Two options....

So I have been putting alot of thought into our plans and and of course looking at every boat close to our price range online, etc. I can see two different plans of attack. I could spend all my boat budget now on say a 50K boat that would still require work I am sure. This would leave me wanting cash flow wise. Also if 6 months down the road I change my mind........ or
I could look for boats at or around half to 3/4 my budget (likely not a trawler, probably a gas burner, etc) have more money for expenses, repairs, etc. From my net surfing and MArina looking, it seems some pretty decent gas burner planing hulls can be had in the 30K range. Mostly for the next few years my wife and I will be spending most of our time either at our home marina or on short trips, I dont think the ineffiency of the gas burner will hurt us too bad. We also won't be stuck out on open water to any degree where a true blue water boat would be necessary. As much as I want a displacement hull diesel powered boat, my practical side says I really need a "starter boat" now and if all goes well and we love the life like we think, we can purchase a nice trawler later when we can afford it better and be able to buy a more expensive vessel. We want to get on the water soon and be as comfortable both financially and physically/emotionally as possible. Opinions? comments?

Greetings,
Mr. MS. MY opinion? Don't stress yourself financially and get out on the water now. Better to be out on the water enjoying than on shore dreaming and fretting.

A lot of people overlook annual ownership cost when deciding on a boat to buy. Ownership cost consists of moorage, insurance, electricity (dock), fuel, maintenance, repairs, and upgrades, and it's what an owner has to pay every year he or she owns the boat. It is generally a not-insignificant amount. Some years will be less, some years a lot more.

People who have a boating budget and put all of it into the purchase of a boat very often get int serious financial trouble as time goes by. The purchase price of a boat is just the admission price. The spending never ends until the owner gets rid of the boat.

Thats pretty much my thinking also. In the future after some real estate I have on the market sells I may be in the position to purchase my dream boat but right now (well after some timber sales) I know I can be pretty comfortable with the right ~30k boat. As you said the main thing is to get out on the water ASAP. Hopefully, by the end of the summer if not before. The wife says just so it has plenty of place for her to sun and a decent bed she doesnt care if it runs on skim millk or if it planes, doesn't plane or even helicopters (The wife not so much a maritime expert yet) LOL! She is more ready than me I think. She has already been talking about how nice it will be to live minimally.

Not only annual operating expenses are something to debate...but also cruising expenses.

Depending on boat and crew...these can be out if reach for those on a budget not willing to bend.

My cruising expenses for 4 months are 2 times my annual expenses like car insurance, health insurance, 8 month dockage, 8 month monthly needs. But that is solely based on what you plan and want. It could be reversed...so be careful what your true plans are.

Well, my cruising will be somewhat limited due to the fact I work 14/14 schedule so really I could only cruise for around 10 days and be back at home port. Mainly my plans are liveaboard, while on Ms Gulf coast take it out to the barrier islands andset on the hook for weekends, etc. Maybe the occassional cruise somewhere near, nothing extreme. If things go as planned, I will have the purchase price and somewhere near 20K for "ownership cost" and expenses in the bank before I seriously look at any boats. That is in addition to my normal income. I feel I would rather do this than buy a 50K-60K boat and then have to use my normal income immediately for expenses, etc. So, gasburner, planing hull motor yacht, here I come! LOL! Hopefully y'all will still let me hang around the trawler forum!

hey Slim, sounds like you may be a bit of a newb. Check out Marine Survey 101 it may save you from paying for more than one survey.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. MS. MY opinion? Don't stress yourself financially and get out on the water now. Better to be out on the water enjoying than on shore dreaming and fretting.

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+1

My wife and I had planned on buying a bigger boat before we left to go cruising (we owned a 25' sailboat). But we had property that would not sell, this was in 2010. So when our projected take off time drew near we decided to go small and go now rather than wait. We cruised and lived aboard the 25 footer for a year and a half before all the stars lined up and we bought our trawler. It is a decision that we both agree was the right one.

