Cost of keeping a boat?

I

ianali

New Member
Joined
13 Jul 2015
Messages
12
Visit site
Hi all,

Introduced ourselves on here a couple of weeks ago. We currently have a narrowboat in the midlands, England. Looking at cost of keeping and running a sailboat on the south coast. Looking at 30ish foot sailboat around 5 to 10 years old in good condition. Sea going boat. I realise things vary but looking for cost of keeping a boat in good running condition. As a narrowboat owner im aware that extra costs pop up so to speak but trying to get a rough idea of budget required? Mooring costs I have costed already. Thanks in advance . Ian.
 
How long is your piece of string.

Possible costs (assuming your home mooring is budgeted for)

Upgrade to boats and bits
Maintenance of boats and bits
Fuel
Visitors mooring/berthing/harbour fees at non-home venues
Cost of showers
Eating out
Personal transport (there and back) if you have to leave the boat somewhere
Car parking
Insurance
Annual anti-fouling
Annual liftout/liftin
Annual sail valet
Shorepower
Race entry fees
Local club membership if you're a joiner
Dinghy storage if you've a non-shore mooring
Cost of dinghy, if ditto
Pilot books and charts

Well, that's a start.
 
How far South, would the River Medway do, our club offers really good trot moorings, at very good prices, have a look at our web site Upnor sailing club, you will be surprised.
 
You are not likely to find a very great choice of average, white, bermudan sloop (sea going) boats that are around ten years old and around 30 ft in length. average/entry boats of that age are likely to be a bit bigger as until recently manufacturers were going for starter boats in the 32 to 35 foot range. Boats of that age which are around 30 ft are likely to be more specialist, modern gaffers etc.
 
Much also depends upon how much work you can do yourself. If you are going to call in the 'professionals' for every little thing that requires attention then you'll need deeper pockets than I have.
 
South coast; raised costs. Marina; ditto. Bigger the boat; ditto. Others doing work; ditto. Exclude these and costs drop dramatically.
New suit of sails 3k+. Engine refurb 2k+. Buying toys- sky's the limit. 10-15 yr re-rig 2k.
The more maintenance you can do the better
 
If I'd ever asked that question myself I would never have dared to own a boat.I do all the work on her myself and keep her in a free mooring.It's still a money pit though...
 
I do almost all work myself. My standing costs may not be applicable to you however swing mooring (owned by me) costs 250 squid PA licence fee plus about 200 squid every 2 years for mandatory inspection. Boat rego is about 60 squid PA. Trailer rego about 20 squid PA. Insurance for the boat about 250 squid PA. Antifoul paint about 25 squid PA. Club membership about 400 squid pA. Sail replacement about 250 squid PA. Sundries about 50 squid pA.
I think I calculated this results in about 10squid per hour of actual sauling. Assuming a fair bit of use. good luck olewill
nB no pounds sign on my keyboard just dollars.
 
ianali said:
Hi all,

Introduced ourselves on here a couple of weeks ago. We currently have a narrowboat in the midlands, England. Looking at cost of keeping and running a sailboat on the south coast. Looking at 30ish foot sailboat around 5 to 10 years old in good condition. Sea going boat. I realise things vary but looking for cost of keeping a boat in good running condition. As a narrowboat owner im aware that extra costs pop up so to speak but trying to get a rough idea of budget required? Mooring costs I have costed already. Thanks in advance . Ian.
Click to expand...

As already suggested you will find few boats that size under about 15 or more likely 20 years old. Costs can be split into 4 (and probably no different from a narrow boat). First your mooring costs. Second annual maintenance costs - engine service, insurance, haul out, antifoul. Third, replacement costs either essential because things are worn out or fail or upgrading enhancement. Finally usage costs - getting to and from the boat, fuel, mooring when cruising. The first two are fairly predictable, but annual maintenance and replacements can both vary from year to year and depend to a large extent on how "good" the boat is when you start. However much of this expenditure is (in the short term at least) discretionary - that is you can often delay expenditure or choose not to buy things without necessarily compromising the use of your boat. The last type is also partly discretionary as you can avoid marinas, sail more than motor etc to keep costs down.

