How Much Does It Cost to Own a Boat?
Boat Ownership Cost Calculator
This free calculator estimates the annual and monthly cost of owning a boat or yacht, from engine service and fuel to dockage, haul-out, and insurance. Cost is driven by size, engines, and usage, not purchase price.
Vessel length & use
1/6Length and hours anchor most of what a boat costs to run.
- Length is the single biggest lever on running cost, because almost every marine charge is billed by the foot.
- Enter length overall (LOA), the full hull length from bow to stern that marinas and yards use to bill you.
- A longer hull also carries larger engines and adds a second generator and AC unit as it grows.
- The average private owner runs about 100 hours a year. Hours affect only fuel and the long-term rebuild reserve.
- Routine service is annual no matter what, so 50 hours and 150 hours cost about the same to service.
- A typical outing is about 3 engine hours; time spent at anchor runs the generator, not the main engines.
How much does boat size affect the cost of ownership?
Length is the single biggest lever on running cost, because almost every marine charge is billed by the foot. A longer hull also carries larger engines, a second generator, and a second air conditioning unit. That is why the calculator starts here.
Which length do you enter?
Enter length overall, or LOA, the full length of the hull from bow to stern. LOA is the figure marinas and yards use to bill you, so it is the number that makes your estimate match real invoices.
If you only know the model, the published LOA on the YachtWay listing is the right value.
Is it a boat or a yacht?
The words boat and yacht describe the same hulls, and buyers search both. As a rough line, vessels under 38 feet are usually called boats and larger ones yachts.
The running costs follow the same rules either way.
What each foot of length changes
| Cost line | How length drives it |
|---|---|
| Dockage | Per foot per month, about $30 in Fort Lauderdale to $75 in Newport |
| Dry storage or lift | Roughly half the local dockage rate, per foot |
| Bottom paint | A per-foot package, repainted yearly in South Florida and every 2 to 3 years elsewhere or out of the water |
| Haul-out | $15 to $30 per foot per haul, plus lay days per foot per day |
| Bottom cleaning | $5 to $10 per foot per in-water cleaning by a diver |
| Boat wash (topside) | $3 to $5 per foot per wash |
| Generators and air conditioning | A second unit is added as length rises |
Common questions
Yes. Most upkeep is billed per foot, so a longer hull costs more to dock, store, paint, haul, and clean, and it usually carries larger engines and more systems.
Length overall, the full hull length from bow to stern that marinas and yards use to bill dockage and haul-out.
How many hours a year do people run a boat?
The average private owner runs about 100 hours a year. Hours affect only two costs, fuel and the long-term rebuild reserve. Routine service happens once a year regardless, so running 50 hours or 150 hours costs about the same to service.
How do I estimate my engine hours?
A typical outing is about three engine hours: out to an anchorage, time relaxing, then the run home.
Time spent at anchor runs the generator, not the main engines, so it does not add to engine hours.
Is more usage bad for the boat?
No, reasonable use is good for a boat. Around 100 to 200 hours a year keeps seals, bearings, and fluids healthy.
Only near-commercial use, above roughly 320 hours a year, starts to add real wear.
Common questions
Barely. Routine service is annual, so more hours mostly add fuel, plus a rebuild reserve on large diesels.
For a private owner, over 200 hours a year is heavy use, and above 320 approaches commercial duty.
How much does it cost to keep a boat in a marina?
Where you keep the boat is usually the second largest running cost after engines. A marina slip is billed per foot per month, dry storage or a lift runs about half that rate, and a boat kept on your own dock is free.
In the water or on a lift, what changes?
In the water means regular bottom cleaning and repainting about every 1 to 1.5 years, plus a haul-out each time. Out of the water, growth stops, so cleaning disappears and the repaint interval stretches.
It does not remove the yard trip. When the hull needs paint the boat still goes to a yard, because you cannot bottom-paint a boat sitting on a home lift.
When is storage free?
Storage is zero only when the boat sits on your own dock, whether in the water or on a private lift. Every marina slip, dry rack, and yard carries a monthly fee.
Every rate in this step is editable, so you can enter a specific marina's quote.
Common questions
Often, but not always. Dry storage and lift rates typically run about half the local slip rate per foot, and a boat kept out of the water saves on cleaning and needs less frequent bottom paint. Dry storage can also protect the boat in a storm, since it sits secured on land rather than in an exposed slip. The tradeoff is retrieval: launching usually means matching a lift operator's schedule, though fully automated robotic dry stacks are starting to remove that wait.
