We analyze the costs of owning our Hatteras Motor Yacht versus buying a vacation home. We search for properties, crunch all the numbers, and give you the results - and our opinion!
My wife and I live in North Florida and had this very same discussion several years ago. We were wanting a waterfront second home and were considering building, when we looked into the possibility of a boat instead. Long story short, we bought a 51ft yacht-fish and continue to be very happy with that decision. It's a great second home, but with the added benefit that when we go on vacation, we can take our lodging with us. It's allowed us to plan significant stays in the Florida Keys, because long-term slip fees are much cheaper than rental condos, houses or any other place we could stay. We also don't have to worry about the issue of finding a place that will allow our two dogs to be with us. Thanks for the video!
We feel exactly the same. We spend a lot of time in Key West for about $125 a night where we meet up with family and friends. I can't imagine what a 4 bedroom rental would be there per day.
@@tryingnottosink9107 My knowledge of lodging prices in Key West is quite a number of years old. However at the time, we found that for what we'd spend for 1 night in an acceptable, waterfront, dog-friendly rental on land, we could instead pay our boat slip and electric fees for 5 days. The prices are probably higher now, but I'll assume the ratio is still about the same, so it makes staying on our boat an easy decision.
Ed, as a fellow Hatteras owner I think your numbers are reasonable. Lots of variations based upon location. I guess in FL you may not have property taxes but here in CA a boat is taxed about the same as a home/condo. But here if you want a condo even close to San Diego Bay pricing starts around $800k. If you want a water view that gets north of $1Mil. Our slip fees run a lot higher. A 50 ft slip is around $1200-1400 per month. But condo fees can easily be $600-$1400 per month. I think I would expect the maintenance costs even if just sitting in the water to be significantly higher. Either that or factor in significant depreciation. Long term costs such as paint and waxing bump up the boat cost. But again there is no perfect comparison. If you want lowest cost and lowest maintenance and effort the condo wins, hands down. But as you pointed out you don't have the adventure, variety, nearness to the water and the magic of boating. It ultimately comes down to a decision that is less about finances and more about lifestyle and experiences. I would be much, MUCH better off financially had I not owned boats for 40 years. But I have great memories, friendships and stories.
It was really difficult coming up with a comparison for exactly those reasons. That is why I limited the search to the east coast, outside of popular vacation spots. In reality, our floating condo spends most of it's time in areas where you couldn't get a land condo for anywhere near the price. Lyn always jokes that the mega mansions and super yachts have the same view as we do. Except, we are blocking a portion of it. 😁
We are blessed to have a Lakehouse, a mountain condo and a 48 ft motor yacht which we keep in a marina year-round, but cruise every season but winter (we live in TN and can cruise to Florida). We have 4 grown children now and grandchildren as well so the Lakehouse is where we have a lot of large gatherings, we keep our pontoon and jet skis on our own dock there, they are great, great time. However, the most memorable experiences have been the long cruises that my wife and I take every year. Last year we cruised over 1000 miles on the inland rivers and we are now heading to Florida for 2023 and then up the East Coast. Time is real challenge. We love all of our experiences but it is hard to carve out time to use them as much as we want plus maintain a large homestead. For us, the Lakehouse is the one indispensable place and the boat at this time in our life is second due to the distance it puts us away from the main home and all of the kids. Does this make sense? We do hope to see you guys in Florida this year. We will bring you a bottle of TN Sour mash whiskey.
We have the same dilema. We are away from the family for months at a time. Fortunately, they often visit us on our travels. TN Sour Mash sounds great! Looking forward to seeing you on the water in Florida!
You are spot on with everything! The boat now while you can, and have good health. The vacation home can wait when you are much older???? I'm in the same boat with all this as well. The boat won.😀😀😀
Another great video! Thank you for doing vids like these! Every bit learned about the lifestyle brings me closer to the reality of owning a trawler! Thank you again. Keep up the great work!
We did this same exercise last year. We'd done the Loop in segments over a period of three years on a 40 ft Hatt and decided we wanted to spend the summers in Michigan to be near our grandkids. (We live in SC.) So, we started looking at condos. I'm a finance guy so I'm running the numbers on what that would cost. Then one morning my wife says "do you think the kids would rather visit Papa's condo or Papa's boat"? That took a new set of numbers and what do you know, pretty much a wash financially. Now we have a 52ft Hatt. And the bride was absolutely correct. Papa's boat is a big big hit.
Great info Ed! I’m all for the yacht. You can’t compare the experiences one can have traveling on a yacht compared to a vacation home. We only live one life, get the most out of it!
