Taking Stock

Now 2013 is over, its an interesting exercise to have a look at how much I've spent since August when I got the boat.

So, here's a run-down of costs.

August:
Sale of Radios:    -£530.00
Boat                     £    0.00
Engine                  £300.00
Marina 1 Night     £  18.50
Mooring Fees       £126.00
Insurance Deposit £  33.00
Van Wheel            £ 10.00
Mooring Buoy       £   0.00
Cement                 £ 18.00
Chain                    £ 40.00
Rope                    £  27.00
Total                   £  42.50

September:
Insurance              £  8.00
Teak Oil               £  7.00
Sandpaper            £10.00
Dinghy                  £16.00
Paddles                £10.00
Battens                 £10.00
Epoxy                  £  4.00
Varnish                £  9.00
Total                   £74.00

October:
Insurance              £ 8.00
Epoxy                   £ 2.00
Plywood               £ 0.00
Generator             £ 0.00
Chain Swivel        £  5.00
Total                   £15.00

November:
Insurance              £ 8.00
Oars                    £20.00
Total                  £ 28.00

December:
Insurance              £ 8.00
Seizing Wire         £  6.69
Bucket                 £  4.00
Rope                   £  3.00
Total                  £ 21.69

Total for the Year is £181.19.

That's not bad going considering its £36.24 on average per month. I did say before that expenditure was running at around £40 per month and that's a pretty accurate guess from the top of my head.

September was the heaviest month, but then I expected that as I'd used up the money I got from the sale of my radio equipment in August. Buying the list of DIY items that were needed and the dinghy and paddles bumped up the cost a bit but they were necessities.

Things calmed down at the end of the year not only because I'd already bought items and didn't need any more, but also because the winter storms had begun and stopped any work being done. I haven't used all the teak oil or varnish, nor used all my sandpaper. So I've not had to buy any any consumables yet.

Oh, and Christmas of course.

Anyway, expenditure for January stands at just £8.00, the monthly direct debit for the insurance.

Hopefully I've shown that you can own a boat and not shovel huge sums of money into it. You just have to be practical and able to take on small jobs. And be prepared to trade time for money. You do the jobs quicker by paying someone to do them, you pay more money. Money is fixed (I don't have bottomless pockets) so therefore the variable becomes time. It will take longer, but I should be sailing this spring. Each job has already got a plan formulated and is ready to roll. Of course things can throw you a curveball.

I fully expect that to happen with the mast step, which to me doesn't look quite right and I think will need some investigation at a minimum and possibly some remedial work.Its a known problem on the Sea Wyches, where the mast support goes and the mast step sinks. But isn't a major job in the great scheme of things. It just need the support for the mast step cutting out and redoing. All of which can be down internally.