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| Nazaré boat yard. Get the wallet ready. |
That's not entirely true. If your sailboat is under 25 feet, it could be $10 bills...if it's over 60 feet, get a thick wad of $500 bills. Euros in my case.
So, let's look at the cost of owning a naked 39-foot sailboat kept by a sailor on a tight budget - me, a working stiff.
From the time I sailed my Corbin 39 from Port Dover, Canada, to Portugal, I've kept a detailed record of all my boat upkeep expenses. Since 2002, I've cruised down to the Algarve for about 1 month per year. This makes my situation fairly representative of a lot of sailboat owners.
In the last 11 years years, on average I've spent 5,082 euros per year.
Here's a chart for 2006, which exceeds the average yearly cost because it includes haul-out expenses (I normally paint the bottom every other year and do all the work myself).
Here's a chart for 2006, which exceeds the average yearly cost because it includes haul-out expenses (I normally paint the bottom every other year and do all the work myself).
2006
Date
|
item
|
Quantity
|
Cost in Euros
|
Jan.
|
VHF radio Navman 7100 5-1-V-29-0960
|
241
|
|
Jan.
|
Liferaft (10 persons for coastal cruising)
|
400
|
|
Jan.
|
First-aid kit, knife and fuse holders
|
24
|
|
Jan.
|
Jan,
Feb. Mar.
|
390
|
|
Jan.
|
Lifering and reflective tape
|
47
|
|
Jan.
|
Naval club membership fee
|
24
|
|
Feb.
|
Batteries (6 AA)
|
7
|
|
Feb.
|
Paint for letters
|
4
|
|
Feb.
|
60 meters of 6 mm line
|
44
|
|
Feb.
|
Metal/fiberglass restoration fluid
|
13
|
|
Feb.
|
Metal/fiberglass polish fluid
|
12
|
|
Feb.
|
2 blocks, 8mm
|
9
|
|
Feb.
|
Shaft anode
|
6
|
|
Feb.
|
Hanging anode 1.5 kg (for use at marina)
|
40
|
|
Apr.
|
Chain 3 m x € 7.61
|
23
|
|
Apr.
|
Mask
|
15
|
|
Apr.
|
Misc.
|
11
|
|
Apr.
|
April
& May
|
300
|
|
Apr.
|
3 cans 2.5 l micron extra antifouling paint
|
384
|
|
Apr.
|
Haul-out boat jacks €150 + zinc €19 + power wash €66
|
235
|
|
Apr.
|
30 mm Zinc at Nazaré – expensive
|
20
|
|
Apr.
|
Pliers for impeller spring
|
7
|
|
Apr
|
Zinc 32 mm
|
6
|
|
Apr.
|
Small blocks and material for lazy jacks
|
73
|
|
Apr.
|
Bow fender
|
28
|
|
Apr.
|
Mapsend BlueNav XL Chart
|
263
|
|
Apr.
|
Diesel (247 liters)
|
269
|
|
Apr.
|
Zinc for rudder support
|
9
|
|
May
|
Cooler (12 V DC with lighter plug)
|
50
|
|
May
|
Nazaré yard
Travel lift € 65 x 2 + VAT
Electricity € 4 + VAT
Yard space rental €3.45 x 24 days
|
263
|
|
May
|
Nazaré marina – before and after haul-out
2 days (actually 3 days – one free day)
|
29
|
|
June
|
June
& July
|
476
|
|
June
|
Insurance (currently paying €585)
|
936
|
|
June
|
Flag, small shackle
|
18
|
|
June
|
Fire extinguishers renewal
|
15
|
|
July
|
Grease spray
|
6
|
|
July
|
3M stainless steel polisher
|
20
|
|
July
|
2 fenders, outboard repair, 6 mm line
|
86
|
|
Aug.
|
Fender step
|
+-
|
75
|
Sept
|
Fabric and 2 curtain rods
|
45
|
|
Sept.
|
Aug/Sept/Oct
|
529
|
|
Oct.
|
VHF radio inspection
|
104
|
|
Oct.
|
8 liters of 15W40 oil
|
36
|
|
Oct.
|
Boat registration costs - from Canadian to Portuguese flag (paid a hell of a lot more for import VAT in the Azores which I included in the purchase cost).
|
188
|
|
Nov.
|
6 zincs / 2 oil filters / 1 fuel filter /
Thermostat & gasket / fuel overflow hose / Oberdorf pump gasket $128 US + $101
US for shipping (ouch!)
|
184
|
|
Nov.
|
Customs tax for above order (ouch! ouch!)
|
91
|
|
Dec.
|
Nov.
and Dec
|
240
|
|
TOTAL
|
€6,295
|
||
Marina Peniche
|
1,935
|
||
Haul-out and bottom paint
|
1,027
|
The list below includes most Big Ticket items bought since I arrived in Portugal in 2002:
Item
|
Cost in Euros
|
4 skipper licenses. These are mandatory - according to how far from port you sail - when you are a resident operating a Portuguese-registered boat. I had to
register Jakatar because it came from outside the EU. Stupid choice.
