Uber-Newbie here

[BradOwens]

Scross said "It’s about $400/month for us for everything to keep the boat going. That works out to about $160/night of use. Let me know if you find a RT charter for $160/night!"


That doesn't include the purchase price of the boat in the $160/night costs. Once you add that in, chartering makes a lot of sense.

[sjreib]

Check out my 2016 lightly used Cutwater 28 for sale thru Bellingham Yachts. Moving up to Cutwater 30. My 28 is in great shape and has been trouble free. Same quality as Ranger Tugs, but different style and faster. 20+ knots; no problem

sjreib

[scross]

Brad, of course you are correct about the amount of capital tied up in a boat and trailer with ownership. Not counting opportunity costs from having that capital locked up in a boat, the additional cost of ownership is depreciation and selling costs. Adding the first three years of depreciation since our purchase into the equation I think we are under $240/night of total cost for usage.
Sending this from Secret Cove, BC on our way to PLI on our 16 night early summer cruise. It’s our schedule and our boat is set up exactly the way we want it set up. Don’t always get that when chartering...

[baz]

I'll chip in here with my realistic annual costs for my R-27-OB that is moored at the Port Of Edmonds in salt water and in a covered 30-foot slip.

1) Covered Moorage (split between my son and I): $3,120 + $3,120 (includes all taxes, elect use, environ fee, etc). Marina offers a free parking permit and free coffee and as much as you can drink....
2) Yearly scheduled September Engine maintenance for my F300 and 9.9HP kicker which includes hauling boat out/back and being towed to Jacobsen's Marine shop some 1000 feet away from marina: $650
3) Insurance with American Modern: $650
4) Diver service for inspecting underwater zincs and hull condition and general cleaning: $450 (photos always taken and included in the Emailed invoice, and this cost can vary from $250 to $450)
5) Fuel cost: Varies quite a bit each year, but I estimate it is between $1500 and $6000 for gasoline at $4/gallon. Many times my passengers will chip in to help with fuel costs.... Niceee and welcomed. I tend to move/cruise at 30 mph if I can so this runs the boat at around 15 gallons per hour.
6) Bottom paint every 3 to 4 years: $2000. Say $500/year.
7) Misc: $100/month (estimated)
8) WA annual registration: $500 which deceases each year.

Thus for me (with son's help with moorage cost) it's some $7,000 per year with light boat use and $1500 in fuel cost, and with constant use and $6000 in fuel cost it comes to $11,320 per year ... or on low end $583/month and on high end $943/month. This cost is reduced depending on who's using the boat (see below as family members use the boat at times).

As an aside, my son was insisting I keep the boat in the water and nearby as he kept saying if on trailer the boat simply will not get used frequently. I was humming and harring for a while and in the end son said he would pay 1/2 the moorage cost.... that convinced me and I stopped humming.

Also, I have two of my three grown children living within 2 miles of me in Edmonds. My son and my eldest daughter know how to operate the boat and have my permission to use the boat at any time they wish. When they do they pay for its use (fuel and marina docking costs etc). The agreement is when boat returned they top up the fuel tank and fresh water tank and pump out. Thus the boat is always ready to go. The 5 grandkids love to go out on the boat and we crab and fish when we can. The grandkid's experience is an invaluable/Intangible cost along with the great times we have as a family all together on the boat. My third grown daughter lives some 900 miles away and when she visits we always take the boat out for cruising and one of her favorite spots are the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands up in Canadian waters. In addition, she loves to sleep on the boat (condo on the water she calls it) for several nights when visiting; she loves the fact it's 'quiet time' for herself.

Sometimes we ferry people across from Edmonds to Kingston, Clinton, Poulsbo, Blake Island, Tacoma areas and at times to Port Townsend areas, Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor, and will at times offer to return them back to Edmonds.

All of these extra experiences carry an intangible and invaluable cost savings IMO, and serve as life-time experiences/memories.

[mpstan]

Check out my 2016 lightly used Cutwater 28 for sale thru Bellingham Yachts. Moving up to Cutwater 30. My 28 is in great shape and has been trouble free. Same quality as Ranger Tugs, but different style and faster. 20+ knots; no problem

sjreib

That's the KayLee? Pretty much what I'll be wanting but not in our budget right now. I do love her looks. I might have been up close to her if she was on trailer a couple weeks ago.

