Average Cost of Buying & Owning a Sailboat (2019)

Examples of Popular Sailboats, and How Much They Cost

boat	price class	one-time cost	monthly cost
Island Packet 26'	medium	$25,000	$470
Catalina 22'	low budget	$2,500	$115
Ocean cruiser 35'	low budget	$38,000	$450
Luxury yacht 40'	expensive	$166,000	$1,300

What Does it Cost to Buy a Sailboat?

The average price of a new sailboat per foot in USD:

• under 30 ft: $2,500 per ft
• 30 - 50 ft: $2,800 - $4,700 per ft
• over 50 ft: $11,000 - $50,000 per ft

On average, second-hand sailboats go at 1/3 - 1/4 of the cost of a new boat:

• under 30 ft: $735 per ft
• 30 - 50 ft: $800 - $1,350 per ft
• over 50 ft: $3,200 - $14,300 per ft

Price of New Sailboats

I've looked at the prices of thousands of yachts (really) on one of the largest yacht marketplaces in the world (- not manually, don't worry: with the help of their search function). This is what I came up with:

Length	Price Low	Price Average	Price High
15-20 ft	$12,000	$24,000	$42,000
20-25 ft	$30,000	$58,000	$90,000
25-30 ft	$55,000	$80,000	$125,000
30-35 ft	$130,000	$160,000	$225,000
35-40 ft	$180,000	$240,000	$350,000
40-45 ft	$238,000	$300,000	$425,000
45-50 ft	$325,000	$375,000	$450,000
50-60ft	$450,000	$600,000	$800,000
80-100 ft	$3,000,000	$5,000,000	$10,000,000

• Source: Yachtworld, prices as of January 7th, 2019

I've used these numbers to calculate the following list:

Here's the detailed price per foot for all lengths from 20 to 100 feet:

• 20 - 25 ft: $1,400 per ft
• 25 - 30 ft: $2,600 per ft
• 35 - 40 ft: $3,000 per ft
• 30 - 35 ft: $5,000 per ft
• 40 - 50 ft: $6,400 per ft
• 35 - 40 ft: $6,400 per ft
• 50 - 60 ft: $11,000 per ft
• 60 - 80 ft: $32,000 per ft
• 80 - 100 ft: $50,000 per ft

Price of Used Sailboats on Craigslist

The price of used sailboats ranges from roughly $250-1,000 per foot.

This is what I found on Craigslist under 30 feet:

Boat	Year	Length (ft)	Price
Montgomery	2017	15	$10,800
Catalina	1997	25	$10,500
Newport		28	$7,500
Catalina	1982	25	$5,900
Ericsson	1972	27	$5,000
TLC		29	$4,000
Cal 24	1961	24	$2,400
Santana	1978	20	$2,350
Colombia	1968	22	$2,250
Colombia	1968	28	$1,200

Here's what I found for 30 feet and up:

Boat	Year	Length (ft)	Price
Hunter 430	1999	43	$90,000
Catalina	1979	38	$46,900
Islander	1983	30	$27,500
Newport	1989	33	$24,000
Tartan	1974	34	$23,500
Catlina	1979	30	$17,500
CT	1972	40	$19,900
Yorktown	1988	40	$18,500
Colombia	1972	30	$3,500
Islander	1972	36	$5,000

The average Craigslist price-per-foot of a used sailboat:

• under 30 ft: $162 per ft
• 30 - 50 ft: $637 per ft
• over 50 ft: $2,500 per ft