Motor Boat & Yachting — February 2018

JEANNEAU LEADER 805

“Annual income £20, annual

expenditure £19 and 19 shillings

and six, result happiness. Annual

income £20, annual expenditure

£20 ought and six, result misery.”

For all the self-help and advice

books, websites and videos about

personal finance, nobody has ever

summed it up better than Charles

Dickens’ character Wilkins Micawber

in his 19th-century novel David

Copperfield. Quite simply, as long

as there’s more coming in than

going out, happy days.

It’s a philosophy I live by, and

a myriad of spreadsheets mean that

I can keep a close eye on attempting

to remain on the black side of the

personal profit and loss line. Want

to know how my grocery shopping

costs averaged out across the last

six months? I can tell you to the

penny. But I’m guessing that you’re

probably more interested in what it

actually cost to run my 12-year-old

8m sportscruiser for a year, given

this issue’s focus on running costs.

And to make things more interesting,

I’ll compare it directly to the cost of

my previous boat the previous year,

a 22-year-old 6.5m cuddy cabin.

SELF-JUSTIFICATION

If you’ve been following my Born

Again Boater column, you may recall

some ‘man maths’ being brought

into play to justify the upgrade. And

in Our Boats in the June issue last

year, I boldly claimed, ‘On a financial

level, due to the coarse jumps

between berth sizes in my marina,

I’m already paying for an 8m berth.

A larger single diesel shouldn’t cost

much more to service, and it’ll require

a bit more antifoul. We’re not talking

quantum leaps in costs here. I figure

that an 8m diesel cruiser would only

cost 10-15% more to run yet offer

100% more ability.”

Was I right? As I’m writing this, the

honest answer is, I don’t know. So let’s

have a look... First of all, there needs

to be some accounting housekeeping.

Happiness!

Nick tots up exactly how much Smugglers Blues 2

is costing him compared to his old Skibsplast

Specifically, we need to decide what

falls into the running cost column.

For a start, I’m ruling out any costs

involved in buying the boat. So, survey

costs, getting the boat trucked to

Devon, fitting the new VHF radio

or buying a tonneau cover – those

are one-off costs that are clearly

not annual running expenses.

I’m also ruling out the full engine

service that was undertaken before

it was launched because it falls

outside my normal servicing regime

and relates to the purchasing cost

of putting the boat into operational

condition. However, I am including

the end-of-season service I always

get done when lifting my boat

ashore for the winter so that it sits

fully winterised with fresh oil and

antifreeze ready for action as soon

as spring arrives.

I’m also including the cost of

antifouling prior to launch as that

is a normal annual cost, although we

did it ourselves this year to keep costs

down. Finally, there will be additional

disparity in servicing and storage

compared with the previous boat

because, while I was quite happy to

get a local man with a van to service

the old 2-litre diesel in my first

Smuggler’s Blues (and a great job

he made of it), I deemed it a prudent

investment to get the far larger, newer

and more sophisticated electronically

controlled D4-260 serviced by

a Volvo Penta main dealer, partly

to ensure a comprehensive service

history, which is important for resale.

Likewise, SB1 spent the winter craned

ashore on the harbourside in Brixham.

SB2 went into a proper boatyard for

the improved lifting facilities, 240V

shore power and (hopefully!) better

security, so there is additional

expense there.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that

costs rise annually, so although the

berth is exactly the same and would

cost the same for either boat, the

price has risen year on year. And with

Smuggler’s Blues 2 can

reach up to 33 knots

but cruises at 20-25

The River Dart is one of

the lovely locations on

Nick’s cruising doorstep

MBY ’SFLEET

PRESTIGE 680

ARTEMISIA

MARK WEISS, Marina d’Arechi, Italy

PRINCESS 67

JENNYWREN

MIKE ROTHERY, Sant Carles Marina, Spain

DUCHY 27

ALCHEMY

PHYLLIS ROCK, Yarmouth, UK

FAIRLINE SQUADRON 78

M ATC H I I

JOHN WOLF, Antibes, France

FLEMING 65

VENTURE II

PHYLLIS ROCK, Yarmouth, UK

STEELER PANORAMA FF53

SYMPHONY

PETER CHESTER, the Netherlands

SUNSEEKER 86

HARD 8

GEMMA HARRIS, Lymington, UK

JEANNEAU LEADER 805

SMUGGLER’S BLUES 2

NICK BURNHAM, Torquay, UK

PRESTIGE 500S

BREAKING BAD

NIGEL PICKIN, Port Hamble, UK

JEANNEAU NC14

DIANA

JOHN BRUNYATE, Port Solent Marina, UK

KARNIC BLUEWATER 2250

BOHEMIAN GIRL

HUGO ANDREAE, Poole, UK

DALE NELSON CLASSIC 45

ARLETTE

HARRY HORNBY, Badachro, Scotland

PRINCESS 61

B AT E AU 9

HARRY METCALFE,

Port Saint Jean, France

NORDHAVN 46

ENVOY

LAURIE CRANFIELD, the Med

FLEMING 55

P L AY D’ E AU

PIERS DU PRÉ, Guernsey, Channel Islands

PRINCESS 43

SAPPHIRE

GORDON CHRISTIE, Loch Lomond, UK

BÉNÉTEAU SWIFT TRAWLER 34

B LU E’ S AWAY

JACK HAINES, Portimão, Portugal

96

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