Travel economy conversation

[stwendl]

I like to start a threat about travel economy. By that I mean what does it cost to travel per mile compared on a ranger tug in economy, a sailboat in mixed sail and power (for maneuvering in a harbor) and travel by trailer.

This is not about who gets there faster, which is more nature friendly or what is more in style, but just plain dollars per mile, including food and fuel and perhaps help.

I am sure there are plenty of "old salts" on this site with the necessary insight and experience to contribute to a reasonable conclusion.

Let's just assume a fictitious trip from Seattle to somewhere in Alaska, or a trip from New York to Miami, or Seattle to Los Angeles. Let's ignore that some of those trips can be only made under favorable weather windows or assume a favorable weather window.

I am sure lots of folks like to know what the cost per mile would be sailing, motor boating or towing your boat between those destinations including expenses for staying overnight, and all somewhat ball park figures in a style that one would use to calculate what a vacation would cost.

 

[Crewdog]

Well, I've never sat down and figured TOCO (total cost of ownership) or costs per mile, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to think about it.

The trips we've taken and the folks we've met are un-priceable memories that will be treasured for a lifetime; sorta like the MasterCard commercials.

I do keep a fuel log for the Prius Plug-in though.

 

[knotflying]

Our average cost of living on the boat, all in, is between $3,800 to $4,200 per month exclusive of repairs, maintenance and insurance.
The on the water costs includes:
Groceries, wine and liquor
Eating out
Marinas
Fuel
Sightseeing and entertainment while boating
Tips to dock hands
Towing the boat
Fuel for truck
Hotels if necessary while towing

Our trips while cruising range between 700 to 1,200 miles and last between 2.5 to 3.5 months

 

[Scuffy]

I'm with Mike on monthly costs. However I think it depends somewhat on how much of a sport your life partner/ copilot might be. I have suggested a couple (maybe a few more than that) of ideas that were met by we are not doing that. I think the more rustic types can get by a little cheaper.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

When one gets right down to the nuts and bolts of comparing two trailerable boats...say a Ranger Tug and a Sail Boat you need to assume that both situations would mirror each other. What I mean is in both situations, if your comparing apples to apples then in both boats you'd be at a marina the same amount of time, anchoring out, going out to dinner vs eating on the boat, etc., etc., etc., the identical amount.....so these expenses would be the same owning either boat. With that in mind it really gets down to how much fuel does one boat burn vs the other as well as what one boat costs to maintain and insure vs the the other. I have no clue on a sail boat but at trawler speed we get about 3.5 miles per gallon, if we went as slow as a sailboat we'd get about 5.5 MPG or so.

If you look at Mike's numbers and did the same in either boat you'd save a little by owning a sailboat (on fuel, maintenance and maybe insurance) but you'd miss a great deal by not experiencing the lifestyle that comes with owning a Ranger Tug. Besides I here from sailors all of the time how they hate being down in a cave and how they like the open visibility of our Ranger Tugs....this comes at a small price I guess.

Jim F

 

[JamesTXSD]

We were sailors before getting our first powercruiser. Over the years, we have had plenty of discussions with other cruisers about "What it costs?"... the conclusion is always: you will spend what you spend. We all travel differently - some are happy with sandwiches along the way, some of us enjoy eating out. Some will prefer to anchor out every night, others want the amenities a marina provides. You may be content to travel 20 miles a day, or you may want to cover 100 miles (more than that if you're towing). Hard to figure a cost per mile; most cruisers tend to estimate costs per month.

From a basic cost-per-mile standpoint, sailing is probably the least expensive way to travel. At one time, I was a sailing "purist" - I would tack 50 times in a channel rather than start up the engine. Yeah, that changed. And when sailors analyze their time, many find they spend more time motoring than under sail... then powercruising becomes more appealing. A trailerable cruiser allows you to cover more miles in a shorter time, getting to the "best" cruising at the time that best suits your schedule. Hard to put a value on that. You can make more money, you can't make more time.

Since you specifically mentioned "vacation," a boat may be one of the more expensive ways to travel, if you figure cost of ownership, used in short time periods. No other travel experience compares, though. At which point, it isn't expensive, it is priceless.

 

[NorthernFocus]

Unless you spend a LOT of time aboard, bare boat chartering is a lot more cost effective than owning a boat. Pick locations all over the world and just show up. Obviously most on here have decided to do otherwise.

I tend to calculate cost per pound of fish. I think we're currently down to about $500/lb. That's table ready weight.

 

[rick&sue]

Our experience In rough numbers:
We trailer our boat from Wisconsin.
All costs include from the time we leave home to the time we arrive back home.
We average 30 to 35 days away from home per trip.
Roughly 500 to 600 naut. miles in the boat.
Average roughly 90 engine hours.
$2,000 to $3100 per trip.
We tend to use marinas most of the time.
We utilize the truck to do the tourist thing (see the local sites) where we put the boat in the water, or where we pull the boat out of the water, (or both) so we will typically stay up to a week in a marina using the boat as a hotel room.
We have traveled all over this country by car, motorcycle, and personal airplane and I can truly say traveling by boat has been the greatest travel experience of our lives.
The direct costs are similar to other types of travel.
The cost of boat ownership can vary greatly and are not included in the travel/trip costs.

 

[Cruzerboy]

We moved from a trailerable 27' sailboat to an R-29s a couple years ago and never looked back. The sailboat was very inexpensive to own--we virtually never took it out. Too much hassle. The Tug is comfortable in all weather conditions, spacious, reliable, and you get to watch the marine world go by through great big widows or from the large, comfortable cockpit.

T.

 

[NewMoon]

I have detailed records of cruising costs for the last ten years.

Our boat is 26', diesel/sterndrive powered, and heavily built. Probably comparable to a Ranger 27 in economy - we get 3.5-4.5 nmpg traveling mostly at 6 knots or so (thought we can cruise at 16-18 knots if we wish). We averaged less than 40 nm per day, cruising SE Alaska for 2.5-3.5 months per year.

We eat out rarely, eating mostly on board, just as when we're at home. We anchor 2/3-3/4 of the time, so marina costs are not bad. Costs are moderate also because both fuel and moorage in SE Alaska are inexpensive compared to BC.

Not including purchase costs and insurance, and also excluding food and liquor (we'd spend for those on land), our costs while on the water in 2015 were $64/day. This includes maintenance, almost all of which I do myself.

Trailering, round trip from home in Utah to launch at Prince Rupert, cost almost exactly $2,000 in 2015. This includes the charge for storing truck and trailer in a safe location, and campground fees along the way. It takes a lot of diesel to haul a 12,000 lb trailer 1900 miles and back in mountainous country.

Some years back, when fuel was a lot higher, on-the-water costs ranged as high as $87/day. Road costs were similarly higher as well.