 46yo high school grad that made some money in the Internet boom.  I was lucky enough to sell my Cisco stock when it hit $80 and put my retirement in the bank.  My house is paid for, I have no debt, and can draw about 60k a year from the retirement account for the rest of my life (assuming we don't have a economic meltdown).  I got into boating seriously about 3 years ago when I bought a pocket cruiser, a 31' Camano.  I love the boat and truly believe its the perfect first boat.  Two years ago I was working for Washington Mutual in Seattle and reached a certain level of frustration with management.  One of the dangers of having some money in the bank is you reach a point where the incentive to tell the employer to take a hike is stronger than the desire to have them write you a paycheck.  Well I guess I reached this point when I put a VP at the bank up for sale on EBay.  I thought it was pretty funny, but for some reason he took offense to it?  I was escorted out of the building a few days later.  Fortunatly I had tried to quit that hell hole 4 times in the previous year, so my desk was pretty clean and it was a 5 min job to pack up and say, Hosta La Vista Baby  :).

That was when my cruising plans really started to take shape.  Here I was, no job, COBRA for medical benefits, one kid in her Sr. year of college and the other with 3 years to go.  I aske the wife, hey what would you say to lets buy a boat and go around the world?  She pretty much floored me by saying, Sure!  So I started looking at boats, talking to companies and trying to put a plan together.  We talked to the kids and it became pretty clear that leaving befor the oldest was settled in a job and the youngest graduated from college wasnt a good idea, so I settled in on a 3 to 4 year plan.  Get the kids out of school and into jobs, buy the boat, run it for a year, and then leave.

So fast forward a few years, the oldest gets out of school and starts working, the youngest is in her Sr. year.  Ive managed to convince T-Mobile to hire me after my little Ebay episode, and have a fun job.  Im starting to get more serious about picking a boat, it's down to the 40' Nordhavn or a 44' Krogen.  One day I'm at work and have some very serious pain in my left shoulder.  Im carrying a few extra pounds and dont get a lot of exercise, so I figure Im having a mild heart attack.  So what do I do?  I tell my coworkers, hey Im going to drive myself home and go to sleep.  Stupid, but Im a guy and dont ever admit I feel bad.  I get home, go to sleep, wake 5 hours later (glad I was alive), find Im still in a lot of pain so I drive myself to the emergency room.  Want to be on an ocean with me?  Not the best set of choices Ive ever made!  Anyway they do some test and there is no heart attack (confirming the decisions I made :).  At that time they dont know what it was.  I leave the hospital after a day or two and go home.  After 3 months I tell my wife, hey, you know since that episode when I went to the hospital, well Ive never been the same since, I cant seem to catch my breath.  My wife finally convinces me to go to the Dr. and after 3 months of testing we finally determine Ive had an attack of Parsonage-Turner Syndrom.  Normally this isnt a big deal, but in my case it killed the phrenic nerve which controls the diaphragm.  Long story short, I have 30% of the lung capacity of a normal fat guy.  It might get better, but probably not.  Im fine as long as I dont exert myself, but going up a flight of stairs leaves me gasping for breath.  The O2 levels in my blood streem falls pretty low at night.  This obviously has caused me concern, but Im still evaluating a voyage.

The factors that Im now confronted with are the financial choices involved.  I reshaped my plan to have us depart prior to my reaching 50.  Im 46 today which gives me several years to get in better condition and get the kids really settled in.  The youngest is engaged so I need to work at least another year to pay for the wedding!  Anyway, my biggest concern now is the factors around the boat purchase, house sale, and medical coverage.  If we sell the house and use the money to pay for the boat, that has a set of costs associated with it.  If we use savings to buy the boat and sell it when we return, another set of costs.  If we use the rental income from the house to pay for the boat, another set of factors.  I'm leaning toward selling the house, putting much of the money into the boat and just being ok with the fact when done, we will have lost the depreciation on the boat, as well as any appreciation we would have had in the house.  I don't think I want to be a landlord from the S. Pacific.

Oh well, time to head off to the boat, going to try to go to Paulsbo while the weather is good today!  I'd like to ask others to share their plans with us.  There are 300 people on this list and I know others would benefit from hearing how you are planning your voyages.  I believe many of the people on this list are out there doing it, and have limited connectivity to the rest of the world.  I love hearing from Scott Strickland, Bob Austin, Mike Maurice, Don, Ben, Maurice and everyone else that shares thier knowledge.  Thanks again!  Please feel free to share your insight into my plans as well

Scott Bulger, PUP List Admin
scottebulger@comcast.net
Knot@Work, 31 Camano, Seattle WA

Scott Bulger asks, "what does it cost to cruise for an
extended period."  This question has come up over and
over again in the print media and on other internet
forums.  The answers vary from $100 per month to
several thousand per month to who cares - if you own a
boat why worry.

