Ripster
Well-Known Member
There used to be a general rule of thumb that said expect to spend about 10% of the value of the boat each year with any unexpected breakdowns or any new toys and upgrades added on top.
Annual cost of owning a boat
- Thread starter MedwayNewbie
- Start date
jac
Well-Known Member
Need to be careful about that.
E.g. I buy a big but old 40 footer for £20,000 and keep her on the hamble in a marina. Guess about 50% of value on mooring alone.
I spend 100k on something small but quality (small halberg?) and keep on a club mooring oop north - mooring costs £100 so maybe 0.1% of value.
Extreme examples I know but I think ballpark figure of £1000 per 10 feet of boat length per year+ mooring costs
After all it's not how much your boat is worth that determines how much a new main costs, it's how big the main is.
E.g. I buy a big but old 40 footer for £20,000 and keep her on the hamble in a marina. Guess about 50% of value on mooring alone.
I spend 100k on something small but quality (small halberg?) and keep on a club mooring oop north - mooring costs £100 so maybe 0.1% of value.
Extreme examples I know but I think ballpark figure of £1000 per 10 feet of boat length per year+ mooring costs
After all it's not how much your boat is worth that determines how much a new main costs, it's how big the main is.
PhillM
Well-Known Member
Under £3k to buy
£3K to moor on Hamble
£6-8K per year (for last 2 and predicted for next 2) to restore / renew. Then expect to see that reduce to less than £2K p.a from then on.
BUT 1961 wooden and a labour of love so worth every penny.
£3K to moor on Hamble
£6-8K per year (for last 2 and predicted for next 2) to restore / renew. Then expect to see that reduce to less than £2K p.a from then on.
BUT 1961 wooden and a labour of love so worth every penny.
xyachtdave
Well-Known Member
Hello MedwayNewbie and welcome to YBW!
As a local I can clue you in on a couple of bits...
Assuming you are doing something with Elite sailing based at Chatham MDL and want in to boat ownership?
Chatham has great facilities, friendly staff, easy lock etc, but this comes at a price. Think £3500 K for your yearly parking arrangements for 36ft. Not a lot going on there socially.
Gillingham has a club bar (think 'Slaughtered Lamb'), a children's park, the lock is small and trickier and restricted tidally, friendly staff but not particularly cheaper.
Deep water swinging moorings are available from £500 - £900 a year depending on which Yacht Club.
I would suggest a trip to Medway Yacht Club one Saturday morning, one of the clubs officers would be happy to show you around. Realistic costs for 36 ft, mooring, lifting in/out, club fees around £1500 pa. On top of this you get a bar, trot boat at weekends, galley, racing if that's your thing and opportunities for kids to meet sailing friends and learn to sail.
The Med offers sheltered water sailing, so you can get out for a few hours in F8 if you fancy it, but without the sea state to match. Downsides are lack of easy destinations that offer pub food......
PM me if you need to know anything specific!
As a local I can clue you in on a couple of bits...
Assuming you are doing something with Elite sailing based at Chatham MDL and want in to boat ownership?
Chatham has great facilities, friendly staff, easy lock etc, but this comes at a price. Think £3500 K for your yearly parking arrangements for 36ft. Not a lot going on there socially.
Gillingham has a club bar (think 'Slaughtered Lamb'), a children's park, the lock is small and trickier and restricted tidally, friendly staff but not particularly cheaper.
Deep water swinging moorings are available from £500 - £900 a year depending on which Yacht Club.
I would suggest a trip to Medway Yacht Club one Saturday morning, one of the clubs officers would be happy to show you around. Realistic costs for 36 ft, mooring, lifting in/out, club fees around £1500 pa. On top of this you get a bar, trot boat at weekends, galley, racing if that's your thing and opportunities for kids to meet sailing friends and learn to sail.
The Med offers sheltered water sailing, so you can get out for a few hours in F8 if you fancy it, but without the sea state to match. Downsides are lack of easy destinations that offer pub food......
PM me if you need to know anything specific!
sighmoon
Well-Known Member
There are some swinging moorings on the Medway, which will be far cheaper if you can get one. There are also some in the lower reaches of the Thames belonging to sailing clubs.
