How much does it cost to own a 55 foot boat in Miami? About $120,000 a year
A 55 foot boat with twin Volvo Penta IPS800 pods in a Miami marina costs about $120,600 a year to own. Full breakdown from the YachtWay Boat Ownership Cost Calculator.
A 55 foot boat with twin Volvo Penta IPS800 pods, kept in a Miami marina and run 100 hours a year, costs about $120,600 a year to own. That is roughly $10,000 a month, before the purchase price or any loan payment.
These figures come from the YachtWay Boat Ownership Cost Calculator. Every line is built on public data: marina rates, local fuel prices, yard rates and insurance rates. Open the link and the calculator loads this exact boat, so you can change any number and see your own total.
The boat behind the numbers
- Length
- 55 feet
- Engines
- Twin Volvo Penta IPS800 (D8) pods, diesel
- Use
- 100 engine hours a year, cruising speed
- Storage
- Wet slip in a Miami marina, in the water all year
- Hull value
- $2,000,000
- Insurance
- 1.5% of hull value
- Crew
- None, owner operated
Where the money goes each year
| Cost | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Dockage $70 per foot per month, 55 feet, 12 months | $46,200 | $3,850 |
| Insurance 1.5% of a $2,000,000 hull value | $30,000 | $2,500 |
| Fuel 43 gallons per hour for both pods, 100 hours, diesel at $5.50 a gallon | $23,650 | $1,971 |
| Engine service Yearly service on both pods, plus pod service every two years and major engine service every five | $9,400 | $783 |
| Bottom paint One bottom paint job a year while kept in the water | $3,750 | $313 |
| Bottom cleaning $5.50 per foot, every month | $3,630 | $303 |
| Haul out Lift, pressure wash, yard fees and a week on the hard | $2,549 | $212 |
| Generator One generator, yearly service | $755 | $63 |
| Air conditioning One system, yearly service | $650 | $54 |
| Total | $120,584 | $10,049 |
Dockage, insurance and fuel make up more than 80% of the bill. Engine service is next. The bottom, the haul out and the onboard systems add about $11,300 together.
The three biggest costs
Of the four home ports in the calculator, only Newport costs more per foot than Miami. More than a third of the total.
The only cost that grows with the value of the boat. If your quote differs, enter your own rate in the calculator.
Two IPS800 pods burn about 43 gallons an hour together at cruise. 100 hours is 4,300 gallons of diesel.
Run the boat hard instead of cruising and fuel use goes up fast.
What changes the total
| Change | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| The boat above, as built | $120,584 | $10,049 |
| Run it 50 hours a year instead of 100 | $108,759 | $9,063 |
| Dry storage instead of a wet slip | $90,074 | $7,506 |
| Add a full time captain | $241,364 | $20,114 |
Hours
Halving your hours saves $11,825 in fuel. Engine service stays the same: the pods are serviced every year and the bigger jobs come round on time, used or not.
Storage
Keeping the boat out of the water cuts dockage in half, removes monthly bottom cleaning and stretches bottom paint and haul outs to every two and a half years. That saves about $30,500 a year.
Crew
A full time captain is the biggest single jump. The calculator uses a salary of $99,000 for a captain on a 55 foot boat, plus 22% on top for employment costs. That adds $120,780 a year and doubles the total.
The same boat in other harbors
| Home port | Dockage / ft / mo | Diesel / gal | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | $30 | $5.60 | $7,884 |
| San Diego, CA | $35 | $5.75 | $8,263 |
| Miami, FL | $70 | $5.50 | $10,049 |
| Newport, RI | $75 | $5.85 | $10,551 |
Moving the same boat 25 miles north to Fort Lauderdale saves about $26,000 a year, almost all of it in dockage.
Work out your own number
Change the length, the engine model, the home port, your hours or your insurance rate and the total updates as you go. Email yourself the full breakdown.
Open the calculatorFrequently asked questions
How much does it cost to own a 55 foot boat per year?
About $120,600 a year in Miami for an owner operated boat with twin Volvo Penta IPS800 pods, used 100 hours a year, with a $2,000,000 hull value. The range is $111,000 to $130,000. Add a full time captain and it is about $241,000.
How much does it cost to keep a boat in Miami per month?
For a 55 foot boat, about $10,000 a month, of which $3,850 is dockage alone.
What is the biggest cost of owning a boat?
For a boat this size kept in Miami without crew, dockage is the biggest cost, then insurance, then fuel. Once you hire crew, crew becomes the biggest cost.
Is it cheaper to keep a boat in Fort Lauderdale than in Miami?
Yes. The same 55 foot boat costs about $94,600 a year in Fort Lauderdale against $120,600 in Miami, mainly because dockage is $30 per foot per month instead of $70.
