If you were really good about budgeting and the frugal life, you might be able to do it at £50/day sustainably—and that doesn't include the cost of your time. Y

If you were really good about budgeting and the frugal life, you might be able to do it at £50/day sustainably—and that doesn't include the cost of your time. You'd have to pick your spot strategically and you probably wouldn't be doing any ocean crossing at this level. Literally everything on a boat has to be replaced (other than the hull, hopefully) over time. Sails and rigging only last so long depending on where you are. Even good engines need to be rebuilt after 5k hours or so. Decks need to be redone. Antifouling needs to be reapplied. And those are just the big expenses that will average out over time. Anything that lasts over 10 years on a boat that is actively sailing should get a special award. That is to say, a £100,000 actively used sailboat will require at least £100,000 every 10 years to keep it safe and seaworthy. So right there you are starting at a base cost of around £25/day. Total cost is going to be somewhere around £50-£100/day, especially if you want access to a decent marina and/or mooring spot. At the upper end, £100/day, you can actually have quite a nice setup if you get a really good hull in the 10-14 meter range and are willing to put in the time and work to do the maintenance yourself. Plenty of left over money for groceries, shore trips, and other supplies. You could cross oceans safely. £5/day will get you nothing. That's only £150/mo, and the odds are good that you need to buy at least £150 worth of parts and cleaning materials a month. Depending on the boat, a single simple part like a latch can easily be £150 itself depending on where you are going to need get it shipped from and how quickly you need it. At £5/day you are pooping over the side of a boat which is rapidly disintegrating and you're probably suffering from general malnutrition and scurvy. So it definitely can be done, but at this level it's really just being homeless with extra steps.