Check out this post at Sail Brooklyn, which analyzes the cost of owning a sailboat in Brooklyn vs. renting a house in the Hamptons. Sailing has a reputation for being an extremely expensive pursuit, but the good news is that it might be more affordable than you realize.
I've only done a little sailing myself, but I'd love to be able to do it more. I had never really looked into the cost of boats at all, just assuming it would be way out of my reach. But the prices he quotes for sailboats are lower than I had expected: $3,500 for a used 28-foot sloop. And given that I only know how to sail things that are about half that size, I guess I could pay quite a bit less! When you factor in the storage and maintenance, it's still a bit beyond my price range, not to mention that it would be totally impractical to own a boat at this point in my life, but it's nice to know that it is something I could probably do in the future. In the meantime, I'd better take some more sailing lessons so I wouldn't sink the thing!
Monday, May 07, 2007
Sailing vs. a Summer House Rental: A Cost Analysis
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4 comments:
Thanks for linking to the Sail Brooklyn blog. We really appreciate it!
Keep up the good work
Since I'm a sailor I come with wisdom of having spent a few dollars on that hole in the water. Be sure to factor in moorings, dockage, pumpout, haulout, winter storage and maintenance before considering 'most' 28 foot and up sailboats. You'll think twice about using frugal and sailboat in the same post. (although cost to 'sail' fits right in with a 'tightwads' philosophy.)
:-)
Remember ... my two cents is coming from a guy who has weighed college for his kids verse continuing to own a sailboat ... thankfully my better (wiser) half brought me back to my senses! (besides I figure I can mooch off my kids when I get old by reminding them I paid for college!)
I signed up to crew a 40' sailboat this summer. You get to go sailing for free. Now it costs them about 100K for the boat and 10K a year to operate it. But I get it for free ;)
- Bryan
$3500 for a sloop? Wow, on the surface, that seems like a steal! Think a little more about it, and reading the description, it sounds like you're paying to take a huge problem off someone else's hands. While it would be fun as heck to have, the other expenses would kill you financially. It's like having a hole in your bank account... :)
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