B.O.A.T - aka, The Cost of Boat Ownership

[JimS123]

You often hear people whine “if you have a boat you must be rich”. Surely, people with 60’ yachts might be well off, but I recently read a statistic that the vast majority of private boats are kept on trailers. I would consider a 19’ I/O Bowrider to be somewhat representative of an “average” boater.

Boat owners aren’t much help either – how often do you hear the phrase “break out another thousand”.

After owning the same family boat for 35 years, we just sold her. Our kids are grown and our wants and needs have changed, so we decided to upgrade to a new boat that better fit our lifestyle.

While cleaning out my files it was apparent that I had saved every single receipt for the last 35 years. Wondering what the actual cost of ownership had been, I did the math.

Bottom line - $805.00 per year.

So, now let’s compare that to other things a family of four might spend their discretionary income on. Here are the things that cost MORE than owning an average type boat….

• Going to a movie twice a month
• One movie and one night out bowling per month
• Season tickets to the home town (sports) team
• Any 7-day vacation
• Any 1-day vacation if you have to fly there
• Owning a horse (LOL)

Here’s my annual breakdown:

• Capital investment (amortized over 35 years) - $200
• Maintenance (average per year) - $150
• Insurance - $190
• Fuel (guess average $2/gal) - $200
• Regs & Permits - $64
• Storage (home garage) - $0
• Towcar (already driving one) - $0
• Labor (my hobby) - $0

Since boat ownership is a stress reliever that saves countless visits to the Doctor’s office, keeps the kids out of trouble and makes for a tight family, the rewards are priceless, thus balancing the cost sheet and thus the boat is free.

 

[Sprig]

I don’t care what it costs , I’ll own and use a boat as long as I’m physically able to. I have an 18’ Alumaweld Stryker with a 90 hp merc and a 6 hp merc kicker. But there are a lot of factors in figuring boat cost. Location being one. I live in California (where everything is expensive) where almost every place you pay a launch fee of between $15 to $20 or more. I use my boat 20 plus times a year. In addition for a one day round trip for gas for boat and truck runs me $60 to $100. So for a year that’s $1500 to over $2000 just for gas and launch. I have my main motor and my kicker completely tuned and serviced every other year - $1500. If you own a boat in California you pay an annual luxury tax , mine is about $100. Then you have annual boat and trailer registration fees, annual insurance premium. And there is a host of miscellaneous costs. I own my boat and tow vehicle out right. I figure my annual cost is $3,500 plus, but to me it’s worth every penny.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Jim, your costs are lower than most

for example, a typical outing for me is $150-$200 in fuel (easy to burn thru 50-70 gallons in a weekend)
each outing is beer, ice, water, etc. (about $40-60) with a restaurant stop or two.
maintenance is about $3 worth of salt-away every time I pull it and about $5 worth of cleaning supplies prior to putting the cover on.
annual boat maintenance is about $250 per year
Insurance is $45 per month
Registration is about $50 for boat and trailer
Tires for trailer amortize to about $125 per year
replacement props about $600 a year (shifting channels and sunken boats)
then add the money spent on pirate flags and burgees, accessories, etc and the occasional ramp fee.....

it adds up to about $5-6k per year

however the smile on the admirals face is priceless and that is worth every penny

 

[MTboatguy]

I am lucky, other than maintenance my costs are very low, I pay $5.00 a year on ly truck license plate to use our state parks, which means I launch for free, I have a lifetime plate on my trailer and I have to get a new permit for the boat every three years. So my annual costs of owning a boat is very low for the amount of pleasure I get for going fishing and running up and down the lake. Of course I have to fill up every other trip, 12 gallons of gas and 2 bottles of 2 cycle oil and I change the lower unit oil twice a year.

That said, don't even ask me about my gun hobby!

 

[Tassie 1]

[/LIST] Since boat ownership is a stress reliever that saves countless visits to the Doctor’s office, keeps the kids out of trouble and makes for a tight family, the rewards are priceless, thus balancing the cost sheet and thus the boat is free.


[/QUOTE]
That alone is the best reason to keep going boating when things get tough,
can't beat that alone
we have a 30 ft flybridge cruiser here on the east coast of Tasmania, ( island state of Australia )

our boating costs are higher due to size,
mooring rental $25 a week
( soon to be zero when we lay our own mooring )
insurance which l think is around $100 a month @ 50k ( car boat bundle )

haulout on a slip and a bum clean/antifoul ~ every 2 years,
on slip 3 days usually, antifoul, other jobs etc ~ $700
( it does have the hull brushed in between while on the water by my son who is a commercial diver )

twin 315 hp petrol 2013 MPI mercruisers shaft drives serviced by us once a year so usually under $ 100
probably forgot some costs etc
biggest problem we have is keeping the #&%@ rotten smelly horrid birds off it and the mess
once we move to a new spot we hope that will decrease

we like fishing so the fish we catch offsets the fuel costs...by a small amount lol
we also like to cruise around at 13-16 knots and just enjoy the time on the water,
if we want to get "there" fast we use ~ 100 lts PH at 24 kts,
just a slow comfy quiet cruise 50- 60 lph,

