The short answer is that using 10% of the
purchase cost of a boat for maintenance is more likely to be fiction. Your maintenance
budget is more accurately based on the condition of the boat, how well it has been maintained, how old it is and how complex the systems are on the boat.
I would likely budget between $3k and $5k per year for maintenance, you may not spend that much each year, however every 3-5 years you will likely have a
repair that exceeds your yearly budget. The above amounts would be considered the average amount spent per year. For the first year or so I would start with the higher amount, once you get to know the boat you may want to lower or increase the budget based on your experience. Other factors include the age of the boat and how well it has been maintained. For example, if you
purchase and older boat with an
engine that is potentially at the end of its life cycle you may need to budget for an
engine re-build/ replacement at some point which could easily cost $15K to $30K. Get the boat inspected prior to purchase, this will help ascertain the potential repair costs that will be over and above your typical maintenance costs/ corresponding budget.
When we purchased our 42’ sailboat (6 years old) our budget consisted of the following:
1. Purchase Cost: Cost of boat + applicable
taxes + transfer and
registration fees, cost of haul out/
inspection. Over and above the purchase cost and applicable
taxes you should budget an additional $2-3k for this item.
2. Operating Cost: Moorage (can vary significantly with location and size of boat) +
Insurance + yearly
registration cost + licensing costs, my budget has varied between $7K and $12k per year for this item. Keep in mind that moorage costs are based on the size of slip, moorage costs are based on slip size, not boat size, the smallest slip my boat fits into is 46’, typically I am paying for a 50’ slip.
3. Upgrade Cost: What does the boat need to bring it up to your standards or needs, this cost can vary significantly, you need to do your
research to determine how much you are going to budget for this category. For the first three years of boat
ownership my costs were around $10K per year. I did however have a couple of bigger projects like installing a
solar system, upgrading
battery capacity, installing
davits, asymmetrical
spinnaker,
inverter,
AIS, … Even if you do not have any bigger projects, do not underestimate this category, it is amazing how
purchasing a lot of lower cost/ smaller items accumulates into a significant amount at the end of the year. My upgrade budget for the past 5 years has averaged less than $3K. There may be some overlap between upgrade and maintenance budgets, depending on how you categorize your costs, typically I consider maintenance items to be the things that you must do like
repairs or preventative maintenance. Upgrades are everything else.
4. My maintenance budget varies between $3K and $5k per year, depending on
weather or not a
haul out is required that particular year, the least I have spent is $1k, the most I have spend is $10K per year.
Hopefully this information helps – owning a boat is not an inexpensive proposition! You could easily spend $15K per year for anything in the 35’ range. I am currently averaging $17.5K over 7 years of ownership. These are in cdn $’s.