Cost of owning a old boat' rant

[The Hammer]

It just hit me last night when I was making a small repair to my 16' runabout getting it ready for fishing this weekend, infact I'm heading out in a couple hours. I bought this one in May 2007 for $2000.00, about three outings later bang, now I had buy a replacement lower unit $300.00 and I have spent close to $300.00 in misc. parts for improvements. So the total is $2600.00, I rent a cottage for 2 separate weeks a year, and usually get out 2 weekends through the summer, to sum it up I use the boat 16 days a year which comes to $866.00 a year or $54.00 per day of use, which does not include gas. Now as I was doing that minor repair I have come to the realization that this is the last year for this boat without doing a major overhaul. So a cheap boat I bought I getting three years out of is still not that cheap. It also means for 349 days a year it either sits in my driveway or garage, and yet I still want to get a bigger boat .

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

You could cut that number down by using the boat more often

It's better than vegasphotoman's thread where he explained how his brother-in-law averaged $3,000/trip on their bayliner kept in storage and used a total of 3 times

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

Just about all hobbies cost $$$ and spend a majority of their time in 'storage'.

But, with boating, bluegill taste so much better when you think/figure they come in at about $11.00 per pound

The old saying 'if you want to play, you have to pay' never rang more true than it does in this activity.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

So whats your point?

 

[BF]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

or... sell it next spring for $3K and get your money back. Then it's been free. Your calculations treat it as if it is worthless right now.

 

[jkust]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

Buy a newer boat requiring no repairs and you will still complain. I've put 50 hours on in three season which is more than $400 per hour our of engine use so far excluding any other expenses such as gas, winterizing, gear, etc for a used boat. I don't care about the money but the down time of owning an old boat needing repairs would make me mad.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

So whats your point?

That's kinda what I was thinkin! Sure beats sittin and watchin the wife watch TV.

 

[likalar]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

This should make you feel better: A foreigner has his 390' yacht sitting at anchor in San Francisco bay right now. It cost 300 million to build. There's a crew of 45 people. The owner's not even on the boat. I'm guessing it's 30 million a year to own this; imagine the cost per fish.

Larry

the story link is below:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...Russian_gazillionaire_Andrey_Melnichenko_.DTL

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

A friend near our cabin got a boat with their cottage they purchased this spring. He finally picked it up last week from the previous owners farm field. (long story) This man is 110% not handy. He complained to me that when he took it to the shop to have it checked they charged him nearly $300 for random stuff.

The boat is a 1984, 18' Oliver with the notorious 3.7L.

I said to him with a smirk, "that will most likely be your cheapest bill."

He's concerned about hauling gas up for it. Cost of gas. About whether it will start? How to start it? What does he need for it? Does the oil need to be mixed? How much is 'this', how much is 'that'....and so on.....

I could be wrong, but I see a rocky road for this man....

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

Not meaning to be rude, but I think you should change your thread title to "love boating but hate paying for it". If paying $54 to enjoy a day out with your family is too much you need to find a new hobby.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

$54 a day to go boating! What a deal. I think it cost $300 to rent a boat for 3 hours up where I live.

 

[TJDave]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

I bought a 73 Gulfstream 10 years ago for $800.00. Before I wrote the check, I made sure it was mechanically sound and the hull was in good shape. I sunk another $600 into it right off the bat and had all the hoses, impellor, bellows, carb rebuild, and fluids all done. The next season I re-did the interior myself. I check everything and service it every spring, and it has been providing my family (cheap?) entertainment ever since. We take it out at least every other weekend all season long, if not more.

I'm no mathematician and I do not keep track of maintenance costs, so I have no idea what my daily cost is. All I know is, I like toys, and if you do not use them often the costs of maintaining them go up in my experience.

My point? I guess it would be to get out there and use it, or get rid of it and rent a fishing boat a few times a year.

 

[koberlee]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

So you must be bragging about how little you have spent on your boat right.
I have the same thing cheap boat that keeps costing me money, but it is better than a payment because I choose when I fix the cheap boat.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

"Off-shore sailing is as much fun as standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills."

