What price for an extra 4 feet.

[Hoohaa]

Hi there.
I am new to this forum & am finding it invaluable while I search for my next boat. I just keep coming back to it when I need to find answers to the difficult questions. So here is another.

I am currently shoping for a 5 to 8 year old Leopard or similar. I was keen on the Leopard 43 until I found out that its bridge deck clearance is about 680mm. I am after something greater than 700mm. I know its only 20mm but its an important factor for me.
The obviouse solution is the Leopard 47 but this comes with all the larger
goodies, along with the corresponding increase in maintenance & running costs.

The first trip for this boat would be a delivery cruise from the US to Sydney Aus.
So, I am trying to get an Idea of the extra costs for the short and long term that you would have in maintenace & running costs on a 47 footer compaired to the 43 footer.
I am not really looking for dollar values but more a feel for the increase of costs.
ie.
Rigging
Sails
motors 39hp to 54hp
Fuel
winches
ect.

Thanks in advance.
Regards Jeff

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum Jeff

[dana-tenacity]

Over a long time I found a 36 ft mono cost nearly double what the old 32 ft boat cost to own, then moved up to 44ft and it was more than double again. (Operating costs, not purchase price).

The delivery trip sounds like fun.

[daddle]

21mm bridge deck clearance makes a difference?

Cost rises at the cube of the dimension. Just like volume and weight. So 43 to 47 is 30% more for fuel, sails, painting, everything.

[Hoohaa]

Thanks for the welcome.
30% hmm.
This is my train of thought at the moment.
I could buy the bigger boat. It will do everything I ask of it & probably allot more.
If it proves too big to handle & or too expensive I can sell it in OZ & down size to A more manageable boat.
So I suppose I need to ask the impossible question. 30% of $____? I already know the answer will be "how long is a piece of string".
Well thanks for your reply’s, at least I have a rough guide.
Regarding the 20mm. I set myself some requirements and, that’s where this comes from. I may still go for the 43 and live with the odd bit of slamming. But for me it’s an indicator of the seagoing capability for that particular design. I could get into a bridge deck clearance discussion but it’s probably been done to death in other areas of this forum. I will keep researching though.
Thanks.