New boat owners
come to a rude shock after the first season with the avalanche of bills coming in and they are not even using their boat.
New boat owners come to a rude shock after the first season with the avalanche of bills coming in and they are not even using their boat. Thus, a realization that owing a boat is not sustainable for many. Very few new boats are being sold in Melbourne and the majority are pre-owned and are getting very old! The boat is mostly likely being sold after two years at a substantial financial loss due to unaffordable mechanical repairs by the owners and the lack of demand from picky buyers.
How much time they are boaties actually going to use the boat?
The average boat use in Melbourne is just 16 days publish by the BIA a year and when a boat owner starts to get the bills for berthing (which can be $9,000 a year for a 40ft vessel) the repair bills and the depreciation of the boat in excess of 17% per annum most marina managers will confirm that your average boatie sells his boat within in two years. With a $300,000 cruiser budget for $6000 an outing.
Are you time poor?
New boaties come to the realization they are time poor and compete for time with other social events especially having a family. Shuttling kids between sporting events and friends social engagements takes its toll. After a good day out the boat owner is left with the task to clean up after their friends and family because when the boats hit the shore, guess who does a runner? Or small boat owners have to wait 4 hours to pull their boat out of the water during peak season due well publicised”ramp rage”.
Those boaties who have grown up with a boat are more likely to retain their boat because they have grown up knowing what to expect. However the costs become to much to handle consider hiring a boat a few times or join the Pleasure Cruising Club. A small percentage of our members do go ahead and buy a boat. Another small percentage who do buy a boat come back to the club.
Join the club and don’t worry about the maintenance and operational fees. You don’t even have to worry about cleaning. After all, the best part of owning a boat is enjoying it. Leave the rest of the work to us.
