Boat running costs

[Minerva]

The common refrain is that boat running costs increase with the cube o the Boat length. How accurate is that in practice?

Currently got a 34ft boat and whilst some costs sting a little, I do fancy a boat around the 44ft mark. Think of it as a holiday cottage so my wife and I can have a smidge more comfort with bigger tankerage.

Summer moorings would be broadly similar costs to the current boat (Same mooring) / perhaps increased wear n tear.

Winter moorings would be 30%more

Antifoul would likely be an extra £100 a year or so

So what am I missing? My [talisker fuelled] man maths makes the running costs out to be a more linear coat progression than the exponential.

 

[RJJ]

Sail area and antifouling area increase as the square of the linear dimension. Sails need to be more heavily engineered, as do winches, windlasses, clutches. Far fewer physical tasks are an easy 1-man job; bending on the mainsail (for example) requires me and a chum

You can look up the replacement cost for, say, a 55hp vs a 25hp engine.

All those seem to indicate a hike that's gonna be more than 25pc.

 

[Tranona]

There are "costs" and "costs" so you need to be clear about what type of costs you are talking about. One way to split is between essential and discretionary. Of the essential costs, most are related to length (mooring, haulage, storage) or value (insurance). Annual maintenance of the fabric of the boat - paint, engine service are also linked to size of boat, but not in such a linear way. It is longer term items where it is difficult to determine any kind of direct link, but on a systemic basis replacement bits for the fabric of the boat (as opposed to ephemeral things like electronics - a chart plotter costs the same whatever boat it is on, although the larger the boat the bigger the plotter) go up in relation to size. However much of this expenditure is discretionary - that is you have some choice over when you spend it and how much you spend (sails will last another year - or should we go for laminate). You see many people who effectively work a boat to death by not replacing things on a regular basis and even not replacing at all if the boat still works.

Personal view is that the cheapest way to run a boat (on an ongoing basis) is to buy new and have everything fitted from new. I have just sold a boat I bought new after 6 season's use. My only expenditure of note apart from annual engine service was a new exhaust muffler, re-coppercoating the keel and repairs to the windlass and wind instrument in the final year. I did buy a new mainsail but the original was still perfectly usable. This approach if course requires a substantial investment upfront, but if you like most buy used you are inevitably buying what is left over of the life of the boat and its gear and it is the cost of maintaining and enhancing its capability that is the imponderable. So you could say that a 44 footer in tip top condition might have lower running costs than a well worn 34 footer when you get to the third or fourth glass!