Monday, February 17, 2014

Cost of Owning a Sailboat

Corbin 39
Nazaré boat yard. Get the wallet ready.
It's been said many times that owning a sailboat is like standing in a cold shower, fully clothed, tearing up $100 bills.

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).

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.
Marina
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.
Marina
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
Marina
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.
Marina
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.
Marina
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.

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


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