Whaditcost so far—REALLY?  -- Thursday, June 20, 2013 – Now that the boat is complete and legal to sail in navigable waters, I actually added up all the receipts that I had.  Keep in mind that I have a pretty nice shop and spray equipment so I could do all the work myself and didn't have to pay for any of the 150 or so hours of my labor.

Boat:  $1514.91.  Most of it went for the boat and registration: $820.  The next biggest category was paint:  $490.  The rest went for small stainless parts that do come dear, and other stuff that all adds up.

 

Trailer:  $1306.87.  The trailer and registration only cost $398.00.  That means about $900 went into rehabbing the trailer. Admittedly new tires and galvanized wheels ($250) were a bit of an extravagance, but they look nice, and the old ones wouldn’t have lasted too long.  The new lights will last a long time since they do not get immersed in salt water. They are more visible and safer.  I could have bought a new galvanized trailer for $2000, but I still would have needed a couple hundred dollars in lights.  (At least to get them the way I like them.)

Alternatives:  I could have bought a much nicer boat and trailer for about $2000.  Then I could have had a new main made and still spent less money.  So probably I should have gone with the better boat and new sails.

Yet to buy:  Within a year I am sure I will want a spinnaker—custom made in blue and white of course—which will mean a sail, halyard, pole and associated rigging.  Plus I am sure I will want to run the sheets under the deck so the helmsman doesn’t have to sit on them.  Then natually, we will need to install a spinnaker launching tube and deck reinforcement. (We aren't going to launch the spinnaker out of some crappy basket lashed to the deck.)  The hull above the water line needs to be painted too.  Oh! Almost forgot!  Could use new sheaves for the main halyard.

Resale:  I am sort of confident that I could get $1400 - $1800 (best case scenario) for this rig if I could find a sailor who appreciates the special traveler and very nice main sail. 

How big a hole:  At this point the hole in the water is about a grand.  Add the spinnaker next year, and the whole hole should be about $2000. When I was younger, I thought the happiest day was the day you get the boat.  When I got older I realized that was the second happiest day.  The happiest day is the one when you sell it.  For now no buyer's remorse.   I went into this knowing the deal with boats*—wonder how I will feel in a year?  I will keep you posted.

 

*Mostly boats own you more than you own them, but I do actually own a 12-foot aluminum fishing boat.  I just drag it across the parking lot when the ramp is crowded; it gets no paint, no TLC--it just takes me and my grandson fishing.