The real cost of owning a boat – The costs after purchase
If you’ve dreamed of owning a boat since childhood or found inspiration after a few enjoyable boating holidays, you may be wondering how much owning a boat costs.
Before purchasing a boat, you should consider whether owning or renting boat is more cost-effective. You also need to have a thorough understanding of the essential running and maintenance costs associated with owning a boat, such as boat insurance, servicing, and mooring fees.
In this article, we have provided a helpful list to help you estimate the day-to-day running and maintenance expenses of owning a boat to ensure that you find the best option for you.
If you’re considering purchasing a second-hand boat, our article ‘The ultimate guide to buying second-hand boats’ has a checklist of everything you need to consider before purchasing a second-hand boat.
1- The cost of mooring a boat
When considering boat ownership, the first things to think about are your available time and the boat’s location in relation to your home. If you can frequently visit the boat and handle routine maintenance yourself, you’ll save a significant amount on costs.
Location plays a key role in expenses, as prices can vary widely based on geographical area, proximity to major cities, and the local infrastructure.
For instance, if you’re looking at a 12-meter river boat docked in France, you might expect to pay between €70 and €300 each month. In the UK, the annual cost typically ranges from £900 to £1,100.
2- Marina equipment, cleaning & haul out costs
Choosing a well-equipped port is important because it provides the lifting and handling equipment needed to take your boat out of the water. Careening, which should be done every 1 to 3 years, is much easier when the necessary equipment is readily available at your boat’s location.
The cost of grounding your boat is approximately £130, and launching it after the work is completed will typically cost a similar amount.
If you decide to do the careening work yourself, you’ll only need to rent a high-pressure cleaner and buy a few supplies, such as squeegees, rollers, masking tape, and antifouling paint. This should rarely set you back more than £250. However, if you hire a professional, you can expect to spend at least £300 more.
You can take the opportunity to check the condition of the anodes, which are relatively inexpensive to replace.
3- Boat servicing and safety equipment: the routine maintenance costs
Even if you don’t use your boat often, routine maintenance is essential and your boat will need to be serviced once a year. This includes an oil change, as well as replacing the fuel, oil and air filters. Once again, prices will vary greatly depending on whether you can do the work yourself or call in a professional. You should expect to pay between £120 and £380 per year. If a professional comes from a distance, it’s likely they’ll charge for travel costs in addition to parts and labour.
Don’t forget to regularly replace safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, or batteries, which have a lifespan of about 5 years. That is an average cost of about £250 per year.
4- Boat fuel and licence fee costs
Boat fuel and licence fee costs will depend on how many cruises you do. Even if river boats are generally more fuel-efficient (less than 5 litres per hour) than yachts, the fuel budget is not to be neglected, especially because the waterfront petrol stations often take advantage of their privileged location to charge high rates. If you cruise for 100 hours during the season, this represents about £1000.
Some countries may have additional costs. For example, if your boat is based in France, you’ll also need to pay for a “vignette”, a licence fee paid to Voies Navigables de France for the right to use your boat along the waterways. This is due as soon as the boat is moved to its base. For a 12-metre boat, a day costs €63, while the annual rate is €506. There are several options to choose from, it is up to you to consider the one that best suits your use.
In the UK, there is an environment authority licence that needs to be obtained on an annual basis. The cost depends on the boat length and use, but could be anything from £50 to £484 per month.
5- Boat insurance cost
Insurance is a very important cost to consider when buying a boat. Even if it is not compulsory, many ports require the boat to be covered by a liability insurance before they’ll accept it. This will cost between 1 and 2% of the boat’s market value per year, i.e. around £1,500 per year for a boat worth £100,000.
Most companies require a survey before covering a boat of a certain age. This is a wise precaution anyway, as it gives you an estimate of the condition and real value of your boat. They survey will set you back around £700.
What is the total yearly cost of owning a boat
In total, and excluding unforeseen circumstances or the improvements to make to the boat, the costs described above amount to an estimated budget of £5300/year. Of course, it’s possible to lower this cost, for example by doing most of the maintenance yourself, but the average amount that a boat owner should expect to have to spend on their boat.
In addition to this, if you wish to change cruising area at any point, this may require road transportation which can cost around £750, depending on the size of the boat.
Is it more cost-effective to buy or rent a boat?
Such costs can put a lot of people off, so should you buy a boat or just keep renting? It all depends on how much you’d use your own boat! If you see a boat as a floating, nomadic home base and have the time and skills to look after it, don’t hesitate. If, on the other hand, you want to cruise where you want and without constraints, chartering may be best for you.
Before you sign the dotted line, read our article ‘Our top advice before buying a boat’ for more tips.
Le Boat’s Ownership Programme: an alternative to buying a boat privately
Le Boat offers an alternative ownership solution thanks to our Ownership Programme formula, which has many advantages, not least the fact that all maintenance costs are covered by us!
What does it involve? Buy the boat that suits you, new or second-hand, and you leave it in the hands of the charter company. We’ll take care of the rental, maintenance and running costs. In return, you’ll receive an income of 8% of the value of the boat per year. The programme is designed to last for 8 years, after which you can choose to extend the contract, sell the boat back to Le Boat for up to 60% of its pruchase price or recover the boat. Most importantly, during the programme you have an average of 8 weeks of cruising time per year on your boat or from a base of your choice.
As you can see, there are various ways to think about boat ownership, depending on how you intend to use it, your financial situation, and the time you can dedicate.
The most obvious options may not always be the best or the most cost-effective. For example, if you’re looking for “pleasure” use without the usual hassles. In that case, our Ownership Programme provides several advantages that can help eliminate or significantly reduce all costs associated with owning a boat.
Find out more about boat ownership with Le Boat
Other articles
The ultimate guide to buying second hand boats
Boat buying guide: our top advice before buying a boat
