Cost of owning a 25-28 foot Cape Dory, in Maine

[Egilchri]

This summer, I will enter the market for a 25-28 foot Cape Dory. Assuming I acquire a boat without large problems, how can I estimate the cost of ownership? I am thinking about

• mooring fees

• winter storage fees

• insurance

At this point, I am probably going to keep the boat somewhere close to my homeport of Portsmouth NH, just across the bridge from Maine. I am willing to look "down eastwards" towards a place to keep the boat, if it helps me economize, and is practical.

[thomm225]

Much cheaper with a trailer so you only would pay slip fee's during the season.

Hard to find Cape Dory 25D:

https://annapolis.craigslist.org/boa...721713212.html

[Love2 boat]

The only way I know is to start making phone calls.


If you are mooring - start asking how are you getting access to your boat? How are those folks you are taking on your boat getting on board?


For winter fees where is the closest marina or storage facility and can you work on your boat or do you need to go through the yard? If I personally work on my boat it is ok but my marina wants a cut if I go through a service company.


Insurance ranges widely based on condition, year built and hull... I would again start making phone calls.

[Benz]

Living in Rhode Island, I pay $200/year for my mooring (I own it, but pay the town for the hole in the water). It costs $900 for winter marina slip ($1200 last I hauled out at at boatyard), and $125 for liability insurance.
That's of course exclusive of the constant boat projects I'm doing--some necessary maintenance like bottom paint and replacement rigging, some upgrades to improve my quality of life afloat.

[Thomas1985]

I just went through the boat hunting process. Don’t guess. Nothing makes a toy unenjoyable faster than it being a financial burden…

1) Call marinas and check availability and rates for both slips and storage.

2) take one of the bigger boats you are considering and shop insurance quotes.

3) Check haul out fees, bottom paint price, and any normal annual maintenance like mast step if you have wood spars.

4) add a few thousand for misc upgrades and repairs. Some years you’ll save most of it. Some years you’ll spend way more.

That’s going to get you close. I was able to find everything for about $7k here (45’ slip). I am budgeting $10k annually.

[AnsleyS]

A rule of thumb is that it costs about ten percent of the purchase price each year to run a boat.