About $70 to $80 per foot per month for a marina slip, so roughly $3,850 to $4,400 a month for a 55-foot boat, before any liveaboard or seasonal surcharge.
How much does marine engine service cost?
Engine service is priced per engine and looked up by model. Routine service is annual, and larger engines add a deeper major service on an hours or calendar interval. Costs are dealer-paid, meaning labor is included.
Outboard, inboard, or pod?
Outboards are serviced in the water and are replaced rather than rebuilt. Inboard diesels and Volvo Penta IPS pods come out of the water for their major, done during the same haul as the bottom paint.
Pods carry two majors, one for the pod and one for the engine.
What if I do not know my engine?
Pick "I know the count, not the model" and the calculator uses an average of about $1,500 per engine per year. Pick "I am not sure" and it estimates engine cost from the boat's length.
Both are labeled estimates that sharpen the moment you select a model.
Common questions
About $1,500 to $2,600 per engine per year for routine service, plus an amortized pod major every two years and an engine major every five, so a twin IPS runs a few thousand dollars a year all in.
About $1,450 per engine for the annual service, plus a roughly $4,000 major on the 300-hour interval.
How much does yacht insurance cost?
Yacht insurance typically runs 1 to 1.5 percent of the boat's insured hull value per year, and the calculator defaults to 1.5 percent. This is the only cost that scales with what the boat is worth. Everything else is driven by size, engines, and usage.
What drives the premium?
The rate moves with the boat's age and construction, your claims history and experience, the cruising area, and how the boat is stored.
Enter the hull value, meaning the boat's value, and the estimate applies the rate to it. It is capped at 5 percent because no mainstream market goes higher for standard private use.
Why is value the only price-linked cost?
Two identical boats with the same engines and systems cost the same to service, fuel, dock, and haul, whatever they sell for.
Only the insurance premium follows the price, because it is a percentage of the sum insured.
Common questions
Usually 1 to 1.5 percent of the insured hull value per year. A $2,000,000 boat at 1.5 percent is about $30,000 a year, though the exact rate depends on age, cruising area, and claims history.
Yes, because the premium is a percentage of value. It is the one running cost that scales with purchase price.
How much does a yacht crew cost?
Crew is the largest running cost on any boat that carries one, and it grows with length: a captain on a 45-foot boat and a captain on a 120-foot yacht are different jobs and different money. On top of every salary sit payroll taxes, insurance, provisions and travel. Most owners run their own boat up to about 50 feet; above that, a paid captain becomes the norm.
Pay by role and size
A captain typically earns about $75,000 to $110,000 a year on a 50-foot boat, rising to $180,000 to $260,000 on a 120-foot yacht. A deckhand earns about $40,000 to $55,000, rising to $54,000 to $72,000, and a chief stew about $50,000 to $70,000, rising to $84,000 to $120,000.
These are industry ranges, not quotes. Pay moves with location, licences, experience and how hard the boat is used. A seasonal crew is counted for six months of the year.
What sits on top of a wage
A wage is not what a crew costs. Payroll taxes and social charges, crew health insurance, provisions, uniforms, rotation flights, agency placement fees and training all ride on top of it.
The trade puts these at 15 to 30 percent of the wage bill, so the estimate adds 22 percent to the salaries. A professional management company is not included.
What is the total cost of owning a boat per year?
The estimate adds up engine service, fuel, generators, air conditioning, bottom paint, hull cleaning, haul-out, storage, and insurance into a single annual figure, shown alongside a monthly figure.
How should I read this number?
Read it as a planning range, not a quote. It reflects typical, current costs for a boat of this size, engine setup, and location.
The line items are yearly and the headline is monthly, because dockage and cleaning are felt monthly while services fall once or twice a year.
What is not included?
A management company, which on a larger yacht can rival the crew itself. What surrounds a crew wage — payroll taxes, insurance, provisions, uniforms and travel — is counted, at 22 percent on top of the salaries.
It also excludes one-time purchases like a new tender or an electronics refit.
Where do these numbers come from?
Authorized repair centers, engine-manufacturer service data, and dealer pricing on YachtWay.
That first-party sourcing is why the estimate reflects real invoices rather than generic guesses.
How much does it cost to own a boat per year?
The cost of owning a boat is driven by its size, engines, and how much you use it, not by what you paid for it. Two identical hulls with the same engines and systems cost the same to run whatever they sell for.