Spring has sprung here in the last 2 weeks and normally we would go out weekly or fortnightly depending on the weather, very windy here at times

but this time around it won't be used as much by my wife and l for awhile as she has had some medical issues that require time off the water for a time but once that is over we'll be out getting some stress relief again in this beautiful part of the world

 

[JimS123]

Jim, your costs are lower than most

for example, a typical outing for me is $150-$200 in fuel (easy to burn thru 50-70 gallons in a weekend)
each outing is beer, ice, water, etc. (about $40-60) with a restaurant stop or two.
maintenance is about $3 worth of salt-away every time I pull it and about $5 worth of cleaning supplies prior to putting the cover on.

however the smile on the admirals face is priceless and that is worth every penny

Yeah I realize that. Of course, as I specified, a trailer boat garage kept was the criteria. Also should have included fresh water.

Rarely use more than 8 gal of gas, the beer and ice isn't boat related since we would use that home on the patio.

The admiral's smile is required (we courted on a boat) - it's the kid's smile that is priceless.

 

[Tassie 1]

Yeah I realize that. Of course, as I specified, a trailer boat garage kept was the criteria. Also should have included fresh water.

oops.
pardon me for missing the one reference to trailer boats
and not realising fresh water only
sorry about that
can a mod please delete my earlier post about my non trailer non garage kept salt water boat as it is not revelant to this thread?

and this one as well,
even though l/we have three trailer boats in the backyard and one in a storage yard no need to list their balance sheets and costs as they are used only in saltwater.

thank you.

 

[SkiGuy1980]

The money I've spent on boating over the years has provided some of the most enjoyable times of my life.
Daily costs run around $50 for fuel (for the boat and the SUV to make the haul to the lake).
Monthly costs are: insurance ($20/mo) and storage ($40/mo - keeps the boat indoors and I only have to haul it 3 miles to the ramp now).
Yearly costs are maintenance (primarily just oil/lube changes and winterization now.... roughly $300/year) and registration ($350). I suppose you could figure another $50/yr to amortize the battery/tires. The boat itself adds maybe another $4000/year over 12 years.
It's not cheap, but again, always the best of times. Just today I got to take my daughter and 3 grandkids out for the day....tubing, skiing, and enjoying the sun.

 

[Scott Danforth]

oops.
pardon me for missing the one reference to trailer boats
and not realising fresh water only
sorry about that
can a mod please delete my earlier post about my non trailer non garage kept salt water boat as it is not revelant to this thread?

and this one as well,
even though l/we have three trailer boats in the backyard and one in a storage yard no need to list their balance sheets and costs as they are used only in saltwater.

thank you.

no need to delete

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Its funny what people think and dont think. I guess to some one making min wage struggling to keep food on the table thinks anyone with a boat is well off. I had a little snivelfest when my boat insurance doubled for no reason on my end on my now 1 year old boat. I found if for $500 a year less it is now still $250 more than when I bought the boat. Then I went on a fishing trip and put $350 worth of fuel in it for the weekend how stupid am I right. I complain about insurance that covers my 6 figure boat if I do something stupid but will pour $350 worth of fuel in it for a weekend of enjoyment without a snivel. Cost is what it is. And I face the fact with my almost new boat sitting in my driveway that my neighbors think Im rich. I live in a trailer that I purchased in 1994 for less than my new boat. Both my wife and I work 50 hours a week and are also smart people. We may even look rich to someone who hasnt done the math because we have new cars and a truck. However we drove cars with 200,000 miles right up until about 5 years ago and have gotten over the life factors that people who are stupid with there money never do. I love it when one of my neighbors who is making payments on a $400,000 house wants to talk about me being rich. While I still have a house payment its about three months electric bills on these peoples houses.

 

[RGrew176]

This is what my boating hobby has cost me so far this year.

