The Real Cost of boating

[johnb]

Given that we all have a different amount of “disposable” income and assuming that for us our boats are not a necessity i.e. they are not our permanent homes, I was wondering how much we are prepared to pay for our boating. (Not actually asking for figures-the BA may be reading this!) and really, what set off my thoughts, what is the Real Cost of boating?

Recently I read somewhere that a particular engineering company on the Broads charged only £20 per hour labour. I believe this was for what was probably a skilled, trained and experienced mechanic. I wondered how a company could survive charging so little. A garage will charge £80 an hour for a guy (no disrespect intended) to plug a computer into an engine, which will then tell him which part to replace (rarely mend).

When we bought our first boat from a yard, the owner kindly told me to buy certain items from BQ etc. rather from him, as they would be cheaper. Apparently bad business, but it helped us and gave us a loyalty to the yard.
In the end, though, does this offset the loss of sales? 

Do we take advantage of workers who either really enjoy their work and workplace or “it’s this or nothing” to enjoy our boating? Are some companies (probably the smaller ones) just trying to keep going and hoping for a good season?

It appears that the Real Cost of boating may need to include a willingness to pay (more in some cases) for overnight mooring. Like it or not, BA are losing moorings, but will probably tell us that if we pay the “Real Cost of moorings” either through tolls or on site then we could have more. Private land owners may be willing to open up land for moorings if they felt that it would be economically viable. We mourn the loss of boatyards, but some of them have probably gone because they couldn’t charge the “Real Cost” even if they were as efficient as possible.

Many of us will visit the superstore and stock up with groceries, losing the village stores (and even at one time the Grocery Boat). 

If we were willing to pay “someone”, we would have more bins to put our rubbish in. Like it or not, this may be added to the Real Cost of boating.

I know some of us wouldn’t be able to carry on with boating either hire or owning if all these things went up.  Many do support the local infrastructure as much as possible, but discussions often arise regarding buying items from Ebay and such like and where to get the cheapest fuel. 

I wonder however, whether boating on the Broads is sustainable in the very long term if the above, gloom laden assessment is anywhere near right.

I have no economic knowledge apart from our own work and household experience, maybe there is something more to all this than I can see, I did wonder if some companies keep going relying on the value of land, buildings equipment etc., but some of these may only be valuable as long as the whole things keeps going at a certain level.

I believe the amount of private boats is increasing. Does this mean that the majority of the responsibility for keeping Broads boating is going to be ours? Hirers, as much as they love the Broads, can always hire somewhere else, less good obviously, but available.

I hope this is not seen as doom and gloom! It may read like it, but it is something that I feel myself, and if I want my grandchildren to enjoy what we have had, it’s not only about saving great crested newts and rare species (although if we were prepared to pay……….!) we may need to dig deeper in order to keep the support systems we all enjoy on the Broads. 

Please let’s not take the bit about the BA and have the usual discussion, that is elsewhere plenty of times. We all know that if they had our priorities they would be very nearly perfect, but we rarely use that argument when it comes to business efficiency. 

Maybe the whole of the above should be consigned to a non-existent rubbish bin, tell me if so and why, at least I will learn something new.
 

[Hockham Admiral]

To answer your first, John, I reckon we must budget on a minimum of £3000 per year. This will include a lift out for scrubbing down and a two-yearly winter on the hard to dry out, also engine servicing.

But it doesn't include fuel and ad hoc mooring costs!   

Edited February 8, 2016 by Hockham Admiral
last para

[ExSurveyor]

I think the 3000 figure is about right,  Everything has a top price people are prepared to pay.  

I smoke (bad)    the price of 20 is nearly 10.00.  

Smoking costs me more than owning a boat on the Broads.  

Smoking will go before my boat 

As a comparison,  my boat on the river Medway costs about 2500 as I have a good all round boat man locally. 

If costs go up faster than earnings or leisure time dwindles then smoking and the Medway boat will go. 

