Refit Costs

People who are interested in cruising are often curious about how much it costs to refit (and maintain) a boat, and how much it costs to cruise.  Oftentimes the answer on forums is “As much as you have” which frankly, isn’t particularly helpful.  Yes, some people do it on a shoestring.  For others it truly is “as much as they have.”  But finding hard numbers that can be used to get a ballpark idea is difficult.

This page records how much we spent to refit a Bristol 29.9 to get her ready for cruising.  It doesn’t track every single penny, but it covers the major items.  We did the majority of the work ourselves, but I’ve noted where the cost included professional labor.  Based on the labor costs for the engine and standing rigging, I can confidently say that if we had hired all of the work out it would have easily added another 30% to the cost, if not more.

If you’re interested in our monthly cruising expenses, check out the “Cruising Costs” page.

EXPENSES: $74,047.39.  TL/DR: The purchase price of the boat and the new engine/install are 55% of the total amount.  

Boat purchase price: $15,500

Seacocks and thruhulls: $898.97
Bronze hardware + raw water intake parts – $69.83
4 Groco bronze 1 1/2″ seacocks – $373.66
4 bronze 1 1/2″ thruhulls – $167.96
4 bronze pipe to hose adaptors – $75.56
4 Groco backing blocks – $211.96

Standing Rigging: $4,482.04 – Done by Sound Rigging Services, Essex, CT
Chainplates from Mystic Stainless – $923.12; chainplate fasteners – $105.57
Shrouds, stays, hi-mod turnbuckles and terminals – $2,813.35
Hi-mod spares kit – $210.00
Change gooseneck to fixed – $430

Running rigging: $1208.17
Traveller lines (2 at 8′ each, 5/16″ Samson XLS) and hardware – $108.03
Jib downhaul line and ring – $44.14
Whisker Pole (Newport Nautical consignment), stanchion chocks, and ring: $521
88′ main halyard – 11mm PES with shackle – $145
88′ jib halyard – 11mm PES – $110
80′ jib sheets – 12mm PES – $120
splicing – $160

Sails from Mack Sails: $4,105
Fully battened mainsail with two deep reefs – $1,925
110 hank-on jib – $1,190
85 hank-on jib – $990

Electrical: $2,770.99
LED bulbs and 2 fixtures – $424.48
Two Renogy 100W flexible solar panels – $400
Two 40 ft cable adaptors for solar panels – $86
Two Genasun GB-10 MPPT controllers – $200
3 Caframo 12 volt fans – $80 (Newport Nautical Consignment)
Blue Sea 16 position DC panel – $367.99
Two Firefly batteries (incl. shipping) – $1,212.52

Plumbing: $559.50
Trident reinforced water hoses – $140.93
Vinyl hose to act as shim for bathroom sink – $4.93
water hose clamps – $22.36
bathroom sink – $77.66
bathroom sink drain and flange – $11.78
Galley sink – $183.71
Baby Whale foot pump for head – $47.00
Flush-mount deck fill for Nature’s Head vent (the old one was raised) – $30.59
Trident PVC tubing for deck fill – $35.94
hose clamps for deck fill – $4.60

Engine & other repower items  (cutlass bearing, PSS shaft, etc.): $25,423.86
Exhaust hose to create a riser for following seas – $175.35
Beta 16 with high-rise exhaust elbow, vent loop, cooler recovery bottle, 75 amp alternator, and spare parts kit – $9,384 (incl. tax and shipping)
Propeller – 13″ x 9 pitch, 3 blade – $508
Muffler – $247.09
Elbows and returns – $574.31
1″ shaft – $719.48
Aluminum fuel tank with inspection port – $700
Raw Water Strainer – $179
PSS Shaft Seal – $295
Cutlass bearing – $78
Exhaust flange – $312.50
Manuals – $122
Labor plus lots of other parts and bits – hoses, clamps, wire, wood, hardware, etc.  The labor included items that we had planned to do but couldn’t due to the timing of Jeff’s diagnosis (removing the old batteries and installing new ones, removing the old fuel tank and installing the new one, etc.) – $12,129.13

Barrier coat: $508.34

Fiberglass, Epoxy, G10, sealants, Supplies: $466.86
(fiberglass cloth, 1′ x 2′ of 1/4″ G10, , 1′ x 1′ of 1/2″ G10, Sikaflex 291, resin, hardener, filler, silica, pumps, pots, sticks and spreaders, brushes)

Monitor Windvane with LED stern light and MRUD tube, and blocks: $5,180

Anchoring: $1,840.22
Crosby G-209 3/8″ anchor shackle – $11.49
Maxwell HRC8 windlass – $734.99
Rocna 33 lb anchor – $285.99
125′ G4 5/16″ chain – $425.00
175′ 8 plait 9/16″ rode – $190.75
chain to rode splice – $33.00
Electrical cables for windlass – $159.00

