How much would it cost to have my boat reupholster my boat?

How much does a boat cost per month?

• hello. so im 18 and i have to move out soon. like within 3 months. and instead of living in an appt were i would pay first last and damage for a total of like 1800 bucks. i thought, i live in a port town, why not live on a boat for free!? so iv been looking at boats for awhile now and iv decided on a small cabin cruiser. something like 22 to 32 at the largest. only problem is i dont really know what it costs to maintain a boat like this. the 22 ft bayliner im looking at has a chev 350 with a volvo 270 duoprop outdrive. and the 32 ft monk im looking at is wooden and has an inboard with a 318. im no stranger to working with wood and as for a haul out, my brother and i both work in the port (myself as a fuel dock manager and him as a lift operater) so i could probably get pretty cheap haul out when needed. i dont need to hear "if your asking how much its gunna cost than you cant afford it" i have 3 jobs and make more than enough money to do this. i just want to know if it would be cheaper to live in an appt or on a boat. where i live its legal and free to ancher out in the bay so i wouldnt be paying for a slip. my questions are 1 how much would it cost to maintain both of these boats 2 what are some common things that go wrong on these types of boats? 3 how much work is there really on a wooden boat? thanks!

• Answer:

  The most important expense is if you pay "Cash in Full" for the boat or finance. If you have the boat paid for in Full, then you've overcome the first major hurdle. If you have to finance, then it'll cost more than renting an apartment. You'll need electricity, storage, food, cooking and cooking fuel, running water (hot & cold), and many other basic things. A wooden boat is always more to maintain than a fiberglass version. The most common thing to go wrong is broken hoses which allow water intrusion and eventual sinking of the vessel. Then you must have sewage management. I don't know of ANY country or port that will allow you to simply dump raw sewage into the waterway. Then how will you deal with garbage disposal, showering, drinking water, TV, entertainment, cooking food etc? While these may be overcome for a short period time, the long term has to be thought out carefully. You should think about as large a vessel as possible rather than a small 22' vessel. Small gets old really quick! Eventually, someone is going to complain to the Authorities about a long term anchorage. Someone always does, so don't think you are home-free on that issue. Many locations have a 14 day limit BTW.