How much does a boat cost?
If you’re looking at purchasing a boat then it’s always good to have a rough idea of what kind of money you’ll need in the bank to make sure you’re not going to make yourself go bankrupt keeping the boat! Obviously it’s going to vary depending on the size and age of the boat but generic costs of buying and maintaining a boat will include:
Buying the boat
- Boat Insurance
- For your general family sized boats up to around 20ft you’re looking at anywhere from $400 – $1,000 per year.
- QLD Boat Registration
- For boats between 6-10m long, Queensland government charge $300+ per year.
- Trailer rego is around $200 per year.
- Boat Financing
- Unless you’ve got a mountain of cash hidden under the mattress, you may be obtaining finance for your dream boat. A $50k loan at a respectable interest rate of 9% gives you an interest charge of $4,500 per year
Maintenance & servicing
- Servicing your engine is something that needs to be done in order to help your purchase keep it’s value. A basic annual service including water pump change is around $400 per year.
Depreciation
- The saying “A boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money” doesn’t come from nowhere, boats tend to lose 35-50% of their value over the first 5 years of their life. Put in year world terms, a $50k boat will lose $17.5k – $25k over 5 years, or around $3 – $5k per year in depreciation
So not including all that extra time you take looking after the boat, washing it, buying extras, taking it to the service centre, getting repairs done, you’re looking at around $9,000 per year!!
With our hire rates as low as $195, our rates look incredibly cheap now don’t they!
If you’re still set on buying a boat, why not take a look at our Ultimate Guide to the Islands of the Gold Coast? It’s filled with fascinating stories, helpful information and how to access every island you see between here and Brisbane!