Size sets almost everything
Most marine charges are billed by the foot, so length is the biggest lever. Dockage, dry storage, bottom paint, haul-out, and hull cleaning all rise with length, and longer hulls carry larger engines and more systems.
Value touches insurance only
Insurance is a percentage of the insured hull value, so it is the one line that scales with price. Everything else follows size, engines, and usage, which is why this planner asks for those first.
Marina dockage rates by location
| Location | Marina slip, per ft / mo | Lift or dry storage |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | $30 | ~$15 |
| San Diego, CA | $35 | ~$18 |
| Miami, FL | $70 | ~$35 |
| Newport, RI | $75 | ~$38 |
Marine engine service, per engine
Outboard engine service (gasoline, per engine)
| Engine | Routine (annual) | Major (300 hr / 3 yr) | GPH @ 3,500 | GPH @ 4,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury 115 FourStroke (Inline-4) | $475 | $1,050 | 3.7 | 5.0 |
| Mercury 150 FourStroke (Inline-4) | $525 | $1,150 | 5.7 | 7.6 |
| Mercury 200 V6 FourStroke | $550 | $1,550 | 6.4 | 8.5 |
| Mercury 225 V6 FourStroke | $600 | $1,700 | 7.1 est. | 9.5 est. |
| Mercury Verado 250 (V8 4.6L) | $625 | $1,750 | 7.9 est. | 10.2 est. |
| Mercury 300 (Verado / 300R) | $675 | $1,750 | 8.6 | 11.0 |
| Mercury Verado 350 (V10 5.7L) | $800 | $2,050 | 9.7 | 11.6 |
| Mercury Verado 400 (V10 5.7L) | $850 | $2,200 | 10.8 | 12.2 |
| Mercury Verado 600 V12 | $1,450 | $4,000 | 14.0 est. | 18.0 est. |
| Mercury 400R Racing | $825 | $2,100 | 10.5 est. | 13.5 est. |
| Mercury 450R Racing | $950 | $2,500 | 11.0 est. | 14.0 est. |
| Mercury 500R Racing | $1,125 | $2,850 | 11.5 est. | 15.0 est. |
| Yamaha F150 | $525 | $1,100 | 5.3 | 6.3 |
| Yamaha F250 | $650 | $1,400 | 8.7 | 11.5 |
| Yamaha F300 | $675 | $1,450 | 8.3 – 8.6 | 11.2 – 11.7 |
| Yamaha F350 | $775 | $1,650 | 8.6 – 9.7 | 11.6 – 12.8 |
| Yamaha F425 XTO | $1,050 | $2,300 | 10.8 | 14.4 |
| Yamaha F450 XTO | $1,175 | $2,500 | 11.5 | 15.7 |
| Evoy Storm 300 (electric outboard) | $225 | $500 | 25 – 35 kW draw, billed per kWh | |
Two rpm points are published because burn at 3,500 rpm is 25 to 35 percent lower than at 4,000. The calculator uses the 4,000 rpm figure, the closest published point to a sustained fast cruise.
Downsizing saves less than you think
At 4,000 rpm the Mercury 300 V8, Yamaha F250, Verado 350 V10, and Yamaha F300 all sit within about 1 gph of each other. Real cruise burn across the 250 to 350 hp class is far closer together than horsepower suggests.
The hull moves it about 13 percent
Hull choice alone shifts these figures by roughly 13 percent. The same Yamaha F350 measured 8.6 and 9.7 gph at 3,500 rpm on two different hulls.
Volvo Penta IPS pod service (diesel, per engine)
| Engine | Routine (annual) | Pod major (500 hr / 2 yr) | Engine major (1,000 hr / 5 yr) | Cruise GPH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volvo IPS650 (D6) | $1,500 | $3,000 | $6,000 | 18.5 |
| Volvo IPS800 (D8) | $1,700 | $3,400 | $6,500 | 21.5 est. |
| Volvo IPS1350 (D13) | $2,600 | $5,250 | $10,000 | 35.5 est. |
Where IPS figures come from
Volvo Penta publishes no fuel-consumption data on its product sheets, so these numbers come from builder performance reports generated by Volvo's own engine software. The IPS650 figure is Volvo's own stated cruise point, 10 percent below wide open throttle at about 3,400 rpm.
Two engines share the IPS650 name
IPS650 is sold as both the D6 at 480 mhp and the D8 at 509 mhp. The figure above is the D6, which is the one verified against a performance report.