Having said all that, you need to be thinking of spending in the region of £2-3000 on the second and third types - that is essential annual maintenance and minor repairs and replacements. major replacements like sails and upgrading electronics can be planned and budgeted for in advance of actually needing them.
 
Don't buy one! Don't jump into the financial abyss of boat ownership. Take up walking or if you don't have a dog, get one. Go to Greece for a charter holiday each year, better weather with no stress.

Now that you've taken no notice of the above.

Mooring costs, Marina (costly) Deep water Swing mooring (less costly)
Drying mooring (less again)

Maintenance labour by professionals (very costly)
By yourself (free)

Marine parts for breakages and on going upgrades, secondhand so so, new expensive, very expensive or extortionately expensive.

Insurance
Reasonable to expensive.

Clubs
Cheap to reasonable

Winter storage
Expensive to very expensive

Stress
None, Low to very high

Peacefulness
Wonderful

Other sailors
Absolute idiots to lifetime close friends

Way of life
From very good to fantastic.

Can I suggest a cockapoo as they are loyal and won't lose fur?!
 
Thanks for the above everyone . Costs look similar to narrowboating and aware that boats can eat money at times. When I said 30 footish was just rounding down, have looked at a couple 36 and I think 37 feet.
 
simonfraser said:
At least 10% of the purchase price per annum
Click to expand...

Given that you can buy a fully functioning boat like a Westerly Centaur for £5k it would be a challenge to run that for £500! Very simplistic view of annual running costs as they can easily exceed the purchase cost of a modest cruiser. Simple %age may be valid in a certain narrow purchase price band, but below that will climb and above that will shrink as the purchase price 9or value) increases running costs increase more slowly.
 
Where does the 30ish figure come from? Is this because of your experience with a narrowboat? The reason I ask is that a couple of days ago someone that owns a 32 foot boat came aboard my Centaur 26ft and commented that the main cabin was, surprisingly, roomier than the cabin on his boat.

My Centaur is comfortable for my wife and I to spread out in. It is supposed to sleep 6. I have sailed to France several times (in another Centaur) with 4 up and it was not a problem. The cost of visiting marinas is less and maintenance is less. I can get away with one tin of anti-foul. They were built like brick outhouses. Our Centaur is one of the later ones, built 1979. Prices from £5,000 to £11,000+ depending on what has been fitted. Very popular boats.
http://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/boatRange.php
 
ostell said:
Where does the 30ish figure come from? Is this because of your experience with a narrowboat? The reason I ask is that a couple of days ago someone that owns a 32 foot boat came aboard my Centaur 26ft and commented that the main cabin was, surprisingly, roomier than the cabin on his boat.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! A friend has a Feeling 286 which has a very roomy and sociable saloon, much more usable than our traditional saloon on a 35 footer
 
Cost everyone forgets about = loss of interest on capital.
For instance. If you pay £x for a boat then that's money which is now not in the bank. Invested, it would have attracted interest, but since you don't have the money any more, you don't get the interest.
For instance, if you pay £50,000 for the boat and you might have got about 2 % interest then you are losing £1,000 per year.
That might not sound an awful lot, given the rather pathetic rate of interest in most bank savings accounts, but will look a lot more worrying if you have to borrow the money, when the rate of interest you are paying will look a lot higher. So it all depends on circumstances, but at the least, should be given consideration.
 
One cost that can be managed is the 'annual' lift out and antifouling. As long as you don't mind some minor loss of speed in the second year, I find it's fine to do that every other year. I put on two thickish coats of antifoul and it lasts two years. Of course, that also relies on you having somewhere that you can keep the boat in the water over the winter. Some swinging moorings are summer only.

The major costs are mooring fees (unavoidable) and repairs/replacements (sadly also unavoidable but it helps if you buy a boat that has been well maintained and loved).

Edit: Forgot to add - if you're going to worry about cost of capital / interest lost, then perhaps you should choose a different hobby.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

boatmike
Merry Fisher 695
Replies
3
Views
212
Bouba
Bouba
S
How much does re-upholstery cost?
Replies
11
Views
468
Dino
Dino

Share this page

Top