Any Information Appreciated

[Pupil2Prodigy]

thanks for taking the time-

I've crawled over multiple forums lately and as an aspiring liveaboard I'm confused by what I read..

In regard to maintenance, many espouse the 10% rule of value but there are those who reject this.

Specifically, a man who asserted he'd spent 2k in 2 years on his 40 footer, is that possible?

What can you get away with?

Do multi-season bottom paints exist?

If I spend 3/4s of the time anchored, how long could I expect my sails/rigging to last?

Do I really need an engine(s) ?

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Pupil2Prodigy

thanks for taking the time-

I've crawled over multiple forums lately and as an aspiring liveaboard I'm confused by what I read..

In regard to maintenance, many espouse the 10% rule of value but there are those who reject this.

This depends so much on what kind of owner you are. There are people that have to have perfect paint, newest electronics, new expensive laminate sails every couple of years, etc..., all the way down to the derelict that is barely functional. Pick your price point.

Specifically, a man who asserted he'd spent 2k in 2 years on his 40 footer, is that possible?

What can you get away with?

Do multi-season bottom paints exist?

If I spend 3/4s of the time anchored, how long could I expect my sails/rigging to last?

Again what kind of sails? Do you expect racing performance out of your sails? How much wind will you sail in? Where are you at? Tropics/salt water versus PNW in fresh water has a huge difference in longevity of rig. I know someone that has 40 year old rigging (not really recommended by anybody, but it is still sailing.)

Do I really need an engine(s) ?

Read the Lin and Larry Pardey books. Can be done, limits where you go and when quite a bit, but very few, almost nobody goes without an engine.

[weavis]

I think perhaps the answer is simple. You dont have to spend ANYTHING on boats.
If you want it to last, to be of good service, to be presentable, then you would be wise to keep on top of it......

Other than that.......... the choice is the owners.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Pupil2Prodigy

SNIP


If I spend 3/4s of the time anchored, how long could I expect my sails/rigging to last?

Do I really need an engine(s) ?

There is no real agreement on how much it costs to maintain a boat.

If you spend 3/4 of the time anchored you will be sailing more than probably 90% of the people who own boats. But how long sails and rigging last is much more dependent on how you sail (and what type of weather you sail in) than how much you sail. Putting up sails in a 10 knot breeze and letting a little sun hit them will reduce the chance of things like mold and mildew. On the other hand not dropping sails if you get hit by an afternoon thunderstorm you could blow out out or rip a sail the first time you go out.

Engines are a big OK, especially for getting in and out of tight spaces. Inboards can be very expensive to fix while outboards are a lot cheaper. Inboards do have advantages on long passages and in very bad weather, but for a lot of the time an outboard does just fine.

A lot of money can be saved if you are able to do some fairly simple things. Problem is you have to learn what needs to be done.

All that being said you are better off to over estimate what it will cost to maintain a boat.

[barnakiel]

You will spend as much or little as you want or as you have. And your boat's value and condition will move accordingly.

I find the 10% rule silly, and roughly accurate. Luxury boats cost more, new mass production boats cost less, older boats cost more again.

Do not forget insurance, taxes, marina fees and haul out costs. Labour in labour. Chuck in your time and energy that could be happily spent elsewhere.

If you live aboard and when you are in a "cheap" location, a boat makes plenty of sense. When you keep her in a marina and live in a condo, it is an expensive toy.

Get some paper and a pencil, read the CF, talk to local cruisers, then take all the figures down and see where you are.

In any case, as long as you are not burning any bridges, it is worth trying out even if you were to find you do not like this lifestyle at all. Think of pudding!

Cheers, fair winds,
b.

[zeehag]

if that soul who spent 2000 on a 40 ft boat had my name, it is acrcurate until i rebuilt my engine entirely , at w hich a COMPLETE rebuild o fmy engine to become brand NEW entirely was 4000, or just under, usd. yes including injection pump rebuilt in full an dwell for under 200 usd. yes, two hundred.
it all depends on WGERE you are, and how you effect repairs.


btw, i am NOT a man. rodlmffao.

[Celestialsailor]

....and it also depends if you work on your own vessel or pay 100@hr to have it done by yard monkeys.

[zeehag]

LOCATION makes a HUGE difference.
within usa you will find atrocious pricing --105 usd per hour.
some of us refuse to pay that much .
makes a huge difference.
i support the local natives of the area in which i require work to be done, with excellent results. i avoid those speaking excellent english here in mexico, with one or two major exceptions, those being folks i know and know well. i refuse to hire the cocky gringo type--they do not deliver decent much less acceptable results.

