Cost Per Sail

[JD-MDR]

I'm kinda hesitant to chime in but here goes. My life, my boat and all the expenses it takes to maintain is all gift. I wasted 50 years as a drunken self-obsessed fool. When I came home from 17 years in Alaska, I went into depression smoking crack in the gutter for three years then three years incarcerated and now twelve years in recovery. The money I've spent on my boat I could have blew in a couple of weeks. I should have been killed. According to the "old law" I should be still. Luckily I'm
Christian and got another way of life. My "Higher Power" knows I need a healthy recreational life and social life. He gives me everything including good health and the skills to work self-employed as a home improvement contractor. Though I'm not a big time contractor, mostly just a handyman and I'm not married . I like this life and love sailing my boat, And I keep getting enough work to cover all my good habits. I have a dream of sailing thru the northwest passage and going to a Cape Dory Rendezous. That might be a little far fetched but I am dreaming again. I'll probably be too old by the time I am capable of that trip. Sometimes I get too obsessed with the boat, Spending all my income and all my time on it. That's when It's time for me to "fast" and not go down to the marina at all for a week or two. It's also good therapy for me to volunteer at the local social service place.

[John Stone]

I'm kinda hesitant to chime in but here goes. My life, my boat and all the expenses it takes to maintain is all gift. I wasted 50 years as a drunken self-obsessed fool. When I came home from 17 years in Alaska, I went into depression smoking crack in the gutter for three years then three years incarcerated and now twelve years in recovery. The money I've spent on my boat I could have blew in a couple of weeks. I should have been killed. According to the "old law" I should be still. Luckily I'm
Christian and got another way of life. My "Higher Power" knows I need a healthy recreational life and social life. He gives me everything including good health and the skills to work self-employed as a home improvement contractor. Though I'm not a big time contractor, mostly just a handyman and I'm not married . I like this life and love sailing my boat, And I keep getting enough work to cover all my good habits. I have a dream of sailing thru the northwest passage and going to a Cape Dory Rondevous. That might be a little far fetched but I am dreaming again. I'll probably be too old by the time I am capable of that trip. Sometimes I get too obsessed with the boat, Spending all my income and all my time on it. That's when It's time for me to "fast" and not go down to the marina at all for a week or two. It's also good therapy for me to volunteer at the local social service place.

Amen brother. You're clearly working hard to find your way John. Nothing like the feeling of a deck heeling under your feet to sooth a wounded soul. Stay strong and keep your eye on the prize. Maybe I'll see you at that Rendezvous.

[casampson]

Thank you for all the heartfelt replies. I know it is hard to put a price on something that is priceless.

That said, I have done some further calculations and realized that my estimate of $100 per sail is low. My repeating annual costs are actually closer to $2500 per year, exclusive of original boat cost, maintenance, and improvements. This amounts to $100 per foot per year, or $125 per sail. I mostly go day-sailing, and an average sail is probably about 3 hours, start to finish. That puts the cost of each sail at about $40 per hour. This isn't so bad when you think about it.

The simplest solution, of course, is to sail more. Doubling my outings to 40 per year would decrease per-sail costs to $62.50 and the hourly expense to roughly $20. That would be a bargain.

Chris

[mgphl52]

And regardless... it's still cheaper than hookers???

[John Stone]

And regardless... it's still cheaper than hookers???

This thread’s starting to get interesting.

[kerrydeare]

I recently calculated that ... the cost to sail my CD 25 averages out to be about $100 each time I go out ...

I used to get this question a lot. I eventually came up with answers like: "2.1 houses, one marriage, about 3.7 jobs, a bit over 4 pints of blood, ... " etc.

Oh, wait a minute. You probably meant dollars.

[JD-MDR]

And regardless... it's still cheaper than hookers???

This thread’s starting to get interesting.

I kinda went off on a tangent. OP asked a simple question and I gave him my whole life story and the philosophy of life. Sometimes I embarrass myself. On another note. Another way I justify my boat spending is to figure that It might cost about $1000 to charter a 30' er for a weekend at the Channel Islands. In that case I'm doing OK. One guy told me that while on a cruise, a boat dragged anchor and damaged his boat. The insurance co. chartered him a similar boat for $1000 per day to finish his vacation.

[BernieA]

When my daughter took up figure skating it cost about $5000 per year with ice time, skates, coaching, choreography, etc. All I got was time sitting in an ice cold arena. Any money spent sailing is a bargain compared to that.

Bernie Armstrong
S/V Pinafore
CD 28 #192

[mgphl52]

When my daughter took up figure skating it cost about $5000 per year with ice time, skates, coaching, choreography, etc. All I got was time sitting in an ice cold arena. Any money spent sailing is a bargain compared to that.

And typically warmer, I bet!

[Pembquist]

I think the take away here should be that sailing your own boat is priceless and the more you sail the more you save.

So sailing is actually really lucrative.

[JD-MDR]

Exactly

[Paul D.]

Good autumn topic.

I started thinking on this a few years ago, if not the exact question. I found that with an old 33 foot 'yacht' I still spent less annually than my nephew on his dog, a buddy with a Harley, a friend with a drug habit and a friend who gets a new car every three years. The bottom line is I just don't care. I love my boat. I love sailing her with friends, my family or alone. And I love working on her, including busting my ass to shrink-wrap mine and my brother's boats this last week under threatening weather. It all goes down to creating stories in life.

I don't care about the cost, I care about the stories.

[John Stone]

I love sailing her with friends, my family or alone. And I love working on her, including busting my ass to shrink-wrap mine and my brother's boats this last week under threatening weather. It all goes down to creating stories in life.

I don't care about the cost, I care about the stories.

Outstanding. Well said Paul.

[mgphl52]

I love sailing her with friends, my family or alone. And I love working on her, including busting my ass to shrink-wrap mine and my brother's boats this last week under threatening weather. It all goes down to creating stories in life.

I don't care about the cost, I care about the stories.

Outstanding. Well said Paul.

So true! And I feel especially lucky since while I don't get a period of "haul out" time to work on some projects, I do pretty much sail year round. Just have to wear clothes when it gets too cool...

[casampson]

Of course, those of us in the northeast probably have the highest cost per sail because our season is so short and our operating costs can be so high. The typical season here is from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and that adds up to twelve weekends of relatively expensive sailing, at best. I'm going to keep my boat in the water until close to Thanksgiving this year so that I can squeeze in a few extra sails, but most boats in my harbor will have been hauled long before.

I am envious of those who are retired and live in warmer climates where they can sail every day of the year if they want to. These lucky people probably have the lowest average cost per sail of any of us. So I ask you, if I wanted to retire to the place that had the cheapest and the best sailing in the country, where would I go? The Gulf of Mexico? South Carolina? The Pacific Northwest? The Caribbean?

I will add that I am a school teacher and have summers off. I live about a mile from the harbor, so I have no excuse for not getting out there more often and getting my money's worth out of my boat.