On Going Costs

[Jovril]

I am putting together some yearly cost estimates for having a boat of say 30 to 35 ft on the Broads.

Some of the costs I have already obtained and some I can get from various web sites however I am unsure about two items at the moment.

1)      How often would a boat need to be antifouled and what are the approximate costs for this.

2)      How often do people have engines serviced – Is it based on so many hours of usage or just a yearly thing if usage is lower that a certain level.

(Thinking about car service which is every so many miles or yearly if mileage not reached)

Any information would be useful and many thanks for all your comments and advice which all helps in the buying process.

John

[Guest]

Antifoul -  for a 35 footer around £400 (liftout, powerwash, antifoul, slip back) as for how often, there is no rule, some do it every other year, others leave it longer.

Engine service, allow £200 if paying someone else to do it,  Once per season is fine for the majority of private boats

[Chelsea14Ian]

My bout anti fouled last year,A bit dearer about 500 pounds for our 29 footer.service costs about the same.Its well worth getting the boat serviced every year.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi John,

With lift-outs being anything up to £350 to £400 in some yards, some moorings do offer free winter lift outs but it can be a bit of a lottery when you can get back into the water.

We have Ranworth Breeze's engine services as part of the winter service to try and pre-empt issues during the forth coming year, this is the time to get the stern gland repacked, check all the running gear and the gel coat before having it anti fouled. Also the time to have the batteries drop tested and replaced if faulty. Have the toilet pumps checked, it is cheaper to replace a pump yourself than have to have a call out during the season.

To give you an idea our minimum costs for for operating Ranworth Breeze are between £10,000 to £12,000, we do operate for 40 plus weeks in our extended season. Many other boat owners will have cheaper moorings, not service the boat often or do as much work as they can, we do as much work on our boat as we can, but it needs to be out each week.

Regards

Alan 

 

[ExSurveyor]

I have my 32' Topliner anti fouled every 4ish years and the engine serviced every 2 years mainly because it doesn't go out much. I have the little Broom Scopio out every year over winter and the outboard serviced because we use that a lot. Hasn't needed anti foul yet after 2 seasons.

No idea on the cost of anti foul for the Topliner but I think I might get a shock next month when I ask for a quote. 

[BrundallNavy]

I’m planning on having Nipper out March /April this year for 3 weeks, approx cost £500 it will be antifouled /tar varnished along with any other work required underneath. The engine gets an oil change every year as it will attract moisture especially if it’s not used much new fuel filters and a new impeller approx cost £120.

Doug.

[stumpy]

Top of my head figures as bumph is on board but antifouled every other year,last one was about £30 a foot for lift pressure wash and back in at Sutton Staithe, engine service yearly (BMC1.5) about £120, also through Robert.

[socrates]

Lift out and back with power-wash is about £28 a foot at Somerleyton. £120 for engine service, has to be done by agent due to warranty on new engine. Anti foul comes in a tin for £30 ish, you can get it cheap if you shop around.  DIY anti-fouling is messy but I don't mind doing it. Not sure if it needs to be done every year but we have done it every year whilst the precious owners hardly did it at all.

As we are in the process of restoring  a boat that had, up until now, been neglected, I can attest fully to the old saying: a stitch in time saves nine. 

[ZimbiIV]

The one cost I didn't take into account when buying our boat, living nearly 300 miles away, was the fuel we would use travelling 600 miles a month. From March to end of October, 7/8 visits a year. 

We have the boat lifted every 2nd year and anti fouled then, cost including lift etc and getting it antifouled about £500.

I have a friend who cannot understand how I can afford a boat, then spends £1000 golf club fees and £850 on a football season ticket!

Boat owning ain't cheap but we used to spend £?,000 on having a cruise and hiring a boat for a week, now no airports, delays or waiting for airplanes, to be treated like cash cows.

paul

[SwanR]

Interesting topic even though I don't own a boat but have considered it a number of times. We would have been the kind of owners who treat it like a car and give it to a boatyard once a year while hoping that breakdown insurance would have kept us covered while out and about. Can it work like that if you really don't want to do any of the maintenance oneselves?

[Chelsea14Ian]

Yes the only thing I am good at is cooking.We use people who we trust to help maintain the boat.It works for us.For sure as others have said its not cheap, but the rewards are many.The adventure starts as soon as we travel to Norfolk.We can go as often as we can.The main reason I could afford a boat was once I have gave up the cigs.One of the best things I did.

[JennyMorgan]

I always think that the real frightener is the realisation of the cost per trip. Add everything up, including transport to and fro, divide it by how many trips you have, oh dear, is it really  that much! Sit down, take a swig of mother's ruin, convince yourself that it's all well worth it and go out and enjoy another year's boating!

[Lulu]

Weve done a 5 year plan spreadsheet. This year will hopefully be the cheapest, as we had it antifouled and major engine overhaul a few weeks ago. Each year will be different by the looks of it.   Our main priority is putting money aside for the mooring bill, river licence and breakdown cover. Fuel is a bit of an unknown. We are not planning to do miles and miles this year but this may change as we grow in confidence!

we have budgeted for two big one off alterations and we know we are going to need a new canopy but are trying to make do with repairs dor the time being. I diidnt realise how expensive that would be.  

Being so new to this too, we could be in for unexpected bills but are hoping this wont happen as we did so much research beforehand and have at least the core expenses planned for

[ranworthbreeze]

1 hour ago, JennyMorgan said:

I always think that the real frightener is the realisation of the cost per trip. Add everything up, including transport to and fro, divide it by how many trips you have, oh dear, is it really  that much! Sit down, take a swig of mother's ruin, convince yourself that it's all well worth it and go out and enjoy another year's boating!