[WebWench]

Much really depends on the condition of the boat you buy and how well it was maintained. Much of the time maintenance is not expensive if you keep things up....let them go and it can cost plenty to have to replace something....like an engine.

Lots of people think living on a boat is very inexpensive and it certainly can be if you compare it to the cost of an expensive apartment or a big house. But apartments usually don't have maintenance and you can ignore much of the maintenance on a house without having it sink. Boats depreciate very rapidly if you don't maintain them.

As for the engine.....getting in and out of marinas is pretty hard to do with just a sail. Sometimes there is no wind ....other times you can't put your sails out because the strong winds will destroy them. Unless you just plan to stay in one spot ....an engine is a good idea. Buy a boat without on end you will find it is very expensive to put one in, sometimes more than the cost of the boat.

[skipmac]

Zeehag introduces a point that is at the heart of my answer to this question.

Maintenance on a boat on a month to month basis is not very much at all, especially if you change your own oil, do your own paint and varnish, repair or replace the pumps/hoses/wires/etc yourself.

A simplified example but it's kind of like this. How much is maintenance on a car? Not that much until the transmission blows up, then it can be a a couple of thousand or so.

Same on a boat. Most of the time it isn't that much but then the big hit comes along. Figure the following very, very average figures based on a 35-40' sloop. The big gap between min/max lifespan is due to how much you sail and where you sail. Florida heat and sun kills stuff faster.

New sails 5-15 years, $2500-$3500 each for main, genoa. Smaller sails less.

New rigging 7-15 years. $3000

New engine, maybe never but if you do $5000-$25,000 (rebuild or new, DIY or pay a yard)

Transmission same parameters but $1000-$5000 price range.

Those are the main biggies. Yes you can get multiyear paint but will depend on where you keep the boat. Some harbors are famous for fouling the bottom quickly.

Other living expenses you can control yourself. To save, anchor instead of dock. Live in NC instead of NYC. Cook on board instead of eating out.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Pupil2Prodigy

In regard to maintenance, many espouse the 10% rule of value but there are those who reject this.

That 10% thing is definitely NOT a rule!

For my 43' boat that I paid $115,00 for that is just stored in the winter, and doing all the labor myself except for sail repairs, I've spent the following on maintenance:

2011 - $875
2012 - $3458
2013 - $1978
2014 - $1267

All it takes to jack up a year is one small electronic/electrical item. In 2012 it was my autopilot. In 2013 it was the windlass motor and alternator voltage regulator. Yet some years are kind of cheap, for 2014 about $700 of the $1267 was for just hoses for the heads.

[Hud3]

I bought my IP 380 new, well almost new. It was a dealer's boat-show boat.

I'm guessing my maintenance costs were under 1% per year, on average over the ten years that we owned her.

[zeehag]

repowering is not a fee equal to the purchase price of any boat except mebbe a 20 catalina in rough shape. it is priced at what you can afford and available from 500 usd to over 20,000 usd.
this is a personal choice where you seek and how much dough you CHOOSE to spend on this major piece of equipment.
one does not nessarily get what one pays for in this arena.
as i have said many times, my repower was originally purchased used at 2500 usd , and has now been completely and thoroughly rebuilt including injectors and high pressure pump for UNDER 4000 usd, and is in better condition than many i have read on that were done by allegedly professional standards at 105 usd per hour and up.
standards here were merely the most knowledgeble and highly reputed diesel repair mechanic in and around a major shipping port.
i win.
so does anyone attentive enough to have learnedfrom my adventures in pair a dices.

[Pupil2Prodigy]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Florida heat and sun kills stuff faster

I'll always be up in Massachusetts or higher

what could I expect?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Pupil2Prodigy

I'll always be up in Massachusetts or higher

what could I expect?

You could expect to be cold as a well diggers posterior for the winter.

For the boat, anchor out, mooring or dock at a marina?

I hear things get a little cheaper in Maine but from Boston south the marinas and moorings are generally the most expensive in the country. Also yard charges for hauling and hourly labor tend to be on the high end.

Bristol RI I paid $2500 for a mooring for a season for a 42' boat. That was on the low end. Saw some cheaper but were all filled and had a waiting list. Some were double that.