Inboard shaft diesel service (per engine)
| Engine | Routine (annual) | Major (1,000 hr / 5 yr) | Cruise GPH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cummins 6BTA 5.9 | $1,000 | $4,250 | 10.0 est. |
| Cummins QSB 6.7 | $1,150 | $5,000 | 20.5 |
| Cummins QSL9 | $1,200 | $6,000 | 17.0 |
| Cummins QSM11 | $1,600 | $7,000 | 30.0 |
| Caterpillar 3208 (legacy) | $700 | $6,000 | 14.5 |
| Caterpillar C12 | $1,150 | $4,500 | 19.0 |
| Caterpillar C18 | $1,600 | $7,500 | 44.0 |
| Caterpillar C32 | $2,750 | $12,500 | 67.4 est. |
| Yanmar 4LV250 | $800 | $3,400 | 10.5 est. |
| Yanmar 6LY440 | $1,075 | $4,750 | 18.0 est. |
| Yanmar 8LV370 | $1,150 | $5,100 | 15.5 |
| MAN V8-1200 | $2,850 | $10,000 | 47.0 |
| MAN V12-1550 | $3,750 | $14,000 | 62.0 |
| MAN V12-2000 | $4,500 | $17,000 | 83.0 |
| MTU 8V 2000 | $4,500 | $3,000 / yr | 48.0 est. |
| MTU 10V 2000 | $4,500 | $3,000 / yr | 52.0 est. |
What is in each service?
Annual, or 100-hour
Engine oil and filter, fuel filters, lower-unit gear lube, sacrificial zinc anodes, and greasing the mid-section fittings.
Major, at 300 hours or 3 years
Everything in the annual service, plus a water pump impeller kit, fresh spark plugs, new thermostats, and the alternator drive belt.
Electric outboards
No oil or plugs, so service is gear lube, anodes, and the coolant system. Running cost is charging energy, about 25 to 35 kW at cruise billed per kWh, not gallons.
All Mercury outboards listed run on 87 octane regular unleaded.
These are dealer estimates
No engine manufacturer publishes service pricing. Manufacturers publish intervals; the dollar amounts are dealer-set and vary with region and labour rate.
Figures assume shop or dealership labor at $150 to $200 per hour. A mobile technician at your dock typically adds a $150 to $200 call-out fee.
Hours or calendar, whichever comes first
Intervals trigger on running hours or elapsed time, so an owner running 30 to 60 hours a year usually hits the calendar trigger well before the hour trigger.
Every figure is per engine and looked up by model in the calculator. Multiply by the number of engines for the boat's total.
Frequently asked questions
It depends far more on size, engines, and usage than on purchase price. A mid-size cruiser can run from the low tens of thousands to well over one hundred thousand dollars a year once service, fuel, storage, insurance, and haul-out are included.
No. Two identical hulls with the same engines and systems cost the same to run whatever they sell for. Purchase value only affects insurance, which is a percentage of hull value.
For most vessels it is engine service, fuel, insurance, and dockage or storage. On larger yachts crew becomes the biggest line of all, which is why the calculator asks for it; a management company is still left out.
Charged per foot per month and varies by market: roughly $30 in Fort Lauderdale, $70 in Miami, and $75 in Newport. Dry storage or a lift runs about half the slip rate, and your own dock is free.
Usually 1 to 1.5 percent of insured hull value per year. It is the only running cost that scales with what the boat is worth.
How we calculate these costs
YachtWay builds these figures from primary sources, not numbers scraped off the open web. Prices vary by location, vessel age, and usage, so treat the result as a planning range, not a quote.
Service and fuel
Service costs come from authorized repair centers and engine-manufacturer service schedules. Fuel comes from the NautiX engine database at cruise, read off the manufacturer's propeller-demand curve.
Storage and insurance
Dockage and haul-out rates are gathered from marinas and yards in each market. Insurance follows standard hull-value percentages.
Labor assumptions
Shop and dealership labor is assumed at $150 to $200 per hour. A mobile technician who comes to your dock adds a call-out fee on top.
This calculator is a planning guide to help you understand the shape of what a boat costs to own. It is not a quote or a formal appraisal. Real costs vary with location, the vessel's age and condition, and how you use it, and it does not include a professional management company, which many owners choose to add. No model can account for every variable, so please treat these figures as an informed starting point rather than a precise total. Our numbers draw on authorized repair centers, engine manufacturer service data, and pricing shared by dealers on YachtWay. For decisions that matter, confirm the specifics with a surveyor, broker, or service center.