That's right, only one life. I know too many people who never made it this far and would have lived differently if they knew their time was so limited.
We decided to live in our vacation home. We moved to Anderson Island, WA approaching 2 years ago. But we also bought boat at the same time LOL. Not like yours but big enough to go out for a night or two. Thanks Ed! We love you guys!
We just bought a '67 Grand Banks 36 in July. For us, the biggest plus of a live aboard boat is like you said. We can go and explore so many different places. Anchoring out reduces slip fees. Price checking also helps keep costs down. We are in the middle of doing a major refurbishment to make sure she is comfortably liveable, and dependable. We are looking forward to many adventures in the future. If we get tired of the water, we also have our 40 foot 5th wheel toy hauler and motorcycles.
That is what we love about having the boat. It is hard to explain to people who have never experienced the lifestyle. Grand Banks is a great boat. Congratulations!
@@tryingnottosink9107 I stored my boat in Buffalo at erie canal entrance, didn't feel like driving it back to Detroit home base...we plan on going to Florida in May, we retired couple years ago I've had boat 5 years now and she is ready for long distance I got those twin Lehmans running perfect
Thanks for sharing this. Our expenses for our 36 footer are about half of yours but I know they will go up as we begin travelling more. Very good info to have for our planning. Thanks!
Interesting comparisons. We have owned a gaff cutter for 34 years and also enjoy visiting different places and meeting new people. If we had a holiday home we would still want to travel so the cost of that with say, big ship cruises, would have to be set against the costs incurred in sailing your own boat to different places. In other words, the additional costs of moving the boat aren't that much different. Unless, of course, you just sit in your holiday home and go nowhere!! Really enjoy following you two on your adventures.
Another great video, thanks Ed. My wife and I are hoping to do the same in our retirement, Florida and Bahamas. Another cost to keep it apples to apples would be if you went with the condo, and took 5-6 trips a year, it would quickly close the gap on what you pay to travel on your boat. Keep up the good work and wonderful videos.
We did not mention it in the video but we consider that as well. Especially when planning for a time when we might not be physically able to do what we do.
We live on our 32-carver Convertible (Carver 3227) almost 6 months out of the year. We have 2 staterooms, 1 head but since 99% of the time it is just the 2 of us, it works. We've considered bigger boats but we really like our 32' and most marinas around us will have room for a transient 32' but won't always have room for bigger boats. Dockage went up for 2023, will be about $2800, and includes utilities (on a Lake Erie island). We store on-shore" with heated, indoor storage at about $2800 a year (includes lift out, winterization, washdown, and then pre-launch washdown and launch). We own property on this island, free and clear, the county has approved our septic plans which is to go in this spring (15k approx) and the county has told us we can build max 3 bedroom 2..5 bath but unlimited sq ft. Extra expenses: ferry fees to the island from shore, could lease 2nd slip on shore. The ferry doesn't run during the dead of winter when the lake freezes so then you charter fly tp/off the island. Our land is close but not waterfront. I love the view from our salon windows and actually living on our boat is what I've always wanted to do. I'm not in a rush to build but if we did and wanted to rent, 1 week's rent would pay 1.5 to 2 months' mortgage payment as rentals are in high demand. I don't think we'll rent if we build. If we choose to sell the land, having the septic already installed increases the value. I love living on our boat, our marina won't allow "bubbling" to keep ice from freezing, and utilities are shut off from Nov 1 to April 1 each year or I would look at living aboard year-round.
Thank you! great comparison - and you are right, the true compairson is where you spend a lot of time. The reality, is its a lot cheaper when you compare to location, and not find an inexpensive location, where you are stuck. Another interesting comparison might be to a 250K RV :)
Good information Ed! I only get to use my boat about 6 months out of the year but I can truly say I have never regretted getting into boating. I also started a RU-vid channel to share my adventures. I am still learning to edit the video but I am learning at least. If you want you can look it up. It is called Cruising Aboard Jetlag. Thanks for sharing your info on costs.
I'm going through my house bills / taxes compared to a liveaboard, I'm single w 2 dogs.. I found mooring for 1500 season w free 1 car parking and dinghy dockage w showers
Bravo well done Sir. Seriously one of your best vlogs. Totally get it. Tyvm. Cheers. Located in Miami. Have a slip in Eastern shores if you ever need it. No charge.
Very interesting video Ed! I’ve often pondered the same thing. For us it’s an easy choice. We both have salt water running through our veins. It will be a yacht for us.
I just purchased an extended Swim Platform and spiral stairs for my 3207 aft cabin, decided to keep it for our summer home and snow bird in FL in a few years.
