annual upkeep expenses

[Mister Ed]

I'm trying to get a handle on what to expect for annual expenses with a CD25. I plan to do basic maintenance myself and keep the boat at my house during winter.

What do you typically pay every year just to keep the thing in service? That would include all necessary expenses but not discretionary stuff like new toys that aren't absolutely essential. Include insurance.

Don't mean to be nosey, just trying to prepare myself for the necessary cash outflow.

[Roy J.]

I guestimate around $2000/year for basic operations, no major purchases, broken down like this:

Insurance $270
Town mooring fee 100
State reg/excise 60
Mooring Svc (placement, inspection, etc) 150
Pick up launch rig mast haul deliver home 700
Bottom/bootstripe paint 150
Cleaners wax etc products 50
Cetol/teak treatment 50
Parts 150
Gas/oil 50
Misc 120
Total $2000

This doesn't inlcude first year expenses like mooring and tackle purchase or rental, or a slip if you go high rent, additional safety equipment (to quote my wife "nothing says I love you like safety equipment"), launch service or expenses associated with a dinghy to get to the boat and back, guest moorings if you cruise, charts and navigation equipment/supplies, and the list goes on.... Best to tell yourself around $2000 and stop counting once you get there.

Good luck. The CD-25 is a wonderful boat.

[Neil Gordon]

$50 for gas and oil must include tips for the kid at the gas dock. <g>

Don't forget the cost of sail care and/or replacement. They're not forever. Also figure that at least one cell phone and a couple of pairs of sun glasses will be dropped overboard until you learn not to.

If you want to convince yourself that you can afford the boat, subtract part of what you might otherwise spend on summer vacations. You'll also save on summer clothing, as most fancy restaurants within 1/4 mile of a sailboat will be happy to have you there in a t-shirt, shorts and a faded ball cap.

[Warren Kaplan]

A lot depends on where you sail. I sail in a very expensive area and I can't use "Town Moorings". My expenses run into several thousands a year.

Winter haul and storage, mast unstepped, with shrink wrap. Winterizing engine, head and fresh water system with antifreeze.

Spring launch with mast given the once over by yard and stepped, bottom paint by yard.

Mooring rental (unless you own, in which case there is a charge to place the mooring).

Launch service.

Various "stuff" for commissioning every year. Cetol, boat soap, compound and/or wax for the topsides, etc.

Once over of the engine. Oil change, new impeller, etc.
Periodic replacement of batteries, hoses, and belts.

Sail maintenance during the winter. I send my sails every year to the sailmaker over the winter to have them washed and repaired if necessary.

I suspect that by the time the year is over I've spent $4-5K on the boat.

As I said, I'm in a pretty expensive area!

[Oswego John]

It's funny how we take certain things for granted and then realize that after going without, something might be amiss.

It's been the better part of a month since the last time that we've heard from Warren. Too often, absence like that is an indicator of negative things that no one enjoys thinking about.

Warren's posting tonight allays so many of those thoughts. It's so good to again read his polite, ever cordial and always topical posts. (I was gonna use the adjective mellifluous but I didn't know how to spell it)

Welcome back,
O J

[Warren Kaplan]

It's funny how we take certain things for granted and then realize that after going without, something might be amiss.

It's been the better part of a month since the last time that we've heard from Warren. Too often, absence like that is an indicator of negative things that no one enjoys thinking about.

Warren's posting tonight allays so many of those thoughts. It's so good to again read his polite, ever cordial and always topical posts. (I was gonna use the adjective mellifluous but I didn't know how to spell it)

Welcome back,
O J

John,

Thanks for your concern and the kind words. I'm happy to say that all is well. I've been somewhat preoccupied in that we expect a grandchild in about 10 days. So much focus has been devoted to that!

[SeaBelle]

A sailboat owner never computes how much a day his boat costs or how much his children cost - it's irrelevant.

[Guest]

Best to tell yourself around $2000 and stop counting once you get there.

Good advice--thanks. I was thinking less on the hauling part (my house is only 3 1/2 miles from the harbor), but I should probably figure on $2K total for budgeting purposes.

What was it J.P. Morgan said about buying a yacht? "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it."

