General Info: Is anybody willing to share actual their actual expenses/budget?

[One_Day]

Request :

Hello out there all you wonderfully helpful cruisers! I am wondering if any Foutaine Pajot owners out there are willing to share their annual expenses/budget over the last few years?

When I search, it seems everything I find is pre-2021. Given the drastic changes in pricing for pretty much everything, it makes me uncomfortable using those old budget numbers.


Information about us/plan if helpful to response:

My wife and I will be retiring soon and setting out to cruise full time.

After having spent time on the water and at boat shows on as many boats as possible over the last few years, we have narrowed our search down to a Fountaine Pajot 42-45 foot catamaran for our live aboard journey. Most likely around 5 years old. We will most likely follow what seems like a common route of spending the first 2 years on along the US East Coast and Caribbean before an Atlantic or Pacific crossing (unsure of which at this time).

I am very aware of all of the variables that make expenses an impossible thing to predict exactly so I know your expenses will be different than ours. We plan to over estimate the expense part of our budget by a decent amount. At this point I am just looking for more detailed than the generic percentage of boat price numbers everybody throws out for boat maintenance.

Is anybody with a FP willing to share what their actual expenses have been? I am looking for broad numbers to not be intrusive but if you happen to be a numbers person like me and break it down further, I will take any level of detail you are willing to provide.

Even if you are only willing to share how much your annual dinghy gas budget is, that would still be helpful to my brain knowing the number comes from reality rather than guessing. Heck, I will even take an annual toilet paper budget if that is all you are willing to provide!

Thank you so much to anybody willing to provide any information at all!

[MicHughV]

There are several threads covering this topic in detail on this forum. Just search around, you'll find them,

[One_Day]

Hi MicHughV,

Maybe I was not specific enough with my request, or I am just bad at searching here but I did not find anything with expenses specific to Fountaine Pajot Catamaran expenses since 2021.

To clarify, I am not looking for general ranges or monohull numbers. I am looking for actual expenses from Foutaine Pajot Catamaran owners.

I realize that is a very specific ask so I tried to post it in the Fountaine Pajot category.

If I did it wrong and you are able to provide me with a link to any of the threads covering that, I will gladly delete this.

Thank you for your help!

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by One_Day

Request :



I am very aware of all of the variables that make expenses an impossible thing to predict exactly so I know your expenses will be different than ours.

Impossible is the key

When I search, it seems everything I find is pre-2021. Given the drastic changes in pricing for pretty much everything, it makes me uncomfortable using those old budget numbers.

If you've found numbers that work and the only issue is they're out of date by 2 or 3 years, add 20-30% to those numbers.

[Don C L]

I see that there are 2 FP owners' groups on Facebook. If you search Fountaine Pajot here you'll find threads and posts by owners. You could try contacting them directly through private messaging.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f136/
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f136/index3.html

[Fore and Aft]

One Day, I think that's an impossible question to ask. A big question regarding boat maintenance is your personality type. I survey plenty of boats and what some owners call well maintained is miles different from what another owner says is well maintained. Then there's the whole marina/anchoring debate. To help yourself out start ringing random marinas and boatyards to get some ideas of costs involved with a cat.
One Day to be more specific if you're sitting there in your ironed jeans with your t-shirt tucked in reading this. I guarantee your budget is going to be on the high end of the scale.
As for specific Fountaine costs, there's really nothing unique about those boats and I can't think of any parts that would fail more than on any other catamaran brand.
Cheers

[One_Day]

I think there may be some confusion here which may be my fault. If so, I will take the blame and attempt to clarify again.

I am in no way asking anybody for anybody to estimate the costs or help me figure out what my costs would be. As I stated in the original post, I am very aware that would be impossible.

I was simply asking if people were willing to share their actual expenses and hard numbers in whatever form they are willing. I am a numbers nerd and I like data. Estimates based in data are what makes me believe the estimates. I always believe the more data points, I have the better!

Luckily, I think some people understood me and have private messaged me some of their numbers. I appreciate the people that have already done it. I would also welcome as many more people that are willing to provide any data here or in a private message.

