Boat Budget

Boat expenses are falling! The time has come, once again, to review my yearly boat expenses.

From 2002 - when I crossed the Atlantic and sailed into Peniche - until 2012, I was averaging about €6,000 in boat expenses per year. That's way too much for an underpaid translator. I'm now shooting for €4,000 on average: €4,981 in 2013 (including haulout, new dinghy and Rocna anchor) and €3,524 in 2014.

How did I cut costs? 

- by being assigned my own marina berth, which is much cheaper than subletting a spot;

- by reducing the insured boat value, from € 100,000 to €55,000, for a savings of about €400. If the boat sinks, I can get a damn nice used 32-foot boat for €40,000;

- by upgrading only what is really necessary and doing it cheap;

- by not staying at marinas when I'm cruising;

- by using cheaper antifouling paint, for a savings of about €300 per haulout;

- by not giving a fuck about trivialities, such as scraping the flaking paint on the mast instead of painting it.

Expenses in 2014

Date	Item	Quantity	Cost in €
Jan. 25	Circulation tax		85
Jan. 29	Marina		1,676
Feb. 26	4 m of hose to protect dock lines		12
March 3	10  l of Galp 15W40 engine oil		36
March 10	2 Barlow 20 winches from US $250 + Shipping $47 Import $105		302
April	Two bearings for Rutland 913		25
May 19	Engine battery (70 AH, maintenance free),  previous one still good after 6.5 years, so I paralleled it to the house bank battery)		94
May 19	Squeegee and handle for bottom scraping – no good.		8
June 7	Insurance		586
June 19	Barlow 28 winch on Ebay from US (cheap)		74
July 12	Two LED light bulbs for anchor light		40
July 29	Diesel and gasoline		130
Aug. 5	Diver to look for Rocna anchor/chain in Sesimbra		100
Aug. 6	Two bottles of wine to weep over my lost Rocna		10
Aug. 7	10 m of 8 mm calibrated chain for spare anchor*		68
Aug. 7	8 mm stainless shackle (pin retention)		5
Aug. 26	Small grapnel anchor (to search for the Rocna)		15
Sept. 2	Rockfish 1.3 kg grapnel anchor to look for Rocna		20
Nov. 4	Magnet on Ebay (in hopes of finding my Rocna)		21
Nov. 14	Shore plug + connections		5
Nov. 26	15m short link 10mm chain for my plow anchor* chain + knife + engine battery cut-off switch		192
Nov. 30	2 liters of ATF (automatic transmission fluid, type A)		20
	TOTAL		3,524

* Spare anchors are almost useless if not attached to a least some chain.

No haulout this year. 

I lost the anchor and chain at Sesimbra, so that will put me back about €900 in 2015 for a replacement. My new escape-from-life routine these days implies leaving the boat anchored and unattended in the Algarve for brief periods. Obviously, I need a good anchor and all chain rode - I like to sleep well. On the other hand, I've been told that the insurance doesn't cover losses when a boat is left anchored with nobody aboard. So I do lose a bit of sleep after all.

To counterbalance the cost of buying a new anchor and chain, I'll skip the haulout this year, again, unless the hull is really ugly down there. I'll have to dive soon to check it out. If it doesn't look like Fidel Castro's beard, I'll scrape the worst and adjust to slower sailing/motoring speeds. I'm in no hurry. 

Having a clean prop is what really matters. When motoring, a badly fouled propeller will vibrate your transmission to an early death, make the boat go really slow, heat up the overburdened engine that, additionally, will burn twice as much diesel (at about €1.15 per liter).

I will take the wind generator to the shop once more; if Luis can't fix it, I've already researched a way to install a 100 w solar panel for about €350 euros, including the regulator and mounting on the wind generator pole.

It's no fun being on a tight budget, but it would be absolutely boring if I had millions to spend.