Average yearly cost

[buckethead]

What is the average yearly cost of owning a boat?

[voyager35]

That depends on whether you will be trailering it, storing at a marina, or some combination of the 2. It also depends to some extent what powertrain you are using. The newer 4 strokes are more economical in the long-run but you may get sticker shock when you buy a fully equipped new fishing platform direct from the dealer. Also the size, once you get above 25' the cost structure changes.
The older I/O platforms are easier to work on if you have any serious mechanical skills. The older the boat, the more you will end up spending in the long run.
I usually say to guys thinking about getting a boat that you should factor about 10% of the purchase price every year, in terms of expenses and maintenance. If you spend less than that consider yourself lucky.
There are some good guides out there. I'll try to find one for you and post it. Welcome to the money pit.

[bababooey]

BOAT = Break out another thousand.

Like Voyager said there are so many variables.
Will you only use it in freshwater, or mostly the salt?
You could save yourself thousands by answering that question honestly.
You also need to consider whether you will be fishing from it for most of the time or want a mixed use boat. Do you really want to calculate all those expenses in with the cost of ownership? For some it's part of family memories. Dealers will tell you you can't put a price on memories. Make sure your not holding the pen near the checkbook when you hear that line.

If you're serious, set yourself up a basic sheet of what your basic expenses will be. Will you be financing? Include those costs, interest, insurance, maintenance, dock fees, or ramp fees. Think of every cost you may possibly have. Fishing you need to think of your average bait, ice, and basic rigs costs/day. After awhile you build up a supply and "forget" how much you spent on it. Really knowing how much you're spending is helpful when you notice you're running out of money and the wife wants a divorce. Or not.

Here's a basic guide. Try to be methodical about it. That will help when you convince yourself you just have to trade up. Beyond that the real variables depend on you as an owner and how you will use it. You also have to decide how accurately you want to calculate, as an accountant, or a hopeless dreamer. The figures below kind of describe someone who may not use their boat that much. Hope this helps.



<H4 class=pHH>Add up your boat ownership costs

Fixed monthly boat payments set the foundation for the overall cost of a boating season. Now you have to account for insurance premiums, fuel, dockage, winter storage, maintenance, and gear. Some of these costs, such as watersports equipment, are essentially one-time costs, but the others are ongoing and you must include them in your overall budget consideration.
On average, it costs about $1,800 annually to operate an 18-foot runabout, a figure that increases (of course) with the size of the boat. Costs may decrease a little in the Midwest and increase on the coasts, but that's a pretty good number to start. It can help your overall budget if you divvy that $1,800 annual cost into $150 monthly payments, but only if you’re strict about putting that $150 aside every month, even during the winter when you may go a couple of months without even starting your boat’s motor.


There are too many different boats and too many different locales to try and give detailed information for all of them, so it’s best to speak in general terms about the breakdown of your annual boating costs. Use that same 18-foot runabout as a base, with the caveat that the expense increases almost exponentially with the size of the boat, especially when you get into the 30-foot and longer range.

• Include boat insurance: Hull and liability insurance will run about $500 per year.
  

• Total boat fuel: Fuel is a big cost, and it’s possibly the most difficult to figure. As a rule of thumb, for average use, figure you’ll use about a tank of fuel every two weeks during the boating season. So, if your boat's gas tank holds 50 gallons, and fuel costs $2 per gallon, you’ll spend about $200 per month on fuel during the season. This can vary, however. If you spend most of your time fishing, you may use much less fuel, while someone who does nothing but wakeboard may burn a lot more petrol. For the sake of generalization, though, go with $200 per month for fuel, and say the boating season lasts four months (again, your season may vary), for a total annual fuel cost of $800.
  

• Calculate upkeep: Maintenance (oil changes and such) will cost about $300. You can also set aside about $200 for miscellaneous expenses such as replacing or adding gear, adding new stereo speakers, electronics, and the like.
  

• Remember boating extras: Entertainment can break the bank. You're out having fun on the water, your Visa close at hand, and next thing you know you've spent $250 on food and drinks in one day. Only you know how much you like to eat and drink, but it's fair to estimate that on an average day a family of four spends about $100 on food, drinks, ice, sunblock, etc. Four boating days per month during the season amounts to $400 in boating entertainment expenses, adding up to $1,600 for a four-month season.
  

Tallied up, you can estimate your annual boating costs at about $3,400 per year, not including the cost of the boat itself. If you want to make the math easy, round up to $3,600, divide by 12, and see that you need to fit an additional $300 per month (plus the cost of monthly boat payments) into your budget to cover your boating habit. Break it down even further, and it costs less than $10 a day to be a boater. Now that’s a bargain in anybody’s book.

</H4>

[rip316]

All I can say is you better have the money. My buddy and I bought a boat together and then he decides that he can't afford it anymore and bailed on me. The entire boat cost is now on my shoulders. Did I say you better have the money. I just consolidated my house, boat and truck thank god. I have four kids and a wife who likes to go so what do you think that runs me for a day. This is why I pressurewash as many houses as I can in the spring because, Did I say you better have the money?

[gjb1969]

i am glad i got a 12 ft port a bote did not coat much and its cheep to run but u guys with big boats i feel your pain