Older yachts---how bad of an idea? - Page 2

A wise South American Formula 1 driver once told me: If it floats, flies or fucks, rent it.

Bad, bad, bad idea.

As a boat owner my formula would be to research maintenance costs, do a very detailed budget of your monthly expenses...then triple it...then double that. If it still fits your budget, and assuming that nothing unexpected happens, then you'll love it. Short of that it will just add major stress to your life.

That said we love ours, but we don't have an old boat and we don't try to live on it.

FWIW, my father had a C&C sailboat and I don't think maintenance was that bad on it. What sort of costs are you guys talking about? There's harbour fees and putting it in the water every year, but aside from that?

OK. First he's talking about a 40' motor yacht which would not be drydocked most of the year. I would expect that 12 months of moorage would likely be $500 per month or more depending on where you're located. Inflation on dockage fees is extremely high right now because there are WAY more people with boats than there are places to dock them. Electricity costs should be similar to an apartment, so that's not really an issue.

As for maintenance, it might be similar to an old car if a car had water and sewer, dc and ac electrical systems, refrigeration systems and multiple engines and sat 24 hours a day in a corrosive environment. Most do not. Not to mention various types of marine equipment including lights, anchor windlasses, lines, rigging, etc. etc. etc. Additionally many have lots of teak, which looks great if its maintained, but requires periodic love and attention.

Now, maintenance can be fun or a total beating depending on your personality. If you're the kind of person that enjoys working with your hands and is fairly adept at maintaining engines (diesel or gasoline), electrical systems, cleaning out clogged heads (toilets), replacing bilge pumps, constantly cleaning, etc. Then you'll love it and you can save lots of money. If not...

My wife and I joke that if we can get through one trip to the boat with no more than one thing breaking and needing to be replaced, it's been a fairly low maintenance weekend. And our boat is less than 10 years old with fairly modern systems.

Oh...and none of this takes into account insurance, fuel, etc. Fuel for a 40' motor yacht can get quite expensive if you actually want to take it out of the slip. Some of my friends will spend $300 for a weekend on gasoline. I have a sailboat, so about $50-75 gets me through a whole season.

Additionally, most yachts need to be pulled for a bottom job every couple of years or so. This can be moderately to very expensive depending on whether or not it's something you can do yourself.

I'm not saying don't do it. I'm saying know what you're getting into.