Expenses

[Rick D]

Value Equasion

Like Nice N Easy, I had a number floating around in my head. But, I just couldn't pass on totaling the Excel sheet.

Still, having owned boats continuously since I was about 13, I can't imagine being without one. My wooden boats taught me skills I never would have otherwise learned. Having a boat as a young man plowing hours in my early professional career kept me sane or passably so. As a single guy before I got married and between wives, it was a source to size up dates and provide some extra entertainment. As a married guy with a child, it provided some close family times and a rich growing experience for my daughter. As a retired guy, it keeps me fit and provides a second home for us. Nothing to regret there.

One thing I don't want to do is let her waste away if keeping her up gets too hard. When that time seems to come, she gets passed on and I downsize. Still, I saw a very elderly couple totter on down to their little trawler just last week. They seemed to handle it just fine. Meanwhile, I'll keep spending to maintain and improve her as long as I can.

 

[Jim Kolstoe]

Aside from driving you nuts, focusing on the expenses of sailing gets too close to the cynic who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Boat ownership/sailing provides an intangible value that outweights the costs, or you find something else to do. Personally, I'm keeping my boat.
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo

 

[NotCook]

The way to do the calculations is to divide the total cost of the boat and maintenance by the number of times you take her out. It will always yield an ever diminishing figure which will make you feel good.

Are you serious?! As petersea said, don't EVER do this! It will induce a spontaneous coronary! Even if it does decrease, the numbers can still be so large as to be uncomprehensible. Either therapy or a permanent charter could cost less. Of course, the numbers go up exponentially as a function of the square of the waterline...

I think I could do this, if I only focus on the dink...

 

[larryw]

I made the mistake once of telling my wife that it took 20 hours over several days to do an exhaust replacement on the boat we owned at the time. Her response was that she'd like to see me spend 20 hours working on the house! I've never mentioned how long anything took again.

 

[TimCup]

Boat Costs Are Easily Justified...

i let my wife balance the books. Just last week she let me know i get to keep the boat. She also said I only have to work 110 more years before I can enjoy it full-time....


cup

 

[bffatcat]

are pretty much relative to the size of the boat. Namely it costs a lot more to own a 65 footer than it does to own a 22 footer. I put my boat in on 5/15 and haul it 10/15 Thats about 88 days use in a season I do all my own maintenence. I have no yard bill. my P26W sits on a trailer in my yard during the off season My expenses have averaged under 2400 a year for the last 9 years Divide that by 88 = about $27 per day. You cant play golf for that.
That includes everything, mooring, yacht club hauling ect: plus a new roller furl in 07. I will point out that im a minimalist. That means no Head I use an oak bucket. I dont like holding tanks or changing gasket kits. There is no electrical system on my boat. Im not much of an electrician. I have oil lamps for light and I use a tractor battery to power my VHF.

 

[dvideohd]

Expenses...

Brother... there was a time a few years ago.. when I heard the Nortel retirement story...

There were two guys.. both got bonuses from the days when Nortel was doing great. The story goes that with their bonus, one bought Beer in returnable bottles - and the other bought Nortel Stock.... At the end of the year - which one had the better "investment?" - of course you know it was in the returnable beer bottles....!!!

This past few months, Nortel went Broke - and they were the largest "non-government" employer in our Town.... So the story gets much more painful....

We all might spend a bit on boat maintainence - but there is a real "return on investment" - and it is not measured in stock or cash. Even so, my old boat is worth a lot more than a large chunk of many companies...

I got some good advice one time.. If you can have a business involving your boat - that that would be a good thing.. Quite often that is possible...

--jerry

 

[Ross]

My Boat is worth just as much today as when I launched her ten years ago. My equities however are an entirely different story.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Expenses...

I got some good advice one time.. If you can have a business involving your boat - that that would be a good thing.. Quite often that is possible...

--jerry

Boat business? Of course!! Take me for example....

Over the years I have made a small fortune with my sailboat.

Of course, I started with a large fortune......

 

[Ross]

Perhaps you could get the proper licenses and operate an ecotourism business but the interesting places are usually surrounded by very thin water. Whale watching? Maybe, but you couldn't keep up with the animals. Fishing guide? From a sailboat? Teaching sailing? possibly, but don't quit your day job.

 

[Mike B]

There's an old saying that one should never make his hobby his business. I think there are opportunities in boating that might dispell that notion but for now I'll keep the two seperate

 

[george schmidbauer]

If I didn`t own a boat I would have to much money laying around that I might slip and fall on it.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Too much money

Aside from driving you nuts, focusing on the expenses of sailing gets too close to the cynic who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Boat ownership/sailing provides an intangible value that outweights the costs, or you find something else to do. Personally, I'm keeping my boat.
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo

I wish I could totally disregard all expenses for sailing. I am planning on making my boat my homestead but it seems unwise to start burning cash with out first counting it. I think that's what GM was doing. Now they have others counting the cash they burn, except it's not their cash they are burning anymore. Jim you must have got a sailing stimulus.

 

[Ken Honeycutt]

Re: Too much money

Everytime I think about how much I'm spending on my boat, I think that in 25 years from now when I'm stuck in a nursing home - I won't be thinking about the money I spent sailing but on how I wish I was still out there.
Besides, like a friend of mine said when I was commenting on the cost of the boat - I'm a lot better off having invested cash in the boat then in the stock market.

 

[Rick D]

That's Funny, Ken...

...sort of. If I think of what my investments have done, the boat doesn't look too bad actually, if I discount the slip rent. It's about the same as the DOW. :cussing:

 

[Jim Kolstoe]

A sailing stimulus? Man, I wish!!!! But the point was not to disregard the cost - my wife and I have to budget very carefully to pay our annual moorage, even though those of you in big city/big boat saltwater moorages would consider it very low. We have a limited amount of money available for recreational activities of any type, and sailing gets a large part of it. My point is that we accept that cost as reasonable for what we get out of owning and using a sailboat. Calculating things like "how much does a day of sailing cost me" does not contribute anything I need. That any of us continue to sail suggests that we are satisfied with both the experience and the cost.
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo