Seahope
Well-Known Member
I expect within the next couple of months to fill up my boat tanks (around 535 litres) and was wondering how the new cost of diesel will effect our usage plans?
Effect of Diesel Prices on your Boating?
- Thread starter Seahope
- Start date
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Fule is a relatively minor cost on Rafiki, and plan to use more of it this year.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
What new diesel cost ?
Seahope
Well-Known Member
Paul last time I filled up Red Diesel was around 96p per litre. I haven't been to a marina for a while but news stories are warning us of road diesel costs of 150ppl in the next few months.
I would expect marine diesel to be around the 140ppl by the time I fill up. This would mean that a short trip from Port Solent to East Cowes and assuming I keep the RPM down to a sensible 2800 I would be burning around 70 litres for the round trip or 100 if I went WOT. Interestingly, the planing part of that trip is very small in comparison with the long chug out to the Solent and the trip along the river when I get there.
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PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
Is the 60/40 split significantly more than 96p now ? I don't think it is.
Might be a different story if we lose white and have to pay full duty and 20% VAT, but that's another story and it's by no means certain that'll happen.
Might be a different story if we lose white and have to pay full duty and 20% VAT, but that's another story and it's by no means certain that'll happen.
Stork_III
Well-Known Member
Its been £1.16 (60/40) at Shotley for a while, since before you moved your boat, may be more now, perhaps you never used the fuel pontoon.
Whitelighter
Well-Known Member
I'm buying a sailing boat.
While I can afford a motor boat (indeed the saily job I want is significantly more expensive than any mobo I have bought) the prospect of having to stump up a few hundred quid every time I want to go out is unpalatable.
Especially as fuel costs are only going to get worse, whicle wind will remain free.
While I can afford a motor boat (indeed the saily job I want is significantly more expensive than any mobo I have bought) the prospect of having to stump up a few hundred quid every time I want to go out is unpalatable.
Especially as fuel costs are only going to get worse, whicle wind will remain free.
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
That's what i mean, is £1.16 a huge increase from 96p ? It's been that way for a while, which is why i queried the "new cost" comment.
Bloater
Well-Known Member
+1, except I have already bought my sailing boat
PaulGooch
Well-Known Member
+2 in the process of getting the mobo advertised.
We can comfortably afford what we have, but would like to move up to a 35-40 foot boat and running one of those in mobo format would be out of our budget. Plus, we fancy a change and would like to try sailing.
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maverickofpoole
Well-Known Member
The less you use a boat the harder it is to justify the fixed costs so I hope to use mine at least as much as previous years hopefully more. For me it comes down to pleasure derived from money spent and so far I think it's still worth it..just 
Momac
Well-Known Member
I bought some red diesel at a marina in January 2012 at £1.10/litre. Which was less than £1.15/£1.16 which I had paid, at other local waterside sources, in summer 2011.
We are river based and single engine in 25ft sports cruiser. The consumption per hour at river speeds is modest. Fuel cost doesn't deter us from travelling at speed where we are permitted but that is a very small part of our annual hours. No doubt fuel use on the same boat based on the coast , and travelling mostly at greater speed, would potentially be more of an issue.
I have yet to cut back on use of the boat due to fuel cost. We do about 100 engine hours a year. Using the boat more , not less , would still add value for money.
We are river based and single engine in 25ft sports cruiser. The consumption per hour at river speeds is modest. Fuel cost doesn't deter us from travelling at speed where we are permitted but that is a very small part of our annual hours. No doubt fuel use on the same boat based on the coast , and travelling mostly at greater speed, would potentially be more of an issue.
I have yet to cut back on use of the boat due to fuel cost. We do about 100 engine hours a year. Using the boat more , not less , would still add value for money.
Whitelighter
Well-Known Member
Spi D
...
Being outside the UK paying full price for fuel isn't new to me. Always have, in fact.
Price wars are common. FYI todays list prices are
£1,54 /liter 92 Octane
£1,55 /liter 95 Octane
£1,57 /liter 95 Octane V-Power-type
£1,37 /liter Diesel (road use, 7% bio)
Marina's sell Marine Diesel (no bio additive) and prices are higher.
Price wars are common. FYI todays list prices are
£1,54 /liter 92 Octane
£1,55 /liter 95 Octane
£1,57 /liter 95 Octane V-Power-type
£1,37 /liter Diesel (road use, 7% bio)
Marina's sell Marine Diesel (no bio additive) and prices are higher.
gravygraham
Well-Known Member
Clearly any diesel cost increases are most unwelcome. However, I reckon to all but the most adventurous of us, depreciation and berthing costs are much more £ consuming than diesel. By some way.
A quick tot up - £3,300 marina fees; £1,600 for servicing and repairs/replacements; and depreciation (very rough guide, 10% per year) £13,000 - totals £17,900. At about 1.5mpg and juice at £1.50/litre, I reckon it costs me about £4.50/mile on average. Taking the sums further I think I'll have to motor just under 4,000 miles a year (220hrs @18kts) to spend as much on diesel as I do all my other boating costs.
Obviously there's a lot of folk with smaller and older mobo's, so less berthing and depreciation costs there, but I still reckon diesel is not a significant cost.
Come on then - someone shoot me down in flames.
