Not all yachties are wealthy city folk with money to throw around. Keen sailors of all backgrounds and financial status manage to buy, berth and maintain their boats on a limited budget by being fiscally astute and carrying out many of the simpler tasks themselves.
Buying a boat is only the start of your investment. If it’s your first, you’ll be needing lifejackets, harnesses and foul weather clothes, plus essential safety gear such as flares, VHF radio, charts, almanacs, pilot guides, logbooks, binoculars, hand-held compass and more. A daunting list, but many of these items can be bought online or from sailing groups, clubs, and associations for much less. I wouldn’t cut corners with safety kit such as lifejackets and liferafts, but I’d definitely hunt around for all the other bits in boat jumbles or online.
MOORINGS
Initial equipment costs are not the end of the matter. Finding somewhere reasonably priced to keep your boat is of paramount importance and will probably be the largest expense after purchasing your vessel. In fact, these days it’s not such a bad idea to find your ideal mooring first before buying the boat, especially if you want to keep her in one of the more popular coastal areas.
Charges increase according to convenience, so if you’re happy to leave your boat on a buoy in a river or harbour and row out to it with all your gear every time you use it, this will probably be the cheapest solution. It can be even cheaper if you join a
