What it really costs to keep a used boat: the true numbers, metre by metre

The purchase price is only the first instalment. First-time buyers underestimate the yearly costs almost every time, and by a lot. Here are real figures for the Mediterranean, by type and size.

The 10% rule

A sailing or motor boat of 10-13 metres costs every year about 10% of its value in mooring, insurance and routine maintenance, fuel excluded. An €80,000 boat costs €7,000-9,000 a year. A €150,000 boat costs €12,000-18,000. Small boats and RIBs sit below, large motor yachts well above.

Mooring

The biggest and most variable item. In Italy, for an annual berth in a marina: - 6-7 m (RIB, small motorboat): €1,500-3,500, or dry storage on a trailer €800-2,000. - 10-11 m: €3,500-8,000 (Liguria and Sardinia at the top, Adriatic and the South at the bottom). - 12-13 m: €5,000-11,000. - 14-15 m: €7,000-15,000. - 26 m with crew: €40,000-80,000. In Croatia and Greece you save 20-40%, but then the boat lives there.

Insurance

Compulsory third-party cover: €200-500 for a small boat, €500-1,200 for 10-13 m. With hull cover (damage to your own boat) you move to €1,000-2,500 for an €80,000-150,000 boat. After 10-12 years many insurers ask for an updated survey or new standing rigging.

Routine maintenance

Every year: haul-out and antifouling (€800-2,500 for 10-13 m), anodes, engine service (€300-800), gas and systems check. Plus the items that come back every few years: - Sails: €6,000-9,000 every 10-15 years (main and genoa, 11-12 m). - Standing rigging: €6,000-10,000 every 10-12 years. - Saildrive diaphragm: €1,500-3,000 every 7 years. - Batteries: €600-2,000 every 5-7 years. - Electronics: ages in 10 years; €3,000-8,000 to renew plotter and instruments. - Inboard engine overhaul: €5,000-10,000 at 4,000-6,000 hours; large yacht diesels far more.

Fuel

Sailing boat: negligible, €300-800 a year. 10 m motorboat with twin 250 hp diesels: 60-90 litres an hour on the plane, that is €100-150 an hour underway. A weekend cruise can cost €500-1,000 in diesel alone. It is the item that most surprises people moving from sail to power.

The forgotten items

Taxes and paperwork: transfer of ownership (€300-1,000 with an agent), licence, registration for boats over 10 m.
Pre-purchase survey: €600-2,000 with haul-out. Always.
Transport if you buy far away: €2,000-8,000 by truck or ship, or fuel and a delivery skipper.
Winter storage ashore: €1,500-4,000 for 10-13 m, if you do not stay afloat.
The "meanwhile": 10-20% of planned costs for what breaks and was not planned. Something always breaks.

A full example

11 m sailing boat from 2010 bought for €75,000 in Italy: - mooring 5,500 · insurance 900 · haul-out and antifouling 1,500 · service 500 · contingencies 1,500 → about €10,000 a year. - Plus, in the first 3 years, probably sails or rigging: another €6,000-9,000. In five years the boat costs what you paid for it. Not a reason not to buy it: the reason to buy it well.

How to use it in the negotiation

Every predictable job the listing has not already done (old sails, original rigging, dated electronics) is a concrete argument to lower your offer. In a CheckMyBoat report these costs are calculated for the specific boat and tabled next to the price: you negotiate with numbers, not feelings.