A quick tot up - £3,300 marina fees; £1,600 for servicing and repairs/replacements; and depreciation (very rough guide, 10% per year) £13,000 - totals £17,900. At about 1.5mpg and juice at £1.50/litre, I reckon it costs me about £4.50/mile on average. Taking the sums further I think I'll have to motor just under 4,000 miles a year (220hrs @18kts) to spend as much on diesel as I do all my other boating costs.
Obviously there's a lot of folk with smaller and older mobo's, so less berthing and depreciation costs there, but I still reckon diesel is not a significant cost.
Come on then - someone shoot me down in flames.
ian38_39
Well-Known Member
Sorry but i may have found a flaw in your calculations.
Mine is run on liquid gold, unfortunately this will be about 15p per litre cheaper than white gold if ruby's are banned.
Being on the broads my moorings at 34' are £1500 a year, yes that is in a marina on a floating pontoon.
My depreciation, given that the boat is 18 years old is as close as damit 0, my servicing I do myself at about £1000 a year including the lift and all parts. Repairs, well it has never broken down, insirance £190. Toll £300. All in £3000.
Fuel last year without doing silly hours, a trip to London, one to Southwold a couple of blips from Yarmouth to lowestoft and the rest river use. £3200.
Now you may want to revisit your depreciation costs as somewhere there has got to be someone to buy boats at the start of the chain and believe me, when fuel makes up over 50% of your boating costs, if it goes up it does make a difference and it will also make a difference to you as you are going to have to find a lot more money to make up for your loss of value as people with a modest income that traditionally bought older boats are not going to be able to run them.
Mine is run on liquid gold, unfortunately this will be about 15p per litre cheaper than white gold if ruby's are banned.
Being on the broads my moorings at 34' are £1500 a year, yes that is in a marina on a floating pontoon.
My depreciation, given that the boat is 18 years old is as close as damit 0, my servicing I do myself at about £1000 a year including the lift and all parts. Repairs, well it has never broken down, insirance £190. Toll £300. All in £3000.
Fuel last year without doing silly hours, a trip to London, one to Southwold a couple of blips from Yarmouth to lowestoft and the rest river use. £3200.
Now you may want to revisit your depreciation costs as somewhere there has got to be someone to buy boats at the start of the chain and believe me, when fuel makes up over 50% of your boating costs, if it goes up it does make a difference and it will also make a difference to you as you are going to have to find a lot more money to make up for your loss of value as people with a modest income that traditionally bought older boats are not going to be able to run them.
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hlb
RIP
In the real world, you can see the massive difference in this forum, which used to be viberant and bussy, far more posts than Scuttlebut, and most posts were just about fun things, or long posts about big adventures.
It's now about as dead as a door nail.
We used to do regular, 600 mile round trips and think nothing of it, then as fuel went up, started to think it a bit silly.
Ok the health went, so put paid to it, but I cannot be on my own. Certainly older boats of around 35FT, the price is dropping like a stone.
I dont actually need the money, but would now accept a low offer as I have no chance of using her
It's now about as dead as a door nail.
We used to do regular, 600 mile round trips and think nothing of it, then as fuel went up, started to think it a bit silly.
Ok the health went, so put paid to it, but I cannot be on my own. Certainly older boats of around 35FT, the price is dropping like a stone.
I dont actually need the money, but would now accept a low offer as I have no chance of using her
rubberduck
Well-Known Member
Having now obtained the boat I wish to stay with, I have cunningly written off its cost, in my head at least. This reduces depreciation to £0 & therefore frees up more money for fuel. 
burgundyben
Well-Known Member
Is it really that much cheaper? The cost of sails and rigging and servicing winches? Can't be much in it.
The reason I posted about the SD Sunseeker is that while it does not affect me or my boating much today, I suspect in the longer term, say 20 years, that fuel costs will change the shape of motorboating.
maby
Well-Known Member
Depends on the type of sailing you do - if you are going to get into serious racing then a suit of sails for a boat in the mid-thirty-foot range could cost a significant number of thousands of pounds and last three years if you are lucky. Ordinary mortals cruising will pay a couple of thousand pounds for a basic suit of sails and, with a reasonable amount of care, they should last at least five years - probably more. Standing rigging should last upwards of ten years and will cost you another couple of grand to replace. Running rigging is just ropes - you change them yourself when they start to wear, but again a decent rope should be good for several years and costs a few tens of quid when it's past it.
You do the winches yourself - a quid's worth of grease sitting in the cockpit on a warm afternoon. Occasional spring or other component to replace, but it you treat them right, it will be minor maintenance for years. The engines are far less stressed than those in your mobos - annual oil change, new filter, new impellor - less than fifty if you do it yourself - hundred and fifty if you get a decent marine diesel engineer to do it for you. Treated right and given the amount of wear a sailing boat engine gets, they are good for twenty years at least.
Other things like haulout and antifouling is pretty much the same between raggies and mobos.
On the other side of the equation, your diesel consumption could be as low as a few tens of litres per annum. The sums will vary from one person to another, but there's no reason to take fuel costs into consideration when deciding whether or not to make a journey. You will be going a lot slower, so a spur-of-the-moment hop across to France may not be an option, but a three week cruise round Brittany need not cost you much more than your food and mooring charges.