Very interesting. 👌We thought about getting a boat a while back but I damaged my spine and it wouldn't be practical. But to see the number for both was very useful. 👍👍
A great breakdown! For us, we are comparing our total cost live aboard to the horse ranch cost we just sold. So far, it is much cheaper to live aboard!
Great video as usual. This is great ammo for guys like me who try to convince wives that buying a yacht instead of a condo at the beach is a great idea. THANK YOU.
Great video! Something else for your viewers to consider, especially those who want a vacation or retirement home near the water and still want to travel to destinations like those y’all go to. What would the additional costs be to leave that condo in Titusville and stay at even a cheap rental for 3 weeks in the Bahamas? $$$ plus the value of experiencing those adventures with your family and friends is priceless. I own and live on a 1970 Chris Craft Commander 55 (Hull #1) and when I retire this November, I plan to never stay in any one place for too long…
I was thinking about adding that to the video but it was getting long. I wanted to do a video on what Lyn and I could do with $60k if we no longer wanted to travel on a boat.
Very timely video. My sister and I currently share a lakefront vacation home between our respective families. Like with some family properties of this type there is a certain tension wondering if the other sibling might want to sell someday. My wife and I talk about the choice between buying my sister out or selling the works and doing something else. I’d push pretty hard to take our 50% and buy a boat - probably about $400K. Figure a boat at $150-200K with say another $50K in refurbishment and we’d still have some money left. Unless of course I’d need that for the divorce lawyer…
@@tryingnottosink9107 LOL - thanks very much. We’re actually super compatible (29 years and counting) but boating is one activity that just ain’t her thing (beyond a bit of kayaking). Guess the key is to buy something SO big she feels like she’s on dry land….😝
Ed and Lyn : You are hands on , A very coordinated couple and lovely one … your radio talks are emxtremly polite & 100 marine coordination . Your video was very clear is a choice of life style .,, felt was on the real side the amounts of money … No argument … doable …. Your empathy to do work on the boat … is great …. I was going to ask what is your profesión , because you do great on boat jobs , electronics and handy and difficult problems…. On the past mentioned CP accountant by profesión …. And engineer by choice …. My best wishes for both of you .. will meet on the sea ports some day in the near by future .
Thank you! I used to be a musician, then I owned a commercial photo lab, then I became an accountant. Now a sea Captain! Maintaining a photo lab required many of the same skills as maintaining a boat. Thanks for watching and we hope to see you on our travels!
Here in Maine we have quite a big second home community and a significant yachting community. Boating is seasonal here (about 6 months a year) so full time live aboards spend the summer here then head south for the winter. Seasonal boaters have the boat hauled and put in storage for the winter. Because of the seasonal nature of boating here the marinas are quite expensive. Locally here on Mount Desert Island, ME the seasonal marina cost for a 60 foot boat would run between about $12,000 and $32,000. That will cover about 120 days at the marina. Then there is winter. If you store a 60' boat locally, your are likely looking at around $15,000-$20,000 to have the boat hauled, winterized, stored inside a heated shed and then in the spring recommissioned and launched. Of course, if the boat is in storage, you can't use it in the winter. The costs if you go south for the winter will also be substantial and will likely be higher than storing the boat for the winter due to the need to travel pretty far south to get away from winter. To balance that out, insurance is cheaper here and is generally less than 1% of agreed value, so say about $2,000 for a $250K boat. Registration/documentation and annual taxes depend greatly on where the boat is home ported. Here in Maine a 60' boat will cost around $400 for a 60' boat if the boat is more than 20 years old and $500 if the boat is between 10 and 20 years old. You don't need to have the bottom cleaned here although some people who head south for the winter have it done just before they leave. I will go with your $3,000 per year for maintenance with the caveat that it will be much more if anything major fails. I included utilities in the slip fees. I will leave opportunity/mortgage cost for a $250K boat at $20K. So if you keep your boat in Maine at a marina in summer and store it for the winter you are looking at approximately 58K per year. In comparison, the absolute cheapest water view condo will set you back a minimum of $750K with about $9K-$12K HOA fees and $7,500-$15,000 in property tax. For $250K you can find a vacant lot with road access to power. A waterfront cottage will run you 1.2M+ with most properties in the $3M to $5M range. So an older boat is a bargain. The local summer live aboard community at the marina where I keep my boat tends toward Flemmings and Nordhavns. There is one 60 foot ish Hatteras and then there are the more expensive boats. There are also a lot of smaller day/weekend boats that you can look at, but buying one will set you back over a million. That is just the power boats.
