Annual costs and the first-year budget

Costs & budgeting · Power & sail

Yearly costs don't shrink as a boat ages; older boats usually cost more to keep. Budget by category (moorage, insurance, haul-out and bottom, engines, canvas and electronics) and hold a repair fund for the first year. Rules of thumb exist, but sources define and size them differently.

The 10% rule of thumb, and its spread

• Writers often say a boat costs about 10% of its value a year, but they mean different things. A marina chain's 2026 guide (citing Bankrate) says maintenance alone; a brokerage's September 2025 guide says running costs including fuel, dockage and insurance.
• Boatmart (September 2026) calls it up to 10% for maintenance, quotes a service-shop owner who thinks that is often too high, and notes costs rise as boats age while their value falls.
• For a 1975-2010 boat, 10% of a low purchase price can badly understate what you'll spend. Build your own budget from the categories below.

Moorage and storage

• Wet slips are usually priced per foot per month: $15-50 in a marina chain's 2026 guide. Clearwater, Florida's city marinas charge $16.88-19.61 per foot per month (rates from October 2025), plus tax and utilities.
• Port of Anacortes, Washington, 2026 rates: a 40-foot slip is about $609 a month including leasehold tax, plus electricity. Discover Boating's undated guide gives $1,000 to more than $5,000 per season for in-water dock space.
• Cruising adds transient nights: $1-3 per foot per night (marina chain, 2026); Clearwater charges $3.50 per foot per day (2025 rates).

Insurance

• Premiums run roughly 1-2% of the boat's value a year per Boat Trader (as cited in a 2026 marina guide); an insurance agency's January 2026 guide says about 1-1.5%. Older boats, hurricane areas and living aboard cost more.

Haul-out, bottom, engines, canvas and electronics

• Haul-out and antifouling bottom paint for a boat kept in the water: $2,000-5,000 a year (marina chain, 2026). Professional winterizing: up to $500 a season (same source).
• Engines: follow the maker's service intervals. Perkins, for example, lists oil and filter every 250 hours and fuel filters every 500 hours or yearly for the 6.354.
• Canvas, cushions and electronics wear out over years rather than months. Plan to replace them; no single reliable figure fits every boat.

The first-year repair fund

• PassageMaker (1998) and Pacific Yachting (2022), both writing about older trawlers, suggest setting aside about 15% of the purchase price for repairs and upgrades. A BoatUS writer (June 2026) adds 15% on top of whatever your own repair list totals.
• Use the survey's priority list as your starting budget: safety items first, then things that will get worse, then cosmetics.

Sources disagree on What the 10%-a-year rule of thumb covers, Annual insurance premium as a share of boat value — left out rather than guessed. Check your local authority.

General guidance for recreational boaters, researched from the sources listed and written in our own words. Your equipment manuals, local knowledge, the Navigation Rules and a qualified instructor come first.