Ownership costs

[cruisernewbie]

I'm looking at buying a large used catamaran in SF Bay Area and wanted to get a realistic picture of maintenance and ownership costs in addition to purchase cost.

[AquaLeopard40]

I have a 2006 Leopard 40 cat and have budgeted 20% of my purchase price, or about 12% of original list for annual costs including dockage, maintenance and insurance. My boat is chartered to help cover these costs when I'm not on her. This increases wear but the money more than makes up for that. The actual amount you spend will depend on the level of maintenance that you want to keep. I have owned much older boats in the past, with much lower costs. My last boat still had an original 1976 main sail. My new boat has new sails already, for example.

[Neptune's Gear]

if you can do the basic stuff yourself, it will work out to about 10% of purchase price per year. You can get some years down, but it will average out at 10%. Unless you let her condition deteriorate....

[TacomaSailor]

Moorage
Electricity
Insurance
Property Tax
Bottom Cleaning
Prop zincs
shaft zincs
cutlass zincs
Diesel
Fuel Filters
Oil Changes
Oil Filters
Dinghy Fuel
propane for stove / heater

Add up those costs

Then add in other estimated repair & replacement items

As others have said - figure 3% to 5% of the value of the boat for annual maintenance over and above the costs shown above. We have owned our 40' Cutter rigged boat since new in February 1995 and have detailed records of every penny we have spent on her - about 3% of her value - each and every year!

For example in the last year we did the following

bottom paint $1,000 (paint and labor) - I got 4 years out of the last bottom
prop shaft, cutlass bearing $1,000 - I got 18 years out of the original
Refinish Maxprop due to missing zincs $200
new rudder shoe $300
haulout and laydays for the above $750
motor mount and adjustment $200
better drains for anchor locker $200
new autopilot $3,000 - Replaced an 18 year old one that was not working so well
new broiler element for stove $100
new shackles for two anchors $25
new 30 amp shore power connection in coaming $120
carb rebuilt kits and other parts for outboards $100
R134A coolant for refrigerator compressor $15
Glow plug for diesel heater $50
Steps for boarding $30
Distilled water for batteries $4


All of the above is for PARTS only - I do all my own labor. Here in San Diego labor goes from $65 to $90 per hour. A conservative estimate is that labor will be at least 50% of the parts cost and more likely equal to the parts cost.

Things I know I need to do in the next year:
Sail Repairs $400 - first repairs in 11 years
Standing Rigging $4,000 - it is all 19 years old
Running rigging $1,000 - most of it is 12 years old
new seats for dinghy $100
refinish transom for dinghy $100
Sail Cover $500 - current one is 18 years old and falling apart
Replace seven cabin light fixtures - $400 ?? they are 19 years old and pitted

Not to overwhelm with details but here are some of the other things we've had to do in August 2010 - August 2012 period:

Fresh water pump $225
Fresh water lines $35
Diesel water pump $125
Diesel raw water impeller $25
Diesel antifreeze $29
Diesel fuel lines $25
Diesel water lines $50 - preformed Yanmar water lines are expensive!
Packing Gland material $25
New seat and lid for LaVac toilet $125
Replace 2 AC and 2 DC breakers $125
Recoil starter for big outboard $40
Hasp for cockpit door $25
Bilge pump $90
Galley light fixture $75
GFCI AC outlet $15
sprayer head for galley sink (2) $25

Nothing on the list above is a new install - it is all replacement of existing stuff.

IT IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERESTIMATE THE COST OF OWNING A BOAT!

[nickfox45]

Tacoma, thanks for taking the time to list that out, it's giving my newbie eyes a real idea of what to expect. What size boat are we talking about for these types of costs?

[TacomaSailor]

I have a Caliber 40 that we purchased new in Feb 1995. We have used her a bit - Puget Sound to San Diego twice. San Diego and all over western Mexico for three years. We lived aboard full time for over six years. We do have a very well equipped and complicated boat:

Lots of electronics
Big electrical system
Good refrigeration
Lots of high end sails
Watermaker

so a lot of our expenses could be avoided by not having:
cold beer
HD TV
Super quality sound system
High end gaming computers
fast, comfortable sailing in any winds from 5 knots to 55 knots
Endless pure fresh water


You can see more details about the boat and our adventures at THE VOYGAGES OF MIRADOR and a fairly detailed list of equipment added or replaced during the last 18 years at:INSTALLED EQUIPMENT

Boat ownership is a wonderful thing and I have been a serious sailor since about 1972. The one thing I know for sure about boats, maintenance, and cost of ownership is:

EVERYTHING TAKES TWICE AS LONG AND COSTS TWICE AS MUCH as your wildest initial estimate

Feel free to send me a PM if you want more details or have more questions