I did not realize Maine was so expensive for boater. Those prices rival south Florida. Philly wasn't bad. Even though there are very few marinas. We are lucky to have found a vacancy in Titusvile. That area of Florida is one of the few that is reasonably priced - for now. Thanks for all the information!
Great information. We have been more discussing a retirement home over vacation. Wife is more worried over hurricanes, so full time living on a yacht we can stay out of hurricane season (as well as the adventure you mentioned) lead me wanting to be full time on the water in retirement. Join The Crew
We worry about hurricanes as well. Which is why, for the past five years, we have been leaving the south by August each year. However, our new slip in Titusville, while not techically a hurricane hole, is very well protected. Hurricanes are rare, although we were hit with two this year. Zero damage from each one!
I can tell you from very recent experience if your house is caught in a hurricane and flooded by 3 1/2 ft of storm surge you have to rebuild the house whereas if you boat is severely damaged in a hurricane you just go buy another boat.
@@dandersonjr well the plan would be to move the boat/home well out of the hurricane zone if at all possible. Something I keep reminding my wife that we can’t do with our house now (in the tornado zone we are in). 😁
The big difference in the comparison is the condo is an appreciating asset, the yacht is depreciating. Your yacht is at the bottom of the depreciation curve. A condo in areas where I would live on the Florida gulf coast is closer to a million plus, if I were going to buy a yacht would be in the $2.5m price range a 2015 Fleming 55. You are heavily discounting the costs of the repairs that you do yourself. You are very handy. Thanks for your video
I should have mentioned that I do most of the repairs myself in the video. It saves us a lot of money. We really like the Fleming 55. If we were ever to buy a different boat that one would be at the top of the list. Unfortunately, I would need to sell my land house in order to afford it.
Ed, an interesting expense comparison would be the boat adventure expense vs. what it would cost to replicate those adventures with airfare and hotel/resort expenses. IE, which is a cheaper party!!
Very helpful information. Comments seem to run towards having a yacht. In my case we already have a family summer home in he mountains. I have a home on a beach on a topical island. And after I sell my home in the US, I will buy a yacht.
Me and my wife have been looking at boats for some time. We Started in 2018, and prices have gone crazy since then. We’ve VRBO’d several boats, everything from Sundancers to Carver aft cabins. And usually rent a center console to explore. We love it. Dreaming of the day when it’s our own boat. We’re looking in the Keys, and it hasn’t been easy. So this is what I’ve come with so far. We need to buy a dock. Live aboard slips are impossible to find. Waiting lists, etc. We’re looking at slips in Key Largo and Marathon $130k to $200k. It might be better to rent but live a board rules and availability is an issue. (You can lease a dock but you can’t stay on your boat, that’s just crazy!) If you do a 6 month lease $700 a month up to $2500 a month for month to month. The way I figure it, with dock ownership you’re building equity. We did look at a condo, $500k and you still don’t have a dock or a boat. Another consideration is all of the docks we’ve looked at are limited to 40ft LOA. Then there is what kind of boat. I’ve spoken with several dealers in Florida. They’ve all told me the same thing I need an outboard. They do make out board cruisers but they are all expensive. Regal 42 FXO is over a million down to a used pocket cruiser like used 30 ft Jeaneau MF 895 $200k, New $300k. Lots of used gas express cruisers for the low $100’s. Sea Ray 330 sundancer etc. everyone I talk says absolutely not, I’d never find anyone to work on it. What about a V drive diesel boat? I’ve looked and a Regal 3880 fly bridge (diesel) love that boat. $200k. So I’ve narrowed it down to the Jeanneau 895 or the Regal 3880. Two very different boats for sure. Both the same price about $200k. 30 ft outboard pocket cruiser vs a 40 ft diesel fly bridge. We want to use the boat and explore. We don’t want to just sit at the dock. We want to use the boat as a diving platform and to go to places like the Dry Tortuga’s, Bimini,etc. So, will the Jeanneau be big enough, or will the 3880 eat us alive in Fuel and mainance? Will we be able to find someone to work on the diesel? Looking forward to reading the responses I get.
Owning your own dock would be fantastic. Just so you know, many marinas have policies that prevent live-aboards because the township requires it. However, we have found that in many cases it is not enforced, so people live aboard anyway. We are not familiar with either of those boats. We only have direct knowledge of Hatteras and Carver. However, we are definitely partial to fly bridges. Our favorite way to see the water as we travel.
