Are there any Silent Yachts owners here?

[Silverbach]

I was wondering about upkeep, moorage costs and all the rest of it.

A lot of the marketing mentions drastically reduced maintenance costs for solar yachts in comparison to conventional yachts. I am a rank novice sailor so go easy!

All the best

[SailingHarmonie]

If you are buying an electric boat to save maintenance costs you will be sorely disappointed. This is total marketing puffery. Right up there with a politicians promise to reduce your taxes. There might be other reasons to buy an electiric boat, but "drastically reduced" operating cost is NOT one of them.

Maintenance costs on the heart of a diesel drive train are not that high, if they are kept up with and in good shape. We have a Volvo TMD22 that is 26 years old, and with 9000 hours on it. Over the last 7 years, the maintenance costs for the engine have averaged $530/year with only one significant, non-routine repair.

Costs for the maintenance of the drive system (shaft, seals, prop, etc) are about that much again, but of course these are are the same no matter what kind of motor turns it.

Surely you do not think moorage costs will be different because electric motors are in the boat? Although if you use your boat a lot, and you are charging batteries from shore power you might be in for a shock with your monthly electric bill. Many marinas mark-up electric from the domestic rates. That's especially true in the islands where power can be very expensive.

[danstanford]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

If you are buying an electric boat to save maintenance costs you will be sorely disappointed. This is total marketing puffery. Right up there with a politicians promise to reduce your taxes. There might be other reasons to buy an electiric boat, but "drastically reduced" operating cost is NOT one of them.

Maintenance costs on the heart of a diesel drive train are not that high, if they are kept up with and in good shape. We have a Volvo TMD22 that is 26 years old, and with 9000 hours on it. Over the last 7 years, the maintenance costs for the engine have averaged $530/year with only one significant, non-routine repair.

Costs for the maintenance of the drive system (shaft, seals, prop, etc) are about that much again, but of course these are are the same no matter what kind of motor turns it.

Surely you do not think moorage costs will be different because electric motors are in the boat? Although if you use your boat a lot, and you are charging batteries from shore power you might be in for a shock with your monthly electric bill. Many marinas mark-up electric from the domestic rates. That's especially true in the islands where power can be very expensive.

My Oceanvolt electric boat is now 7 years old and has not needed one bit of repair money spent on it with the only maintenance money being oil for the sail drive. Pulling the boat for the winter and not needing to do anything with the motor is not a hard thing to take!

To be fair, the batteries should be considered a declining asset so I face a pretty big bill when they start to lose their capacity but no sign of that yet.

Dan

[Silverbach]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

If you are buying an electric boat to save maintenance costs you will be sorely disappointed. This is total marketing puffery. Right up there with a politicians promise to reduce your taxes. There might be other reasons to buy an electiric boat, but "drastically reduced" operating cost is NOT one of them.

Maintenance costs on the heart of a diesel drive train are not that high, if they are kept up with and in good shape. We have a Volvo TMD22 that is 26 years old, and with 9000 hours on it. Over the last 7 years, the maintenance costs for the engine have averaged $530/year with only one significant, non-routine repair.

Costs for the maintenance of the drive system (shaft, seals, prop, etc) are about that much again, but of course these are are the same no matter what kind of motor turns it.

Surely you do not think moorage costs will be different because electric motors are in the boat? Although if you use your boat a lot, and you are charging batteries from shore power you might be in for a shock with your monthly electric bill. Many marinas mark-up electric from the domestic rates. That's especially true in the islands where power can be very expensive.

Thanks for the information. Fairly disappointing all round! Google tells me that as a general rule the owner can expect 5-10% of the yacht’s total value to be spent on upkeep each year. That would make the silent yacht I have my eye on a direct route to bankruptcy in short order.

With regards to moorage costs I was speaking in a general sense. I suppose it depends entirely on the size of the yacht and the marina in question?

[JBP]

Originally Posted by Silverbach

I was wondering about upkeep, moorage costs and all the rest of it.

Most of the maintenance costs aren't dependent on Electric vs Internal Combustion, and fuel costs are minimal if you mostly sail.

Moorage costs vary tremendously upon location. On Lake Erie, there are docks for $800/season to $3,000/season.

Upkeep costs vary tremendously upon whether you do your own work or not.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Silverbach

Thanks for the information. Fairly disappointing all round! Google tells me that as a general rule the owner can expect 5-10% of the yacht’s total value to be spent on upkeep each year. That would make the silent yacht I have my eye on a direct route to bankruptcy in short order.



With regards to moorage costs I was speaking in a general sense. I suppose it depends entirely on the size of the yacht and the marina in question?

Not sure where you are located, but yes, marina costs are very high and probably astronomical in many parts of the US.

The thing you may save on, though, is fuel if you have a lot of solar on that boat and spend a lot of time at anchor or in marinas.

We are living on a sailing cat and are 99% of time at anchor. If one of our outboards eventually needs replacing in a few years' time, I might replace its powerhead with an electric motor and another big set of batteries and solar panels.
Fuel is expensive, even though we try to motor very little.
That one, we have one electric and one petrol motor. Use both for port entering and the petrol one for longer distance.

[Silverbach]

Originally Posted by Silverbach

Thanks for the information. Fairly disappointing all round! Google tells me that as a general rule the owner can expect 5-10% of the yacht’s total value to be spent on upkeep each year. That would make the silent yacht I have my eye on a direct route to bankruptcy in short order.

With regards to moorage costs I was speaking in a general sense. I suppose it depends entirely on the size of the yacht and the marina in question?

If and when I do deicide to take the plunge and buy, I will be exclusively sailing around the Mediterranean.

Leaving mirage costs aside, what would the likely yearly upkeep of the yacht be with regards to maintenance and general upkeep? As a % of total worth of the yacht I have heard it’s possible that up to 5% of the yacht’s total value per year would have to be spent.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by Silverbach

If and when I do deicide to take the plunge and buy, I will be exclusively sailing around the Mediterranean.



Leaving mirage costs aside, what would the likely yearly upkeep of the yacht be with regards to maintenance and general upkeep? As a % of total worth of the yacht I have heard it’s possible that up to 5% of the yacht’s total value per year would have to be spent.

I love that typo..... “mirage costs” aptly describes my marina fees and costs. As I get closer the perceived costs of boating stay just ahead of me.

[Simi 60]

Spends millions of dollars to save a few bucks on maintenance

[JBP]

You can't really pin the costs of maintenance to a percentage of the boat cost. In some ways it's an inverse relationship, the less the boat costs, the more you will have to spend on maintenance.
There are many people who publish their costs, and that can give you a very accurate idea of your costs. Here is one
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...at-279682.html

Many of the YouTube sailing channels have an episode on cruising costs as well.

[Silverbach]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

I love that typo..... “mirage costs” aptly describes my marina fees and costs. As I get closer the perceived costs of boating stay just ahead of me.

Apologies big thumbs. I hope the mirage is worth it overall!

[Silverbach]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Spends millions of dollars to save a few bucks on maintenance

Seems strange but one of the the main points of buying a solar yacht for me is the freedom- freedom from the need for fuel refills.

It would be nice if there wasn’t a huge maintenance bill hanging over my head every month as well.

[Silverbach]

Originally Posted by JBP

You can't really pin the costs of maintenance to a percentage of the boat cost. In some ways it's an inverse relationship, the less the boat costs, the more you will have to spend on maintenance.
There are many people who publish their costs, and that can give you a very accurate idea of your costs. Here is one
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...at-279682.html

Many of the YouTube sailing channels have an episode on cruising costs as well.

Thanks this is a great help

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Silverbach

Seems strange but one of the the main points of buying a solar yacht for me is the freedom- freedom from the need for fuel refills.

It would be nice if there wasn’t a huge maintenance bill hanging over my head every month as well.

Seems strange but one of the main points of buying our diesel trawler is it's freedom - freedom from having to work all those extra decades earning the extra $2million or more dollars for a solar boat.

Fuel refill every 3500nm is no big deal for us.
And what huge maintenance bill every month are you talking of?

[mvweebles]

Similar to Simi60's experience, I know a couple who recently brought their 40+ year old 50-foot trawler from Seattle area to San Diego, almost 1300 nms at 6-1/2 kts with one stop in Bodega Bay for weather. They burned around 450 gals diesel and arrived rested, warm, and dry - three words you rarely hear in a sentence from a sailor. They will top-off their tanks in Ensenada and won't refuel until the make Panama.

Several years ago, I accompanied a friend on his 40-foot trawler from Long Beach to La Paz MX, about 1200 nms total. With a Tier 2 Deere turbo, we averaged around 7-kts and burned around 275 gals diesel. The boat carried 700 gals diesel so could have turned around and returned to Long Beach without refueling.

A sistership to my Willard 36 trawler with an old Perkins 4.236 naturally aspirated diesel went from Southern California to Hawaii, around 2200 nms, and burned 335 gals diesel at around 6-kts. My boat carries 400 gals.

Yes, there are maintenance costs and efforts. Even with sail - watch the YouTube channels with longer distance sailors and you'll see them repairing sails and running rigging (including winches and blocks) all the time. While sailboats are capable of long passages, it's a grind to do so - I know of many, many trawlers that go between SoCal to the PNW non-stop, but know of virtually no sailboats that do so non-stop. 2000 nm range (or more) buys a LOT of freedom, especially for a boat designed to make multi-day passages with comfort. None of these are expensive boats - between $100K-$200K USD.

If you want freedom and low maintenance, buy the simplest boat you can find. Sail or power. Don't fall into the trap of complex electrical systems with Victron controls and hi-output alternators. Keep it simple. Diesels are incredibly reliable. All the other stuff on a boat....not so much.