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, our 3rd Season Costs, and our 4th 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. And if you've looked at any of the others, you already realize it is phenomenally repetitive.
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 $1,110
- Maintenance was $2,723 (mostly cleaning, waxing, and bottom cleaning)
- Mooring & Storage was $2,293 (Haul out, winterizing, mooring servicing, etc.)
- Safety equipment was $0 (Well, we got new life jackets so lets say $450.)
- Accessories were $30
- Yacht Club expenses were $2,335 (dues, launch service, coupons, events, etc.... and ice!)
That's a total of $20,500 (be nice... I'm rounding), which is a little less 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. (OK... read on... that's about to change)
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 13 days like this for a total cost of about $520 (again, these are guesses) one more than last year.
The second type of trip was our two 4-day trips to Liberty Landing Marina. 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 $1500 trip each time (we eat really well and both trips used Seas The Day as a NYC-Based hotel room while exploring the city.
So all in all, it continues to average out to a little more than $2K per month.
So what did we get for all this money? A couple of nice mini-vacations, 21 days on the water total, and sharing sailing and Seas The Day with 13 people (not to mention friendships and great times at KYC, etc.).
So the total cost can also be expressed as ~$1150 per day on the water.
(I should note that our charter Sailing in December excursion cost us somewhere around $700 or $800 - AND we could just walk away afterwards.)
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 have been neglecting the blog and I realized I forgot to post the traditional "hauling and covering" post. I'll tell you it still looks the same as other years.
So I'm sure you noticed the red bold writing above. I'm not writing this in December or even a little late in February. I'm writing it on Memorial Day weekend after driving all the way to Keyport only to find Seas The Day still in the cradle.
Earlier in the month we had our first big failure on Seas The Day... after we went to remove the winter cover, where we found the boat in good order (though it always looks like a bomb exploded below... that's because we have to leave all the compartments open for air circulation to prevent mold.)
(A nice day on the boat is a nice day on the boat - even if you're still on the hard.)
A week or so later, the boat yard people went aboard to find it reeking of diesel fumes... our fuel tank had rotted out.
Diesel fuel had leaked out from the tank into the bilge. Fortunately it was contained there where they could recover it.
I will say I never heard of this happening and when I called Catalina I found out we only had a one year warranty. Still they stepped up to the plate and gave me a new fuel tank at their cost of $325 or so and another $200 or so had it shipped up here. I paid that price because we were bearing down on the start of the season and I didn't want to wait for one to be built from scratch. A search for root causes seems to indicate that construction debris clogged one of the weep holes in the compartment where the tank sits, so it was sitting in (possibly salt) water for a time. Live and learn, I guess.
Today we packed up all the paraphernalia and headed up to Keyport expecting Seas The Day to be launched. Unfortunately, there were some delays at the boatyard and we could only admire her beauty after the guys at the yard finished polishing her all up for the season. They will launch her and put her out on her mooring this week and with luck we can still get Vicky out for one day of sailing.
(So close (to being ready)! But yet so far (away from the water)!
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