I'm sure another what can I afford post

[adam_175]

Hello, I was hoping someone might be able to answer some basic questions for me. My wife and I are looking to retire in the next 18-24 months. We have dreamed for a long time about owning a small powered cat and cruising the Caribbean and the Bahamas. I have spent weeks trying to get even some semblance of the associated cost that come along with owing a yacht. Honestly, we’re not sure what is comfortably affordable to us.
We will keep our home in Michigan to stay close to our children and grandkids. We will have an income of approximately $90,000 USD a year from investment/ 401k, etc. We have about $300,000 to put towards a yacht (really liking a used Fountaine Pajot My 37-44 ). Our home is ours free and clear, and our only real expenses are property taxes/ electric, etc. We will want to cruise for about 7-8 months a year (with a flight or two home to see the kiddos) and be home about 4-5 months a year.
I know that our cost while abroad will greatly affect our budget. We like to eat out occasionally at nicer restaurants but prefer to enjoy the local food that places have to offer. Fuel costs seems like it might be one of the highest expenses, I have no problem cruising at economic speeds to save fuel.
With our income is this something that is feasible? I truly have no idea. It would be a painful lesson to learn that all the hard work we put in over the last 35 years was squandered because we tried to do something well outside our means.
Thanks in advance for any tips or thoughts on this.

[ReneJK]

some of the rule of thumbs are :


-: whatever you spend at home on land you will spend cruising , eating out, trips etc , as your lifestyle doesnt really change



-: your boat will cost you 5 to 10% of the purchase price every year in repairs and maintenance



-: Marina fees are high , higher even for a cat . Call some marina's in teh area you want to visit and get a daily, weekly, monthly quote to get a feel of the costs , then budget for them



-: boat insurance about 1 to 2% p.a. of the value of the boat



my gut feel says $90K should enable you to live quite nicely unless boat payments eat half of that ?

[ranger58sb]

Can't speak directly to your budget versus your target lifestyle...

But FWIW, our biggest expense is marina fees, followed generally by maintenance/service costs... and I do as much of the letter as I can depending on required degree of skill, tools, access to the system in question, and sometimes, inclination. But the service area also includes things like periodic bottom painting or touch-up, annual hull topsides wash/wax, zinc anode replacements, etc. and those generally come with a haul-out expense in our case.

Then comes the cost of self-induced upgrades (e.g., new electronics) or replacement of longer term systems (ACs, water heater, etc.) and I mentally amortize those costs over "our" life of the boat, recognizing there's an immediate bite in the actual replacement year.

Fuel costs are generally down below all that other stuff.

I'd bet a $200K boat with an additional $50K of whatever it takes to "make it yours" would be reasonably viable.

-Chris

[Tellie]

I would use more the 10-15% boat value yearly rule unless you are really handy and like to define the old definition of cruising, just boat work in exotic places.

[David Hughes]

A used FP MY37 is about $450k isn’t it? My advice is buy a used Moorings/ Leopard 39pc for $250K and fix it up with the extra $50K. A home slip will be $6K, insurance $3.5k, professional repair and maintenance $30k, fuel really not that much. Other than that is the variable costs of how many marinas ($120 a night adds up) and your dining expenses. Try not to have a boat loan. You might also consider an older PDQ 34. Avoid my boat, the Moorings/Leopard 37pc. It’s too narrow.

[s/v Moondancer]

It can be done on the budget but you need a big reserve for repairs, at least 25% of the purchase price. I spent $5,000 in the last month, a transmission repair cost $2,000, new batteries $1,000 and a new Honda 2K another $1,000.

My insurance for world wide off-shore cruising is $6,000/year.

Good luck but be sensible about the boat you buy.

[akprb]

Your finances are fine.

Read “ultra budget” if you get a chance. (You would not be on one given your numbers)

I’d wager your 7-8 months a year will turn into less than you expect over time.,

That will be the surprise, if any, for ya, not finances.

[adam_175]

Thanks for all the replies already everyone. I guess this is where some of the confusion has set in. A couple of you threw out the 10-15% number. I've seen that a few time but wasn't sure how much to follow it, or what it included. A new my 37 is 2-3x a used one. I didn't know if the 10% still translated to the difference in price as fuel, dock fees, etc should be the same. Maintaince and insurance I would think would be the only increases for either one.

[David Hughes]

Hi Adam, New FP MY 37 is about $700k. The cheapest one for sale that I can find is $380k. And that’s a beat up charter boat. Most are going for $500k, especially here in the US. Assuming $50K in fix-up, if you put down $250k, you’re looking at another $250k on the loan balance. That’s going to be $2k a month. Are you aware of a MY 37 for less?

The 10-15% usually refers to maintenance and repair only, not dockage, insurance, fuel, etc...

The $230k 2009 Leopard 37 powercat I bought in 2015 cost me $30-36k each of the first 3 years I owned it (all done by pros, not me). Again, that’s just repairs, replacements, maintenance. Dockage was $11/ foot/mo. in SW Florida, insurance was 1.5% of hull value.

[KP44]

Just a word about fuel costs. When I replaced my fuel tanks, I redesigned and I doubled our fuel capacity. That might have been a mistake. The larger tank (93 gal US) has never been filled. I usually burn about 1 tankfull (71 gal US) in a 6 month season of cruising. If I filled both tanks, I'd have old fuel. We have an 18 ton, 45' monohull.

[billdre]

At first the only reason I continued to read your thread was because the $90k a year is about what my wife and I expect to live on beginning this year when she retires. I've been retired 5 years already. But as I read the many pieces of information people were giving you I thought you might be able to use a different perspective. Eight years ago I bought my first and I expect only boat. A 28' mono-hull sailboat. I didn't want to live on it for months at a time I only wanted to be able to go places on the coast. Basically one marina to another and be able to drop anchor and stay a couple days as the opportunity arrived. I never had $300k to spend. I did have $15K. So I bought a $6k boat and proceeded for the last 8 years upgrading everything, electronic, sails, engine, rigging, etc. Now I've put another $15K total into her at a pace of $2,000 a year. Because it's 28' it costs me $2,700 annual marina fee, $1,100 a year winter storage. I'm in New England. Probably $600 average maintenance. Insurance is $280 and USBoat membership for the towing package is $200. AND the big item we've been going places each summer for 8 years. This summer we will probably spend a couple weeks on the boat, in some marinas and some anchorages and lot's of other 3 day sails going "out there." I guess I"m saying you can really enjoy boating, in my case, sailing without huge expenses and have a great time. It is an issue of what you want and learning what skills you'll need along the way. I could sail already but I'd never sailed anything bigger than 16' before. So we learned as we went. Any way I thought I might give you another viewpoint. Good luck.

[adam_175]

Originally Posted by David Hughes

Hi Adam, New FP MY 37 is about $700k. The cheapest one for sale that I can find is $380k. And that’s a beat up charter boat. Most are going for $500k, especially here in the US. Assuming $50K in fix-up, if you put down $250k, you’re looking at another $250k on the loan balance. That’s going to be $2k a month. Are you aware of a MY 37 for less?

The 10-15% usually refers to maintenance and repair only, not dockage, insurance, fuel, etc...

The $230k 2009 Leopard 37 powercat I bought in 2015 cost me $30-36k each of the first 3 years I owned it (all done by pros, not me). Again, that’s just repairs, replacements, maintenance. Dockage was $11/ foot/mo. in SW Florida, insurance was 1.5% of hull value.

I'm in the very early stages of really stating to look into this, I saw some used FP mY 37's for around the 300k mark. My suspension, as you said, they are beat up charters. Insurance, dockage, fuel, insurance I can account for and the number make sense, but It's still somewhat baffling to me the maintenance cost involved. Where did the $30k-$36k a year come from in maintenance expenses if you don't mind me asking.

[adam_175]

Originally Posted by billdre

At first the only reason I continued to read your thread was because the $90k a year is about what my wife and I expect to live on beginning this year when she retires. I've been retired 5 years already. But as I read the many pieces of information people were giving you I thought you might be able to use a different perspective. Eight years ago I bought my first and I expect only boat. A 28' mono-hull sailboat. I didn't want to live on it for months at a time I only wanted to be able to go places on the coast. Basically one marina to another and be able to drop anchor and stay a couple days as the opportunity arrived. I never had $300k to spend. I did have $15K. So I bought a $6k boat and proceeded for the last 8 years upgrading everything, electronic, sails, engine, rigging, etc. Now I've put another $15K total into her at a pace of $2,000 a year. Because it's 28' it costs me $2,700 annual marina fee, $1,100 a year winter storage. I'm in New England. Probably $600 average maintenance. Insurance is $280 and USBoat membership for the towing package is $200. AND the big item we've been going places each summer for 8 years. This summer we will probably spend a couple weeks on the boat, in some marinas and some anchorages and lot's of other 3 day sails going "out there." I guess I"m saying you can really enjoy boating, in my case, sailing without huge expenses and have a great time. It is an issue of what you want and learning what skills you'll need along the way. I could sail already but I'd never sailed anything bigger than 16' before. So we learned as we went. Any way I thought I might give you another viewpoint. Good luck.

Thanks for your viewpoint. I think we would be more incline to do something as you do if we lived near the coast, sadly we don't. I do like the sounds of the cost of you boat and the expenses a lot more than some of the number I'm thinking of .

It's going to be a tough decision for us. Do we get a much nicer and more expensive boat that has everything we want, or go the much cheaper route that isn't as comfortable. At 30-40k a year in maintenance for a 37 footer, I'm thinking smaller and not quite as luxurious sounds more reasonable. $15k less a year in maintenance buys quite a few plane tickets home to see the kids more often

[Alex_V]

Perhaps I am missing something, but where did you get 30-40k in maintenance for a 37 footer per year? That seems way off.

[adam_175]

Originally Posted by Alex_V

Perhaps I am missing something, but where did you get 30-40k in maintenance for a 37 footer per year? That seems way off.

The used FP My37 is around 350-400k. Average consensus is 10% a year in maintenance cost. I hope for my sake you are correct .