BOATOUT
Get out on the water — boating guides, marine know-how, and the calculators every boat owner needs.
From budgeting a boat loan and the real cost of ownership to pricing the fuel for a day out, weighing your rig before you tow, sizing your anchor, and finding the boat that fits, BoatOut pairs free hands-on boating calculators with practical guides and a richly illustrated museum. Own smarter, cruise further.
Boating Tools & Calculators
Free tools for every boater — boat loan calculator, boat fuel cost calculator, boat maintenance cost calculator, boat trailer weight calculator, anchor size calculator, and boat size guide.
Boat Loan Calculator
Turn a boat's price, your down payment and trade-in, the APR, and the term into a monthly payment — plus the total interest and the true cost of the loan
Boat Fuel Cost Calculator
Price a day on the water from your engine's gallons-per-hour burn rate, the hours you'll run or the distance and cruising speed, and the dock fuel price — with twin-engine support
Boat Maintenance Cost Calculator
Estimate a year of ownership with the ~10%-of-value maintenance rule of thumb plus your storage, insurance, and winterization — annual and monthly totals, line by line
Boat Trailer Weight Calculator
Add boat, engine, fuel, water, gear, and trailer into your true gross towing weight, then check it against your vehicle's rating with the 80% safety-margin guideline
Anchor Size Calculator
Get a fluke-anchor weight range for your boat length and conditions, the matching chain diameter, and the rode to pay out at the classic 7:1 scope
Boat Size Guide
Tell it your primary activity, passenger count, and the water you'll boat on, and get a recommended length range with one or two boat types that fit
Museum of Boats & Seafaring
Wander an immersive museum of the vessels and traditions that carry us onto the water — from workboats, sailboats, and swift powercraft to the arts of navigation, anchoring, and seamanship, each in its own gallery, so you can get to know the stories behind every great hull: how each one came to be, what makes it matter, and the role it plays in the way we go boating today.
Tour the museum →From the Journal
Fresh guides on boats and watercraft, rentals and tours, marine gear, and life on the water, plus practical tips for buying, maintaining, trailering, and boating safely in every season.
Winterization and the Off-Season Boat Budget
Six months of not using the boat is not six months of not paying for it. Here is what the off-season actually costs, and which lines keep running when the boat is on the hard.
Slip Fees vs Trailering: The Comparison Worth Doing Before You Sign
A marina berth is often the single largest line in a boat's annual cost. Trailering removes it and adds costs of its own — including one nobody prices.
Down Payment or Shorter Term: Which Actually Moves the Cost?
Both lower what you pay, but not in the same way. More down cuts the payment proportionally; a shorter term raises the payment and cuts the interest sharply.
Renting vs Owning a Boat: How Many Hours It Takes to Break Even
Owning beats renting above a certain number of hours a year and loses below it. The figure is computable before you buy, and it is usually higher than people expect.
What Size Boat Do You Need for Your Crew and Your Water?
The same four people need a different boat on a sheltered lake than on open ocean. Length follows from what you do, how many come along, and where you do it — in that order.
Boat Trailer Weight: What the Brochure's Dry Weight Leaves Out
Dry weight is the boat and nothing else. Add the engine, a full tank, the trailer and the gear you actually carry, and a rig that looked comfortable can sit over your tow rating.
Keep Learning
Practical know-how on buying, financing, and maintaining a boat, plain-language explainers on fuel burn, towing weights, and anchoring, and seasoned tips for first-time skippers and old salts alike — everything you need to dig deeper and cruise further.
Visit the Learn hub →