Rent Or Buy?
If you are thinking about buying a boat, good for you! We love boaters and boats, but when thinking about a boat purchase, knowledge is power.
Getting out on the water is one of our favorite things, but everyone is super busy. With Sports, graduation parties, weddings, weather, and all of life's distractions, how much are you really going to use that shiny new toy?
Pine Lake Rentals exclusively rents newer boats. We handle all maintenance, fuel, storage, winterization, and the inevitable headaches that come with the ownership of a vessel.
Let's look at the costs associated with owning the exact boat that we rent to you, and do the math on what is best for you.
Mosey on over Facebook Marketplace and look at how much a newer pontoon boat costs. We will use $30,000 for our purposes.
If you are going to get a loan for your boat, at today's interest rates, the loan payment on a $30,000 boat for 5 years is $594.04, for a total annual cost of $7128.48
A dock for the summer, storage for the winter, and routine maintenance and insurance, with a modest allowance for repairs, which are sure to be needed, add up to around $4500 annually.
So your total annual cost for a $30,000 boat assuming a payment, add up to about $11,500.
Your boat, with a modest 40HP engine, will burn about 4 gallons of fuel every hour.
Now the fun part, get on the water and let her rip! Let's look at your total cost per hour based on how much you boat.
If you are a HEAVY user, say you go full beast mode. You go every single weekend you can from June through August. that is 24 weekend days from 10am to six pm, and then you go three nights a week for a two hour cruise. that is 36 days.
- This would be 264 hours for an hourly operating cost of just about $60.00 per hour. You, my friend, should buy a boat.
Let's dial it back a bit and say you get on the water for one day each weekend, and two nights for your two hour cruises during the week.
- This would be 144 hours for an hourly operating cost of just about $97.00 per hour. It is probably still a pretty good deal for you to own. You can leave your stuff on the boat, you can get a boat that best suits your needs... We get it.
Unfortunately, skipper, the reality is often that life happens. We get busy, we go to baseball games, and the weather isn't always cooperative. The average boat owner nationwide averages around 100 annual hours. This includes warm weather states where you can boat all year. In the Midwest, it is probably closer to 50 hours.