boats are expensive!

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

Owning a boat is truly expensive....The time spent with my wife or the 13 day trip to the keys with 2 buddies PRICELESS.

You can either count the dollars it costs to keep up the boat, or you can count the unforgettable memories (no one will ever take away) that you will have for a life time. Some of my greatest memories are from the deck of a boat. Invest in a decent camera so you can see and hold on to those memories.

 

[Liam]

You know how to make a small fortune?

Start with a large fortune and then buy a boat!

 

[rpwillia]

A different way to look at it

I enjoy my boat so much it is worth the cost. That being said, one saying I have learned from the Marines in Quantico (I am the retired Navy guy showing them a better way ;-)) is:

If it Flies, Floats or Fornicates*, rent it! It is cheaper in the long run!

* - Cleaned up so some of you tender hearts don't get insulted.

 

[DannyS]

We think of our boat as our floating, waterfront cabin. Buying waterfront property is astronomical, in comparison, buying a boat and having a slip is cheap. Plus, we don't spend half of our weekend mowing the lawn at our cabin!

 

[Mario G]

The 1st mate likes to say we spend to much on the boat. So far I like adding up what I have into a Chrysler C-26 oh and the C-22, Please I'm not trying to brag I need to do work on the C-26 some but we have it at the coast with 6 or 7 stays aboard and 2 long sails, and you could spend more in one weekend then I have in the 2. I have done all the work needed to be able to trailor and sail the C-22, 13 weekend sails/stayovers at the lake. The C-26 was being in the right place at the right time and now have a boat the 1st mate feels comfortable in. It is ment to be a trailor sailor which means I can move it on land if need be, yours is also concider yourself lucky.
I couldn't put a price on the enjoyment I have gotten from both. Try slipping on the rose covered glasses if the money is going to bother you, it will be hard to enjoy.

 

[Ed Schenck]

I am from the PRICELESS camp. But then I have been lucky with a good job and decent retirement. So it is easy for me to say. I have also been on the other side and know how stressful it can be counting pennies. So here are a couple of ideas.

1) Do as you were thinking. Find a trailer. It does not have to be custom. You might find a cradle and attach it to any old trailer for example.
2) Find a partner. Not my favorite idea but splitting the costs makes a huge difference.
3) Donate the boat to a sailing club or the Sea Scouts with conditions. The condition being that you could schedule the use of the boat. At our yacht club you can take a Sunfish, a Laser, or a Lightning almost any day and hour of the week.
4) My least favorite idea is take a year off. Make a deal with the yard for one year on the hard. Take the time to weigh your options and save some money. Make a monthly budget to see if it is really costing as much as you think. You can't keep factoring in the original price of the boat. Which was a steal by the way.

Good luck and let us know how the summer goes.

 

[zeehag]

if she says ye spend too much on theboat, then spend a lil money on her!!! geeez---the break out another thousand will wait a week or so --she wont--LOL----then add the price of blood pressure meds and doctor visits and relaxing agents and stress reducers and psychiatrists and see which form of therapy is less expensive...LOL...you will find theboat is cheaper than the medical alternative..LOL

 

[DougM]

You have no doubt heard the comment:

"Sailing is like standing in a cold shower, stuffing money down the drain."

I save a lot of money because I am fortunate to be capable of doing a lot of my own work. I wouldn't have it any other way. I enjoy working on the boat as much as sailing it.

I have no real feel for what I have spent over the years...and don't want to know precisely. Its got to be cheaper than a Psychiatrist.

I'm not rich, but I figure the money I save by doing my own work pays for my golf habit and any specialized tools I buy.

 

[gilSoo]

Man after my own heart !!!!
Non sailors don't understand the feeling you get when all you can hear is the wind and the water parting as you sail to wherever ! That is why we spend and repair for those moments of silence !

 

[BobM]

Some things in life you just shouldn't add up...

...like the total cost of boat ownership...or the total cost of your Wife's shoe collection Believe me...I just don't want to know.

