Cruising and boat maintenance costs

[mickand]

Come on over to the "Dark Side". I have a 40 year old trawler, averaging over 6,000miles/yr. My maintenance costs are much less than the original posters, I consider mine to be well maintained, but fuel costs today are painful.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Does the cruising boat ever become less of a money hog? So far full time on the boat for "boat maintenance, repairs, upgrades" it has cost:

year 1 - $8,291
year 2 - $5,187
year 3 - $14,262
year 4 - $19,856
year 5 - $3,315
year 6 - $8,364 (and that is only for 8 months)

That's $59,277 and all but about $4000 I did all the work. Yes there have been a few expensive upgrades in that number, but that still leaves a lot for just maintenance and repair. It works out to 26% of my total costs to live and travel on the boat. And this is for a 2001 boat that was I feel in good condition at the start that I had and maintained for 5 years prior.

Can some longer term cruiser tell if and when the curve drops on these costs?

Let me congratulate you on keeping track of your expenses...I don't think many people, let alone boaters, keep tabs on their expenses...after all boating is a luxury and many think keeping book ruins the enjoyment. It is an effort but enlightening.

If you think about it, in a word NO! Most every system requires some level of maintenance at one time or another and it never ends over the life of the item until it is replaced, another expense. As the boat ages more and more systems will need attention. A big factor will be the size of the boat and the systems you have on the boat...if the item isn't there it doesn't need attention...KISS. While all sailboats will have hull, rigging, sails, and engine maintenance the addition of the desireables like cabin heat/air conditioning, refrigeration, genset, etc. will increase your maintenance cost at one time or another.

Another factor is inflation. What did it cost you to just hual the boat the first time and what will it cost you today? What did you pay per month the first year of marina moorage and what are you paying now?

Hang in there!

[goboatingnow]

I never add it all up. I’d be trying fly fishing as a hobby if I did !!

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I’d be trying fly fishing as a hobby if I did !!

I have done that. Just wait till you add up the costs of that

[Freedom45]

It’s simple to calculate boat cost.
A. How much money do you have
B. Spend A

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I never add it all up. I’d be trying fly fishing as a hobby if I did !!

Yeah like that’s as cheap as some might think

[PaulCrawhorn]

A boat-shaped hole in the water, into which money is poured

[zstine]

Boat ownership is as expensive as you want it to be. Do you want to pay for a new part $$, or spend time making it work? Our experience is much less costly than the OP. Maybe because when sheaves cracked and broke, I replaced the sheave for $6, not the $60 block. When the waterpump leaked I replaced the bearing and seal for $30, not the $400 pump, I used RV or homedepot parts/hoses vice 'marine' if possible, etc.

With our 1975 Tartan 41, we averaged about $2-3k maintenance per year for the first 5 years owning (summer sailing, winter on hard). Then put ~$25k in refit (530W solar system & batt bank, watermaker, new sails, new rigging, new instruments, new v-berth, life raft, etc) and did a 2 year cruise down to the Carib and back. During that 2 year cruise we spent under $4k on the boat (including a new autohelm, which was $2k itself). If you omit 'upgrades' like solar and watermaker, and just include maintenance, eg fix what broke and replacement of sails, riging, etc. we spent between $4-5k per year during our 8 years of ownership and averaged out to about $6k if you include the upgrades too (slightly less than $50k for 8 years). This doesn't include winter storage or marina fees, or fuel of course.. maybe it's because I fix things at lowest replaceable parts? Maybe Tartan just makes a better boat than Hunter?? Maybe the Hunter has more complicated systems which fail and cost money to fix?? idk

What did you spend $14k and almost $20k on! Jeez, $34k is a major refit of replacing nearly every system save the engine!

[sailorboy1]

I find it amusing that people assume that I just replace stuff instead of trying to fix or find a good work around.

Besides the upgrades like watermaker, sailtrack, etc. etc. in my number do you know why my costs are high?