I apologize if this annoys people, I am just a numbers nerd who likes data. The more data points I have the better so please keep them coming if you are willing!

[Fore and Aft]

One_Day this article below mentions a few more sailing budgets.
Cheers
https://www.pbo.co.uk/cruising/jimmy...hecklist-80308

[grantmc]

I appreciate the work put in by the OP One_Day in the initial and subsequent posts, and appreciate too the reason for making such a request. If I were looking for similar, I’d have added more meat to the post’s bones, I’d try to help readers to garner more useful feedback. For example:

• Complete my profile,
• Clarified sail or motor cat,
• Commercial or private use,
• Solo, short handed or full crew (perhaps health/disability issues),
• Children, dogs and or intending to carry my wheel chair bound aged Mum,
• 100% owner use, or intending to offer in shared charter,
• Electric or diesel.

And I would have defined ‘expense’. For example if I add a new toy, say a foiling kite board or a set of folding electric bikes are they an expense? Or perhaps have all crew attend some training courses, I don’t know, maybe Marine First Aid, Safety at Sea or what about shouting the crew to a big slap up dinner on shore when we arrive at our destination. Top shelf booze and a visit to a girlie bar following. Oh and of course owner paying for their flights home. Expense?

One’s own preference for the:

• level of maintenance,
• level of comfort,
• level of safety and security margin,
• type of dinghy and its propulsion,
• type of boat and medical insurance policies,
• who's doing the maintenance work, owner or tradies?,
• use of marine grade or Temu grade,

all have a significant bearing on costs.

Others have mentioned the costs of mooring. But just to extrapolate a little. There are different ‘levels’ of mooring, from cheap block moorings in a marina offering minimalist services, to full service, finger based floating moorings. This is especially the case for long periods for absentee owners.

A word on dinghies. I see people with Con Cats that would spend more money on the maintenance of their tenders than I do on my yacht. Some choose to have really serious tenders that require significant maintenance in their own right. And if you come out in the morning and find that tender missing, is it's replacement an expense?

One neglected expense that I've so far never seen in anyone's spreadsheet is clothing. Sailing wet weather gear is expensive, even the cheap stuff. You can choose to spend several thousand dollars for a a couple of good sets of high end Helly Hansen or buy some far cheaper brand like Gill. All a matter of taste and budget.

The same can be considered too for all the products that will be needed. Just take something as bland as engine oil. There are cheap oils and there are expensive oils.

Some prefer to support and buy locally produced product. Do origin/brand even bear a relationship with quality?

A few years back I sailed a 46’ FP cat on a voyage of 1,400 miles. I thought then I would never buy one: the noise and vibration caused by the water hitting the underside of the cabin was just way too awful for me. Just piloted a 700 mile trip in a similar Cat, and was reminded of how unpleasant and occasionally alarming that noise is, (especially the vibrations through the entire boat). Every now and then a really bad one hits, the entire boat seems to jump and you can’t help wonder what is going to have broken and is now a awash with gushing water. How do you Cat people cope with that? Do you ever get used to it?

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Iron E

Impossible is the key




If you've found numbers that work and the only issue is they're out of date by 2 or 3 years, add 20-30% to those numbers.

add 35% for bottom jobs-

[Fore and Aft]

Grantmc that was the point I was trying to make. He should describe himself like a hotel rating. I describe our family as three stars. Thats about our average hotel rating when we are travelling. We are definitely going to be eating in a dive bar or from a street vendor and unlikely to be seen in any fine dining establishment.
There is also that intangible factor of what do you call worn and needs replacing? Some of my clients have to have the latest gizmo and anything that is looking slightly old is replaced. That right there is a big budget killer.
Cheers

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Grantmc that was the point I was trying to make. He should describe himself like a hotel rating. I describe our family as three stars. Thats about our average hotel rating when we are travelling. We are definitely going to be eating in a dive bar or from a street vendor and unlikely to be seen in any fine dining establishment.
There is also that intangible factor of what do you call worn and needs replacing? Some of my clients have to have the latest gizmo and anything that is looking slightly old is replaced. That right there is a big budget killer.
Cheers

I absolutely got it, but I wasn't sure the OP did and I was just trying to be a tad more explicit. But also for other people down the line asking that same question as it comes up often. And it's a very reasonable question. But the reality is it's no different than asking how much does a house cost or what should I expect for apartment rent? And of course it's all so dependent on budget, expectations, preferences, location et el.

