Annual Maintenance & Servicing Costs: Sunseeker Camargue 47

philipdawsonladds said:
I only have a 42' boat with 2 x VP 370hp diesels - I have an engineer do the work and I buy the parts - engineer is usually £600 and parts about the same - excluding any "issues" of course. I used to do DIY but the cost is pretty reasonable - here on the Solent
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Ideal solution if you can find a skilled and trusted mechanic willing to work for cash. In Spain quality of mechanics is generally poor and few reputable ones will work off the books to avoid iiva (tax).
 
rafiki_ said:
Annually you will need an oil change, check all the belts, check for leaks. Check water strainers and sea cocks all ok. £1000 ish. I do my own checks and oil change. Checks = £0. My oil change (Cat 3126 Dita’s), 25 litres per engine plus new filter. £125 per engine. Took about 3 hours, plus 30 mins to warm the engines.
I change the impellers every 3 years. These are large impellers and have never looked worn. These are £50 ish each. You might need a technician for this, as you have to remove the water hoses, and take the pump off the engine. Budget 4 hours tops.
Coolant change every 3-4 years, plus if the engines are starting to run a little warmer, clean out the heat exchangers and charge air coolers. 5-6 hours?
Change drive belts when they are looking worn. They might need an intermediate tighten. 1 hour max per engine.
Fuel filters every 100 hours or 2 years.
Generator oil and filter. £50 tops. Check belts and tighten or replace as needed.
If you have other systems like aircon, water maker, costs start to ramp.
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Helpful and informative response - thank you.
 
roa312 said:
I agree with the above that EUR 20k/year for engine service/maintenance sounds very expensive unless that includes some sort of reserve account for big ticket items or eventual engine replacement. I think you should try contacting a few service people in your area to get their opinion on annual costs.

EDIT: I just re-read your post and realise that I maybe misunderstood whether you were asking about strict engine service/maintenance costs or the entire service/maintenance costs for the boat!
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The broker takes care of everything for the current owner who is 83 - so the annual £20k includes servicing of engines and shafts, as well as lift outs for annual cleaning/anti-fouling.
 
Clash said:
Can the broker not show you the service records for the boat? You should be able to verify the figures he's suggesting.
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He is quite open to sharing receipts and invoices - just didn’t have time due to do so or provide a breakdown of the 20k figure. I’ll have another go requesting totals for last couple of years to try and tease out what costs what.
 
DAW said:
The budget for annual maintenance and servicing will obviously vary a lot based on where you are in the Med, how much of the work you will do yourself and how much you plan to shop around to find the lowest price for everything versus selecting trusted local providers who will be there when you need them at short notice. The amount of EUR 20K suggested by the broker seems high but not completely crazy ... at least based on my experience in the SoF.

Many buyers of this type/size of boat will outsource everything and will have some sort of monthly guardiennage/cleaning service to look after the boat when they're not there (compulsory in some marinas), use an authorised service agent for the engines/gearbox servicing (not so many choices for Caterpillar) and go to one of the local shipyards for annual lift out/antifoul (few to choose between and most don't allow you to do the work yourself or to use your own contractors). Add in the cost of servicing the generator and tender, a modest allowance for routine replacements and repairs and a small contingency and you get close to the amount proposed by the broker.
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Broker does everything for the current owner who is 83. Owner has apartment on the marina so doesn’t need the boat overseen. Broker is ex-Sunseeker employee so takes boat to a nearby marina where lift out and charges are cheaper. To make this anywhere near affordable I’ll need to do as much of the work as I can - willing to learn and have a go.
 
ClaytonDJ said:
Broker does everything for the current owner who is 83. Owner has apartment on the marina so doesn’t need the boat overseen. Broker is ex-Sunseeker employee so takes boat to a nearby marina where lift out and charges are cheaper. To make this anywhere near affordable I’ll need to do as much of the work as I can - willing to learn and have a go.
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As mentioned in my earlier post, it really does depend on where you are, how much you are willing and able to do yourself and your attitude to selection of suppliers. Just be aware that the Med hotspots are not the same as the UK ... there may seem to be just as many alternative suppliers, but your choice of capable/dependable/trustworthy partners is more limited and the cost of having work done during the busy periods is almost always much higher.