HI Peter, 

How true your statement is, I have met and talked to a number of owners that have only been able to get out on their boats as little as two times per year due to their health or their partners. A few have ended up selling their boats in the end or have kept the boat and only used it as place to visit. 

Regards

Alan

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, JennyMorgan said:

I always think that the real frightener is the realisation of the cost per trip. Add everything up, including transport to and fro, divide it by how many trips you have, oh dear, is it really  that much! Sit down, take a swig of mother's ruin, convince yourself that it's all well worth it and go out and enjoy another year's boating!

My father used to race Evening Flight every Sunday in the season and he reckoned she cost about £5 per round of Wroxham Broad, plus the bar bill. And that was in the 60s!

Seriously though, I am now among those who find it cheaper and more convenient to hire a boat, for 2 or 3 weeks every year. I've done my share of antifouling!

[vanessan]

2 hours ago, SwanR said:

Interesting topic even though I don't own a boat but have considered it a number of times. We would have been the kind of owners who treat it like a car and give it to a boatyard once a year while hoping that breakdown insurance would have kept us covered while out and about. Can it work like that if you really don't want to do any of the maintenance oneselves?

Yes, it certainly can. Whilst my husband can tackle the odd disaster like electrics, pumps breaking down or on one occasion a snapped cable, that’s very much our limit. In the 9 years we have had the boat, there have been quite a few mishaps but our boatyard is great and has sorted the problems for us. They take care of servicing, winterising and all jobs associated with keeping the boat in good order even to the point of thoroughly  cleaning it inside and out before we start our season in March each year. That may sound somewhat OTT but it means that we can enjoy being out on the water rather than spending time doing those things. Yes it does cost but to us it is well worth it. If we were younger it might be different, mobility (or a lack of!) does become a factor eventually. 

[vanessan]

Jovril - have we put you off yet? 

[scraggs]

This will be our first full year of owning a boat on the Broads, costs certainly do add up, although we bought our boat knowing it needed a lot of work doing to it and we paid accordingly, I am quite lucky that I am able to do most of the work myself, but the one thing we have found that has really added to the costs is actually getting to her and back, because of things back home we have often had to go back in the evening and return the next morning and it has certainly worked out quite expensive.
Wouldn't change it for the world though, although it would be nice to actually get her traveling up the river sometime soon :)

[Lulu]

Absolutely Identical to our situation scraggs! 

[Jovril]

Hi All

 

Many thanks for all your comments and advice.

No we have not been put off so far and the numbers are stacking up much as I thought although probably I will either forget something on not put enough in the "unexpected costs".

So far at the cost of travel to and from are concerned this in no problem for us as we are only abt 25 miles from Brundall and abt 30 miles from Wroxham. It also means we could easily just get a way for a few days as we felt like it or even just a day trip.

We are off to the London Boat show next weekend just to see what we cannot afford, but it may help cement the idea of what we are after.

Once again many thanks for all your comments & advice

John

[LizG]

Good luck with your searches - I shan't even try to mention my costs of owning a very old wooden cruiser - never ending! But as I always say she is part of the Broads heritage and its for that reason, I keep her floating. Liz

[vanessan]

Jovril, you really have it made living so close. Lucky things! I hope you find what you want and can soon get out and enjoy the Broads. 

[Victoryv]

I reckon, for an old boat like ours, 35ft, £2500 to £3000 a year, same again at the petrol station and in the pub (60 , 40 split as per diesel , except reversed maybe)

Probably keep those figures to myself, else there could be questions asked in the house !

[socrates]

4 hours ago, w-album said:

Good luck with your searches - I shan't even try to mention my costs of owning a very old wooden cruiser - never ending! But as I always say she is part of the Broads heritage and its for that reason, I keep her floating. Liz

Costs versus the sheer pleasure of owing a wooden cruiser which is part of the history and heritage of the Broads.  Pleasure wins hands down. I only wish more people would take an interest in wooden boats so more of them can be saved. 

Good luck the the searchers -consider a wooden boat.

 

 

[Wussername]

6 hours ago, Vaughan said:

My father used to race Evening Flight every Sunday in the season and he reckoned she cost about £5 per round of Wroxham Broad, plus the bar bill. And that was in the 60s!

Seriously though, I am now among those who find it cheaper and more convenient to hire a boat, for 2 or 3 weeks every year. I've done my share of antifouling!

During the summer Anne and I will hire a picnic boat. Not a day boat ( no toilet ). Expensive sure, about £200 per day for a top of the range boat. However with say four or six people on board it becomes to my mind cost effective. I live in the middle of the Broads, I am retired, and so when a suitable weather window presents itself, a few telephone calls and we are up and away.

Smoked Salmon, a bottle of Chenin Blanc or a Sauvignon Blanc and of course a selection of cheese.

We can of course hire where we wish, Horning, Potter, Waveney Center, Hickling anywhere really, and of course we can cherry pick those destinations which are remote if we should so wish or have not visited for some time.

I consider myself very fortunate and appreciate many others are unable to follow my example if they should so be inclined.

As for owning my own boat. I would love one but other things have to come first. It is not about how much the boat cost to some extent but how much you loose when you have to sell. That is the true cost plus having to factor in your yearly variable and fixed costs.

Is it good value. I think so. Especially when you are able to share with family and friends. Also I have friend's who simply enjoy sitting on their boat like Derby and Joan watching the world go by.

Nearly as good as sitting on me wall (free)

Andrew