The numbers are very different in British Columbia, much higher for the yacht. You can get a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath townhouse in some communities here for 250k to 300k with the extras for things like the pool, rec room utilities etc. ( my mom's 3 br 1.5 bath townhouse in Comox has a pool but that is the "hoa" fees and it cost her 300k to buy ) annual moorage is an average of $12/foot per month but it's in 10 foot jumps. a 65' yacht pays the same as a 70' yacht. water is included but power isn't, that is metered by local power company. While I live in Vancouver and it is much higher costs, 3 hours travel including the 1.5 hour ferry trip across Georgia Straight gets me to Comox so it isn't really far. The big kick in the teeth is the yacht insurance, the restrictions imposed are not good. 1 company out of the hundreds says after 5 years with them you can arrange beforehand for travel outside of the basic area of Tacoma Washington to Juneau Alaska for extra premium costs but only after that 5 years with them. Every other company, you are limited to the basic area coverage. One Uncle's Sailing Yacht he is limited to day sailing only by insurance, he has to be back in his home port by nightfall. yeah, the marine insurance in Canada hates the west coast. The same basic insurance plan will cover from the Alaska / Yukon border on the Arctic Ocean to the American Virgin Islands in the Caribbean and any inland waterways you can safely navigate.
I love your analytical nature in this video! I am an associate with an 80' marlin fishing boat owner and am well versed on these types of expenses. A few comments. We have to run from any personal property tax state by Jan 1, typically taking it to a country to the south like the Dominican or Costa to escape taxes. (Our boat has 15m value) So I did not see in your chart personal property taxes. How do you avoid those? That would easily be a few K annually. At the end, you added fuel, but it should be the first thing, it's not an option, you would sell the boat if you did not burn that much fuel. So now can we compare this to a nicer condo? If someone is not versed in maintenance and cleaning and possesses the skillset of boat ownership like you both have, there is a much higher cost of hiring a deckhand. You and I are not spring chickens, I think the most important thing to remember (based on a large sample size of people) is that there may be a day within 10-20 years you both will want to step back from all of the work involved just to traverse from point A to B. Using the time value of money that will be very expensive in those out years, yet the beautiful condo will still be there comfortable with you in most any health condition. These were just thoughts I had watching your presentation, but sheesh, I really enjoy your show. I tell friends about your show often; I call you guys my favorite youtube drinkers because there is no port you do not endeavor in a cold something at the local hole in the wall LOL! thank you for your effort and time.
You are right, I should have mentioned that we do almost all the maintenance ourselves and it save a bundle. At some point Lyn and I will no longer be able to handle the boat by ourselves and will probably switch to regular travel. Fortunately, we do not have personal property tax in Pennsylvania, no Florida, so it is not an issue for us. Thanks for sharing our channel. We really appreciate it!
What about when you have both? Got the vacation home over in the Gulf Islands of BC, but then "had" to get the yacht to thoroughly explore the area and beyond!
This was great. Just fer fun, took a look at waterfront condo where we actually keep our boat. ICW in Palm Beach. Uh, got a few mil lyin around? Obviously, our costs pencil our higher than yours since we keep a captain and first mate so we can dive all the time. Right now out in the Bahamas.
Condo costs are crazy in south Florida! I would love to dive in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, I have asthma and I am not sure I could do it. So for now - snorkeling.
We have been looking for a 47-52’ boat for 8 months and nothing really hits it out of the park. Once thing that I think boat ownership doesn’t have over a second home are the tax advantages. You mentioned the appreciation of a home which was awesome. I don’t know but if you VRBO your vacation a portion of that can-be written off, and I guess If the boat is listed under a LLC there are some advantages of taxes to, but I hear those are red flags for IRS.
The only real tax advantage of having a boat (with a bedroom and bathroom) is writing off interest on a loan, and perhaps property or personal property tax depending upon where you live. If you VRBO your vacation home/boat you can write off expenses up to the income it produced. That is a small red flag but people do it all the time on vacation homes. The biggest write offs are for people who use the boat as an actual business, such as chartering or full time rentals, etc. Then you can depreciate the boat and write off expenses. That, however, is a big red flag so you need to be able to prove it is a business and not a hobby with a little bit of income.
I think you left out another important consideration. With a vacation home you can rent it out 6 months out of the year when you’re not using it and offset most of your costs. I don’t think I would want to do that with a boat. Still I’d choose the boat also. 😎
Actually, after we bought the Hatteras we rented out our Carver on AirBnB all the time. Paid for everything and yielded a nice profit. We have rented out the Hatteras a few times but go tired of having to remove our personal belongs, etc.
