Sail boating: The Cost of Making A Sail Boat

Estimating that is not simple unless you are willing to accept a method that is open to wide variations. Assuming that you are willing to spend more if needed, a fairly accurate method is to multiply the length of the proposed boat by her beam. To that figure, add $100.00 per foot of boat length.

The result will be what you must lay out for the lumber and other material plus the ordinary sails—maybe.

Here is an example. The boat you are to build is 16 feet long and 6 feet wide. Sixteen times six is 96, or $960.00 out of your poket, plus $1600.00 more; or a total of $2560.00 more or less—probably more. This checks up well with the rule of thumb that says that the material cost of a boat—not counting any overhead, profit, or labor— is one third her list price. Remember that this is for a simple, small, open sailboat. Admittedly, you can build a flat-bottomed skiff and rig up some sort of a sail for less money. If you feel that the result is a sail­boat, your opinion will not be shared by the other fellows around the anchorage. If, for example, you can drive a Model T and remain heedless to the jibes of “get a horse,” you may be the sort of character to go to town with boat-buying economy.

Having disposed of first cost, we come to depreciation. Marine-insurance people have complicated formulas to work out such things, but the average mortal can come pretty close to a correct figure if he knocks off 10 per cent of the boat’s value each year. True enough, this would imply that after 10 years she would be worthless, a situation far from true. But the idea is not to arrive at a real value but to set a figure that you know you can afford. The 10-per­cent system will run higher than should be true and is thus better if you are pushing the wallet too hard.

Anchorage charges may be nothing at all. You may live where there is plenty of mooring space and all you have to do is to put out a mooring and let it go at that. Most fellows are in no such cushiony position and must hire mooring space from boat­yards or join clubs where such privileges are included in the dues. The service may cost you anywhere from $150.00 to $2000.00 a year depending upon how swank you want to go.

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