Towergate Insurance Yacht Cost Saving Guide – sailor feedback
by Francesca Breeze 9 Mar 2012 13:50 GMT
Towergate Insurance Cost Saving Guide for yacht owners © Mark Jardine
Yacht insurance provider, Towergate Insurance, recently put together a Cost Saving Guide for yacht owners, offering tips when buying, surveying, mooring, insuring and maintaining craft.
In a bid to further extend the Guide, Towergate asked forum members of YachtsandYachting.com to share their top buys and money - saving secrets and help others source and secure better deals for the future. Below is their feedback.
Buying
Calculate all the costs before buying. Start with a smaller yacht and work up – we're really happy with our Sonata and are planning a bigger boat in a few years. If you're planning to race, yacht racing can be cheaper than dinghy due to the event costs and you can split this between five or more people.
If you're not planning to race, invest in a small cruiser – often people who upgrade to bigger boats end up fighting them.
Be honest about what you want to use the boat for – is it racing or cruising? If you have an inboard diesel engine, learn how to service it yourself – you'll not only save money, but if something goes wrong in the future, you may have a better idea on how to fix it.
Don't go over 30 feet unless you really need to. For cruisers this is where things can become expensive. A solid 70s cruiser, just under the 30 ft mark can cost you about the same as two new Lasers to buy. Go over 30 ft and everything becomes dearer; sales, ropes, fittings, insurance, fuel consumption, mooring fees, visitors' fees, the lot.
Stick to what you can afford, rather than stretching to try and make a yacht affordable. I've owned boats up to 44feet and tried various ways to keep costs down, but they nearly always involved compromises that reduce enjoyment of owning a craft and sailing – ie mooring rather than marina fees and doing work yourself instead of paying for it.
Equipment
Check out online for sale/wanted sections - I've picked up brand new instruments at a fraction of new costs. I've even said "does anyone have a spare handle for a 1980s SL Hyspeed anchor windlass" thinking I had no chance, and guess what... one turned up for the price of a pint.
Avoid getting ripped off at boat jumbles. Some of the cash that people want for what is basically scrap is astounding.
Get used to the idea that you do not need tapered ExcelNinjaBanzai Pro kite sheets, because then 120' of kite sheets costs significantly less than ones for a Fireball, and will last a lot longer too. Ditto ball bearing blocks... do you really need them?
Whatever you do, do not compromise safety. Do not put yourself in the position where your other half can't get you back on board after a ‘man overboard' because you were too tight to splash out £40 for a rescue sling.
I carry lifejackets, harness lines (plus spares of everything, re-arming kits etc), flares, drogue, life raft, emergency VHF antenna for the fixed VHF, handheld VHF, h/h GPS to back up the main one, wooden bungs, danbuoy, life ring, rescue strop, throw line, lots of get you home spares/tools and I would not put to sea missing any of it. A lot of it was second hand (eg life raft for £100 and then got it serviced).
Cleaning
Fairy liquid is a great boat cleaner. Scrub off regularly. Speed and fuel consumption are hugely affected by even a small amount of debris on your hull.
Mooring
If you're planning to use a marina, berth in a municipal marina, like Valencia. It's good value compared to other Mediterranean marinas and the facilities are excellent. A number of Med marinas are currently offering 35% discounts for payments up front, so shop around and compare costs.
Individual moorings will be cheaper, so where possible, pick up a visitors mooring or similar; it'll be half the cost of a marina. However, be mindful that your craft will not be looked after in adverse weather conditions. In squally weather, many marina dockhands will check the boats are fine and email the owners.
Clubs
Join a club. A few drinks with mates over a few weekends will get the membership fee back in cheap beer, add to that winter storage and a swinging mooring at 10 – 20% of yard prices and you're quids in.
Insurance
Trying to save money with basic insurance top-ups is a recipe for disaster. Shop around for your cover – I pay less for a 27 foot yacht on a swinging mooring all year than I do for a ‘plastic racing toy' that spends less than 1% of its time afloat.
To view the first Yacht Cost Saving Guide, visit www.towergateinsurance.co.uk/boat