The only thing,  short of a major health problem,  that would make me give up my Norfolk board will be age and the amount of travelling.  Then I would probably move the boat to the river Medway as a second best option. 

However,  as I am immortal and will win the lottery soon,  these things will not come to pass 

[imtamping2]

About £500 more than you think  

[vanessan]

I think HA's figure of £3000pa is not far off the mark, for us anyway. We are able to use the boat at any time we want, all year round if we so desired. So £3k is not bad. If that figure was to rise, how much more would we be prepared to shell out to carry on? That's a difficult one. Costs are inevitably going to go up, they have to with things as they are. I think I would be prepared to pay out more for better facilities - extra moorings, waste disposal, leccy points or anything that would add value or enjoyment to boating in general. (It's a pity we can't pay for more settled weather throughout the year, I bet there's not too many who would not subscribe to that!) 

[Mowjo]

I worked out that for my 25 footer it cost me £1700 a year, or roughly £33.00 a week that includes fuel, Tolls, Marina mooring and insurance, It dosn't include servicing and maintenance as I do my own, the only other addition would be for a lift out, up untill about 18 months ago I smoked 20 a day and that cost me £50.00 a week, being on a pension something had to go, I gave up smoking, my £83.00 a week is now down to the boats £33.00 a week and I now put £20.00 a week in my boat fund, so I'm still £30.00 a week better off, during the season I'm normally out for between 130 and 160 days out, even at the 130 days it works out around £13.50 a day, where can you get a full day and night out for two people for that price? people pay a couple of thousand for two weeks holiday a year, I have the boat 52 weeks of the year, my moorings are due to go up £25.00 a year plus the tolls will be going up, but do I think I'm getting good value? you bet I do when it cost my Grandson £2400 to hire a boat for two weeks,  like Mark the only reason I'd give up the boat is health, on the rest! I believe the rubbish situation is due to council funding and changes to how rubbish is classed, on moorings my thinking is! contracts are ending and some land owners think they can make more money by charging privately, I always try and support local businesses and find a lot of places will price match an item if you ask,  but I still use places like E/bay because some things I can get at half the price for exactly the same item locally, yes they need to make money but in the end I need to save it,,,

 

Frank,,,,,

[JanetAnne]

Our costings are similar. Moorings, tax and insurance take £1400 a year. The bsc is £150 a year which is the cost of the four yearly test plus a hull survey (woodie remember) divided by four!

Running costs for a season are mainly fuel, gas and oils which are around £750.

Maintenance costs are slip and storage over Jan -march (was £370 last time but that was a couple of years ago) plus a bit of antifoul and paints - say £500?

So yes about £3000 a year. 

Our last full season was just over 100 days afloat.

[JennyMorgan]

It will cost me about £250.00 this year just to put my twenty-one footer on the water. I will spend about the same on her basic maintenance that thankfully I am able to do myself otherwise that would be at least that again if done by a yard. In the last five years I have replaced sails and engine, about two thousand pounds. I've also replaced all the spars but those I built myself for under a hundred but had I bought them I rather suspect that that would have cost me another grand. I suppose I need to pop a fiver a week in my piggy bank for such expenses. So that's about six hundred a year plus, despite being a sailing boat, probably a hundred a year on fuel. I am lucky in that I own my mooring but if I didn't then I guess that would be my biggest expense at about a grand a year. So that would be about £1,500.00 per year just to keep a twenty one foot long, open decked motor sailing boat in reasonable nick and afloat. Looked at it that way I reckon Frank's calculations are entirely realistic.

 

[rightsaidfred]

Very interesting thought, I guess it depends what you want expect for your money, my fixed costs mooring, tolls & insurance equate to a two week hire main season, for that I get to use it whenever I want as often as I want on the spur of the moment, that to me represents good value for money, additional costs servicing, repairs, fuel and improvements etc are something I would expect to have to pay be it the boat a car or anything else I may own so no problems there, one thing I would query is the £20 an hour labour charge, all the yards I know  charge £40 as standard.