I have a couple of friends with boats in this size range (16-17m/45-55 feet) kept in marinas from Menton to Antibes who don't do any maintenance themselves and outsource everything like your current owner. Below is summary of the major costs they typically incur every year:

Engines/gearboxes service by MAN/Volvo Penta authorised dealer EUR 2500-4000
Generator service by Onan/Kohler authorised dealer EUR 750-1000
Lift out/relaunch, blocking, pressure wash and standing on hard - EUR 2000-2500
Supply and application of two coats of antifoul - EUR 2000-4000
Supply and fit of zinc anodes - EUR 750-1000
Service of Williams tender by authorised dealer - EUR 1000-1500

The cost of the engine and generator service varies depending on whether you need to replace impellers, clean heat exchangers, etc.. The cost can be much lower if you use a non-approved engineer (of which there are many, especially for VP) or do some of the work yourself, and if you source non-OEM parts, consumables and fluids.

The shipyard costs are based on using one of the two Monaco Marine yards which have very good reputations but are expensive. The antifoul cost includes surface preparation and sanding (not just slapping on a new coat of paint) and use of Hempel/International products. You can cut this cost significantly by using one of two smaller yards, choosing cheaper materials and asking your guardiennage company to do the work.

There is only one authorised dealer for Williams, so no alternative if you want to have access to software tools, etc,

There are a couple of reputable companies providing guardiennage services in our area. The base cost is about EUR 200-300 per month and this typically includes cleaning (twice a month during the summer and occasionally during the winter) and routine mechanical/safety checks as needed.

Add up the above, allow for some unexpected repairs and replacements and include all the other smaller costs you tend to forget about (eg servicing of fire extinguishers, air-conditioners, life-raft, etc.) and you can easily get close to the average of EUR 20,000 per year the current owner is paying.

None of this includes the cost of the berth, which again varies a lot based on where you are ... For example, a 16-17m boat in Menton is EUR 5000 per year while in Monaco/Beaulieu/Antibes just a few km along the coast it will cost in the region of EUR 18000 (and that's if you can get a space).
 
If the owner wants a true "turn key" solution , so not only engine maintanance but really everything including washing/polishing/antifouling/winterization etc , 20k euro/year is imho not unrealistic for such a boat .

beyond costs the downside is that the owner knows nothing about his own boat and honestly - the beer onboard tastes best when you perforned a work DIY and it works !
 
petem said:
Depends entirely where you are. South of Alicante is very cheap. Ibiza is very expensive.

Our mechanic is great, he's the ex head mechanic for the local VP dealer, now an independent charging €40 an hour (and he's on site so no travel costs).
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Whereabouts in Spain is this mechanic based? I'm south of Alicante
 
ClaytonDJ said:
……. To make this anywhere near affordable I’ll need to do as much of the work as I can - willing to learn and have a go.
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Perhaps you need to look at smaller boats. If the expected costs are making affordability marginal before you have even purchased, perhaps biting off more than should. With boats, costs only tend to go up, with inevitable “unexpected” repair costs - none of them cheap
Sometimes smaller is sweeter..
 
dunedin said:
Perhaps you need to look at smaller boats. If the expected costs are making affordability marginal before you have even purchased, perhaps biting off more than should. With boats, costs only tend to go up, with inevitable “unexpected” repair costs - none of them cheap
Sometimes smaller is sweeter..
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Not sure if making it smaller will really help unless we're talking small enough to run off one engine instead of two.
 
ten grand per engine.....if you follow the dealer schedule maintenance...plus whatever a 29 year engine throws at you....might not be far from the truth....probably not every season....but it will happen. DIY is obviously the way to save money....and hope that the lack of main dealer maintenance won’t hurt the resale.
 
Bouba said:
ten grand per engine.....if you follow the dealer schedule maintenance...plus whatever a 29 year engine throws at you....might not be far from the truth....probably not every season....but it will happen. DIY is obviously the way to save money....and hope that the lack of main dealer maintenance won’t hurt the resale.
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Presumably 10 grand per engine is when serviced by main dealer? In your expert opinion, what sort of reduction can be achieved by doing the more straight-forward jobs myself?
And I understand that shafts are cheaper/easier to maintain than sterndrives (but have a premium hit on fuel burn).
 
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