Annual Maintenance Costs

[Catlovers]

Hello! We are nearing retirement and currently budgeting to see if a cruising lifestyle is feasible for us. One question that plagues us is about annual maintenance costs. We have consistently seen "10% of cost of the boat" as a standard answer to this question. We're contemplating buying a new or late model 44-foot catamaran, at a cost of around $800K. Does that mean we should anticipate annual maintenance costs of $80K? TIA.

[Lepke]

It depends on what you can do, what you pay others to do, and how hard you sail your boat.

[Catlovers]

Thanks for your reply! We're new to this, so we will definitely have to pay for major repairs and annual haul-out, but my husband is quite handy, so I believe he will be able to handle the more minor ones. We plan on cruising full-time and don't plan on sailing hard - we will not be in a hurry.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Catlovers

Hello! We are nearing retirement and currently budgeting to see if a cruising lifestyle is feasible for us. One question that plagues us is about annual maintenance costs. We have consistently seen "10% of cost of the boat" as a standard answer to this question. We're contemplating buying a new or late model 44-foot catamaran, at a cost of around $800K. Does that mean we should anticipate annual maintenance costs of $80K? TIA.

Any correlation of maintenance and "purchase price" is just plain silly. Think about that for just a few seconds and you will realize it can't be a useful correlation.

If you got a junker for free, does that mean maintenance is free? Of course not. Older boats in poorer condition cost less to buy, do they have less maintenance need that a newer boat in good shape? Of course not! Anybody who uses purchase price as a predictor of maintenance costs has no idea what they are talking about.

A far better rule is to use 3 to 5% of the value of the boat AS IF IT WERE NEW.

Try reading this article:
https://fetchinketch.net/boat_though...-should-i-buy/

[Jhardgrave]

Just a random data point for you if your interested, I have a 1988 Catalina Morgan 41 Classic in excellent shape, and here is last years maintenance record:

This averaged around $400/mo over the year, (excluding the steering cable job, that alone was $5k) although it includes some refit items.

Steering cables and chains replaced oct 18'
LPG Lines in tank locker replaced oct 18'
dripless shaft seal replaced, upgraded to water injected oct 18'
Cutless bearing replaced oct 18'
shaft annode replaced oct 18'
stereo unit replaced oct 18'
interior lighting replaced with LED nov 18'
VHF radio replaced with Simrad RS35 nov 18'
VHF ram mic replaced with Simrad HS35 nov 18'
Anchor replaced w/ Mantus 55 lb nov 18'
interior and exterior stereo speakers replaced nov 18'
generator water pump">raw water pump full rebuild dec 18'
forward head pump replaced dec 18'
microwave replaced dec 18'
bimini top canvas treated with water repellent dec 18'
rear head pump rebuilt, new joker installed feb 19'
main bilge pump float switch replaced feb 19'
main engine oil/filter changed may 19'
generator oil/filter changed may 19'
main engine coolant drain replaced with metal version apr 19'
port light lenses replaced, upgraded apr 19'
port light seals replaced in salon apr 19'
throttle lever replaced apr 19'
main engine starter replaced apr 19'
main engine valve cover breather repaired apr 19'
spare halyard added jun 19'
main halyard replaced jun 19'
jib sheets replaced jun 19'
reef lines replaced jun 19'
spinnaker leads added to aft deck jun 19'
refrigerators and a/c's topped off with freon sep 19'
evaporator coils cleaned sep 19'
teak in galley oiled sep 19'
starboard davit mount hardware resealed w/ 5200 sep 19'
forward shower hose replaced sep 19'
AC Seawater pump impeller replaced oct. 19'
awlcare sealant applied to hull sides oct. 19'
enclosure zippers lubricated with zipper grease oct 19'

[ejs]

The 10% rule is actually pretty good but it is mis-applied by its' detractors. The way to apply it is to take 10% of the amount of money it took you to get your boat completely refit and ready to go cruising with everything working properly. The !0% is the amount of money it tends to take to keep it in that condition over the long term. So if you have a relatively small, simple boat it will cost less than a large complex one, but things will still break.
You will have a "grace period" with somewhat lower spend right after you refit if you renewed all of the major systems, but eventually even the systems you renewed will need work.
The 10% is also a number which assumes you have someone else doing the work, if you do the work, I've found it to be about half or 5% over the long term.

One reason lots of folks don't like to believe the number is that they never get to the long term, they refit, use the boat until things start to wear out and sell the boat to let someone else refit. So during that time the 10% wasn't spent and the boat was not kept in the condition of the last refit.

Of course it is a ballpark rule of thumb, but it is not a bad one if you apply it correctly.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by Catlovers

Thanks for your reply! We're new to this, so we will definitely have to pay for major repairs and annual haul-out, but my husband is quite handy, so I believe he will be able to handle the more minor ones. We plan on cruising full-time and don't plan on sailing hard - we will not be in a hurry.

Catamarans go fast, they're catamarans, so actually you will go fast and drive the boat hard. There's far more stress on all the boat's components than for a mono hull.

If your starting out that 'he' will do all the work then you're likely going to have problems quite quickly, not just with the boat. Even a woman I know who's lost a arm can still wield grinders, paint brushes and rollers with her good arm.

Whether it's 5% or 10%, annual maintenance, storage, insurance etc will be substantial. Rigging, sails and covers all have limited lives and need regular replacement. And owners are always finding newer/better gizmos that are must haves.
And for the first few years you buy things you subsequently discover you don't need or even want. Everybody does it.

Think of the boat as a very high tech piece of equipment with thousands of components all working together. Then put it in sea water with all its nasty critters trying to turn it into their home, and leave it outside in all weathers.

A friend of mine recently had some small jobs done professionally on his $150K boat. The eventual cost was $48K: stern glands replaced, prop alignment, bottom paint, some soft spots in the hull fixed. He's hoping/planning that that's his maintenance costs put to bed for the next 3-4 years. But 10% of 150 is 15, plus mooring, insurances, fuel etc. In my experience the 10% does work out, but it only catches up every few years when the owner has a really bad year and has to do all the maintenance or sell the boat.

Unlike cars, you can't avoid bumping in to things with a boat. You have to come alongside wharves, slide in to moorings, raft up to other boats, occasionally find you've touched bottom. Come alongside with your dinghy. Wear and tear is harsh on all boats when they're used.

And of course there is depreciation. Loads and loads of depreciation.

As a cat lover you should read this thread by a fellow (pussy) cat lover who bought a catamaran: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rs-105618.html