Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

[samwhitten]

I want to buy a 53MY sooooo bad but see newer yachts in that $80K to $120K that are much younger with newer systems. I can afforad the entry price but afraid of the upkeep.

Not a DD man, much prefer newer 4cycle engines and cannot justify replacement of working engines.

OK with 1MPG and plan to speand most it living aboard in Biloxi (southern Vegas).

Assuming, all systems on boat are working at time of purchase and survey to OK; going forward with a light cruise/most at dock liveaboard; what are my new demons to exercise?

[GJH]

Depends on the boat you buy and what your standards are for seaworthiness (including structural integrity such as leaks), comfort, convenience and cosmetics. A good set of surveyors (engine and hull) will tell you what your starting point is.

Then it depends on on how handy you are, what you value your time at (and how much you have to spare), what it costs to have someone competent do the work that you can't or don't want to do.

Read this forum at length and you will see almost all the potential issues are.

One of the best phrases I've heard, from a very experienced captain while relaxing dockside, "Even as we sit here enjoying our drinks, things are breaking".

[samwhitten]

"As we sit having our drinks"

Got to remember that one

Sam

[MikeP]

IF you do the work yourself, the maint cost is actually pretty low. Of course that is based on your mechanical/electrical interest/aptitude/ability and the amount of time you have available to do it or are willing to spend on it. The cost of boat work will be inversely proportional to the amount of it that YOU can do since labor is always the major cost.

The statement that something is always breaking is true though it sounds a bit pessimistic since the same thing is happening with your car, house, whatever. OTOH, these boats have a lot of systems so there is a lot of stuff to wear out and it's OLD. But it is amazing how long the oem gear seems to last...

The average annual cost for our 53's maintenance is not more than three thousand bucks. That's with me doing all the work other than bottom painting (every 3 years - about 2k). That does not count slip fees/insurance, etc which has to be factored in, of course.

As noted, the best approach, IMO, is to buy a boat in the best possible condition. It's much easier and cheaper to maintain a boat in good repair than to start out with a basket case though the basket case will cost a lot less to purchase. But then you can end up in a repair/maintenance death march that never seems to end…

There are folks here who have prepared spread sheets showing detailed maint records, perhaps someone will post one. There should be some in the archives that a search could reveal.

[dsharp]

A rough estimate is 10-15 thousand a year.

[MikeP]

Does that 10-15k include the slip/insurance?

To elaborate on our costs:
Our insurance is around 2500/year but that price will vary dramatically depending on where the boat is located. We are in the Chesapeake Bay in a covered slip. Covered slip rental fees in our marina for a 60 ft slip were around 7.4k/year when we moved the boat here in '06 but they can be had for considerably less now. I have heard - though not verified - that a 60 ft slip in the marina can be rented from a private owner for $4600/year. So if you added our insurance and, say 6k for the slip rental, our annual costs to own the boat would be around 10-11k USD.

Of course, the above is also based on not actually MOVING the boat, which requires fuel…

[GJH]

The average annual cost for our 53's maintenance is not more than three thousand bucks. That's with me doing all the work other than bottom painting (every 3 years - about 2k).

So Mike, you value your time at zero? If I had known that I would have hired you!

[saltshaker]

Does that 10-15k include the slip/insurance?

To elaborate on our costs:
Our insurance is around 2500/year but that price will vary dramatically depending on where the boat is located. We are in the Chesapeake Bay in a covered slip. Covered slip rental fees in our marina for a 60 ft slip were around 7.4k/year when we moved the boat here in '06 but they can be had for considerably less now. I have heard - though not verified - that a 60 ft slip in the marina can be rented from a private owner for $4600/year. So if you added our insurance and, say 6k for the slip rental, our annual costs to own the boat would be around 10-11k USD.

Of course, the above is also based on not actually MOVING the boat, which requires fuel…

WOW that's a bargain! I guess location is everything. Up here a 60ft slip will run you 9-10K just for the summer, and it won't be covered. 1K per month was pretty standard for my 65 when I was in Fl and NC. You can do better but 1K per month is a good basis. You guys are getting by pretty cheap on maintanance. I spend more than 3K per year just for parts and supplies providing nothing major goes wrong. Keep in mind you can't average 3K per year and not include the years with major repairs. One AC condensing unit will blow that budget even if you do the work yourself. Unless you do all the washing and waxing yourself and pay no yard fees, you can easily spend 3K just keeping her clean and shiny.