For me the 10% of purchase price in maintenance has been about right over the long term, on 3 different boats, each costing about 10 times more than the last - the nicer the boat, the more the little things matter., and the little things add up.
For me the 10% of purchase price in maintenance has been about right over the long term, on 3 different boats, each costing about 10 times more than the last - the nicer the boat, the more the little things matter., and the little things add up.
Rob_Webb
Well-Known Member
10% of value of boat is a good proxy, maybe a bit higher for a smaller (sub-30ft boat). It can varying over time with peaks and troughs i.e. years of low-ish costs vs years of bigger costs e.g. new sails. But I find 10% is a decent long-term proxy.
PhillM
Well-Known Member
In that case my MAB is worth about £90K andif sombody wants to pay that, I'll have to reluctantly take it
neale
Well-Known Member
Total ......................................................... 46.461,03 €
for a boat with a purchase price of €34,200
QUOTE]
What may not be clear to anyone just looking at your bottom line figures is that the 34,200 purchase price is included in the annual spend of 46,461. So in reality your running costs for the year were around 12,000. Then there were lots of one offs for new stuff cos it was your first year. I think your ongoing running costs will be well below 10,000 and even then 5,000 of that is berthing fees. They won't be this much on the Mudway!
Lets not scare the newbies away
Baggywrinkle
Well-Known Member
What may not be clear to anyone just looking at your bottom line figures is that the 34,200 purchase price is included in the annual spend of 46,461. So in reality your running costs for the year were around 12,000. Then there were lots of one offs for new stuff cos it was your first year. I think your ongoing running costs will be well below 10,000 and even then 5,000 of that is berthing fees. They won't be this much on the Mudway!
Lets not scare the newbies away
I hope I'm not scaring anyone away,
but that was exactly my point - even though I bought the boat with a "full charter inventory", there were so many additional items that needed to be budgeted for because it was my first 'proper' boat, my first year and the inventory was actually quite sparse. If these things are identified and budgeted for then the first year will be plain sailing - if not then the first year will be considerably less fun due to missing essential items or lack of cash.
That's the only point I was trying to make, with examples of what additional items I needed and how much they cost. My intention was that perhaps the OP could look down the list and use it as a 'starter for 10' to see what he also might need in his first year. Prices and items will vary dependent on the boat and the OPs personal preferences.
My advice is don't blow all the available cash on the boat alone, leaving just enough for berthing, insurance, anti-foul and an oil/filter change. Think long and hard about the inventory too.
As also mentioned earlier, the value of the boat doesn't alter the cost of flares, charts, lifejackets, binos, jackstays, harnesses etc.
jordanbasset
Well-Known Member
We kept detailed costs for running our boat, a Bavaria 38, for the last 2 years. This included all service costs, mooring, fuel,water etc. Also one off items such as solar panels, new dinghy, Nasa BM1 etc. In fact everything included in running and maintaining the boat, down to a couple of stainless steel screws.
April 2010 to March 2011 from Port La Foret to Almerimar cost was 8,127 euros
April 2011 to April 2012, Almerimar to Greece cost was 5,708 euros.
April 2010 to March 2011 from Port La Foret to Almerimar cost was 8,127 euros
April 2011 to April 2012, Almerimar to Greece cost was 5,708 euros.
CreakyDecks
Well-Known Member
It's another world down south isn't it? maby
Well-Known Member
I perhaps should have made clear in my response that i was thinking in terms of basic running costs - somewhere to moor it, fuel, insurance and maintaining the physical structure of the boat including engine and sails. The OP's figures seem reasonably generous to cover those items. The total cost of being a boat owner is a different matter - you can manage to spend a very large amount of money on bling!
Kukri
Well-Known Member
Deduct the cost of the holidays you didn't take, because you were on the boat.
NB, do this when SWMBO is not looking, or it may backfire.
NB, do this when SWMBO is not looking, or it may backfire.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
It all depends who is asking; if SWMBO ask then I say; don't worry, it is cheap as chips; if the Taxman ask; then I say; Yacht?? what Yacht??.
However if my fellow forumites ask me the answer is: £850 form mooring and storage including lift in and out (twin keel yachts are cheap to keep) ;£300 for the insurance and no more than £250 for antifouling, a bit of diesel and bits and pieces: Total £1400 which is no bad for a 32ft.