Basic Skipper + Local Skipper + Coastal Skipper + Ocean Skipper
All courses were taken separately in different years
|
2,500
|
Used Yamaha dinghy and 2 hp engine
|
750
|
Raymarine ST100 autopilot to be used with the
windvane
|
396
|
Arco 43 2-speed winch, on Ebay
|
229
|
Lavac toilet and pump (nothing beats it)
|
350
|
Magellan FX color chart plotter, on Ebay
|
541
|
Flares
|
219
|
Navman 7100 VHF radio (needed to comply with
new regulations)
|
241
|
10-person liferaft for coastal cruising, a
big inflatable lifesaver
|
400
|
Mapsend BlueNav XL Chart, Portugal, Azores,
Canaries, Spain until Gibraltar
|
263
|
Mast paint
|
272
|
Crane to step and unstep the mast
|
200
|
Circulation stamp – now I pay only €80, the rule changed from boat size to engine size (didn't pay anything when sailing under the Canadian flag for almost 4 years, until I was told I’d be shot on the
spot if I didn't change over to the Portuguese flag. I kept arguing that I had
paid the Import VAT, to no avail).
|
240
|
Carpenters – new staysail boom, window
frames, etc.
|
400
|
Raymarine hydraulic autopilot, including
installation
|
1,732
|
180 A (?) battery
|
116
|
Icom M-33 handheld VHF radio
|
185
|
Spinnaker snuffer
|
258
|
Stainless deck diesel fill, stainless through-hull
|
227
|
2 Vetus mushroom vents
|
129
|
VHF course and license renewal (another mandatory
burden)
|
155
|
Alado roller furler A-4
|
1,398
|
Halyard, 10 mm for furler, 2 blocks, fairlead
|
160
|
Interior hatch frames and labor for
installing komacel ceiling lining
|
170
|
Genoa – Pires de Lima 48 m2
|
2,303
|
Top climber, to climb the mast + plus
miscellaneous stuff
|
368
|
ZF 12M transmission, on Ebay and installed it
myself
|
900
|
913 Rutland wind generator repair, power socket, AC switchboard and battery charger
|
410
|
Rocna 25 anchor
|
609
|
Honwave T 20 SE dinghy
|
698
|
Bic Bilbao kayak, used
|
280
|
And
Just for fun, here's the cost of building a mooring - a mooring fit for a ship. Extreme overkill!!!
3 1-ton blocks linked together in a triangle. Forgot to take pictures.
I did all the work. The yard was kind enough to place the blocks in the water with a crane. I hoisted them off the bottom with a chain hoist and slowly motored out to the mooring field.
I was moored for one year, the seagulls bombarded my deck, I got tired of not being able to translate on the boat, for a lack of electricity, so I sold the mooring for €1,000 euros.
In the end, I didn't save much money but - believe it or not - it was a fun experience.
And the mooring fee was €260 the first year and €300 the second year. I was on the mooring for 1 year, but the payment is made per calendar year.
3 1-ton blocks linked together in a triangle. Forgot to take pictures.
I did all the work. The yard was kind enough to place the blocks in the water with a crane. I hoisted them off the bottom with a chain hoist and slowly motored out to the mooring field.
I was moored for one year, the seagulls bombarded my deck, I got tired of not being able to translate on the boat, for a lack of electricity, so I sold the mooring for €1,000 euros.
In the end, I didn't save much money but - believe it or not - it was a fun experience.
And the mooring fee was €260 the first year and €300 the second year. I was on the mooring for 1 year, but the payment is made per calendar year.
Mooring
2009/2010
Nov.
|
400 kg 22mm chain + 1 m 30mm chain,
swivel and shackle from Batista Scrap yard in Alhos Vedros
|
276
|
|
Nov.
|
Trailer hitch for the dinghy trailer
|
200
|
|
Dec.
|
180 kg of 50mm chain
|
150
|
|
Dec.
|
Trailer lights plug
|
32
|
|
Dec.
|
Rebar, wire, bricks
|
26
|
|
Dec.
|
Rebar + plastic sheet
|
10
|
|
Dec.
|
Concrete - ready mix truck
|
100
|
|
Dec.
|
Mooring molds x 3
|
150
|
|
March
|
8 m of 16 mm chain (49 kg)
|
115
|
|
March
|
2 Styrofoam mooring balls 50x50x50
|
40
|
|
March
|
3 liters of polyester resin €55 + 1.5m2
mat fibre to coat the Styrofoam mooring balls
|
70
|
|
March
|
Brushes and rolls
|
6
|
|
March
|
1 l polyester resin + .75 m mat
|
26
|
|
March
|
Titan paint for mooring balls
|
13
|
|
March
|
Epoxy glue
|
8
|
|
March
|
Paint rolls for mooring balls
|
6
|
|
May
|
Toniauto trailer to transport my dinghy from home to the port
|
350
|
|
March
|
Shackles (balance of trade with Ryker on
chain block, chain more or less equals out to these amounts) Ryker also built a mooring but with only 1 1-tone block. We worked on the project together. Good thing, because the guy is very smart.
|
155
|
|
TOTAL
|
1,733
|
