BoatProblem Run my numbers

Cost Planner

What will this boat really cost you?

Type your own numbers. The planner adds up what you lose and what you pay over the years you keep the boat, and costs the same days on the water four ways.

Example numbers. These are made up to show how it works, not market prices. Replace them with yours.

1 The boat and the loan
$

What you pay, before any trade-in.

$

Leave empty for none, or the full price for no loan.

%
months
$

Your estimate of what it sells for when you are done. Ask a dealer or look at listings for the same boat a few years older.

$

Trailer, safety gear, electronics, sales tax and fees at purchase.

2 Every year, used or not
$
$

Slip or mooring for the season, plus winter storage.

$

Engine service, haul-out, bottom paint, winterising: your own budget.

$
$

Anything else you pay every year.

3 Each day out
h
gal/h

From the engine maker or your own fill-ups.

$
$

Launch fee, ice, bait, food.

4 How you'll use it
days
years
days

How many days your water is boatable each year.

5 Compare with leave empty to skip

Renting by the day

$
$

A boat club

$
$
$

Sharing with partners

people

Fixed costs split evenly; each partner pays for their own days out.

Clear the form

Example: owning, over 5 years

$698 per day out

Total cost of owning
$69,798
Per year
$13,960
Per engine hour
$174
Loan payment
$436.78/mo

Where the money goes

Value lost (price minus resale)
$18,000 26%
Loan interest
$11,748 17%
One-time extras
$2,500 4%
Yearly fixed costs
$24,750 35%
Fuel and day costs
$12,800 18%

Loan principal is not counted as a cost: it buys the boat, and what you lose of it is already in value lost. The interest is a cost. $21,541 of loan is still owed when you sell and comes out of the sale price.

Four ways, cheapest first

  1. Join a boat club$4,188/yr before any days + $108.00 per day out
    $317per day
    $31,740over 5 yr
  2. Share it$3,800/yr before any days + $128.00 per day out
    $318per day
    $31,799over 5 yr
  3. Rent by the day$0/yr before any days + $558.00 per day out
    $558per day
    $55,800over 5 yr
  4. Own it$11,400/yr before any days + $128.00 per day out
    $698per day
    $69,798over 5 yr

Owning costs less than renting at 27 days a year or more (break-even 26.5 days).

With these numbers owning never costs less than the club, even at 365 days a year.

The loan runs longer than you keep the boat: $21,541 is still owed when you sell, paid out of the sale price (already counted: only the interest you paid is a cost).

Cost per year against days on the water per year Own it: $11,400 a year before any days, plus $128 per day out. Rent by the day: $0 a year before any days, plus $558 per day out. Join a boat club: $4,188 a year before any days, plus $108 per day out. Share it: $3,800 a year before any days, plus $128 per day out. Marked: your 20 days. $0 $25k $50k $75k $100k 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 Days on the water per year your 20 days Own it Rent by the day Join a boat club
Each line is one way onto the water: what it costs per year (up the side) for the number of days you go out (along the bottom). Where two lines cross, they cost the same.

Bought it? Keep score.

Start a Season Ledger with this plan built in ($13,960 a year, 20 days out) and see how the real season compares.

Start a ledger with this plan