[Ed Haley]

As a rule of thumb, just figure out how much it will cost to pay for your new boat on a yearly basis (if you have a loan) and then double it. Pretty close to what you'll spend.

[wayne grenier]

just some ramblings-I'd allow %10 of the boats value to be set aside for the operational costs-mooring-hauling etc. and %10 of the value of the boat in upgrades every year-I spend between $4-5,000 per year in total on my CD 28-but-
#1-I've never seen a sailboat tied up in front of a psychiatrist's office (or a Harley Davidson for that matter) and
#2 I'd rather have a boat and no money than money and no boat-
went out for an afternoon sail yesterday-flew the Genny-came in side by side with a Hinckley-value? priceless (at least to me)-

[John Ring]

When asked about the cost of sailing, Bernard Motissier said it well, "It Costs as Much as You Have."

[slaume]

I have looked at various ways to justify the costs of boat ownership. I don't know and I really don't care what it costs each year. It is not that I have a bunch of money either. I am a carpenter/Christmas tree farmer and neither of those occupations make one a rich man in terms of money. I know owning the boat seems to be more expensive than buying it in the first place. In our area Fishers/Long Island Sound moorings and storage are major expenses. I like working on the boat so I don't spend much on yard labor which is more than what I make an hour so that works out. What makes me feel good is comparing the costs to other forms of recreation. I talked to a guy the other day who golfs. BOATS ARE CHEAP!! He was telling me about the club (not a world class place) that charges $50,000.00 to join and then $5,000.00 per year in membership fees. I could own and maintain a very nice boat for that kind of money and sell it when I was tired of it. I have also made comparisons to owning a vacation home. Forget about owning anything in the areas that my boat spends time in. To get a little cottage in most of the spots we keep our boats you are looking at 500K and up. True if you wanted to maintain another house on your weekends and vacations it would increase in value by the time you passed it on to your kids or whoever. With interest taxes maintainance and insurance and all of your time doing chores you were trying to get away from at home it would cost you a heck of a lot more during your life time than any boat you might like to own. Don't even start to look at what a life time of typical car ownership costs you. New car value drops faster than a 35LB CQR and you don't just buy one and take care of it for the rest of your life. Our boats are an incredible bargin. It's just a matter of commitment and a bit of comparison, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

I have looked at various ways to justify the costs of boat ownership.

A lot depends on how you define the boat. If it's simply a "recreational vessel" then it falls into one budget category. If it's your "primary residence," you get a different answer. I'm somewhat in between... it's a place to live and a lifestyle thing for me, although it's not full time all year round.

[Roy J.]

Mister Ed,

My house is about 2 miles from the yard where Auburn is launched and hauled. They charge about $4.25/ft to haul or launch the boat, around $65 for labor to step and tune the rig, or unstep it, around $125 (which is their minimum) to truck to or from my house. I tip the driver and the riggers (which has paid off in flexibility and care when I have needed extra of each). I understand the need to get an idea of what this wonderful endeavor will cost and have tried to answer you, but really I prefer to just sail without thought of what it costs. Neil, the $50 for gas and oil is a slight exageration, but 3 gallons of regular and a pint of oil for the thirsty 2 cycle cost me $15 in Provincetown last weekend. I will probably do that 3 times in a 5.5 month season.

Have fun and don't bring the calculator along to the boat.

[RMeigel]

I would venture to say that the biggest expense is time. A ratio of 3 hours maintenance to 1 hour sailing.

If you are retired, no problem. If you are spending weekends doing maintenance, then it is helpful if you enjoy it.

Much of the $$ discussion replying to your question assumed you are doing a lot of the work yourself. In our area, boatyard labor can run $50/hour. So if you plan on paying someone to do stuff, you'll have to add more to the numbers reported in the reply posts.

For example, it has been hot with no wind here and I haven't used my boat in two weeks. This weekend, I'll dive the prop and do some teak. If I paid someone to do what I plan to do, the diver would probably charge $60.00 and the teak would cost $300 in labor - just a wild guess, since I've never hired anyone to do teak (not after getting the first estimate to do the whole boat --- $5,000!)

Robin