I can’t imagine something like that being as cheap as you describe, even if it’s not a multi million dollar vessel.
To add to some of the excellent answers: There is a whole category of folks who do van life, but it’s sailboat life. They live on the boat full time and go extremely low-budget – few of them are wealthy at all. People get hung up on “yacht” and all the baggage that word brings. Many purchased a boat in lieu of a van or a house. So even if you spent $100k it’s a cheaper life than on land in most cases.
Examples of low budget sailors you can check out:
Sam Holmes - I don’t know what he paid for his current boat but he’s super frugal. I’d be shocked if he paid more than $15k and it was probably a LOT less, knowing him. While back in the US he was sailing a boat (Bayfield 29) he got for free.
Sailing Uma - While this couple are now doing much better financially (thanks to their Youtube content) they originally paid $3k for their boat, put as I recall about another $3-5k into it and have been sailing ever since, including across the Atlantic and up to Svalbard, Norway, Iceland, etc.
Wind Hippie Sailing - Holly, who is pretty damned poor, sails a Grinde 27 which was a real fixer upper when she bought it. Not sure of the price but probably under $20k.
There are of course a ton of sailers out there who are not visible. I know of a couple of people who got their boat for free and have sailed at least from the US West coast to Hawaii or around the Carribean living on practically nothing.
To add to some of the excellent answers: There is a whole category of folks who do van life, but it’s sailboat life. They live on the boat full time and go extremely low-budget – few of them are wealthy at all. People get hung up on “yacht” and all the baggage that word brings. Many purchased a boat in lieu of a van or a house. So even if you spent $100k it’s a cheaper life than on land in most cases.
Examples of low budget sailors you can check out:
Sam Holmes - I don’t know what he paid for his current boat but he’s super frugal. I’d be shocked if he paid more than $15k and it was probably a LOT less, knowing him. While back in the US he was sailing a boat (Bayfield 29) he got for free.
Sailing Uma - While this couple are now doing much better financially (thanks to their Youtube content) they originally paid $3k for their boat, put as I recall about another $3-5k into it and have been sailing ever since, including across the Atlantic and up to Svalbard, Norway, Iceland, etc.
Wind Hippie Sailing - Holly, who is pretty damned poor, sails a Grinde 27 which was a real fixer upper when she bought it. Not sure of the price but probably under $20k.
There are of course a ton of sailers out there who are not visible. I know of a couple of people who got their boat for free and have sailed at least from the US West coast to Hawaii or around the Carribean living on practically nothing.