However if my fellow forumites ask me the answer is: £850 form mooring and storage including lift in and out (twin keel yachts are cheap to keep) ;£300 for the insurance and no more than £250 for antifouling, a bit of diesel and bits and pieces: Total £1400 which is no bad for a 32ft.
maby
Well-Known Member
You need to change your SWMBO - mine keeps telling me that the boat is too small. She's started to dream that she's sailing a 50 footer!
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
You need to change your SWMBO - mine keeps telling me that the boat is too small. She's started to dream that she's sailing a 50 footer!
Yes you are right; I need to change my SWMBO; actually, I am going to tell her right now and if she asks why, I will say that MABY said so.
onesea
Well-Known Member
DO not forget the cost of days out weekends out if you where not on the baot you would be spending money some where?
Certainly I see sailing as cheap day out, even if you get hit by £30 marina fee. Still cheaper than night in hotel B&B etc.
As for me cost last 5 years 24 foot. £1000 Max including everything.
New to me boat his year, 6 months on well lets just say the chandlers, riggers and engineers have had more money out of me this year than they have for the last 5!
Then when I bought the last boat I did the same first year or 2 where expensive...
maby
Well-Known Member
Yes you are right; I need to change my SWMBO; actually, I am going to tell her right now and if she asks why, I will say that MABY said so.
Any time! I'm well known for my marriage guidance councelling!
YachtAllegro
Well-Known Member
As you'll have seen from the answers here, the annual cost is very different for each of us. Your fuel figure is almost certainly too high, possibly by a factor of ten or more. And your insurance figure is also probably slightly high. The other figures are the very variable ones, and these you can find out quite easily depending on your particular circumstances / preferences.
The main things to consider are:
- Where you're going to keep her - there seem to be a few people with local knowledge who've already contributed, but look at what your options are locally and find out how much they'll be for a 30' yacht. This can be your biggest cost (eg in a marina), but it could also be your smallest (eg if you find somewhere where you can buy or lay your own mooring, your only annual cost might be the Crown estate rent of £40-50 per year). And there are plenty of other options in between.
- Maintenance. Your lift-in / lift-out costs are something you can make enquiries about as well, depending on where you want to keep her. Antifouling is likely to be two tins for a 30' boat, or about £100-150 of paint. More, of course, if you pay someone else to do the painting. Things needing replacing. Depends over the first few years on what condition the boat is in when you first buy her. If you buy a well looked after boat, perhaps with recently replaced sails, rigging and engine, you may well need to do nothing other than antifouling for the first five years or so. Hence the sage observation above that the cheapest boats are the most expensive! While the 10% of value rule may be reasonable overall, expenses tend to come in big lumps at infrequent intervals, so you might have to average over quite a number of years before it evens out at that.
Cheers
Patrick
The main things to consider are:
- Where you're going to keep her - there seem to be a few people with local knowledge who've already contributed, but look at what your options are locally and find out how much they'll be for a 30' yacht. This can be your biggest cost (eg in a marina), but it could also be your smallest (eg if you find somewhere where you can buy or lay your own mooring, your only annual cost might be the Crown estate rent of £40-50 per year). And there are plenty of other options in between.
- Maintenance. Your lift-in / lift-out costs are something you can make enquiries about as well, depending on where you want to keep her. Antifouling is likely to be two tins for a 30' boat, or about £100-150 of paint. More, of course, if you pay someone else to do the painting. Things needing replacing. Depends over the first few years on what condition the boat is in when you first buy her. If you buy a well looked after boat, perhaps with recently replaced sails, rigging and engine, you may well need to do nothing other than antifouling for the first five years or so. Hence the sage observation above that the cheapest boats are the most expensive! While the 10% of value rule may be reasonable overall, expenses tend to come in big lumps at infrequent intervals, so you might have to average over quite a number of years before it evens out at that.
Cheers
Patrick
maby
Well-Known Member
In the Medway area the best value for money is probably to become a member of Medway Yacht Club. They have trot buoy moorings for a few hundred pounds per year and they have a DIY liftout for minor maintenance jobs that is free to members after you've had a quick training course from the resident engineer. You sail the boat into a big launching trailer on rails and wind it out yourself on a big electric winch.