I am going to make a comparison between 2 major purchases that I have personally made over the past few years. One being a fiberglass pool project in which I invested 50,000 into and the other being a 24 ft fiberglass boat which cost’s 50,000. Keep in mind I live in the northeast where our boating season is cut way short along with our swim season as well. The normal boating season runs from say May 1 through Oct 1 which represents the usual pool season as well, thus will allow for a proper comparison between both investments. Let me start off by saying that I am in no way saying don’t buy a boat. My wife would kill me. Boating is very enjoyable, it’s a time to just get away enjoy what life has to offer with people you care about. It’s a time to enjoy family, friends, relatives, water sports, and Nature itself. Boating has added much enjoyment to my life as a whole but the true question is how does this investment stand up to the investment of a fiberglass pool project. The answer is that it does not even come close to that of a fiberglass pool project. The first segment of this comparison I will break down the associated maintenance costs associated with owning a boat. The second segment I will break down and illustrate what cost’s are associated with owning a Fiberglass Pool . Keep in mind both the Fiberglass Pool project and boat are 50,000. Before I get started comparing apples to apples remember that a fiberglass Pool holds a 25 year warranty and a boat’s normal warranty is about 1-2 years. So right off the bat you invest the same amount of money for the boat and the pool but walk away from the deal with 23 more years of warranty on the pool. That’s just the beginning. You know the saying “what are the two best things about owning a boat” , yup you guessed right the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

What Does is Cost me to maintain that 50,000 boat a year?

1. Dry Stack Fee. Each year I pay to have the boat be kept in a Dry Stack rack. Keeping the boat in Dry stack allows for the boat only to be in the water when i’m using it. All I have to do is hit the button and the attendant fork lifts my boat into the water. The cost of Dry Stack is 2,500 per year. The cost of most regular slips is 2,000per year. So I will take the lower number shit’s and giggles.

2. Tipping. Let’s assume I use my boat every weekend on Saturday for 5 months. That’s 20 visits to the boat yard. I usually Tip the Fork Lift operator 10.00 for lifting my boat into the water. That’s a total cost of 200.00 for putting the boat into the river. It would definitely be worth it’s weight in gold if it were being dropped into Caribbean blue water’s.

3. Fuel Cost’s. For some reason the cost of fuel at the boat dock is much higher than on the street. The fact of the matter is you have to pay it unless you want to carry fourteen five gallon tanks in your pick up to save 20 bucks on Fuel. My total cost of fuel to run my family get a way vehicle is approximately 35.00 per day which is around 700.00 per season.

4. Boat Maintenance. Since I do not go over 100 hours on my boat every season my boat only needs Service once a year I hope. It’s still very new so I will get back to you when the boat becomes older and more of a headache. Oil changes and winterization is a much harder task than emptying the oil in a car. The oil has to be pumped out with a special pump therefore putting me in the hands of the boat yards mechanic. The cost of Service is 400 per season. I am as I said in recent posts a very visual person. I’m a Capricorn therefore need order in my life. Things have to be clean, organized and in place for my mind to function properly. With that said brings me to the cleaning of the boat. I have little or no time for this therefore requiring me to have the boat detailed once a month to preserve my so called investment. The detailing runs 200.00 a month for five month’s. There’s another 1,000 in maintenance cost associated in owning a boat.

5. Insurance Cost’s Typical boat insurance ranges from 400 to 700 per year. I will take 550.00 to demonstrate. Oh don’t let me forget to mention the service called Sea Tow. If for any reason you break down in the middle of the river and need help you call them to come save you. The cost of this service for the season is 200.00

What does it cost me to Maintain that 50,000 dollar Fiberglass Pool Project a year?

Let me First point out that a fiberglass pool requires no acid baths, no re-plastering, no yearly pool fill, no tile replacement and most importantly requires very little maintenance. 99 percent of all of our pool projects we utilize a Salt water Generator to make Chlorine. I will get into the benefits of Salt water Generators in later blog posts. Fiberglass pools are impervious to Algae growth therefor require little chemicals thus requires shorter filter cycles. We now use the new SVRS pump which provides Anti entrapment features along with energy savings along the way. I’ll save that for a later blog post as well. The truth of the matter the normal opening and closing of a pool cost 300 for openings and 300 for closings. The average cost for chemicals or should I say a bag of Salt a year and some occasional Shock will run our customers around 100.00 a season. The cost of electric to run your pool with an energy saving pump will cost around 500.00 per season. There you have it…… A fiberglass pool that cost’s about 1,200 per season. Now let’s compare the overall investment between a boat and a Fiberglass Pool.

The Boat runs me around around 5,050.00 per season to keep it it in the water.

The Pool runs me around 1,200.00 per season in maintenance costs.

Let’s compare the pool and boat now for 20 years of pleasure.

The boat will wind up costing me over 100,000 to maintain for 20 years.

The fiberglass Pool will wind up costing me 24,000 to maintain for 20 years.

With all that said i am sure you can now understand the benefits to owning a fiberglass pool. At the end of the 20 years i now have a pool with 5 years left on the warranty. The boat’s warranty has been long gone say about 18 years ago. The boat probably has been either sold 5 times over at a huge loss or is eating at your wallet so bad that it’s hibernating in dry stack still or on concrete blocks in your front yard. There are many advantages of adding a swimming pool to your home. A swimming pool increases your home’s value. As the price of your home increases so does the pool project that’s associated with your home. The beauty of owning a pool is that you get to use it whenever you want. You want to take a dip early in the morning or after a hard day of work the pool is just steps away. Go ahead; jump in, relax and enjoy an experience that will change your life forever. Owning a fiberglass pool has many advantages. Hopefully I helped create a perceived value that fiberglass pools by far have and will always have the best dollar to dollar value in home improvements and leisure purchases. I hoped you enjoyed my comparison and come back soon for some really informative blog posts.