I am a few years away from retirement, and thinking of "chucking" it all on land and living on a boat for a few years. I am not talking about sitting at the dock all day. My plan (the wife is onboard btw) would be to start with the great loop, then cruise around the Caribbean area. Spend a few days/weeks at each stop, and enjoy the local flavor.

One thing I am struggling with, is the cost to do this. My thought is, it will cost less than living on land.

Things I can delete from my budget:

Mortgage (equity in house will give me a nice trawler with no payment)
Car
Truck
Car Insurance
Vehicle gas
Vehicle maintenance
Utilities

Things that will be added to budget:

Boat insurance
Fuel
Boat maintenance
Dockage

Since I have just started investigating this, does anyone have more information, or a site that would help me get a better feel for the costs associated with live the boating vagabond lifestyle for a few years?

We lived aboard for 7 years. Slip rental will equal your mortgage payment. Boats depreciate. Until the recent crash realestate usually appreciates. You will have to pay storage for your stuff. It costs about the same to liveaboard as it does in a house except utilities are less. If you travel extensively it will cost you more, You still need a car. In reality you dont save any money. The experence is priceless and we are thinking of going back to a boat.

Rule #1 Buy a big enough boat. 50+ is my reccomendation.

Thanks for the comments.

My idea is to cruise (loop, Caribbean, etc.) so I won't have ongoing slip fees. When available, I will stay on the hook, or if I have to, rent a slip for a few days. I have read some loop stories where they stay at anchor more than at a dock. I also don't want to take a car with me on my boat either

I was thinking of a trawler in the 40-45' range. Single diesel engine to give me good fuel economy (I will be retired, so no big rush to get anywhere).

Where did you liveaboard?

Tennessee River. God's country for living aboard. Joe Wheeler Marina Rogersville Alabama.

Here is some information that may help: (I think it deals more with sailing, but adding maybe 60%-70% more for fuel, may give you a better idea if you are power cruising)

bethandevans.com/pdf/costofcruising.pdf

I have friends who from mid November until mid March, live on a 35' sailboat which they anchor in various places in and around Florida. Once they retire from their business up here, they plan to spend as much time as they can "On the Hook". And only come here to visit the family once or twice a year. I asked them how much bigger would the boat have to be, and they said the one they have is just fine.