What you do need to do is get over feeling guilty about it. I was in the same position a few years ago. Shelling out thousands a year to keep my trailer-less trailerable Lancer 25 on the hard in the winter. My Wife isn't a big fan of sailing and I knew that if I bought a $3000 trailer for my $1000 boat I would make my money back in 2-3 years tops. I already had a pick-up truck. It was a no brainer that my Wife absolutely said no to. She said didn't want to deal with the stress of me dealing with the stress of launching and trailering a 25 footer. So I decided that there were much worse things I could be doing with a few hundred dollars a month than sailing for my mental health. I could be smoking a pack of cigs a day at $7/pack. I could be an alcoholic. I could be shelling out for therapy.

The financial burden wasn't as big an issue as I was making it out to be. I was just feeling guilty about spending that much money on something my Wife doesn't enjoy nearly as much as I do.

So get over your guilt. It has its benefits. I bought a bigger boat with my Wife's blessing.

 

[caguy]

if she says ye spend too much on theboat, then spend a lil money on her!!! geeez---the break out another thousand will wait a week or so --she wont--LOL

ZeeHag may have something there... I feel much better about what I spend on the boat after taking her shoe shopping.

 

[BobM]

I agree 100%

ZeeHag may have something there... I feel much better about what I spend on the boat after taking her shoe shopping.

My Wife tells me she is a "Platinum" member and now gets free overnight shipping from DSW shoes web store. How much money do you thing that cost us LOL? Or perhaps you get it free after you buy your first 100 pairs.

[She cleaned out her shoe closet recently tossing dozens of pairs of shoes, some of which looked brand new to me...]

 

[digitek718]

wow..thanks for all the replies..let me rephrase my thoughts..since I started sailing on my canoe I knew that I was hooked for life..and I still feel the same way..I just think that I may have bought too much boat for my experience and finances and may be just as happy sailing something like a potter 19 or a mariner which I suspect would be alot simpler and cheaper in all respects..I know that the oday 25 is probably a small boat for some of you out there but for me it feels massive(first sailboat other than my canoe rig). I just feel smaller may be cheaper and less stressful to maintain and operate..Also the more I think about buying a trailer for the oday 25 the more I think it may be a chore..Its gonna be a huge trailer..and modifying it is gonna be very difficult for me and my mediocre skills..and then I would have to borrow a friends truck to move it(my xterra probably be too small -5000 towing capacity),and unstepping and derigging is probably gonna be pretty challenging for someone whol has never stepped, unstepped, or rigged anything in his life (except for outrigger canoe rig-which is simple).Maybe I should sell, buy smaller, learn and get comfortable with all the necessary tasks-like stepping the mast and rigging, and sailing well for that matter and then see how I feel about a larger boat(this time making sure I get one with a trailer).I just hope I dont trade up and regret it..now that I know what it feels like to have almost standing headroom, storage galore, and a fully enclosed head....confused?????????????
p.s. how do you use the porta potty in something like a mariner..sit for #1 and #2????

 

[ejet99]

We can"t afford a boat

I have been telling the wife for years "we could not afford a boat even if someone gave it to us" then we found a boat on craig's list for free and I was right !

 

[stephen Penny]

Sell it and purchase a competition water ski boat. Operating and maintenance cost is very low. We have a lot of fun on one in between sailing the 31 Hunter.

 

[Brian Schwerdt]

For me, I also like to consider what I'm NOT spending money on because of the boat. A boat is a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which one pours time and money. But by spending time working on/sailing the boat, I'm not spending as much money travelling, going to movies, etc. Boating is entertainment, and something which consumes a lot of time, so it's also a way of life.

 

[Mario G]

Digitek I'm selling my Chrysler C-22 the trailer has been to NY and back and the boat is very easy to tow and launch with a small truck. I to think our C-26 is to big to trailer and I've done alot of towing.

My wife spends what she wants on her self and controls what I spend on the boats ... she just likes to let me know ) She buys things for the boat after I say its just a luxury item.

Well shes dragging me out to the boat this week end...lol we'er working on getting the mast up.

 

[kenn]

wow..thanks for all the replies..let me rephrase my thoughts..since I started sailing on my canoe I knew that I was hooked for life..and I still feel the same way..I just think that I may have bought too much boat for my experience and finances and may be just as happy sailing something like a potter 19 or a mariner which I suspect would be alot simpler and cheaper in all respects... I just feel smaller may be cheaper and less stressful to maintain and operate.

