Can I afford to do this?

[a64pilot]

Do 60' Cats really exist?
I've never seen one

[kjdavie01]

Why so big? Remember that the cost to purchase, maintain and run a boat (cat or mono-) goes up exponentially with the length! Roughly speaking, a 30' boat similarly equipped and maintained will cost 1/8 as much to buy and run.
Ok, that's a real W.A.G. (Wild-Assed Guess), but you get the picture.
So have you really worked out that you need a boat bigger than many people's houses? Or could something more modest suit your needs, AND leave you a whole chunk of cash in the bank each year? Not to mention allowing you to go places that a 60' cat would never fit...

[yah mon]

Originally Posted by kjdavie01

Why so big? Remember that the cost to purchase, maintain and run a boat (cat or mono-) goes up exponentially with the length! Roughly speaking, a 30' boat similarly equipped and maintained will cost 1/8 as much to buy and run.
Ok, that's a real W.A.G. (Wild-Assed Guess), but you get the picture.
So have you really worked out that you need a boat bigger than many people's houses? Or could something more modest suit your needs, AND leave you a whole chunk of cash in the bank each year? Not to mention allowing you to go places that a 60' cat would never fit...

Thanks for all the info, I guess i really have to have a close look at them when the time comes. After the boat purchase I should have at least another 70K annual income perhaps higher, depends on sale and taxes here, so that's why i am trying to puzzle the numbers together.

[Bulawayo]

The running costs; much depends on your philosphy. Where costs can start going bonkers is when you have kit on board that you cannot 100% maintain yourself. Whatever you have board, ensure you can repair it yourself unless you have deep pockets.
If you start with an A1 condition boat, and wish to maintain it thus, then budget on 5-8% of the capital cost per annum if you do your own comprehensive maintenance.
We run a 10 year old 45ft owners version cat which is a reasonable size for a family of six. When we bought it we had all the standing and running rigging replaced, put on brand new sails and batteries, added our preferred 'toys' like solar panels, dive compressor (maintenance intensive), water maker, air heads etc and pottered away. It was a biggish investment but we also realise we benefit immediately. The previous owner had put in brand new motors and gearboxes that had less then 1000 hours on them. We do all our own maintenance and our outgoing are very low as a result - but we do budget for maintenance regardless - we keep 7.5% (pa) of capital cost in the bank and build the fund ready for the time something does need replacement. On our last cat, which was brand new, our maintenance regime resulted in very few significant expenses even when considering our ten year cruise period.
We also stripped out lots of gear on this boat and sold what we didn't want - less maintenance as well.
Having received a very generous cash offer to buy our boat we shall shortly be looking for our next cat - and on which we shall again undertake preventative maintenance.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Do 60' Cats really exist?
I've never seen one

[Philip St1]

I would spend about $50k on charters (if I had the money) to try out all kinds of boats. Of course, it is usually up to the Admiral as to exactly what you eventually buy (good thing I am already divorced).

Do your "day sailing to start" on charters until something strikes your fancy. Once you buy, it is very expensive to get out of it.

[jdazey]

[QUOTE=TacomaSailor;1767055]We are in a somewhat similar situation that has generated several long, involved, and very detailed discussions on this forum. The difference in our situation is that we are very experienced boat owners and cruisers. We are planning to move from a 40’ cutter that we have owned since new in early 1995 to a 51’ catamaran that was built 2005.


Property Tax In both Washington State and California – we have to pay 1% of the value of the boat each year in property tax. It may be different for you but it is a big expense when looking at a $600K boat. $6,000 / year ?

It's a fine point I expect, but the boat tax in Washington State is .005 of market value. Your $600K boat would be $3000 not $6000.

Joe

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Thenaz007

I initially wanted a 60' cat. At $400K used it was less expensive than the CPMY motor yacht I had been considering, and no gas cut my budget in half. 1500 sq. ft. of indoor living area seemed about right compared to my house. I would anchor out and my largest expense would be alcohol, leading to a silent interest in a local tiki bar. On my first trip to Sweden I would load up on young female volunteers to crew and maintain. Finally, I would rig the boat with live cameras and sell the rights for $$$$.

Over the last 5 years you guys have talked me down to an 10 year old 38' - I would have failed but it would have been sensational!

I am sure we were highly supportive of the tiki bar and blondes part...

How's that goin'?

[Training Wheels]

[QUOTE=jdazey;1767323]

Originally Posted by TacomaSailor

We are in a somewhat similar situation that has generated several long, involved, and very detailed discussions on this forum. The difference in our situation is that we are very experienced boat owners and cruisers. We are planning to move from a 40’ cutter that we have owned since new in early 1995 to a 51’ catamaran that was built 2005.


Property Tax In both Washington State and California – we have to pay 1% of the value of the boat each year in property tax. It may be different for you but it is a big expense when looking at a $600K boat. $6,000 / year ?

It's a fine point I expect, but the boat tax in Washington State is .005 of market value. Your $600K boat would be $3000 not $6000.

Joe

Wow, there's two of you out there?



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[accomplice]

I cannot speak to the costs of owning and maintaining a 60' cat, but I can speak to the costs of owning, maintaining and operating a 58' monohull.

Doing all the work on the boat will save money, but it still will cost a fair amount. There are some costs you cannot do much about -- such as insurance, taxes/registration -- except by choosing to self-insure or to keep the boat in jurisdictions with minimal taxes. Other costs will depend on the choices you make -- slip fees alone on a boat like that can run $2-3k+/month, depending on where you are. Then there are operating costs -- things like fuel, engine maintenance and sails, that vary with the usage. There are a *lot* of costs that fall into this category -- think about the depreciation of a dinghy, a feathering prop, or a genset -- there are many, multi-thousand dollar things on a boat that have finite lifetimes. There are other costs that don't vary with usage -- your bimini, and bottom-paint/bottom scrubbing come to mind. There are so many items, I'd find it hard to make a comprehensive list (e.g. when will my liferaft need recertification?) With a hundred or so pumps on board, a few fail and need replacement each year.

Many of the costs are things that can be postponed, to a point. For example, do I *really* need a new dodger this year? Can I get another season out of our mainsail? Is my the chain on our primary anchor okay for another season? Other costs are one one would hope to avoid (e.g. bowthruster prop fouled and needs replacement, gelcoat chipped where it "kissed" the dock). Others are unforeseeable (anemometer blown off in hurricane).

Personally, I would feel uncomfortable putting a large fraction of my assets into a boat and then having a limited, fixed budget to maintain the boat with. Some years you might get away with spending only $30k to keep her. Other years it might be more like $100k. If you haven't owned a comparable boat before, and expect to do most of the work on the boat yourself, I would think about 7-8% of the cost of the boat is a good baseline if you include everything from insurance, taxes, registration, dockage, maintenance, boat-presents, etc. If you make different choices, though, the numbers could be higher or lower by at least a factor of 2.

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Do 60' Cats really exist?
I've never seen one

Swing thru the Virgin Islands and take a look at the Gunboat 90'. Truly a massve fast floating machine.

2010 Gunboat 90 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com