When you first buy a sailboat, catamaran or power boat it usually involves a big chunk of money. Also keep in mind that the expenses don’t end there. There are surveys, taxes, registration, marinas, maintenance and upgrade fees. While keeping all of this in mind you will have a much more enjoyable introduction to boat ownership without the financial stress. Well sort of, B.O.A.T. does stand for: Bring out another thousand. It isn’t cheap but can be cheaper than land life if you do it right.

SURVEY

You do not need to complete a survey prior to purchasing a boat. However it might be required for getting insurance or being approved for a loan. Keep in mind that every surveyor will have their own fees and that you might also have to pay for a haul out in order to get an out of water survey. On the other hand, being your first time buying a boat it might also be a good idea just to get a professional’s opinion on the state of the boat or even to get a discount on the sale’s price if there are things needed to be fixed prior to the sale. We had a great surveyor when we bought our Hunter 33 who found issues we weren’t aware of which ended up saving us money on the purchase price.

SALES TAXES

Yes buying a boat is just like buying a car or a house and there is usually sales tax which will differ from one province or country to another. I won’t get into the details of this as every area has its own set of rules and fees.  

REGISTRATION

In Canada there were no fees for registering our sailboat on the provincial level. However, for registering it with Transport Canada we needed to pay fees for a new registration and even for a change of name or port of call. Once again every country has its own sets of rules and fees.

MARINA

There are a few options as to where you can keep your boat. The obvious one is, at a marina on a dock but it can get very expensive quickly. Especially if you pay per night per foot. Consider doing a seasonal or monthly plan if you are staying in the same area.

The other option is on a mooring ball, which also incurs fees unless you set it up yourselves which then it’s only about material costs and sometimes local fees.

My favorite is at anchor, but this only works when you are living on your boat full-time. Also there are areas where you cannot anchor. Either because of being in a protected park, or the depth and ground doesn’t allow it or in restricted areas.

Keep in mind that at one point or another you might have to leave your boat in storage, which leads to haul-out, launch and blocking fees or even hurricane straps. Carefully choosing a location and shopping around can save you a lot of money.

MAINTENANCE & UPGRADES

This one is incredibly hard to know how much you will really spend. A general rule of thumb is 10-20% per year of your boat’s value. But it’s not always the case. Buying an older and cheaper boat will usually lead to higher costs the first few years as you bring it up to cruising standards. Unlike newer and more expensive boats, turn key ready which won’t require as much costs initially. Someone once told me: “Everything on your sailboat is broken, you just don’t know it yet.” This is sort of true, there will constantly be things needing attention. Your to do list will quickly change into being organized by priority levels because lets be honest it won’t ever get completed. Our first 3 years of owning our current 1983 C&C Landfall 43 has involved spending slightly over 20% of its value per year. This was for multiple upgrades like, new lithium batteries, inverter charger, new rigging, watermaker, more solar, liferaft and a lot of work involved both below and above water level.

With all these fees keep in mind that boat ownership is far from free. However, there are a lot of ways of making it affordable. Avoid marinas when you can and drop anchor in a secluded anchorage. Do most of the work yourself, our rigging would have cost us double if we hired a rigger. And if you don’t know how, research on the internet and ask fellow boaters. Shop the sales for parts needed and buy common spares in cheaper areas. A lot of work can be done at anchor which is much more affordable than being on the hard paying storage fees. Keep it on budget and don’t buy a boat you can’t afford. We started small with a 1981 Hunter 33 which was much cheaper to maintain and keep in a marina. We then managed to set off sailing a lot faster than others. You also don’t need all the fancy gadgets. We spent 7 years hauling water from marinas and wherever we could find it before splurging and getting the expensive watermaker. It’s all about priorities.

At the end of the day we all share the same anchorage and sunset no matter what boat we have!

Anne Alexandra Fortin

Cory and Alex share their adventure with weekly videos on their YouTube channel “Wildly Intrepid Sailing”. Their dream is to travel the world and to live without any regrets.