Budget for wakeboard boat

[purduephigam]

First post on the forum, and hoping to get more involved in the community. I've been doing more thinking (and planning) lately about getting a boat. Budget would be $30-40K, any 2000+ model of basically any V-drive boat. I've seen multiple suggestions of boats that fit this range, but the real question is how much approximately do you find yourselves paying in misc. fees per year to maintain the boat?

Consider: Slip/Harbor fees, storage fees (winter), gas, unforseen mechanic fixes, insurance, etc.

I feel these sometimes go unnoticed for most and am trying to plan appropriately so I'm not caught off guard shelling out more than I was expecting, or am ready for (granted, I understand boats eat into your wallet regardless....). Any thoughts on this would be appreciated so that I can incorporate things into an annual spreadsheet. Yup, I'm very Type A.

[3MileBayWaker]

I trailer my boat to the lake and store it on the side of my house during the summer, in winter it's in our garage at camp. No storage fees but I buy a yearly launch pass for unlimited launches $85 for 20-25' boats.

Yearly oil change is around $80, I don't do 100hrs a season so its at the end of summer for me.

35 gal fuel tank which depending on how much riding we do, I can kill it in a day or two. I fuel up at local gas station with 91 no ethanol, 4.14/gal right now.

Insurance is yearly, about $315 for $28k of coverage may- October of use age.

I clean my canvass and re waterproof it $100 yearly.

I keep $1,000 around for unseen break downs, so far it's been something every year since brand new. Trim pump, steering ram...

I winterize my boat myself, so I don't pay for that or storage. I might pay a shop this year to remove my lower unit and check out my bearings and joints since its been used for 3 summers going on 4.

[FlatH20]

pretty insightful - keeping a stash for unexpected repairs, having owned 5 boats something always comes up... we take meticulous care of our V-drive and I do the maintenance - which we've done per the manufacturers recommended schedule. your Type "A" personality will be a good match with boat ownership. each year we don't have anything major I'll blow my reserve on something new for the boat and/or some fresh gear at the end of the season- great way to incentavise taking care of your investment - you should be able find a pretty decent boat for that budget I would go with something simple and otherwise avoid the major bling and concentrate on function - you can always add the bling- always verify the maintenance record on what you purchase. also consider the crossover boats - to maximize your utility on the water - an older v-ride should be right in your wheelhouse from a pricing perspective.

storage launch fees - ditto 3Mile's comments

just my 02 cents