1675.00		Summer Dockage Gibraltar Boat Yard
1270.94		2018 Aventus Sam 310 inflatable boat Dinghy Concepts
97.75		Cobra MRHH350FLT Handheld Marine VHF Radio Amazon.com
102.82		Lifetime 55 Quart Cooler at Walmart
168.00		3 Year State Of Michigan Boat Registation	Carver
360.00		Hullsides Buff and Wax at The Detail Shop
451.00		Annual Insurance Premium Carver Foremost Insurance
65.00		Annual Insurance Premium Aventus Inflatable Foremost Insurance
15.22		$20.00 Canadian Day Dockage At Bob Lo Island Marina Canada
678.40		A/C System Electronic Card and Thermostat at Boaters Value
233.17		A/C Thermostat Cord & Adaptors at Boaters Value
561.00		Marine HVAC Service Call at Burgin Heating
14.00		3 Year State Of Michigan Boat Registration Aventus Inflatable
180.00		Oil Change at Ricks Boat Service
278.00		I-LYA Powerboat Regatta at Put In Bay Ohio
192.65		Fuel 45.8 Gallons at Elba Mar Boat Club
90.00		2 days dockage at Middle Bass Island Yacht Club
363.65		Fuel 93.2 Gallons at Detroit Beach Boat Club
2.00		2 Gas Cap O-Rings at Boaters Value
103.88		24" Proscan HDTV at ABC Warehouse
6902.48

 

[82rude]

In Canada boat lisc is free and lifetime,trailer plates are lifetime also.Cost me 198 cnd for a new fishfinder as my last one was stolen.Bought a scotty elect downrigger for 600 on sale.Fishing lisc is free as im considered handicapped.1 gallon of xd100 oil at 60 bucks cnd for the year.20000 cnd for a new tow vehicle (2013 ford edge 3.5 litre).My last fishing trip I went 27 miles one way plus 10 to 20 more fishing around then 27 back to launch on 10 gallons ( 2011 60hp etec).

 

[jkust]

We have maybe a little less overhead cost for the actual boats we own. Instead, I bought two lake homes in my portfolio of homes we own that we spend summers at. One for my wife and two teens and also bought the neighbors to store the boats and for our guests so they have their own house when visiting. We can get away with a little bit older main boat that I would have envisioned. Very little dollars out the door other that preventative and winterizations. Mostly we just spend a ton in gas for the boat and waverunners with just a couple repairs on the boat over the years. The houses cost a fortune a piece and the upkeep on those including keeping one heated all winter is were the money is at, plus the horrendous property taxes, etc. Just the docs and boatlifts cost more than my main boat. Just the two lake houses would be a good sized yacht and the property taxes would keep it running. As I'm not in a yacht state, we focus instead on real estate for which the values go up each year we own.

 

[hvymtl939]

We for sure get by on the cheap side.

24' Pontoon with a 60 hp outboard.

Gas is usually about $60 for a weekend between the truck and boat.
Insurance is $13 a month for it insured at a value of 11k.
Registration is 32.50 every 3 years.
State park pass (access to the ramps/lakes) is $15 a year
Probably about $200 a year in maintenance/upgrades.

All said and done, probably about 1k a year. Worth every penny and then some.

 

[Maclin]

Waiting for the new movie, Crazy Rich Boat Owners, so I can continue to "act" like one with impunity.

 

[82rude]

Weekend at jkusts!

 

[jkust]

Weekend at jkusts!

Ha ha, going to close one down next week and pull all the equipment out as well. Now if we'd only get some snow this winter, can get the sleds going which haven'e seen daylight in a while. If we had a large boat, it'd get a max possible usage of 90 days where as you can use real estate all year. Our lake is one of the biggest in the state so could have a large boat but when you have a home base on the lake, you don't need a large boat as you aren't relegated to being out on the water all day then back to the trailer in the evening.

 

[JimS123]

The point of my thread was that boating doesn't really have to be very expensive, and you don't need to be rich to own one. In our case some of our happiest memories were in a $1200 tinny (that we still own).

Its all a matter of priorities. The thing I just can't get past are those that have season football tickets and are supporting multi million dollar corporations and "athletes" that don't have any other useful purpose in life (but that's another story, I'll shut up about that.)

It surely comes across that many others spend a lot more than I do. A lot has to do with the area, I'm sure. But we all say that its money well spent.

My Grandparents were strictly blue collar hard working people that never made much money. But they saved every penny. A vacation was unimaginable and a color TV or god forbid a boat were heresy. I was the outcast in the family because I "wasted" my money on a boat. In the end the nursing home took every dollar.

Just got back from a boat ride. I guess i'll go again tomorrow.

 

[b.gagnon]

I have spent $800 for fuel (Marina)and about $100 on oil since August 1st! For a year with no repairs I would guess about $2500 for me...

 

[SkiGuy1980]

JimS... I agree - it is a matter of priorities. I remember my hardworking dad stopping at a "show" at a local dealer when I was about 5 or 6.... dad really wanted a boat but with 8 kids it wasn't in his future. I will tell you one of my favorite memories is when mom and dad would drive down to Cumberland to join us on the houseboat and go riding in the ski boat to watch my girls ski. I'll cherish that forever.