Originally Posted by carcrash (Post 2341462)

I've also owned boats since I was a kid, with the pink slip for several 8 footers when I was in elementary school, for a 27 footer when I was a freshman at University, many many other boats, and now, a 32 Fountain. I've also been master on multi-million dollar boats that others have owned, and many of my close friends own boats, so I see how much they spend. I'm 50 now, so that's a lot of boats, in a lot of oceans, for a lot of decades.

If you use your boat: The rule of thumb is you should expect to spend 10% of the new boat cost (not what you paid used) each year. Some years less if you are lucky and/or you are delaying maintenance. Some years more. 25% will happen probably 1 or 3 times per decade.

If you are passionate and particular about your boat, you may find -- like I do -- that the typical yearly budget is more like 20% the new price of the boat, and the high years are more like 35%.

The costs of owning a boat, from cheapest to most expensive:
1) The girls
2) The booze
3) The payments (or cost of lost opportunity when you pay cash)
4) The fuel
5) The depreciation
6) The maintenance.

If its a sailboat, then the cost of sails is number 7: a sailboat has exactly all the same costs as a powerboat, but more.

Originally Posted by carcrash (Post 2341462)

I've also owned boats since I was a kid, with the pink slip for several 8 footers when I was in elementary school, for a 27 footer when I was a freshman at University, many many other boats, and now, a 32 Fountain. I've also been master on multi-million dollar boats that others have owned, and many of my close friends own boats, so I see how much they spend. I'm 50 now, so that's a lot of boats, in a lot of oceans, for a lot of decades.

If you use your boat: The rule of thumb is you should expect to spend 10% of the new boat cost (not what you paid used) each year. Some years less if you are lucky and/or you are delaying maintenance. Some years more. 25% will happen probably 1 or 3 times per decade.

If you are passionate and particular about your boat, you may find -- like I do -- that the typical yearly budget is more like 20% the new price of the boat, and the high years are more like 35%.

The costs of owning a boat, from cheapest to most expensive:
1) The girls
2) The booze
3) The payments (or cost of lost opportunity when you pay cash)
4) The fuel
5) The depreciation
6) The maintenance.

If its a sailboat, then the cost of sails is number 7: a sailboat has exactly all the same costs as a powerboat, but more.