It's a tough call. It's good that you're trying to be honest with yourself. It often helps to get out the ole pencil and paper and get all the facts out and in front of you:

- what your short and long-term sailing goals are?
- how much you just like to get out and sail, vs planning and executing a specific cruise every year? Do you have some specific cruising goals and a timetable? is a 25' boat required for these goals?
- how much time can you spend per year on sailing? on boat work?
- realistically, the amount of money you can comfortably spend per year on ALL the boat costs - maintenance, improvement, insurance, storage, mooring, etc etc
- did your first year meet your sailing expectations, or did the costs and anxiety of a larger boat ruin it for you?

It's no secret that smaller boats have smaller problems...

In our case we opted for a 19' trailerable micro cruiser as our first boat because we really liked the idea of being able to drag the boat to any lake (behind OUR Xterra - btw the 4WD 6 cyl Xterra can tow over 5000 lb with a class 3 hitch ) and launch anywhere at a moment's notice. But we also liked the low risk of a beat-up inexpensive boat that can be sailed from the trailer, and since we've both taken a hit in the economic downturn, this proved wise; our boat is still affordable, including a drysailing membership at our yacht club.

We do aspire to a larger boat, but we've pretty much decided to keep the little boat forever, since it gives so much freedom and pleasure for so little cost.

You've probably committed the funds for this summer's sailing, so give your 25-footer a chance, sail her as often as possible and then do the cost/benefit analysis.

p.s. how do you use the porta potty in something like a mariner.?

As little as possible

Sometimes, if we're spending every night at a club/marina, and taking lunch stops at a public spot, we can get away with not using the head at all. But, awkward as it is, it's better having one than not.

I'm looking at possible ways to relocate the head so that it's easier to use, and doesn't require unmaking the bed when someone has to tinkle @ 3 AM

 

[Ross]

I want to build a 12 foot Skiff . With plywood and stitch and glue I can do this for less than 400 dollars but it would be too big to car top so I will need to trailer it, another 300-500 dollars, and license it another 25, and insure it another 25. I don't have a hitch on my car another 200-350 . Probably I would want some sort of a motor, add 300-1500 depending on how I did that, so now my 400 dollar project has become a 2000 dollar project. If I had a lot of money and all of my debts were paid I might do it but I don't, they aren't, so I won't

 

[BobM]

Going back to your original post. $875 for winter storage is quite reasonable. The only way to save this is if you have a place to keep a trailered boat in the winter. The summer mooring fee of $1625 is another place you could save money. The downside is that that savings comes at the cost of spending time rigging and unrigging the boat, which usually means that you will sail less just because of the hassle of doing so.

The critical thing to ask yourself is what your goals are. Nobody can answer that but you. A 25 footer in Long Island Sound can take you to the islands, up the coast to Stonington, Newport...etc...it could be a heck of a weeks vacation this summer or next. Is that your goal? If so, it is a goal that is doable in a 22 footer, but a bit slower (due to the shorter water line) and less comfortable. When you offset the cost of the boat versus the cost of a weeks vacation it helps in the cost equation too. Some of the sailors on this site spend every weekend of the season plus two weeks vacation on their boat. It is essentially a second home...and a cheap one at that.

If your answer is "that isn't my goal at all...I just bought a 25 footer because of the stability and the large cockpit" Then put your boat on craigslist looking to sell or trade it for a trailerable 22-23 footer. If your goal is to just have fun on the water a step above a sailing canoe buy a big hobie cat. You will have a heck of a lot more excitement planing along at 20 knots...of course you will get wet...and won't have a place to pee...but it is your decision.

I also have a warning for you. Please don't expect your first season with your 25, or any other boat you end up with, to be all fun and games. The learning curve is pretty steep the first year. You just do not have the experience yet to anticipate what is going to happen. It will take experience to gain confidence and there is no avoiding it. This is a place where a bigger boat offers an advantage as things happen slower on a bigger boat just do to mass. The boom will come across in slow motion on a 30 footer compared to a 15 footer.