Question for small boat owners

cfitz

Hi all,

Despite not being in the market for one, I have found a sailboat that I am interested in buying! As it would be my first boat, I need to know what kind of yearly expenses I'm letting myself in for. So, here's some info about the boat:

It's a trailer-sailer, so I can keep it at home.
It's worth maybe 2000 EUR max.
It has 2 berths that I would hope to make use of by overnighting at coastal marinas.

So, what running costs will I incur with this kind of boat?

Any help appreciated. Thanks!

Tabnabs

IF you keep in on a trailer, then parking fees for car and trailer.

Petrol, a 22L can will cost around €30 to fill, will need filling every 3/4 trips I'd imagine?

Insurance - maybe €150 a year

Engine service - €100-200 a year

Overnight fees - budget for around €15/20 per night

A new mainsail will cost around €400, a new genoa around the same.

Replace other gear that is getting old or worn - ballpark 10% value of boat.

If you can afford that, you should have no problems at all.

cfitz

Thanks very much for that. All sounds fairly reasonable. The engine and its servicing is very expensive compared to the price of the boat!

Tabnabs

You can do a course and cut down on the costs, but seeing as the engine may be the thing to get you out of a sticky situation, a reliable engine is worth its weight in gold.

cfitz

Dyflin wrote: »

You can do a course and cut down on the costs, but seeing as the engine may be the thing to get you out of a sticky situation, a reliable engine is worth its weight in gold.

Yeah I know it's possible to get by without the engine, but I think even if I don't end up purchasing until I'm more qualified, I'd probably still get one for peace of mind.

Tabnabs

No I meant do a course for servicing engines and do the work yourself. An engine on a sailing boat (big or small) is paramount. Life would be very frustrating without one.

cfitz

Oh right, yeah. I think learning to service an engine is probably a course too far for me...