While underway, most family cruisers on production sailboats average:
| Vessel / Condition | Speed (knots) | Speed (MPH) |
|---|---|---|
| Typical monohull under sail | 5–7 kn | 5.8–8.1 mph |
| Catamaran under sail | 6–9 kn | 6.9–10.4 mph |
| Motoring / motorsailing (common in light wind) | 4.5–6 kn | 5.2–6.9 mph |
| Realistic passage average | ~5.5 kn | ~6.3 mph |
| Hypothetical seastead (with current assistance) | 0.87–1.3+ kn | 1.0–1.5+ mph |
The seastead is roughly 4–5× slower than a sailboat while underway. But that's only half the story.
"Cruising" is famously described as "boat repair in exotic locations." Surveys and community consensus among long-term cruisers consistently show:
Precise statistics don't exist, but cruising-community surveys and forum data suggest:
| Income Situation | Estimated Share of Families |
|---|---|
| Some ongoing income while cruising (any source) | ~40–60% |
| Full-time remote work (employment or freelancing) | ~25–40% |
| Funded entirely by savings/investments/passive income | ~40–60% |
Common income streams: remote software/consulting work, YouTube/blogging, online teaching, rental property income, and investment returns. Remote work share has grown sharply since 2020.
| Metric | Typical Cruising Family | Seastead @ 1.3 kn (1.5 mph) | Seastead @ 0.87 kn (1.0 mph) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed while moving | 5.5 kn | 1.3 kn | 0.87 kn |
| % of time moving | ~10% | ~100% | ~100% |
| Annual distance | ~4,800 nm | ~11,400 nm | ~7,600 nm |
| Atlantic crossing (~2,900 nm) | ~22 days | ~93 days | ~139 days |
| Work possible while traveling? | Rarely | Yes, routinely | Yes, routinely |
How the cruiser number is derived: 36.5 moving days/year × 24 hrs × 5.5 kn ≈ 4,800 nautical miles — right in the middle of the 2,000–6,000 nm/year range reported by active cruising families.
How the seastead number is derived: 365 days × 24 hrs × 1.3 kn ≈ 11,400 nm. Even if the seastead stops 25% of the time for resupply and exploration, it still logs ~8,500 nm/year — nearly double a typical cruiser.
Yes — with an important reframing.
The right mental model isn't "a slower sailboat." It's a slow-drifting home that accumulates distance the way a cruiser accumulates it in bursts — except without the waiting, the weather anxiety, or the lost workdays.
``` A few notes on the assumptions baked in, in case you want to tweak them: - **The 90/10 anchor/moving split** is the biggest lever. If you assume cruisers move 20% of the time instead of 10%, the seastead's advantage shrinks to roughly break-even at 1.0 mph. - **The 5.5-knot passage average** reflects real-world mixed sailing/motoring; pure sailing averages are higher but rarely sustained. - **The working-percentage figures** are the softest numbers here — there's no rigorous census of cruising families, so treat them as directional rather than exact. The core takeaway survives any reasonable adjustment: continuous 1–1.5 mph motion produces 7,600–11,400 nm/year, which comfortably exceeds what most cruising families actually achieve.