ED, You both worked very hard to achieve the financial status it takes to liv your lifestyle. So go for the gold, we only have a one way ticket through life. None of us knows when illness or tragedy will strike , keep on floating:) You didn't figure your home in your figures:) Cheers, Rik Spector
$3000 per year for maintenance for a 40+ year old boat is very, very conservative, even if you can do most of the work yourself. There are many, many single items on a boat which would cost more than that to fix/replace and on a boat this old, you can expect to face into those issues on a routine basis.
That figure represented maintenance caused strictly because we traveled with the boat, not general boat maintenance. We have owned the boat for 6 years now. We typically spend about $5-10K. Some years it is nothing. Other years it's high. If I did not do most of the work myself, it would be much higher. We also factor in that we will eventually need to make a big repair. We have done several videos on our budgeting process.
Great video. But I think the numbers would be closer. Even with a vacation home I would still be traveling. So by the time you add in the flights , hotel, meals and cars the numbers would really start to even out.
The Diesel cost is the reason the wife and me went with a sailboat over a motor boat lol, granted we ain't quite on your scale - we made a choice between a 33.5Ft sailboat or a caravan, we aren't gonna be on the boat more than a few days a week over the Summer as Ireland/UK is a much smaller sail area But we made the right choice, the open sea is just way more enjoyable and the sailboat aspect keeps me somewhat fit lol
My wife and I bought a second home in SWFL about 4 years ago and still consider selling the house and buying a yacht. At this point in time instead of buying a 42 ft plus yacht and selling the house we're thinking maybe buying a 34 to 36 ft boat that has some living quarters and use it for weekend trips or a couple week trip now and again. Fortunately we have a long enough dock behind our house for our 21 ft bay boat on the lift and enough room for the bigger boat to stay docked behind our house. Decisions, decisions.
We had a Carver 355 for a couple of years and it was great for short vacations. I think our longest trip was three weeks. Having a dock at the house would be fantastic!
I have heard that from several viewers. Having only owned boats in Pennsylvania and Florida, I did not realize some states had personal property taxes levied on boats.
The $23k you spend on your "vacation travel" by your boat is, also, an expense that condo ownership would have. Taking a vacation costs money. Matching your time in various ports would be more expensive if one didn't own a yacht.
If we could afford it I'd like to have a medium sized boat to live on part of the year. Big enough to be fairly comfortable, but still small enough to do the Loop in. My better half would prefer to get a mid-size RV and do our exploring on land.
A ' Condo ' is an Apartment that you own , not the whole building just the apartment , an apartment is a ' Condo ' that you rent , once again not the whole building . The ' Condo ' is a fixed place in a fixed location , meaning that it can not be moved . A Condo in Florida is subject to Hurricanes in Spring and Autumn , so depending upon how badly ' Hit ' twice a year every year and in some cases ' DESTROYED ' . If you pay attention to your weather cycles , you can drive your boat out of ' Harms Way ' saving on property loss due to weather . Weather happens everywhere on the planet , a ' Mobile Home ' to some extent can be removed from the Weather situations or even stored indoors , a fixed locale can not be ' removed ' from any situations . Let's face it there's a reason Turtles take their Homes with them when they go anywhere . A ' fixed Home Location ' also means that when you do decide to go somewhere else , you will need a new residence in the new area , a boat means that when you arrive you still have all of your foods and furnishings with you , no need for replacements . With a ' condo ' you can't just ' step outside ' to catch dinner , even with a motor yacht all you do is drop a line over the side and ' Fish up ' some dinner . With a ' Condo ' there's not always a guarantee of ' Amenities ' regardless of price paid for the Condo , with a boat just jump off the side and you are in the water . If ' Mobile Type Homes ' were such a terrible idea then why is there the evolutionary idea of ' Amphibious Reptiles ' that live all over the world ? The costs of Boat Ownership are in direct relationship to the costs that you are willing to pay , Different Boats have Different propulsion systems . Sailboats have a fuel back up system but run on wind power . People have been ' Sailing ' the High Seas for Millenia , The style and operations of the Boats used have changed but if it wasn't ' cost effective ' then why do you think they did it in the first place ? People have ' left behind ' their fixed location Homes to get away to far off places , very few have given up there boats when they got to where they were going .
