The Cruising Question, that has no answer… well, up until now. I reckon Noel has nailed it. Jackie writes:
“When Noel introduced me to cruising I asked him what it would all cost; his reply was ‘everything we’ve got!’ Sceptical at the time, I can now see the truth in what he said.
Endless Cruising Equipment – What Will Sailing Cost!
The equipment available to purchase for your boat is limitless. Purchases only stop when you decide to stop buying!
Overwhelming
The concisive category list can be overwhelming in itself, let alone the exhaustive list that falls under each category. For instance:
Maintenance
Spares
Galley
Rigging
Engine/Outboard
Emergency Gear
Sails
Repair equipment
Navigation
Communication
Tools
Head
Electronics…
Dare I go on?! Perhaps the overwhelm of it all is why some boats never leave the marina or the safe harbour?
The list will never end
You have to make a decision where your cut off point is, or it will consume all of your cruising budget. Eventually those idyllic locations will become dreams blown away with the wind.
Recommendations
Here is a minimal list of recommendations from years of extensive cruising of what we suggest, in the area of safety:
EPIRB
MOB equipment
Radios: 2 x VHF radios (short range) and one SSB/HF (long range) radio
Compressed air horn or foghorn
Whistles
Life Jackets
Life-raft
Fire extinguishers, including an auto/remote suppression system in the engine room (if possible!)
Flares
Additional signalling devices e.g. mirrors, sea-dye
Radar
GPS/Plotter
Grab Bag (See our article on Grab Bags here)
Medical kits
Sea anchor
Training to understand how to use all the equipment and how to keep safe onboard!
For further ideas on additional expenses to consider, check out the book Cruisers’ AA: Cruisers’ Accumulated Accumen.
Where we go into more depth of what worked and didn’t work for us and other cruisers we met along the way.
It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and what helps alleviate that is digging into the experience gleaned from Jackie and Noel.
You can also learn from them with a Cruise Ready Bundle on: Navigation – Weather – Passage Planning – Col Regs here.
Learn more about what we do here.