Fred

[JennyMorgan]

Fred, re yard costs, come South. My daughter pays £25.00 per hour for a time served boat-wright who's work is exemplary.

[BroadScot]

3 hours ago, psychicsurveyor said:

Smoking will go before my boat 

GOOD!!! The sooner the better! IMHO  Speaking as an Ex Smoker 

Iain

[johnb]

Thanks everyone for sharing. I have no complaints regarding what my boating costs at the moment, it seems the same for most here. My question was really bound up in all the middle bits: “Is our boating being kind of subsidised by workers and companies who have to keep their charges lower in order to keep the whole thing going?” One company was quoted as only charging £20 an hour which seems very low. Therefore part of the costs of my boating may be being borne by others. Anyway, thanks for your replies. 

[ExSurveyor]

37 minutes ago, BroadScot said:

GOOD!!! The sooner the better! IMHO  Speaking as an Ex Smoker 

 

I am on my way Iain,  I have cut down to 10 a day,  might treat myself to a nice dinghy and outboard. 

[johnb]

Perhaps we should ask the question, what or who would go before the boat? Second thoughts, better not!

[BroadScot]

8 minutes ago, psychicsurveyor said:

 

I am on my way Iain,  I have cut down to 10 a day,  might treat myself to a nice dinghy and outboard. 

Still 10 too many! 

Iain

[imtamping2]

17 minutes ago, BroadScot said:

Still 10 too many! 

Iain

What packets 

[ExSurveyor]

Small steps Iain,  at least I didn't start until I was 30, I saved a fortune until then,  trouble is I can't find it 

[BroadScot]

36 minutes ago, psychicsurveyor said:

Small steps Iain,  at least I didn't start until I was 30, I saved a fortune until then,  trouble is I can't find it 

I was 60 a day, for my sins Mark. Being self employed then a fag in the hand was a comfort when on a job somewhere or other. I wish you well in your attempt to give them up!

It's not easy, but it's very financialy rewarding, they were £2.09 for a 20 pkt when I stopped in 1993.

Iain

[LondonRascal]

I am, and always have been terrible with money - from a child, try and they might my parents would encourage budgeting and  making money go further.

However, I too was a smoker and it was this that aught me about money more than anything else.  I've not smoked for 2007 days - (or just over 5/12 years). I know this, because when I stopped I had downloaded an NHS stop smoking App which counted the days and totted up the money I was now saving.

Well, since this time it has been updated with the average cost of 20 cigarettes which mean I have not spent £14,734.61 on cigarettes.  It is this saving of money that has meant the ability to do more things I actually have enjoyed - like getting into boating, the costs of hiring and so on. 

I would be a very unhappy person if I did not have the boating fix - and I could see a great deal of other things being pushed to the side in order not to give up boating as a passion of mine.

[MauriceMynah]

I too was a 60 a day man but packed it in in 96...oooh 20 years ago in July! not sure how much I've saved... how much does 20 Marlboro cost these days?

[Matt]

Nobody seems to mention the cost of buying the boat in the first place!

[Baitrunner]

Or the cost of stocking the wine locker each year!!

it does all depend on the size of the boat, mooring location and if you can do most of the maintenance yourself. 

 

[johnb]

Well this thread certainly never went the way I thought it may-I'm seriously thinking of taking up smoking!

[BroadScot]

11 minutes ago, johnb said:

Well this thread certainly never went the way I thought it may-I'm seriously thinking of taking up smoking!

NO....NO.....thrice NO!

Iain

[BroadScot]

59 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I too was a 60 a day man but packed it in in 96...oooh 20 years ago in July! not sure how much I've saved... how much does 20 Marlboro cost these days?

Just checked MM.....IN Tesco the Gold Kings are £9.16p for 20........Gulp!

Iain