How much does it cost to maintain a boat: orders of magnitude by size and type

“A boat is expensive to maintain.” Yes — but how expensive? The honest answer is a range, not a figure: two 11-metre sailboats can cost anything from once to three times as much depending on whether they stay afloat or come out for the winter, whether the owner does the haul-out himself or leaves it to the boatyard, and whether the rigging is ten years old or two. This guide gives the orders of magnitude we use on the model pages, explains what they cover, then details the items that make up the bill so that you can adjust them to your case.

1. What the figure covers — and what it does not

The ranges below are the budget for routine maintenance of a used boat in good condition, over one year: haul-out and antifouling, engine service, anodes, safety checks, small repairs and consumables. They assume an owner who leaves most of the work to professionals.

They do not include:

• the berth or storage ashore, often the largest expense, which varies widely from one port to another;
• insurance;
• fuel;
• the major replacements that come round every ten or fifteen years (engine, standing rigging, sails, electronics, upholstery) — they are budgeted for separately, see below.

2. Orders of magnitude by type and length

Annual budget for routine maintenance, excluding berth and insurance, based on prices observed in France. This scale is reviewed by Hullteam and is also used on the model pages; it is adjusted with owners’ feedback.

Two useful readings. A catamaran costs noticeably more than a monohull of the same length: two engines, two hulls, twice as many anodes and through-hulls, and handling that requires a suitable travel lift or crane. A motorboat costs mainly through its engines: above 10 metres, servicing two inboards and their drives weighs more than everything else.

3. The items that come round every year

Here are the standard due dates that the Hullteam log tracks for every boat, with their usual interval. They are the backbone of the budget.

• Haul-out and antifouling — every year for a boat kept afloat, with haul-out, pressure wash, hull inspection and paint. It is generally the heaviest item; the haul-out and antifouling guide covers it in detail.
• Anodes (shaft, drive, hull) — checked and replaced every year, at the haul-out.
• Engine oil and oil filter change — every 100 hours or once a year; raw-water pump impeller every year or 200 hours; fuel filters at around 200 hours; belt checked every year, replaced at around 500 hours. The inboard engine maintenance guide gives the detail of each due date.
• Winterising — every autumn: engine, water system, batteries, protecting the boat; then recommissioning in spring. See winterising and recommissioning.
• Batteries — voltages and terminals checked every year, replaced every four to seven years depending on the technology and use.
• Safety — fire extinguishers checked every year, inflatable lifejackets serviced every year (cylinders, firing heads), tender outboard serviced.
• Standing rigging (sailboat) — visual inspection every year, at the masthead if possible.

4. Due dates that come round every two, three or ten years

These are the ones people forget in an annual budget, and they explain why one year costs twice as much as the one before. Spread them out: divide their cost by their interval and add the result to your annual budget.

• Through-hulls and seacocks — checked and greased every two years, with the boat ashore; replaced when the bronze or brass shows signs of corrosion.
• Liferaft — serviced every three years in general, depending on the manufacturer; the cost depends on the model and on what needs replacing inside.
• Distress flares and rockets — carry an expiry date, usually three years after manufacture.
• Standing rigging — replacement recommended at around ten years (wires, rigging screws, pins), earlier with intensive sailing or in warm waters. On a 10 to 12-metre sailboat, it is one of the two or three biggest cheques in the boat’s life.
• Sails — a cruising mainsail and genoa last eight to twelve years depending on use and care; a repair (UV strip, bolt ropes, seams) extends their life by a few seasons.
• Engine — a well-maintained marine diesel commonly passes 5,000 hours; what kills a used engine is too few hours and too little maintenance, not use. Replacing or repowering is planned, not suffered.
• Electronics, upholstery, sprayhood and cover, windlass, portlights — no fixed interval, but each one ends up being replaced; a fifteen-year-old boat often has at least two of these items to redo.

5. What makes the bill vary

• Afloat or ashore. A boat that winters ashore wears less (no progressing osmosis, no fouling, engine kept dry), but pays for handling and storage. A boat kept afloat all year round needs a haul-out every year without exception.
• Doing it yourself. The haul-out, anodes, oil change and impeller replacement are within reach of a careful owner: it divides the bill, provided you do it, date it and prove it (photos, parts invoices). A job done yourself and documented is worth more than a job “done by a pro” without an invoice — the guide which proofs count explains why.
• Age and history. It is not age that costs, it is the maintenance that was not done. A twenty-year-old boat whose rigging, through-hulls and engine have been looked after costs less than a ten-year-old boat left in port. Hence the importance, when buying, of the history: what is proven does not need redoing.
• The region. Boatyard rates and fouling pressure vary: a boat in the Mediterranean is hauled out more often than in northern Brittany, and labour prices follow the sailing areas.
• Use. A two-week season and a six-month season do not wear the same engine or the same sails; due dates counted in hours (oil change, impeller, filters) come round all the faster.

6. The reasoning to avoid

You often read that a boat costs “so many per cent of its value per year”. For used boats, this reasoning is misleading: an 11-metre sailboat from 1990 and the same model from 2015 have hulls, engines and rigging of identical size — so similar maintenance costs — while their values are worlds apart. Reason by length, type and age of the major items, not by purchase price. That is what the scale above does.

7. How to keep to the budget

• List the boat’s due dates with their interval, in months and engine hours — the Hullteam log suggests them by default and reminds you of each one before it falls due.
• Date the major items (rigging, sails, batteries, engine, liferaft) from the invoices, to know which ones are nearing the end of their life.
• Set aside each year a twelfth, a third or a tenth of the long-interval items, rather than discovering them.
• Keep every invoice and every photo in one place: it is your budget for next year, and it is what the buyer will want to see the day you sell.

For a specific model, the model page gives the range for its band, the maintenance calendar suited to its type and engine, and the known points to watch. And if you are buying, a seller who presents a verified sale file tells you exactly what has been done — and therefore what is left for you to pay.