Good luck finding a home for her

[mpstan]

In terms of working folks like me that have a tough time justifying the expense for the time they have, how have you guys found co-ownerships to work out? I'd be happy to own just a half, or even a third of one of these nice boats. If they are being offered out there, I don't see where.........

thx

[scross]

Our boat was a partnership between two Canadians that was in trouble after six months when one partner was job transferred from Vancouver to Kamloops.
Never had a boat partnership but had three airplane partnerships. One guy always left the plane dirty and out of gas. When you wanted to fly you had to spend an extra hour getting the airplane ready if he had used it last. Also, he was slow to make contributions to expenses so we had to do a lot of short term covering $s for him.
With the right partners, I think sharing a boat would be a great cost reduction strategy. Not sure why there aren’t more boat syndicates that own 4-5 similar boats with, say, 20 members. A lot more work in managing scheduling, maintenance, money and other things but a lot cheaper for each member!

[ixlr8]

just for reference here's a rough breakdown of my maintenance costs on a cutwater 28

Moorage $3500-6000
engine $1000-1500
general replacements/new purchases $1200
insurance $800
fuel about $2000
Bottom paint per year (/3) $700
Zincs $300

About $12.5K a year.

others should chime in with theirs or if I have missed something!

Your moorage fees, is that a slip at a marina or a mooring at a marina?
Our local marina is $1200 for a mooring and $2300 for a slip. These are April-November rates, as docks are pulled due to ice in the winter months.

For our RT 27OB;
Yearly engine maint- $180- I change the oil and filters myself. Every 5 years there will be a major service at about $600.
Insurance- $800
Trailer- $8500- one time fee, we the park boat in our yard. Free launch ramp is 2.6 miles away.
Zincs- $30 we trailer the boat and zincs don't erode much.
Bottom paint- $20 since we trailer the boat we don't paint the bottom but we do clean and wax it.
Fuel- $600
General replacements/new stuff- we have budgeted $1000 for this year.

[Cutwater28GG]

thats the price for the most expensive marina in Seattle - Elliot Bay Marina. Thankfully Im only there for about 5 months a year. it works out with all the taxes to about $500 a month for the slip. the 15 minute drive to my house and great facilities make it worth while.

I can halve my rate if I get further from Seattle but I would use the boat less.

[baz]

Cutwater28GG: Is that a covered slip or not ?

In Edmonds you will pay $510/month for a covered 30-foot slip.

[Bruce Moore]

Cutwater28GG: Is that a covered slip or not ?

In Edmonds you will pay $510/month for a covered 30-foot slip.

There are no covered slips at Elliott Bay Marina.

[Cutwater28GG]

as bruce says its open

[Steadfast]

Great discussion. Everyone's circumstances are different but I can honestly say I am glad we didn't think about the ongoing cost too much (actually we did, but we underestimated). Cutwater28GG raised a good point
That the value of thevpure enjoyment of being on the boat, whether travelling of not, is impossible to calculate. And, we have saved thousands annually on summer airfare and hotels since we bought her.

This year we have a mooring for the first time. We lost the lottery at our favorite (municipal) dock and unfortunately they run it so late its hard to find open space elsewhere if you lose your space. Anyway, planning for next year and welcoming advice. The mooring has worked out fine and saved us a bundle even after buying a dinghy, thus the relevance to this thread. We miss the hose and electricity, but we figure the savings will also pay for some extra detailing.
We are in salt water and I worry about not hosing her down consistently. Will welcome any thoughts on seasonal moorings vs dock slip pros and cons.

[Cutwater28GG]

in case people are interested here are some of the Marina moorage rates on the Puget sound. Some have long wait times. some have none.

Edmonds pricing https://portofedmonds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018_Moorage_DryStorage_Rates.pdf
Elliot bay marina https://www.elliottbaymarina.co/rates/
eagle harbor bainbridge island http://www.eagleharbormarina.com/rates-availability.html
Kingston marina https://portofkingston.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Moorage-Rates.pdf
Shelter bay marina la conner https://app.pilera.com/file_library/3447/ysagemuvy-3447-636040.pdf
La Conner Marina http://www.portofskagit.com/la-conner-marina/all-about-moorage/
Anacortes Marina https://www.portofanacortes.com/images/documents/users/cassie/2018RecRates-1.pdf
Shilshole Marina https://www.portseattle.org/page/shilshole-bay-marina-moorage-rates-and-information#monthly