Have you calculated cost per day on the water?

I tend to get fanatical about calculations and actually created a spreadsheet that calculates the average cost of each day on the boat including everything from gas, dock, boat payment, insurance, etc. Depending on cost of boat the cost can be in the 100s PER DAY on the water.

Bottom line is it's very easy to get expensive.

So have you calculated it, or do you simply try and put it out of your mind.

P.S. I thought golf was expensive...

to be honest i dont want to Know,besides cant put a price on time spent with family and friends

I did it a few years ago and it was stupid to do. It'll only slow you down and spoil your enjoyment of something you otherwise love. When gas got up to $4.50 I easily spent a few grand in gas alone just over the 5 month season I get. I just didn't think about it and went, I mean what the hell am I gonna do not use my boat?

Spent prob 2K on truck and boat gas, received about $200 from people. Worth every penny.

I refuse to do this, I don't want to know!

^^ That's funny. I think that's the exact ratio I've recieved over the years. I have vivid memories of being in high school spending every dime I made at my crappy job to fill the tank of our family boat (50 - 60 dollars back then) and getting 5 bucks from my friend. Girls never paid... not like I ever expected. They brought their own value.

I'd also bring the food and drinks. I guess that's why the saying goes - the best boat is the one your best friend owns.

I'm with Patrick and Tim......dont want to know, dont care. It's some of the best times I can think of.

Another one who doesn't want to know exactly, but I have ballparked it. It ain't frickin cheap, especially since I only spend about 25 days a year on the water. Doesn't take an accountant to figure out it is way more expensive than golf.

I can spend $400 a day on gas alone, not sure how high it would get if you factored the cost of the boat insurance, truck gas, reg. fees, property taxes, accesories you buy for the boat, wakeboarding equipment, beer, food, dang I have no clue how I afford it now that I start thinking about it. Guess it is better to remain in the dark, looks like its the worst investment I've ever made and I've made some bad ones! lol

Per day on the water...

Priceless.

^^^^^ Couldn't have said it better!

400 a day on gas? What kind of boat and how many hours does that give you? I assume you are buying gas on the water as well right?

I love telling my wife that we need to go out on the boat more. The more time out makes it a worthwhile investment. I fail to mention that an investment should increase or show some return. Nobody tell her going out tomorrow.

Well with gas at over $3 per gallon and riding for 10 hours with the ballast full and lead bags my vlx slurps the gas down! Usaully have to refuel once or twice on the water just depends how much we ride even on a light day we go through $150 worth of gas!

When gas got up to $4.50 I easily spent a few grand in gas alone just over the 5 month season I get. I just didn't think about it and went, I mean what the hell am I gonna do not use my boat

ditto.

its priceless....

wakeboard boat $50,000
wakeboard gear $5,000
tow vehicle $30,000

A day on the lake with family and friends PRICELESS!!!!!

You realize how priceless it is when the thought of selling your boat even crosses your mind for a second.

its that or sitting at home ....realizing I am actually saving some money, and growing old!!!!

with the boat I dont seem to realize either!

Well said michael.

It is what it is. BUT WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!!!

I'm curious.... to Nick, the OP.... is there a threshold where you will decide that this activity is just too expensive for you? Or is this just something you do (absolutezero?)

Sounds like a match wiz on wild. I'm sure lots of people get out of the sport due to the expense, and I've certainly done things to cut expenses, but giving up riding & being on the boat just isn't one of them.

^^ Not sure what the tipping point is, and I'm sure it's lower in the winter months than the summer

I guess I put the spreadsheet together to figure out what I can comfortably get myself in to.

Also, it's good to know if a day at the lake is 100 dollars, which for 6+ hours is a pretty reasonable cost for a family of 4 plus some friends, or 600+ (which it is easily for some who have very expensive boats even financed over many years) which is harder for me to justify considering we could take a short trip out of town with a hotel stay and amusement parks for that kind of money. That may not be the best example, but my point is finding the right ballance is important for me. I'd hate to have so much wrapped up into an expensive boat that I could no longer do family vacations or even worse, pay for unexpected emergencies that came up.

I am another one that would prefer not to know and to be honest, my wife would probably make more noise to pull the plug on our boat if this was a big number.

The way I look at it, most of the costs are fixed that do not vary by usage such as your insurance, taxes, a good chunk of depreciation / cost of boat, and interest if you have a loan. The major variable cost is petro, so the cost per day goes down a LOT the more often you go....so if you want to minimize the cost per day go out and ride!

There probably is some point when it could get too expensive for me but hope I never have to face that day.

I think it's an interesting thing you did. I've got too many damn hobbies myself with boating, scuba diving, golf, snow skiing, mountain biking, etc, etc. By running the numbers, it should allow you to make better decisions and see what the opportunity costs are of this activity / lifestyle.

Since, I don't currently have a boat anymore I play golf 2-3 times a week on a nice course and I'm still saving a ton of money.

There are other factors that come into play too like is it a family activity? Do you have a crew that likes to go as much as you do or are you always recruiting people to go? How nice are the lakes in your area and how long is the season?

I would take a boat anyday over a road trip and amusement park with kids but $1500 per month for the boat, storage, insurance, gas and various expenses can support a lot of vacations and other activities throughout the year too. I bet if I saved that $1500 per month I could buy that 40ft off-shore sailboat (used) I want someday and spend the winters in the caribbean.

Yea, I would be surprised to see $600/day. We take steps to make it easier to be on the water anytime we get the urge. ie; we own a home in a shared waterfront neighborhood. The boat lives on the lake for weeks or months on end & we just walk or drive the golf cart down with the gear. So going out for an hour or two is easy to do. Trailering the boat & using public ramps is minimized. So we'll probably get out on the boat 100 - 150 times a year. Yearly expenses, including the boat payments, insurance, boat slip, & gas have to be pushing $10k / yr. So do the math.

I imagine the per trip or per hour expenses are quite a bit more if you only use the boat a few weekends a year. For me owning a boat is a commitment to use it, for vacations, after work, weekends, off season, etc. Others may use their boat less so their expenses may be higher.

Boat expenses are fairly low until I add the lake house. Never mind, I don't want to know.
I especially don't want the wife to know!

The only thing I try and right down is how much gas we have put in the boat each season. Next year we are going to keep track of how much beer was consumed on the boat as well.

That beers getting drank either way!!!

I am in the "priceless" group.

Spending the day with my wife and 2 daughters floating around, tubing, boarding...I just can't think of ANYTHING I'd rather do.

My dad used to drive me 2-3 hours to the lake (grew up in Santa Barbara which sucks for skiing) and drive me 2-3 hours home in the same day and those are some of my greatest memories as a kid. I doubt he thinks about how much he spent for those days on the water - and he was a college instructor and we lived very modest.

i made a little math test.

I all put the things on a 5 year basis, boat, insurance, gaz, etc... After i split it over 250 hours a year and if you pass 5 hours per day during a day trip each day cost is around 450$ which is not that bad for all the fun it brings.

(Message edited by radikal on September 17, 2009)

With my little Tracker Pro it would cost me around $80 per day on the water and back home. $100 if you include lite snacks to take with.. Still cheaper then Disneyland

Has no one ever heard the term that a boat is just a hull/whole in the water that you throw money into?

Regardless of the cost, nothing that is fun in life has a positive financial return. If it did everyone would have the best dream jobs in the world

^^ my dad says that all the time. Drives me nuts