Funny thing. 3 weeks ago I crewed a cat from Wellington to Opua here in NZ. We went up the west coast which was fun (best option given weather). The boat is like $200K plus. And the owner was very pleased when we went to moor up and he could use his brand new stainless steel shiny shackles.

Turned out he'd bought them for like $3 each on Temu. I thought wtf but just kept my trap shut.

[mvweebles]

Until their boat was lost in a collision a year or so ago, @Sailorboy1 gave detailed expense line item for their full-time cruising costs (HERE) on a 40-ish foot monohull. It is, by far, the best information I have found on cruising expenses. He gives line-items so it's a simple exercise to adjust based on informed assumptions. I can tell you from experience that while any single assumption may be off by a lot, the errors tend to compensate so the bottom line number is surprisingly accurate.

Since the OP is a self-proclaimed 'numbers nerd,' I'm sure they are comfortable interpolating/extrapolating to adjust for their specific boat and cruising style. I found it immensely informative even though I'm a trawler. In my mind, turns out there for cruising/operating costs, sail vs power are not that different for vast majority of use-cases. Apples vs Oranges? Perhaps - but not Apples vs Watermelon.

I'd be facinated to understand what is so special about a FP Catamaran that requires only data from other owners. I would think there are higher-order data sets that would be more influential for an accurate projection such as cruising grounds, lifestyle habits, DIY maintenance skills, etc.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

. SNIP

I'd be facinated to understand what is so special about a FP Catamaran that requires only data from other owners. I would think there are higher-order data sets that would be more influential for an accurate projection such as cruising grounds, lifestyle habits, DIY maintenance skills, etc.

I agree the brand is mostly irrelevant for operating expenses estimation, however one of the things I look at as an experienced boat owner/buyer is repair and maintenance access. Based on my limited impression looking at a FP Lipari 41 (as a potential buyer) if that’s typical of modern FP cats I would judge them to be more difficult and expensive to maintain/repair because (based on the model I saw) the boat had inaccessible maintenance points. By inaccessible I mean it would require cutting interior cabin liner or deck fiberglass to repair/replace/inspect important components (fresh water and holding tanks, underside of deck fittings, etc.). That can increase the maintenance time/materials expense due to increased cleanup and refinish costs. In many cases you could install an access hatch (where there should have been one) so subsequent maintenance is not a problem.
FP cats are very nice and sail well, but I crossed them off my list for this reason. (Lagoon and especially Leopard seem to be better in this regard.)

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

I agree the brand is mostly irrelevant for operating expenses estimation, however one of the things I look at as an experienced boat owner/buyer is repair and maintenance access. Based on my limited impression looking at a FP Lipari 41 (as a potential buyer) if that’s typical of modern FP cats I would judge them to be more difficult and expensive to maintain/repair because (based on the model I saw) the boat had inaccessible maintenance points. By inaccessible I mean it would require cutting interior cabin liner or deck fiberglass to repair/replace/inspect important components (fresh water and holding tanks, underside of deck fittings, etc.). That can increase the maintenance time/materials expense due to increased cleanup and refinish costs. In many cases you could install an access hatch (where there should have been one) so subsequent maintenance is not a problem.
FP cats are very nice and sail well, but I crossed them off my list for this reason. (Lagoon and especially Leopard seem to be better in this regard.)

Ahh....I read the question entirely differently. I didn't realize request was specifically about maintenance costs, I thought it was asking about cruising costs in general. Question makes a lot more sense to me now.

As an aside, boats constructed with liners (as most are these days) suffer from inaccessible infrastructure that confounds replacement if/when time comes for repair. <@Fore and Aft> replied to this thread. As a surveyor he of course has deeper insights than most on the topic.

Apologies for the misunderstanding - best success in your search (and the OPs question).