The Economics of Boat Living
One of the questions that came up fairly frequently in the last few months, and something that we tried to research ourselves early on, was how much does it actually cost to live on a boat? Being a bit OCD about Excel, we started the boat journey armed with an array of budgets and spreadsheets and it continued to be something that we tracked fairly closely.
As such, I wanted to share some of the numbers behind our initial research and the last two months that try to compare what it’s like to be living on a boat compared to a regular apartment.
Our ongoing budget
Marina Fees —
While anchoring off an abandoned island somewhere in the open ocean and saving on the marina fees is definitely an option, it does make it challenging to commute to work or the nearby supermarket for groceries. So most people who want to live in or close to an urban center, in order to be able to still work, will likely need to dock somewhere at a marina.
There are lots of marinas all over the U.S., as well as along the New England shoreline. In addition to the city center, the marina typically also offers electric power, shore water, pump out service, WiFi and a sleuth of other amenities — all of which make it very comparable to the amenities you’d get in a regular home.
For that, they typically charge a fee per foot per season — Summer or Winter (6 months each).
The marina that we live at is on the higher end of the pricing spectrum and charges about $191 per foot in the Summer and around $54 per foot in the Winter. Given that our boat is 36 feet, it ends up being:
$6,876 for the 6 month period from May to October, and
$1,944 for the 6 month period from November to April
There are some other fees here and there, such as electricity, which let’s say, add an additional $150 per month.
As such, if you plan to stay at the marina year-round, your blended monthly fee will be around $885.
It’s worth noting that other marinas — just 10 miles further away from Boston — can charge just 50–60% of this rate. It would not be difficult to find something in the $100 per foot range (or $600 per month during the Summer, as for our boat’s size). In our case, location was pretty important — both for the ease of commuting, but also because we wanted to experience living close to downtown Boston.
Insurance —
I’m still a bit surprised that our boat insurance ended up being less than my car insurance, but after shopping around, we’ve been able to pick up a policy from Geico for a pretty affordable $775 per year. That Gecko was right — a 15-minute phone call really does make a difference.
Given that we already filed a claim when our boat flooded during week two and received a payout from them for nearly $3,500 of the work we had to pay for, I would say that the insurance is well worth it!
All in all, the insurance doesn’t add much to the monthly cost — just about $65 per month.
Maintenance & Repairs —
If there is one big unknown about boat ownership is the amount of time you’re going to spend on repairing stuff that goes wrong. At $100/hour for the mechanics’ time, the bills add up quickly.
A fellow neighbor recently told us that it’s not uncommon to spend 20% of the boat’s value each year in repairs and such. Definitely makes you reconsider looking at those $1M dollar vessels!
I think that the estimate is actually fairly accurate, so we decided to budget around $5,750 for the year or, roughly, $475 per month. Some months are likely to be worse than others, but as a whole, I think that’s a reasonable estimate.
Seasonal Expenses
There are definitely a few other costs that come up.
For example, when we winterize the boat — whether we decide to keep it on the water or dry dock it — I’d estimate around $2,000 for that in various expenses.
Then, every year, you need to repaint the bottom of the boat. That’ll run another $300, plus another $400 to get the boat out of the water and back.
Finally, let’s just throw in an extra $3,000 for the unknown. Stuff that will break or that will need to be done that we just don’t know about yet.
So all in all, we’re looking at:
$2,000 to Winterize the boat each Winter
$700 to repaint the bottom each year
$3,000 for the unknown each year
This is $5,700 for the year or $475 per month.
Adding it all up: the total projected cost of “living on the boat” for us was around $1,900 per month.
I would say that it’s comparable to the rent cost of a 2-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Boston. Comparison-wise, I’d say that we traded the size of the space (our place is under 250 square feet) but gained the location (right on the water, in downtown Boston).
It’s also highlighting that it doesn’t necessarily end up being cheaper, though. True — by living in a marina further away and being able to do most of the repairs yourself, you can likely bring the cost down to $1,000 per month or less, but under regular circumstances, the savings aren’t necessarily huge.
The objective for us, in general, was to keep the costs similar to typical apartment rent. If we succeed at that, then it’s a net positive — as we get to enjoy the new lifestyle, live in a beautiful place, learn something new each day, and get a boat to take out on weekends to boot.
As a whole, it’s been worth every dollar so far.
Other publications by Boris:
Into The Water — Living on a Boat in Downtown Boston
Find out what happened when a couple decided to downsize from 2 apartments and moved into a 200-ft, 30-year old boat on the Boston harbor. Follow along the mis-adventures, learnings, and takeaways.
27,000KM Across Africa in a 30-Year Land Rover
In April 2011, a group of Russian-Americans set out on a 22,000km trans-continental expedition to cross from Cape Town to London in a 1980 Land Rover. Follow their adventure here.
Trans-American Electric Bike Tour
A 4,000 mile journey from New York to San Francisco on electric bicycles.
Adventures in the World
Understanding the World Through Adventures and Travel
Quarter Life Musings
Strategies on making an impact in the world, finding work that fulfills you, and appreciating life through travel.
