Between our YouTube Channel and our blog, we share a lot of our life on the water. However, there are always things that go undocumented. Over the years, we have met plenty of new liveaboards who feel like they were “duped” into this lifestyle by its romanticized portrayal on social media. In our experience, living full-time on a boat is expensive, it is hard work, and it is time-consuming. Is it worth it? For us, yes. Is it worth it for you? I’m not sure!
So, in an effort to paint a more realistic picture of boat life, here is a bullet-point list of things we failed to document in March 2023:
This month we had more hired help than usual, so I’ve included who we hired where applicable.
- Our professional solar upgrade and lithium battery installation were completed. If you are considering a project like this, expect to pay $35-45K. We hired STT Marine Services.
- The windlass lock failed, Ray repaired it with materials we had on board.
- We hauled out at Bobby’s Megayard in St. Maarten. The haul and launch cost $1,674.20.
- Bottom sanding: $722.36
- Bottom painting: $923.51
- Prop and drive painting: $191.90
- Paint: ~$2,500.00
- Teak resurfacing by bunsboatingservices@gmail.com: $800
- Fiberglass wash and wax by bunsboatingservices@gmail.com: $1,800.00
- Thru hull removal and replacement by Peter Hoff: ~$3,500.00
- Rig inspection by FKG Marine: $210.13
- Ray changed our zinc anodes with spares we had on board, and we replaced those spares for $101.90.
- I polished our stainless once.
- One of our fans in the salon started making a weird noise. This is the second fan to do this this year (the first was in January). Ray took it apart and lubed it up, which seemed to have fixed the problem. We will likely replace all our indoor fans in the future, but for now, we carry one spare that was gifted to us by a fellow cruiser.
- Ray installed two small fans behind our new electric oven to improve airflow. He hooked the fans to a temperature sensor so they automatically turn on when needed. The equipment for this project cost ~$100.00.
- We paid $24.99/month for a mailbox at Island Mail in St. Thomas.