How Much Does it Cost to Maintain a $1.134 Million Boat?

The Caribbean 49 is the flagship of the Caribbean boats fleet. Well-crafted and fitted out in conservative and timeless style, the Caribbean 49 is capable of accommodating a large family for summer getaways. However, it’s also a consummate big-fish gameboat with a tradition going back to the drawing board of legendary naval architect C Raymond Hunt.

Gameboat maintenance costs

We recently had the privilege of spending time aboard Haulin, a beautifully optioned Caribbean 49 in Port Stephens, NSW. A dedicated offshore gamefish boat, Haulin was competing in the annual Port Stephens Billfish Shootout. The boat was fitted out for Dean Hoye by fishing tournament sponsor Sylvania Marina.

The base price of Caribbean 49 with a Cummins marine diesel engine is $1.064 million. The Caribbean 49 price rises to $1.134 million with twin Cat 12 marine diesel engines (see the full bot review below), including the Quick Shift gearboxes. I asked Nathan from Sylvania Marina about the replacement cost of the boat as tested; he did some quick mental arithmetic and said his best estimate would be around an extra $250,000. There’s a lot in the boat’s impressive marine electronics and the tower isn’t cheap.

What’s it cost to operate?

All boaties know that the purchase price is only the beginning of the story and in a weak moment Dean laid out some of his running costs for us:

Six weeks in Port Stephens for the Shootout and Interclub: $3500 for docking fees

Insurance: $6000

Life raft service (every two years): $1000

Engine maintenance, every 200 hours (twice per year): Up to $5000

Anti-foul and Prop Speed (every year): $5000

Cosmetics (annually): $4000

Other costs

A typical day’s fishing uses 450L of diesel fuel, so 30 days of fishing would add close to $18,000. That’s without travelling to and from events.
If you need a loan to buy one, add interest.
If you don’t have your own mooring, marina fees apply.

Caribbean 49 specifications

Caribbean 49 price: $1,064,000

Priced from, with Cummins QSM11 715hp marine diesel

OPTIONS FITTED

Custom tower, electronics, teak cockpit, tender, life rafts, more.

PRICE AS TESTED

Approx $1,380,000

GENERAL

MATERIAL GRP

TYPE Flybridge Cruiser

LENGTH 14.77m

BEAM 4.88m

WEIGHT 20,500kg

DEADRISE 22°

CAPACITIES

PEOPLE 9 (NIGHT) 25(DAY)

FUEL 2700L (3200L on later versions)

WATER 900L

ENGINE

MAKE/MODEL 2 x Cat C12 marine diesel engines

RATED HP 700 x2

DISPLACEMENT 12L

WEIGHT 1124kg

PROPELLER Austral five-blade

MANUFACTURED BY

International Marine (Caribbean Boats)

SUPPLIED BY

Sylvania Marina

25 Harrow St, Sylvania 2224

Phone (02) 9522 7430