The budget for buying a boat is only part of the expenses, but some new boaters only learn after purchasing it that the maintenance of their motor beauties can regularly cost quite a lot of money. Often, it is these costs that cause many pre-owned boats to be sold.
So how much does it really cost to own a cruiser, trawler or superyacht?
Although it is generally believed that about 10% of the price of the boat is spent on maintenance per year, this can be far from reality, both up and down. It is important to understand that these calculations are based on the market price of a new boat, and not the price you paid for it if it is pre-owned.
Sometimes these conditional percentages include the cost of fuel, and sometimes they do not. As you can imagine, this is a very important point for a motor yacht, which can have a significant impact on the final cost and which cannot be ignored until efficient fuel alternatives become fully dominant.
The total cost of storing, maintaining and operating a boat depends mainly on the following factors:
- Age and condition of the boat
- Location
- Boat type
- Willingness to do some work yourself
Even if a yacht is not used, this in no way excludes the cost of storing and maintaining it to keep it in working order. And, unlike the simplest open motorboats, which can easily overwinter on a trailer on your property until the next season, without requiring anything other than changing the oil in the outboard motor, large boats have many complex systems that, even when adapted to the marine environment, quickly age and fail.
Owners who go to sea only a couple of times a season and do not charter the yacht quickly realize that their own boat is too expensive, so selling it becomes a completely predictable result. This is logical, because in such cases it is much easier to rent any boat and not have any problems.
1. Age and condition of the boat
Old boats often accumulate hidden problems that usually start to manifest themselves at the same time. But slightly pre-owned boats are quite reasonable and profitable to buy, since the equipment has been checked, and everything that could break has already broken and been replaced. Perhaps even with more reliable spare parts. However, this does not mean that similar breakdowns will not happen in the future, it just slightly reduces their chances.
2. Location
The cost of the marina, lifts, hull and equipment maintenance, as well as various types of taxes and duties depend on the place of registration and basing of the boat. In particular, prices in European marinas are significantly higher than in southern latitudes.
3. Boat type
Since due to the specifics of the magazine we do not consider sailboats, here we mainly mean the type of motor yacht hull. Beginners will probably have to learn some basics, but it is obvious that a medium-sized displacement trawler is more fuel-efficient than even a relatively small planing cabin cruiser, which at cruising speed turns into a merciless fuel guzzler.
On the other hand, trawlers or any other displacement yachts are more often used for long passages and living on board. Therefore, it all depends on the number of engine hours wound up during the season.
4. Do-it-yourself maintenance
The cost of maintaining a boat can be significantly reduced if you are ready to do repairs and maintenance yourself. This is quite common, and the issue of saving is not always a significant role for the boat owner.
Working on board is part of the lifestyle for most sea lovers. Yes, none of us likes when there are problems with plumbing, but changing the fuel filter or installing a new plotter is maintenance that can be done with great pleasure. And a well-deserved glass of wine or cold beer becomes especially tasty after doing this.
Where does the money go?
We can highlight the most significant items that make up the bulk of the expenses for owning a boat:
- Operating expenses
- Routine maintenance
- Marina and winter storage
- Insurance
- Tax
- Crew (if any)
Operating expenses are, first of all, fuel costs.
Routine maintenance includes all types of seasonal work with the hull and equipment.
The price of mooring, as we noted above, is strongly tied to the location. In all marinas, the price for parking is calculated depending on the length of the boat. But if you bought a catamaran, then be prepared for the fact that, firstly, not all marinas will have places for you, and secondly, their cost will be higher. Sometimes almost twice as much.
The amount of insurance depends on the country and type of insurance. Usually it is 1-5% of the price of the boat.
On yachts over 24 meters it is difficult to manage without a professional crew, whose salaries can cost millions per year in total.
Taxes for small boats can be practically ignored, but for superyachts they are already quite noticeable, so owners take all measures to reduce them, including “convenient” registration flags.
For those who want more expensive
To maximize the cost of ownership, you need to buy an antique wooden yacht. In this case, the maintenance and repair of the hull may overshadow all other expenses.
People who own classics are often wood restorers themselves or take an active part in preserving the yachting heritage. Since we are talking about real works of art here, the money issue becomes secondary, and for many even inappropriate.
Other expenses
The equipment on the yacht has its service life, after which you will have to take care of major repairs or replacement of entire blocks or systems. This is an expensive pleasure for a boat of any size.
Estimated lifespan of various components:
Main engine (and diesel generators): 20 years
Deck equipment: 20-30 years
Life raft: 12 years
Batteries: 3-8 years
Electronics: 8-10 years
Teak deck: 10-20 years
Based on this, it is important to anticipate unexpected upgrade costs for almost all equipment when buying a very used boat.
However, for sea lovers, this ultimately does not matter, because all the expenses pale in comparison to the feeling of a fully serviced and fueled yacht, moored at the dock and ready for another trip. It is not so much a passion as a state of mind. After all, we only live once. Although this is not certain.