Extra costs for cruising on a "big"
boat verse a "small"
boat comes up frequently. Those of of us with "big" boats say it isn't all that much more expensive. We of course are just liars, so since I acturally keep records that make it possible to figure out I looked up the cost difference between cruising on my "big" 41' boat compared to a 31' "small" boat. Here goes for ME during the last 46 months:
Boat maintenance, repairs, upgrades
difference between a below
deck and
wheel autopilot drive
motor - $700
cleaners etc - $100 (just a wag to be "fair")
bottom
cleaning - $130
haul out - $70
bottom paint - $200
yard space - $35
mainsail - $1627 (difference between OEM pricing)
total - $2827 or $61.46/mo
this is out a total $27,742 for the whole boat so 10.2% more to have that extra 10' of space and comfort
Marinas
$1,953 for the extra 10' during the 46 months for the time spent at a slip. That works out to average of $42.46/mo. That is out of $11,851 total spent on
marinas and
mooring balls the last 46 months or 16.5%.
The total costs of the extra 10' is $4,780, which is $103.91/mo. As a percentage of total
money spent the 46 months the extra works out to 3.5% more. I asked my wife how much she would be willing to save per month to give up the 10' of space and the comfort that goes with it, she paused at $500/mo. So to her the "bigger" boat was worth spending somewhere between $400-500/mo to have.
So in the end it has cost us 3.5% more to
cruise on a 41' boat instead of a 31'.
Left the story spinning begin.