It's because I keep track so know all those $10, $20, $30 things really add up.

[OBT]

So, how many rolls of various tape (masking, duct etc) are required to be on the boat at any one time?
Asking for a friend.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Does the cruising boat ever become less of a money hog? So far full time on the boat for "boat maintenance, repairs, upgrades" it has cost:

year 1 - $8,291
year 2 - $5,187
year 3 - $14,262
year 4 - $19,856
year 5 - $3,315
year 6 - $8,364 (and that is only for 8 months)

That's $59,277 and all but about $4000 I did all the work. Yes there have been a few expensive upgrades in that number, but that still leaves a lot for just maintenance and repair. It works out to 26% of my total costs to live and travel on the boat. And this is for a 2001 boat that was I feel in good condition at the start that I had and maintained for 5 years prior.

Can some longer term cruiser tell if and when the curve drops on these costs?

We've been living aboard and cruising for 35 years. Our costs have not dropped off.

I don't have consolidated records prior to 2004, but here is what I have.

Boat Maint
2004 $2,970
2005 $4,397
2006 $12,808
2007 $18,686
2008 $11,656
2009 $22,927
2010 $16,371
2011 $13,889
2012 $5,355
2013 $10,504
2014 $9,743
2015 $9,036
2016 $22,040
2017 $7,935
2018 $6,679
2019 $8,884
2020 $6,617
2021 $10,337

[nofacey]

I started cruising with a brand new purpose built cruising boat. For the first 2 years expenses were mostly upgrades (and finishing the interior) . We might have had one low cost year…..then it was steady maintenance….nothing major, just wear and tear on a boat doing thousands of miles a year in the tropical sun.

And we maintained to a high level…..not yacht class, but the boat was always presentable.

Nope, the costs never go down.

[mako]

So I just sold my fishing boat. It was ultra-clean and showed very well. I doubt that I really got any more money for it, but this condition did allow it to sell in a reasonable amount of time.

However the biggest advantage to maintaining the boat well was that my wife and I enjoyed it more. How do you put a coat against that?

[ItDepends]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Does the cruising boat ever become less of a money hog? So far full time on the boat for "boat maintenance, repairs, upgrades" it has cost:

year 1 - $8,291
year 2 - $5,187
year 3 - $14,262
year 4 - $19,856
year 5 - $3,315
year 6 - $8,364 (and that is only for 8 months)

That's $59,277 and all but about $4000 I did all the work. Yes there have been a few expensive upgrades in that number, but that still leaves a lot for just maintenance and repair. It works out to 26% of my total costs to live and travel on the boat. And this is for a 2001 boat that was I feel in good condition at the start that I had and maintained for 5 years prior.

Can some longer term cruiser tell if and when the curve drops on these costs?

I have been taking care of my boat, and other people’s boats for many years. Your data is right down the middle of what I tell people to expect.

Take the price of the boat as IF IT WAS NEW TODAY, and your maintenance costs are 3% to 5% of that on average. Some years less, some years more.

A 41 foot Hunter would today sell for about $300,000. So that would say your average maintenance costs over years will be $9,000 to $15,000 in 2022 dollars. And NO, that will NOT go down with time.

Many, many people mindlessly repeat the “rule” they read posted by some other mindless person that maintenance is “10% of the purchase price.” But apply just a little logic to that, and it falls apart pretty quickly. That would imply that the cost to maintain a boat drops as it depreciates over time. Of course that is not true.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Does the cruising boat ever become less of a money hog? So far full time on the boat for "boat maintenance, repairs, upgrades" it has cost:


That's $59,277 and all but about $4000 I did all the work.
Can some longer term cruiser tell if and when the curve drops on these costs?

I looked through my records and figure that out of the number about $13k was "upgrades" that didn't have to be spent. About $18k was for things that maintained the boat fully seaworthy that if you were just going to live on anchor/marina could have not been done. That leaves $27k that were all the small/medium things to just keep the boat from falling apart.