Safety: $1,862.74
EPIRB – $359.99
PLB – $306.99
PLB – $125 (Essex Gam Silent Auction)
Two Kong dual tethers – $201.40
Lifesling – $99.99
Plastimo jacklines – $119.99
Crotch straps (2) – $28.00
Radar Reflector – $53.99
Stayplug – $14.39
two fire ABC fire extinguishers – $42.53
Steiner Navigator 7x50C binoculars – $510.47

Electronics – $2,451.29
Refurbished B&G Zeus2 chartplotter – $530.68
CMAP Max N+ Wide East Coast & Bahamas – $292.45 (incl. expedited shipping)
Simrad Go Free Wi-fi1 Module – $180.89
Starbrite and u-bolts to mount chartplotter – $48.57
Standard Horizon handheld VHF – $69.99
Standard Horizon Class D VHF w/AIS Receiver – $292.49
Standard Horizon Ram 3 microphone – $101.19
B&G speed/depth/temperature transducer, wind instrument, and display – $935.03

Dinghy and outboard: $2,272.67
Achilles dinghy – $1,337.85
Honda 2.3 hp outboard: $902.91
Manson dinghy anchor – $31.91 (blowout at Defender)

Canvas-related supplies: $4,104.95
Sailrite LSZ-1 deluxe package and hot knife package – $1,231.46
Curtains: $82
Interior Cushions foam, repair supplies, silk film: $309.83
Weathercloths: $189.05
Cockpit cushions: $301.95
Winch covers: $29.70
Foredeck bag kit – $76.10
Bimini kit from Sailrite – $879.90
Bosun’s Chair kit from Sailrite – $85.85
Mainsail cover kit from Sailrite – $245.66
Drifter from Sailrite – $673.45

Miscellaneous: $411.79
Spreader Halyard Kit – $51.29
6 Samson super strong double braid dock lines – $325.50
Winch handle – $35 (Essex Gam Silent Auction)

23 thoughts on “Refit Costs”

  1. I enjoyed your page and all the details you went into. I’m a 48 yo male, grew up on my dad’s 36 ftTripp designed Choe Lee built sloop out of noank, ct. I love sailing and am looking to purchase a 29.9 and go sailing lol. Please keep your progress noted on your page. Best regards, Dave

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Dave. Your dad’s boat sounds like it was great! We’ll definitely be keeping this page up to date. I’ve always wished there was more info out there about ballpark expenses for this size boat, so I figured maybe it could help someone else. Best of luck on the search for your 29.9! Kimberly

      Like

      Reply

      2. Hi Arthur – Ahhh, Italy. One of our favorite places. As for the 29.9, we love our boat and have complete confidence that she can take us wherever we want to go. Every time I go sailing on someone else’s larger boat, I come back to Pegu Club and am so glad we have her. While the extra space is nice on a larger boat, I prefer the responsiveness of the smaller one – plus she’s easy to single hand. We won’t sell her until we’re ready to stop sailing altogether. Good luck with the survey, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Kimberly

        Like

  2. Wow! Great stuff and fascinating to read. There are people who will really find this helpful. Track your page views. Some of the companies you use may want to advertise someday. Love, Dad

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Now, how much of your time was spent? That is harder to track. The list looks very thorough. Good for you. Love, N

    Like

    Reply

    1. Time is definitely harder to track. That’s why I have a generalized count at the bottom, since bouncing from task to task made it too difficult to keep it separate. Love, Kimberly

      Like

      Reply

    1. Congratulations on your B24! Our first boat was a Bristol 24 and we loved her. Built like a tank and very forgiving of all of our newbie mistakes. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  6. Hi, I notice that your safety gear does not include a liferaft. As we are tooling up for a similar trip, I’m shopping for our safety gear and hemming and hawing on the idea of a liferaft. I’m interested in hearing more about your decision to do without.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Thom – not a bad idea for a blog post! For us it boiled down to how much room a liferaft would take up 24/7 for the handful of days in a year where it would conceivably be needed, and also whether we really needed one for the kind of cruising we’re doing. We decided that for now we can do without – we’re not so far offshore that we’re all alone for hundreds of miles, and our passages are short enough that we can get a pretty reliable weather forecast so we can choose our window. I read somewhere that you can rent life rafts , so I think if we ever decided to cross the Atlantic to Europe (highly unlikely) we would simply go that route. Kimberly

      Like

      Reply

    1. So great to hear from you, Skip! We are well and enjoying the journey. Please keep us posted if you end up in warmer climates this winter! Otherwise we’ll see you next year! Kimberly and Jeff

      Like

      Reply

  8. Hello,
    I’m curious if you still like going from furler to hanked on? I’ve got a small 19′ fractional with a furler but I recently came to aquire a large set of sails (I only wanted the mains) but they threw in some hanked on headsails and have always wondered if I shouldn’t give that a go. Wondering if you’ve seen any pros to switching?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Adam – We ended up switching back to a furler after four months of cruising, but if we were daysailing or vacationing on the boat we absolutely would have kept the hank ons. The main practical advantage was that we definitely were able to point substantially closer to the wind than with the furler. The emotional advantage was the purity of it. 🙂 If you can easily remove your furler you can always give it a try and reinstall it if you don’t like it. Kimberly

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment