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Real Canadian Boat Prices – Total Cost of Boat Ownership

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You’ve been dreaming of landing that big bass and picturing your kids finally getting away from their screens. You see yourself in a beautiful All-Welded aluminum fishing boat or cruising up the lake in a luxurious 10-person pontoon boat. The only thing standing in your way is buying that boat of your dreams.

One common obstacle with the boat-buying journey is not knowing what you can afford. You have a budget in mind, and a general idea of what a boat costs but most manufacturers hit you with a surprise. They sometimes publish the price of the basic boat, only to overwhelm you with added options and accessories. Other times you have to drive all the way out to the dealer before you find out what the true costs are.

Here at Legend Boats we always make sure to package our boats with the most common features and give you a healthy heads-up about adding more power, additional chairs, or state-of-the-art fish finder.

But, we want to make you happy for years to come. That means setting the right expectations from day one so that you’re completely happy with your Legend Boat purchase

 

How Much Is A Boat?

The price of the boat is the most significant, but there are other expenses you’ll encounter throughout the life of your boat.  This includes;

 

Recommended Maintenance

Some repairs are unpredictable. But, regular maintenance – like winterization and oil changes – will leave your boat in better condition and long-weekend ready. Here are the types of recommended maintenance and average costs.  Keep in mind that pricing will depend on size of boat, motor and trailer package;

Oil Change $130

Winterization $70

Spring Start Up $150

*There are many dealers who offer Seasonal Packages that include all of the above plus Winter Storage and/or Shrink Wrapping.  See Shrink Wrapping average cost below.

 

Winter Storage

Some people cover their boat and trailer and simply leave it in their driveway or backyard. But, we know you love your Legend Boat and want to keep it near-new for as long as possible. Costs vary depending on where you live and size of your boat, but you can expect these storage fees;

Storage: $600-$700

Shrink Wrap: $280-$380 (about $15/foot)

 

More Accessories

Let’s be honest, the more time you spend in your boat the more you’ll want to do with it. This can be anything from adding the latest fish finder to new water tubes. There are dozens – if not hundreds – of accessory options out there ranging from a few to a few thousand dollars.

Rather than guess or potentially mislead you, we highly encourage you to browse our accessories catalogue and do some online searching to build a wish list of anything you may want to add on over the next 5-20 years.

 

Fuel

Unfortunately the price of gas continues to rise. Fortunately, Mercury’s 4-Stroke engines are amongst the most fuel-efficient motors on the market. We’re using an average motor size here and assuming you’ll be at cruising speed for the entire outing. Moving up in horsepower will bring your figures up, trolling and chilling will bring them back down.

5 hours a month: $80 /month

15 hours a month: $243/month

25 hours a month: $405/month

If you want to run your own calculations we’re using an average fuel cost of $1.35/L. The 3 motor options we considered are;

Mercury 40 ELPT 4-Stroke @ 7.90/LPH

Mercury 50 ELPT 4-Stroke @ 12.0/LPH

Mercury 90 ELPT 4-Stroke @ 20.5 LPH

 

Safety

Safety is not an option. It’s common sense and it’s the law. Most of these items come included in a convenient safety kit.

Emergency Kit

Flash Light

Whistle

15 metres of towing rope

Fire Extinguisher

First Aid Kit

 

Safety Kit: $15

First Aid Kit: $35

It’s also really smart to get yourself a waterproof pack for your cell phone and some of these items. We sincerely hope that you’ll never have to use any of these safety items. But, if you need them you’ll be glad you have them.

Remember to always wear a Lifejacket and follow the rules of safe boating.

 

Insurance

Like everything else, boating requires insurance. Even if it wasn’t required by the government you’d likely still want to protect your investment. The overall size of your Legend Boat carries an average annual cost of $300-$500.

 

Boating License

You’ll be happy to hear that everyone you encounter on the water has passed the Transport Canada Boating Safety Test and fully licensed. You can do the same for approximately $40. Technically this isn’t a “license”, it’s a certificate of completion and does not expire. This is a one-time fee.

 

Registration and Plates

Hull numbers are flat across the country at $99. License plates differ by province, but you can expect to pay are $75.

Don’t forget to add in the annual cost of your boat and plan for about a 30% increase in gas year-over-year. Once you combine this to our estimates you’ll have your annual cost of ownership. Multiply this by how many years you expect to keep your boat and you’ll have your total cost of ownership!

 

So how did you do?

Was it a little less than expected, on the nose, or way over?

If it’s a lot more than you expected we saved a little surprise for you.

Legend Boats are well known for maintaining their quality and hold their value exceptionally well. Disclaimer, there can be drastic differences from model to model and year to year. Use these as a fairly accurate reference point but make sure to leave a little wiggle room.

5 years: 75%

10 years: 60%

15 years: 30%

 

Use this chart to estimate how much you’ll get back when you sell your Legend Boat to the next happy owner, and deduct it from your total cost of ownership.

Now, that’s much better.

 

There may be a few of you that we just talked out of buying a brand new Legend Boat. But, that’s okay. The goal here is all smiles and no regrets.

For the rest of you, now that you know exactly what to expect the next step is to find YOUR boat. Boats come in all shapes and sizes for different lifestyles. If you’re just starting your journey click here to find our Boat Buyers guide. If you know exactly what you want you can make an appointment to test drive, or walk into any of our Dealer or Retail locations to make sure it Looks and Feels like YOUR boat.   

 

If you liked this blog make sure you to check out the Boat Buyers Guide here!

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