REGULAR ENVOY BLOGGING STARTS FOR 2011

Diane & I will arrive back in Marmaris on Tuesday 12 April. Envoy goes back into the water on 20 April, and we hope to start our cruising by 1 May. We have confirmation that the parts to (hopefully) fix our HRO water maker and Naiad stabilisers are waiting for us.
A reminder that by clicking the Link on the lower right of our blog “Map of Envoy’s Travels” you can see where we’ve been and where we are. When you get to the map you can use the zoom function on the left side, and the navigating arrows above the zoom.
COSTS OF CRUISING
Diane & I kept an accurate record of our costs during 2010 to assist our writing projects with Pacific Motor Yacht magazine. Different folks have different philosophies about their cruising lifestyles and associated costs, so what we are saying is not what’s “right”, but simply our own experience. Our 2010 costs are listed below in order of magnitude, expressed as a percentage of total costs, and with some comments. We only included cash costs, and not depreciation.
As a general statement actual living costs such as food, beverages, household supplies and personal spending are about the same when cruising as when at home, although spending on clothing is less when cruising. The cost of owning your boat in terms of maintenance and insurance is also similar. What bumps up the cost is the travel to and from your boat, meeting regulatory requirements moving between countries, plus sightseeing and associated costs ashore – particularly rental cars and accommodation.
Maintenance (42%): A commonly mentioned “rule of thumb” about annual maintenance costs is they will be about 10% of the value of your boat. We have always found our costs much less than that on average. During 2010 our costs were very high representing 42% of our total, but there was little maintenance done in 2008 & 2009 –we only had Envoy’s below waterline gelcoat stripped, the hull thoroughly dried using the Hotvac process, and a new epoxy gelcoat laid on. We decided to do this because Envoy was 20 years old, showed signs of minor osmosis, and was not being used so the timing was good. If Envoy had been used during 2008 and 2009 I very much doubt the maintenance cost would have increased, in fact it may have decreased. The cost includes replacement of spare parts used, and keeping Envoy in tip-top condition. If we take the whole period 2008-2010 the total maintenance cost was about 6% of the estimated capital value.
Food, Beverages, Household (13%): This includes all consumables, galley and head cleaning supplies. Food is generally about the same price or slightly cheaper than in NZ while alcoholic beverages are dearer in Turkey.
Going ashore (10%): Includes refreshments, meals, buses, rental cars, petrol for rental cars, accommodation and entry fees. Some tips here are to have drinks ashore to soak up some atmosphere, but eat back aboard. Select restaurants that locals use, back from the expensive water-side ones. Always select from the menu and never allow the waiter to “organise a nice meal for you” without knowing the cost. Shop around for cheap rental cars, or better still use the many bus services available.
Insurance, Marinas, Regulatory (10%): Includes the cost of storing Envoy on the hard for four winter months. Also here are marina costs, cruising permits, immigration fees and vaccinations.
Travel (7%): Travel always costs more than you expect – why?
- the very special fare deals are generally not obtainable for return dates more than 6 months from departure dates
- we got penalised for changing our return date
- we had excess luggage which is both an expense and a major inconvenience
- we stayed overnight on the way there and back, incurring additional hotel, food and transportation charges (as well as more general spending)
Fuel (6%): This included diesel for the three engines, petrol for two outboards and lpg for cooking. We could have reduced this a little by purchasing more diesel in Greece where diesel is cheaper than Turkey – we’ll do that this year.
Misc (5%): Comprised costs such as boat medical supplies, phone & internet, some laundry (in marinas we cannot always use our washing machine), and postage.
Personal (4%): Included buying clothing, cosmetics, medical, dentistry, gifts and similar. This is a cost that would vary enormously depending on the individual.
On-Board Improvements (2%): Making improvements to Envoy as opposed to maintaining existing equipment. Replacing equipment is categorised as maintenance.
NZ Costs (1%): These comprised bills such as house & car insurance, alarm monitoring fees and similar.
Looking ahead this year we expect our maintenance cost (and therefore our total costs) to significantly reduce.
Our next blog will be around 16 April with first impressions after our return.