Yes, But. Boats have property taxes too, depending on where you keep it. Also, the fact that you have to keep different types of insurance on a boat seems kind of immaterial... its an expense of owning a boat. It seems you were comparing a liveaboard boat, I guess with liability insurance only?, in a mid tier marina vs owning a condo. (and BTW - alot of people are reporting difficulty getting boat insurance to be a liveaboard as of late also. Maybe thats different if you're just doing liability insurance - you didn't mention what you assumed) And a marina where electricity isn't an additional charge for residents? Thats getting to be pretty rare; I'm surprised a marina in FL, with all the AC that needs to be run - doesn't charge separately for electric. All that said - the boating adventures to be had, underway, at anchor, in marinas - 'Priceless' good
In Pennsylvania and Florida boats are not taxed, except when purchased. Yes, I was mainly trying to compare live aboard, including occasional light travel. I included electricity in my slip fees but could have broken it out. I actually only pay a little over $6k for just the slip. I have only kept my boat at three different marinas for long term stays. Each one had a flat rate for electricity. Almost all transient slips use flat rate. The only place I recall being metered is in the Bahamas. Thanks for the feedback. Cheers!
.this year housing prices are dropping due to hi interest rates 7.50 for a mortgage now ..just had a hard time selling my house in Los Angeles, falling prices out there
It's a complex analysis. I looked at a condo in a popular resort area vs a slip in the marina at the same resort. Just the HOA fee for the Condo was the same as the slip rental in the marina. IMHO, the appreciation of the condo/house vs the depreciation of the boat, makes the Condo the winner.... but rising HOA's and exploding insurance rates, if real estate prices fall or stagnate in the future... who knows... but fun factor, Boat Wins!
The depreciation is the main reason we bought an older boat (that and I can't afford a new Hatteras 60) I could repower, repaint etc. for less money than a new boat would depreciate in a single year.
@@tryingnottosink9107 Mine is a 1987 63MY. Bought it as a bank repo in 2009, been "upgrading" ever since.. but you point is well taken. Buy an already depreciated boat is a wise move. I see growing value in the larger old boats as live aboards.. Now that even modest homes have gone out of sight, a big boat represents an alternative living space.... and price a NEW 63 Hatteras.
Brother you made the right decision. The yacht is more expensive especially when you're underway. Having said that you are not jumping off your condo into blue water. Can't take the condo to some place different. You darn sure not finding, as you discovered, any condo on a blue water ocean front. Heck you not getting a condo for a quarter mil on brown water ocean front. Obviously my vote is for the yacht.
I think if you are going to include fuel costs to travel on a yacht, then a comparable cost to leave your vacation home (i.e. travel, hotels, etc.) should be included to make it truly apples to apples cost comparison. Otherwise, the cost of the freedom to move on a yacht is lost and as Ed said it, I could only stand to see the same view day in and day out on a vacation for a short time.
I'm in the north east, NY and getting close to retiring...I am looking at a boat such as yours as a live abord for 6 months out of the year. I have a apartment I bought in Sicily so I will spend the other 6 months in europe....I dont plan on any long distance travel with the boat just basically up and down the hudson river......any idea what costs are for winterization for the boat of that size?
Did you consider a sailboat? I have a smaller cabin cruiser, don’t live aboard and find fuel costs to be much higher than I planned. In hindsight, I might have bought a sailboat.
$3000 maintenance on a boat that size..you wish. Didn't I just see an $8000 hose went. Don't buy the argument that maintenance is usage related my experience is they almost deteriorate more when not used. Two huge engines and other systems I would budget for at least $20,000. The decision is definitely a lifestyle one I agree.
$3000 was for maintenance of regular items that are in common with a condo, such as Air Conditioning, Refrigerators, etc. In the video, I added another $4000 for travel type maintenance. so $7000 per year, which is actually higher than our real average. It was over $8000 this year but last year my total maintenance/repair costs were only $1600. We have done a "complete costs" video every year for the past five years and you can see what we actually spent. So it is not just a wish. What I should have mentioned in the video, but forgot, was that we do almost all the maintenance and repairs ourselves, which saves us a lot of money. I agree that a boat needs to be used or it will deteriorate faster. However, we travel about 3500 miles per year, which is much more than the average person. That is why I separated the two figures. $3000 for a regular usage and maintenance. $4000 extra for travel maintenance.
You for got to add the cost of a windless controller replacement🤣. It comes down to what is truly important to you and Lynn. I enjoy your video’s I will say I have owned boats and airplanes and the ex owned a Condo in SC at the same I had the airplane. That made it convenient to fly to SC and afforded more time at the condo. However overall in enjoyed sailing more. We explored the British Virgin Islands and West Indie’s and of course the Bahamas and the east coast. It all comes to what makes you happy and what is in your budget.😁🛫
Any thought to the stress of weather, breakdowns, dragging, anchors, sleepless nights how do you qualify all the unknown that go with boating compared to the known that go with vacation homes?
If your not the advantageous type or your not confident in your ability to keep yourself and your love ones out of harms way, stay home and lock all the doors! It really is that simple.
