I had a friend ask me how much does my fantasy of owning a boat cost me? Normally I do not like telling what I have. I was raised to be humble. So this is not to brag its to inform my readers on the affordable living aboard a boat. Hopefully, this will help you understand the costs of purchasing and maintaining a boat in live-aboard and sail-aboard conditions.
Boat Costs
The boat is the biggest expense of this endeavor and many people have different varying expectations out of boat ownership. I wanted an older boat with rugged construction, but affordable. I wanted a boat about 30 feet because I knew over 40 feet the marina fees can go up astronomically. Also, I was expecting to sail single-handed and I thought 40 feet would be too big to handle by myself. Finally, the price had to be low because my budget was under $10,000. When I found Serenity there was another boat a 27 foot Catalina. It was listed about $2500 higher than Serenity and fully loaded with all the amenities. But when I took a tour aboard, the boat rocked side to side very quickly compared to Serenity. The boat I bought is heavier and one foot more beam (wider) so is more stable. Also, the 3 fewer feet lengthwise seemed cramped. Having owned my boat two years I think I should have found a 32 foot to 38-foot boat. Because I think the head is a little cramped and my v-berth is a bit short for a six-foot man. Anyways, I got this boat for less than $5,500 USD. Similar boats are going for between $7500 – $12,000. Maybe I got it cheap, maybe not. No electronics came with the boat I will have to re-wire everything.
Boat Maintenance
Everything on a boat is in a constant state of broken. Its either brand new or in the process of breaking. Wind, salt, water damage, and constant flexing cause damage to everything that isn’t plastic. For plastic, there is getting baked in the sun until it too unexpectedly breaks as well. Two years after buying my boat now and the mainsail needs to be re-hemmed as the leach is fraying. The leach is the trailing edge of the sail. I have a tack rudder that needs to be hooked up. The cable and attachment to the rudder have rusted away. And I need to pull out the outboard, which needs inspecting and re-greasing the drive gears. All maintenance has to be done by myself or with friends. I simply can not afford boat repairs. The hull has to be scrapped anytime you want to sail and that costs about $100 to 120 at the marina. If you are a certified diver, you can sail away from the marina and do it yourself on anchor.
Hauling out a boat to be bottom painted costs around $1200. One sailing vlog lists their maintenance costs about $300 monthly. That sounds roughly correct for my boat. I have to tell you owning a boat is not an investment, its a liability!
Boat Insurance
Speaking of liability if you register a boat in the State of Washington, you are required to have $30,000 of liability insurance for each instance. This is just liability yet – that is all I have. My costs $100 per year for this insurance. When I am ready to sail offshore I will need more insurance than that. For now, while I am making Serenity my dream cruising starter boat I will stick with liability.
Dock Fees
Dock fees are levied when you spend the night tied up to a marina dock. When you are at sea there are no dock fees to pay unless you have reserved space at a marina. Every cruisers dream is to go cruising and not pay a dock fee. Use your hook (anchor) and save money. Right now I do not have a budget for cruising and I need navigation and radar installed before I take it on a long cruise. Cruising up and down the South Puget Sound is fine. I stay at a nice marina with reasonable rates. My boat costs about $260 per month. Marinas quote a price per foot length of your boat. Every marina charges slightly different.
Live-aboard Fees
Most marinas do not let you live aboard. I have looked into this on South Sound and less than half allow live-aboard. Some marinas up in the northern part of the state do not have live-aboard fees. I like living aboard but currently, I am saving this money for maintenance. West Bay Marina charges just over $100 for the first person and then $25 for each additional person.
Electricity
Every marina charges for electricity differently. Some charge per kilowatt hour used some have flat rates. West Bay Marina charges $42 per month flat rate.
Hopefully, this gives you an idea of what it costs to buy and keep afloat an older boat. If you have questions, please comment below. I would be happy to answer questions about my boat to people also wanting to experience the love of sailing. Remember when buying your dream yacht you may not want an outdated heavy beam boat. Newer yachts are lighter and have less draft and sail more efficiently than Serenity.
My next blog post will be the maintenance of my boat for the coming season. If you are interested in getting an email the next time I post my next issue please subscribe on my home page. This is free to subscribe and you will not get any junk mail nor do I sell your address to third parties. You will just get the link to my latest post. If you want to support my efforts, there is also a link to my Patreon page where you may donate as little as 1 dollar per month and up. Subscribers to my Patreon page currently get additional photography to download. When I get more subscribers, I will make Serenity caps and t-shirts for my Patreon supporters.