Sounds like it could apply to all boating. When you do the math like that, you find many things about recreational boating:

A cheap boat isn't.
The purchase price of a used boat is just a down payment.

The rental rates aren't that bad. Neither are the boat clubs, for the occasional user.

A boat is not an investment. it is nothing but an expense. You get as much return as a ticket to the movies or dinner at a fancy restaurant (with no doggie bag).

A boat just sitting there is still burning cash (taxes, insurance, storage, etc.)

The more you use it, the cheaper it is.

Boating is a luxury. Not everyone can afford it. Those who think they can get in, and stay in, cheap are kidding themselves.

Non-boaters seldom appreciate what they are sitting in, when they are taken along.

Those who get by with little invested and little cost afterwards exist, but they are rare and lucky.
Also, those who brag about low costs because they DIY seldom account for the value of their time, and value of time is a huge variable among boaters.

So the solution? Don't think about the cost to go boating; it will ruin its one and only purpose: pleasure. Wishing it wasn't so expensive is like wishing the water would stop coming in when you forgot the plug.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

Very nice Home Cookin!

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

Home Cookin is right on.

Unless you live on an island, you don't need to own a boat. A boat is a luxury and as luxuries go, it's a damn expensive one no matter how you do it.

I have to admit, I have no sympathy for people who get in over their heads by buying luxury toys that they later find out they cannot afford. I've actually called in to a radio program that was on the effects of the recession. Some guy was on there complaining how he lost his job and telling this tale of woe about how he had to sell his two Harleys and if things got worse he'd have to seriously consider selling the family's 4 dirt bikes and trailer as well. . .

I just about blew a gasket. I called in and said he was a sniveling crybaby who needed to seriously reevaluate who caused the problems he was experiencing. His problem wasn't losing his job, his problem was massive overspending on luxuries he couldn't afford. I told him the Constitution says he has the right to pursuit of happiness, but there's nothing in there about the right to own a Harley. That's a privilege that's earned by actually making the money to pay first for your families necessities and THEN you can consider the nice-to-haves.

It surprised me, but the radio show host went along with me and asked him how much money he spent on all these toys and wouldn't he be better off if he had saved that money? Several callers phoned in to agree with me.

Bottom line is if you find yourself constantly adding up the costs, you should really consider if you can afford a boat at all. Boating will never be a situation like golf where once you buy the clubs, you just pay your green fee and that's it. Boats will ALWAYS require money beyond just direct expenses for fuel and consumables.

Grouse

 

[gene8084]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

So, I've got and old boat, 1974...at least I guess that's old.

Like many of you I bought in cheap, a couple grand, spent another $1000 on mandatory and optional fixes and updates...spent another $700 on the trailer because where she came from in Maine the laws were a bit freer than here in Connecticut...but in the end it's a labor of love, 10:1 (hours on land to hours on the water).

Nothing like an hour or two of tinker time in the barn or just sitting up there admiring my work drinking a beer. My wife will walk in the barn and find me on the boat and just start laughing.

From what I've learned you have to have a sense of humor to be a boater.

I know the first poster wasn't complaining... just having a good time laughing at himself. Right?

 

[shwoop_soobie]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

"Off-shore sailing is as much fun as standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills."

funny...
this is one of my favorite hobbies...

haha,
yes boating is quite expensive. im a young guy who due to the economy has been struggling quite a bit... its well worth it for me to save for months and months just to be out on the lake for a couple days...

"were here for a good time, not a long time"

 

[tboltmike]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

That's kinda what I was thinkin! Sure beats sittin and watchin the wife watch TV.

What I was thinking.

I guess that all boat owners thing about rationalizing the cost of ownership.

My rationalization is that it keeps me out of the beer joints and poker games.

 

[DennisM]

Re: Cost of owning a old boat' rant

Its a hobby, if I have to start keeping track of expenses and figuring out how much each trip costs, its not a hobby anymore and I better at least take a client out or two and write it off

Hobbies are not meant to be cheap, you work to play and pay to play. Its the cycle..