No question that boating is more work. Some enjoy that while others like to unlock the door and watch TV or lay on the beach. Depending on your boat, equipment, skills and choices you make you can mitigate some of the items you mentioned. But they are factors to consider.
That would have been a good addition to the video. I also should have addressed what Lyn and I could do with the $60 per year if we get tired of boating.
@@Dannny_Mac I spend about two months on a boat this year and I can tell you that you go from stressful situation to stressful situation. It’s a lot of fun but if you’re not in your 40s, it’s a lot of hard work.
I have always enjoyed this channel and find their financial discussions pretty fair, but I dunno: How can you have any conversation about comparing the cost of a vacation home to a yacht without any assessment of the costs of OPERATING a yacht vs a Condo. The $18k of the condo is the same $18K if you sleep in 365 days a year or 10 and have 4 guest over each month or none. There is really almost no variable costs on a condo. Buying a yacht of that size is the chap part over time. The costs of fuel and remote moorings and al the maintenance assuming nothing MAJOR breaks (the thin has TWO aging massive diesels, transmissions, generators and did I mention it's sitting in salt water 7/24...:-) is the cost of operating a second Condo). I understand your point but it's a pretty apples to oranges comparison. Perhaps a Sailing vessel with lower direct operating costs might be closer, but they aren't for everybody. Many people who can afford a vacation home CAN'T afford a yacht assuming they intend to start the engines.....Cheers
I️ think the accounting was difficult to compare but Ed did a good job explaining-basically he’s just including the “hotel” costs of keeping a 58ft boat at the slip floating, with the 5 HVACs, water, galley, and plumbing operational. As well as generally keeping up with the rust and the rot that happens pierside. The $250K valuation can go to near zero if/when 2 stroke diesels get outlawed here (like they have in the EU) or it otherwise needs a re-power. Also, Florida yacht insurance prices are apparently in for a shock upon renewal 🥴
Gord, I did address my operating expense while underway, towards the end of the video. What I forgot to mention though, is that we do almost all of the maintenance ourselves, which saves a bundle. It is apples to oranges but I tried to do as close an approximation as possible. Cheers!
Eric, I don't think they will ever outlaw 2-strokes here. It would be considered a :"taking" and would require compensation. Outlawing new 2-strokes or even combustion engines may be in the future. In any case, I figure a complete repower would cost $100k but increase the value of the boat about $50k. Not a bad trade when you consider the fuel savings. But you know me, I am holding out for electric engines and a ton of batteries.
@@tryingnottosink9107 Hi and yes you did I I don't for a second wan to give the impression that I thought you were being deceitful or intentionally misleading BUT;-) I do think that it's a bit misleading on its face to compare the "hotel" costs of one in it's natural environment- which sit on a foundation vs a Yacth not even remotely in it's natural environment, (moored). It might be more comparable to have had a line that said some version of, "All our direct and indirect operating costs of our boat for the past 5 years have been X , hich works out to Y dollars per mile/hour that we have cruised. Add the proviso did most of the work yourself and a person who farms that out can expect to pay 2X or 3X or whatever. Then the average person could look at this and say, "Hey Martha, if we buy a 1/4 million dollar yacht, we can afford to sail it 1,500 miles a year....thanks for the great stories. I live in central Canada and can only imagine the Florida waterways:-)
@@tryingnottosink9107 I’m holding out for Fusion Power! Feeling a little guilty when I total up my lifetime carbon emissions…I’ve got some work to do to get back to overall carbon neutral after 5,000hrs of copious consumption of jet fuel. 😳
At our current marina they come out on demand with a pump out boat for no charge. You just give them a tip. In many areas they are subsidized by the government. Some marinas have a pump out station that you need to move the boat to. Others have a pump out line at every slip.
Great analysis! I think your travel expenses can be somewhat mitigated in that even with a vacation home, unless you always stay at the vacation home, you are probably still going to travel, perhaps abroad and you will also be eating out and driving your car more. I think for a lot of people in the range that can afford either, it is probably nearly a wash.
boats are a never ending depreciating asset and need maintenance always...vacation homes will go up in value dont require that much maint and you can rent them out when you are not there..prices have dropped, boats as well good luck getting 250k out of that boat..and ive owned both happy with my vacation properties around the world
I addressed both those issues in the video. Let's just say we disagree. By the way, you can rent out boats when you are not using them as well. We rented out our Carver for several years before we sold her in anticipation of moving the Hatteras south. We used her as an AirBnB and had it rented out almost every weekend. It paid all the bills and turned a decent profit. We rented out the Hatteras as an AirBnB as well, for $250 per night, but eventually got tired of not having it when we wanted.