Latitude 38 magazine here in California printed the
results of a budget survey of cruising boats they took
about 5 years ago.  This was a very detailed survey
and had the budgets broken down into several
categories and line items.  The survey was intended
for the sailing crowd so there was a budget item for
"sail replacement" which would not be applicable for
power boats.  However, I was surprised at the amount
of money the respondents were spending on diesel fuel,
not  a whole lot different than what I intend to spend
with a power boat.  The results seem to indicate that
there are a lot of sailboats out there cruising who
spend a significant amount of time under power.  I
don't have the results in front of me, but as I
remember, the expenses ran from $100 per month to
around $4000 per month.  As I recall the median budget
was around the $1200 per month range - remember this
was about 5 or 6 years ago.

Mark Richter, who owns the trawler WINNIE THE POOH is
a fellow I really admire.  He is a member of the
Trawler List and I wish he were a member here too.
Three or four years ago he was living aboard full time
and spent his winters in the Bahamas and summers in
the NorthEast.  He was quite candid and detailed about
his cruising budget, even made a presentation at
Trawler Fest.  He and his companion had a budget of
$750 per month - exactly.  They lived on this amount
over a 5 year period so his budget was well tested.
They did not live a deprived life, in fact he brewed
his own beer on board.  Darndest thing I ever saw.  He
is quite talented mechanically and did ALL of his own
repairs and maintenance so his boat maintenance line
item was quite low.  He carried bicycles and a Honda
90 aboard for transportation while in port.  I talked
extensively with Mark when I developed my own cruising
budget and he was a great help and inspiration to me.

This is what we have come up with.  Our budget is
$2500 per month.  We will spend around $2000 for
monthly and annual expenses and $500 for a savings
fund for capital improvements, deferred maintenance,
and emergencies.  My wife hates $5000 surprises, like,
"honey, the pedestal just broke on the Stidd chair!"
With a savings account, we hope to cover most of these
surprises.  Our boat is paid for, so we don't have any
monthly mortgage payments.  We usually eat at a
restaurant a couple of times a week, but in a foreign
port (like Central America) maybe a bit more often,
but the food is cheaper there.  Insurance for the boat
is a significant cost on a monthly basis.  Just about
any marina you might pull into requires proof of
insurance anymore - even in Mexico.  However, we will
spend most of the time on the hook, avoiding marinas.
We have a line item for flights back home too.  I have
budgeted for about 150 gallons of fuel a month which
translates to around 650 - 750 miles per month.
That's about 25 hours of cruising a week, some weeks
less, some weeks more.  I don't have our budget in
front of me, but as I recall there are about 20 line
items.  We will live very comfortably, but not
extravagantly.

So there you have it Scott.  What do you think?

Patrick
Willard 40PH
ALOHA
San Pedro
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<<Mark Richter, who owns the trawler WINNIE THE POOH is
... a member of the Trawler List and I wish he were a member here too. >>

Ah, but I am a member of the PUP list as well.  It's just that since I don't
do long distance voyaging, I have little to add to this list.  Great to hear
from you again, Patrick.

My days of cruising on $750 a month are sadly in the past.  We now own a
home in Turkey Creek, on the Okeechobee waterway, and cruise just half the
year.  The budget is now $2100 a month, including house expenses and a car.
Two docks in the backyard makes it easy for friends and customers to stop by
for a visit, some electrical work, or both.  Hope to see you on the east
coast sometime soon.

In mid april, we'll be heading up the east coast to cruise the Canadian
canals.  Route will be:  NYC-Albany-Erie Canal-Oswego
Canal-Kingston-Ottowa-Montreal-Richeleau Canal-Lk Champlain-Albany-home,
returning to FL in November.

Mark Richter, m/v Winnie the Pooh
Mark's Mobile Marine, electrical repairs and installations

I'm rendezvousing with Ron Barr at Kingston, NY on July 3. Then on through
the Erie and Oswego to Trent Severn, etc. What is your intended timing. I'll
be starting from New Bern.

Ron Rogers
Willard 40

Ron,
We plan to leave Ortona FL April 15, heading north to Chesapeake and a
possible side trip to Washington, DC if time allows.  New York harbor by
June1, then up the Hudson and across the Erie to the Oswego.  We'll be
traveling in loose company with Skinwalker, a 49' Maring Trader.

Mark &Joyce, m/v Winnie the Pooh

Gregory,

We are leaving Melbourne, FL this coming week, and plan to cruise up to the
Trent-Severn Canal.

We have stayed at several different marinas in NYC and across the river in
NJ. We recommend staying at Liberty Landing Marina. It's in sort of a canal
in NJ, right across the Hudson from North Cove. The water in Liberty Landing
is always relatively calm. All other marinas have 2' to 4' rollers in them
from the ferries, especially North Cove, where the ferries land, and it goes
on 24/7. It's very uncomfortable, and nearly impossible to sleep until the
traffic dies down. Unfortunately, it resumes at 5 in the morning.

Liberty Landing is in Liberty Park, and has easy access to the City by
ferry. If you check the chart, you'll see the set-up.

Hope this helps, and that we see you along the way.

Bob & Vicki Schuerger
"Blue Moon"
GB42-1009