I'm a little late for this post which I typically do at the end of the year, but since I'm starting to get bills for the upcoming season, I better get this update in.
First, some references to our First Year Costs, our 2nd Season Costs, and our 3rd Season Costs for those who want the full picture of the costs of owning and using a new 30ft sailboat. This is going to be a simple and matter-of-fact post... read the earlier ones for more explanation. Sorry if this is getting boring, but this is more about sharing numbers than riveting narrative.
Again, there are no "startup costs" so we have "Seasonal Costs" (the cost of owning the boat for a year) and "Excursion Costs" (an estimate of the cost of using the boat).
SEASONAL COSTS
- Mortgage was $12,000 (we round the mortgage payment up to $1000/month).
- Insurance was $1,263
- Maintenance was $2,346 (mostly cleaning, waxing, and bottom cleaning plus one repair)
- Mooring & Storage was $3,984 (Haul out, winterizing, new mooring, etc.)
- Safety equipment was $90 (I'm guessing we have most of the stuff now.)
- Accessories were $30 (ditto)
- Yacht Club expenses were $2,330 (dues, launch service, coupons, events, etc.)
That's a total of $22,121 (be nice... I'm rounding), which is a little more than last year. We still don't have much in the way of maintenance other than cleaning. I hope that keeps going for a bit longer.
EXCURSION COSTS
For excursion costs, I try to estimate the cost of the typical excursion be it a day out and back from the mooring in Keyport, or a longer endeavor. I try to include actual marina costs, any special provisioning, a guess at fuel and any tips to the launch drivers. We basically had two types of trips this year.
First is a 4 hour day on the water - starting and ending at Keyport, NJ. A rough guess for this trip is about $40 it's really not that expensive beyond the cost of ownership. Note that I do NOT count the costs of meals consumed on land in Keyport (or drinks at KYC). We had 16 days like this for a total cost of about $640 (again, these are guesses) one more than last year.
The second type of trip was our seven day vacation on the Hudson River. This was our second time doing something like this and yes, it was a bit expensive including marina costs, provisions and lots of eating in restaurants (we took a couple of day trips into NYC). Unfortunately, I didn't record exact spending (it was vacation, after all), but my best guess is it was about a $2500 trip.
So all in all, it continues to average out to about $2K per month.
So what did we get for all this money? A great week-long vacation, 23 days on the water total, and sharing sailing and Seas The Day with 14 people (not to mention friendships and great times at KYC, etc.). My knee issues that from last year were largely healed, but I did suffer a setback in October after the season, so we're still working on getting it back for this year.
Finally, some have asked "why post this?" That continues to be a fair question and I do it each year because back when we were thinking about purchasing Seas The Day, there was little information about what it actually costs to own a new boat. So I share this in that spirit. Is this exhaustive? Probably not... I'm sure I'm missing $20 spent at West Marine or at the fuel dock here and there, but I think I'm getting many of the costs. So how would I gauge the costs of cruising on a new sailboat? I'd look at the mortgage payment and double it. It may not work in all cases - and it certainly depends on how you keep it, etc., - but it would get you close enough to ensure your budget can handle a new boat. If you get a used boat and use it at KYC, my best guess is the minimum costs would be about $1k/month but of course, you'd have repairs as well.
I'll see you in the spring!
PS - I realized I forgot to post the traditional "hauling and covering" post. I'll tell you it basically looked the same as other years.