Fining Tuning Your Boating Budget: Operating and maintenance considerations.

Operating and maintenance considerations. After determining the cost of purchasing a new boat, most prospective buyers ask the obvious next question: what will be the yearly operating cost? While this will surely vary depending on size and use patterns, there are some valuable generalizations which can be considered.

3 to 5 years. There are also extended service contracts you can purchase from you dealer just like you may already be doing for you auto. So, out-of-pocket maintenance costs mostly involve cleaning supplies, oil changes and engine tune-ups. Finally, since your new boat is trailered, you don't have dockage fees, so the remaining major cost is fuel.
It's widely assumed that power boat fuel bills are high. They can be, but in reality they are usually not. For one thing, the engine isn't run as much as you might think. If you go out for a day of boating, say 8 hours, usually more than

Operating and maintenance costs should be considered when purchasing a boat. half that time your engine is not running. For example, when you stop to fish. Or, when you pull up to a beach to swim or picnic. Or, when you dock at a restaurant for lunch. In these and many other instances, you're using your boat but the engine isn't running. Studies indicate the engines in power boats average about 40 hours of actual running time per year because so much of boating's enjoyment comes at anchor or dockside or at the beach. Accordingly, and 18-foot stern drive boat with 40 hours of actual engine running time will require about $600 in fuel annually.

Items to consider are insurance, dockage, fuel, maintenance and winter storage. As the boat size goes up, so does the annual cost of using it, of course. But since the average size boat owned by Ohioans is 18 feet long, we'll use it for an example.
An 18-foot powerboat, with a 175-horsepower stern drive engine, which is trailered will cost about $1,200 a year to operate, made up of the following primary expenses:
The hull and liability insurance premium should be about $350 annually. Premiums are much lower here in the Great Lakes region than on the east or west coasts. Maintenance and upkeep will cost about $250 annually for a new boat. Remember, major repairs are usually covered by warranty for at least the first year and the warranty from some builders nowadays is good for a much longer period of

Certainly families with avid teenage water skiers may use more fuel than the average while devoted fishermen will likely use less. But, generally, most boaters use significantly less fuel than non-boaters think they do.

Our kids are grown, but our boat still plays a central role in our lives. Whether we're cruising together on a quiet weekend, entertaining friends, or having the kids and grandchildren "drop in" for a lively summer day; our boat truly gives us a varied and enjoyable lifestyle.
Jim and Liz Fink
Massillon

After determining the cost of purchasing a new boat, most prospective buyers ask the obvious next question: what will be the yearly operating cost? While this will surely vary depending on size and use patterns, there are some valuable generalizations which can be considered.		3 to 5 years. There are also extended service contracts you can purchase from you dealer just like you may already be doing for you auto. So, out-of-pocket maintenance costs mostly involve cleaning supplies, oil changes and engine tune-ups. Finally, since your new boat is trailered, you don't have dockage fees, so the remaining major cost is fuel. It's widely assumed that power boat fuel bills are high. They can be, but in reality they are usually not. For one thing, the engine isn't run as much as you might think. If you go out for a day of boating, say 8 hours, usually more than
half that time your engine is not running. For example, when you stop to fish. Or, when you pull up to a beach to swim or picnic. Or, when you dock at a restaurant for lunch. In these and many other instances, you're using your boat but the engine isn't running. Studies indicate the engines in power boats average about 40 hours of actual running time per year because so much of boating's enjoyment comes at anchor or dockside or at the beach. Accordingly, and 18-foot stern drive boat with 40 hours of actual engine running time will require about $600 in fuel annually.
Items to consider are insurance, dockage, fuel, maintenance and winter storage. As the boat size goes up, so does the annual cost of using it, of course. But since the average size boat owned by Ohioans is 18 feet long, we'll use it for an example. An 18-foot powerboat, with a 175-horsepower stern drive engine, which is trailered will cost about $1,200 a year to operate, made up of the following primary expenses: The hull and liability insurance premium should be about $350 annually. Premiums are much lower here in the Great Lakes region than on the east or west coasts. Maintenance and upkeep will cost about $250 annually for a new boat. Remember, major repairs are usually covered by warranty for at least the first year and the warranty from some builders nowadays is good for a much longer period of		Certainly families with avid teenage water skiers may use more fuel than the average while devoted fishermen will likely use less. But, generally, most boaters use significantly less fuel than non-boaters think they do.
		Our kids are grown, but our boat still plays a central role in our lives. Whether we're cruising together on a quiet weekend, entertaining friends, or having the kids and grandchildren "drop in" for a lively summer day; our boat truly gives us a varied and enjoyable lifestyle. Jim and Liz Fink Massillon

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© 1998 LEMTA Photo courtesy: Godfrey Marine