MS,
Just because it is gas does not mean that it will be horribly uneconomical. A friend of mine has a 28 Marinette with a 318 V8. My brother took it out with his kids and ran it at 12 to 15 mph pulling them on tubes and just playing around. Total distance traveled was 21 miles, it took 21 gallons to fill it back up when he got back. The next weekend we took it out and I kept it at 6 to 8 mph. We again ran 21 miles. This time it only took 7 gallons to fill it up. Economy is determined more by the nut behind the wheel than anything else.

Boatpoker--Thanks for the link! Good Info. I definitely will be doing a thorough inspection of any boat myself before even considering a survey. I work in Equipment Reliability investigation in my job, so I am pretty good at spotting problems, etc. Been reading up alot on typical trouble issues to look for. That link is a wealth of information.

READY2GO--Glad to hear others who have mad similar decisions. I may not be able to have it exactly like I want but I am tired of waiting until next year..... My father is getting really close to the end of his days and we were talking the other day (He was a boat captain for 40 years). He says "Well I sure as hell can't understand why in the hell you would want to live on water all the time but if you want a boat you go and get one cause you don't want to be my age and condition thinking 'I wish'...You go do it now while you can" Really lit a fire under me....

Greetings,
Mr. MS. "...mad similar decisions..." Mad indeed. I realize it's a mis-type but true all the same. Let it stand. Your father is a wise man.

Marin said:

The purchase price of a boat is just the admission price.

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Never have seen it articulated quite that eloquently before, but most certainly do agree. Completely! I was (luckily) able to pay cash for my boat, and then budgeted $10K a year for slip rent, fuel, and maintenance. So far it has not been quite that much, but it gives me a great deal of comfort to know that the budget can handle it, since it was built in at the start.

There are plenty of nice gas boats in your budget around that hardly ever leave the dock, but you don't want to spend a grand to take a cruise either. If I was in your shoes, I would look for a 34' Mainship thats in good running condition and needs work on the cosmetics.

High Wire said:

There are plenty of nice gas boats in your budget around that hardly ever leave the dock, but you don't want to spend a grand to take a cruise either. If I was in your shoes, I would look for a 34' Mainship thats in good running condition and needs work on the cosmetics.

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An excellent suggestion!!!

In your first post you mentioned "starter boat". That's the key. Starting smaller and cheaper lets you figure out what you really want, both in terms of life style and boat before you get in too deep. I doubt anyone of us stepped into our perfect boat the first time. Also, you are way more likely to be surprised by expenses larger than expected rather than smaller.

twistedtree said:

In your first post you mentioned "starter boat". That's the key. Starting smaller and cheaper lets you figure out what you really want, both in terms of life style and boat before you get in too deep. I doubt anyone of us stepped into our perfect boat the first time. Also, you are way more likely to be surprised by expenses larger than expected rather than smaller.

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I have a term for the (Snip)"you are way more likely to be surprised by expenses larger than expected rather than smaller" it's called Mission Creep! Never fails that a repair cost more than you think. One thing always leads to another. Then to another!

twistedtree said:

In your first post you mentioned "starter boat". That's the key. Starting smaller and cheaper lets you figure out what you really want, both in terms of life style and boat before you get in too deep. I doubt anyone of us stepped into our perfect boat the first time.

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Took us three tries, and even now I could think of improvements.

The first was very close, but dated. (BTW, that was a 34' Mainship III, nice boat; it was just that the ladder was becoming an issue.)

The second was a step in the wrong direction... trying to solve the ladder issue with an express style boat. Good boat, but I missed the flying bridge and wifey missed an enclosed saloon.

This one covers lots of bases, including stairs (no ladder), so far all good. "Improvements" would be the sort that can't be retro-fitted, and would require a size jump anyway... likely out of our budget unless we stumble across an unexpected deal. (Or win the lottery; unlikely until I can start remembering to actually play.)

-Chris