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Old 01-13-2021, 08:21 AM   #63
Circumnavigator
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City: West Newbury.
Vessel Name: none
Join Date: Oct 2020
Posts: 422
First, $500,000 is far more than you need to pay for a comfortable live-aboard for two people. For that, you could buy Fintry (photo left), whose asking price is actually $499,000.



One couple in our marina is living comfortably aboard a 35' power boat for which they paid $18,000. It runs fine, although the electronics are 25 years old. There are many nice boats on Yachtworld in the 45-60' range that won't cost $500,000. Remember that boats may depreciate some and that like cars, the biggest depreciation is when they are young. Better to buy a 15 year old boat in really good condition and if you keep it in that condition, it will not depreciate much. Many of the trawlers from the 1980-2000 period sell now for more dollars than they cost new, ignoring inflation.

Our annual costs -- Boston inner harbor marina, insurance, annual haul out and periodic above WL painting, maintenance parts, shore power, heating fuel, but not running fuel -- are around $30,000. We cruise long distances, so we haul out every year to keep the bottom clean, but if you don't mind a little growth, you can go several years between haul outs. I do almost all of the maintenance.


I also see an inconsistency -- you say you're going to sell your house and live aboard -- which we did seven years ago. You ask about "hauled and laid-up on the hard for the winter" -- if you're living aboard, you won't be on the hard. You also say you're going to be in Canada -- there's not much of Atlantic Canada or the Great Lakes where you can winter in the water.



Also keep in mind that most boats are not insulated for winter living. We wintered in Annapolis on our Swan 57 at the beginning of our circumnav and the condensation inside the hull was a real nuisance. (Fintry is heavily insulated and uses only about 1,000 gallons of diesel for heat every winter.)


Jim
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