June 2021 Cruising Prep Expenses
Let the rolling 2 weeks continue . . . though there is quite possibly an end in sight. We’ve talked about maybe being able to go in the water next week. Could this be the last full month of cruising prep expenses?
We’ve been working full time on the boat since January, living aboard since mid-April. Since keeping track of expenses (mid-2018) we’re well past the $50,000 mark just in cash outlay; our hours, tallied since January 2020, are just shy of 2000. It’s still worth it to us.
June. The first 4 days we were in Vermont, and we took a large part of my birthday off. Both of these have an effect on hours spent working, as you might imagine. With no further ado, though, here’s what we spent!
Grand Total Boat Money for June: $2171.42
Boat projects: (consumables for general boat work) $988.26
lots of varnish, epoxy, paint
starboard for propane boxes
coolant for engine
lots of fasteners
Boat gear: (more durable pieces of kit, also a little bit nebulous) $1183.16
stainless sheet and rod for anchor roller
downpayment on anchor roller construction
windlass switch
bilge pump
new tablet for navigation
galley gear: dish pan, knife magnets, flame throwers
pillows
fans
switches (why this isn’t in the projects list I have no idea)
bluetooth receiver for stereo
and then there’s the other stuff of life requiring outlay of cash . . .
Miscellaneous: $1975.69
yacht club dues, boat insurance, yard storage ($244.42)
storage unit ($65)
groceries/booze ($852.90) (includes $ for Bee for groceries)
cell phone ($37.62) (Jeremy Google Fi)
gasoline for the van ($321.10) (SUPER high - includes van fill ups as well as Prius fills for 2 complete round trip Virginia/Vermont commutes in a week)
car parts (oil change ) ($75.80)
health insurance for the family ($81.29)
mailing ($3.43)
take out/drive thru ($294.13) (!!!!HIGH - road trips, Cville days, and trying new pizza place in Dville)
And then let’s get to the true cost of this refit - the hours we spent working on the boat. No, I’m not including hours spent cooking or cleaning or reorganizing the galley, which happens I swear three times a week. Just boat work.
TOTAL HOURS WORKED ON THE BOAT: 283
boomkin installation
final rigging work
engine/electrical
glop application on rudder cheeks
rudder epoxy and sanding
wind vane construction
propane box construction
sourcing parts for and designing anchor roller
We’re closing in on being able to splash, with the rudder/windvane as the main hurdle and the additional project of putting on bottom paint. We’re so close we’ve already talked to the yard about what the schedule looks like for next week. Once we do splash, this series will become “cruising expenses” as opposed to “cruising prep expenses” - and, after another hard push of crazy work to get the boat seaworthy, hopefully the work hours will diminish appreciably. We’re aching to be enjoying life on the water!
Like this and want to see more? Check out the other posts in this series: