46' sailboat built '74; average $ to maintain her?

[nirvan]

I am considering the purchase of a good sailboat built in 1974 in excellent condition, for use mainly as a live aboard and as an escape boat.
Wondering if anyone has any idea of the average yearly costs to maintain a boat this big, say over a 10 year period.
Berthing is cheaper than apartment rent, but I would suspect the devil is probably in the details.
Thanks!

[Ex-Calif]

What do you want to include in the costs? And also do you want to keep it in excellent condition. A lot of folks take the "maintenance" equity out of their boat and when they sell on they are in need of a pretty big refit.

Figures lie and liars figure...

Provisioning + Insurance + Mooring + Boat Maintenance.

I am guessing boat maintenance will be $15-18k per year for a 10 year average based on a lot of blogs I have read. But pay attention to the variability - You may get smacked with new rigging, sails and batteries in the same year and spend $30k and then nothing the next year.

My 26 footer including Mooring (cheap here) _ Insurance (liability only) and all boat costs (including minor but periodic "upgrades) has been around $500/mo over 6 years.

You'll be lucky to only double that with a boat >2X the length.

This number will go up as I am currently in about a $6,000 refit. That will add about $80 to teh 72 month average.

[barnakiel]

I believe, in very rough terms, if you want to keep her in said excellent condition, it will cost heaps. Easily twice or three times over what you imagine.

When not sailing our own craft, I do odd sailing jobs, one of them being getting other people`s boats ready for sailing, or just keeping them in, or getting them to, excellent condition. When asked for a quick quote, I will imagine the highest imaginable figure, then add a 50% buffer on top. Owners get shocked but if we strike a deal, my rough quote turns out to be roughly right most of the time.

Hope this helps.

b.

[leftbrainstuff]

If you're just going to liveaboard and not sail then costs can be minimised. We see others do this and the boats deteriorate quickly and effectively have little resale value.

If you're going to sail then costs will be higher. Start with a good boat and the corrective maintenance will be much lower than trying to make a sad boat a good boat.

Preventative maintenance is the key to keeping a good boat in good condition.

If you think living aboard will be cheaper than apartment living you will probably be dissapointed.


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[nirvan]

I appreciate your honest, thoughtful comments.
Berthing here is expensive; they add about 300/month just for the right to live aboard. So, the numbers 15 to 18k may be low.
Thanks!