What a Boat Actually Costs
to Keep in Perth
Most guides to boat running costs are written by finance companies, and none of them mention Western Australia. These are real WA figures, from the operators' and the government's own current rate cards, with every source listed at the bottom.
Why these numbers don't line up
Where you keep it
For most owners the pen is the largest recurring cost by a wide margin — bigger than fuel, insurance and servicing combined for a boat that is used at weekends. It is also the one that varies most between facilities.
12-month rates, GST inclusive, payable in advance. Electricity and water are metered and charged separately on top.
| Facility | Pen type | Per metre / 12 months | Indicative 15 m pen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillarys Boat Harbour | Floating, with walkway | $758.00 | $11,370 |
| Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour | Floating, with walkway | $758.00 | $11,370 |
| Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour | Fixed, no walkway | $530.60 | $7,959 |
| Fremantle (Challenger) Boat Harbour | Fixed, with walkway | $606.40 | $9,096 |
| Fremantle (Challenger) Boat Harbour | Fixed, no walkway | $530.60 | $7,959 |
Shorter terms cost more per month — at Hillarys, $69.15 per metre per month on a three-month-or-longer agreement, $113.70 for a single month, or $34.10 per metre for a week.
Not comparable to the table above without care: these are priced by berth size or on a monthly basis rather than per metre of pen for a year.
| Facility | Basis | Annual, 15 m | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Marina Mindarie | Flat, by berth size | $9,210 | All utilities included in the jetty fee. A five-year lease works out around $7,828 a year.No effective date published — confirm before budgeting. |
| Mandurah Ocean Marina | Flat, by berth size | $10,245 | 2026/2027 card. $5,464 at 8 m, $6,830 at 10 m, $13,660 at 20 m. No permanent live-aboards. |
| Fremantle Sailing Club | $74 per metre per month | $14,100 | $13,320 in pen fees plus a $52 per metre annual rates levy. Senior membership is mandatory. Club-managed pens are $68 per metre per month.674 wet pens, 10 m to 45 m, with a waitlist. |
Registration, licensing and moorings
| Item | Fee | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Vessel registration, under 5 m | $170.65 / yr | Annual. Length is measured overall including marlin board, sterndrive and bowsprit, then rounded down to the whole metre — a 10.9 m boat is charged as 10 m.The DoT page carries no financial-year stamp; confirm on 1300 655 322. |
| Vessel registration, 5–9.99 m | $362.40 / yr | |
| Vessel registration, 10–19.99 m | $726.95 / yr | |
| Vessel registration, 20 m and over | $1,063.15 / yr | |
| Recording fee | $36.90 | One-off, on initial registration or change of ownership. |
| Recreational Skipper's Ticket | $36.90 | Government fee, valid for life, no renewals. Required above 6 hp (4.5 kW); minimum age 14. The assessment is paid separately to a training provider, and DoT does not regulate what they charge. |
| Swing mooring licence, exclusive | $738.30 / yr | Plus a $131.70 application fee. Waiting lists are in effect on the Swan and Canning Rivers, and DoT warns of considerable delays.Decline two offers within 12 months and you come off the list. |
| Swing mooring licence, shared | $380.35 / yr | |
| Live-aboard surcharge | $58.00–$176.85 / mo | At a DoT-managed facility, for more than six consecutive days or ten days in a month. Basic facility to enhanced facility with laundry. |
| Trailer parking, Hillarys | $11.00 / day | Or $175.00 for an annual pass. Mindarie is $15.50 per use or $196 annually. |
Haul-out and hardstand
Antifouling, anodes, shaft seals and through-hulls can only be dealt with on the hardstand, so this is an annual or biennial cost for most owners rather than an occasional one.
GST inclusive. Two travel lifts, 50 t and 75 t, maximum 6 m vessel width.
| Item | Non-member | Member |
|---|---|---|
| Lift out and back in, up to 10 m | $606 | $403 |
| Each additional metre over 10 m | $69 | $46 |
| Environmental levy, every lift | $139 | $139 |
| Hardstand, 10–15 m, days 1–7 | $81 / day | $53 / day |
| Hardstand, 10–15 m, days 8–20 | $99 / day | $66 / day |
| Hardstand, 10–15 m, days 21–90 | $135 / day | $90 / day |
| After-hours lift callout | $571 | $379 |
A 15 m non-member lift works out at $606 + (5 × $69) = $951, plus the $139 levy. Hardstand rates step up the longer the boat sits, so a job that overruns gets expensive quickly. In peak season, July to December, the yard may have a waitlist of up to three weeks.
For reference, the Department of Transport's own statewide schedule charges $19.00 per metre of vessel length per lift at DoT-managed harbours, and $2.20 per square metre per day for storage or maintenance on a service wharf or jetty hardstand.
What we have deliberately not priced
Insurance. You will find plenty of pages quoting boat insurance at "1% to 3% of hull value". We could not find a single Australian insurer publishing that, and every trail led back to United States blogs — where the risk, the currency and the market are all different. What we can tell you is how the cover is structured: Nautilus Marine distinguishes Agreed Value, where you are insured for a set sum in the event of a total loss, from Market Value, which pays the lesser of the sum insured or the vessel's current market value. Nautilus notes that a valuation from a recognised marine dealer selling similar vessels supports an Agreed Value, and that new vessels are often written at the purchase price. Get a real quote; do not budget from a percentage.
Engine servicing. The same applies. The intervals and costs widely quoted online could not be sourced from the manufacturers themselves, so we are not going to repeat them as fact. What we would say is that this is the number to ask your dealer for directly, in writing, for the specific engine package you are considering — and it is a fair test of whether they know their own product.
Antifouling in WA. No Western Australian yard publishes a paint-and-labour rate. The per-foot figures that surface in searches are east-coast — Port Stephens and the Gold Coast — and are usually quoted excluding GST, unlike every WA figure on this page. Quoting them here as Perth prices would be misleading, so we have left them out.
If you want real numbers for any of these three against a specific boat, ask us. Our service team is at Rous Head and can price the work rather than estimate it.
Boat ownership costs in Western Australia
How much does a marina pen cost in Perth?
It depends on the facility and how it charges. For 2026-27, Department of Transport harbours charge per metre of pen length: $758.00 per metre for a 12-month floating pen with walkway at Hillarys Boat Harbour, and $606.40 per metre for a fixed pen with walkway at Fremantle (Challenger) Boat Harbour. Privately run marinas charge a flat annual rate by berth size — a 15 metre berth is $10,245 at Mandurah Ocean Marina and $9,210 at The Marina Mindarie. Fremantle Sailing Club charges $74 per metre per month for a club-owned wet pen plus a $52 per metre annual rates levy, and senior membership is mandatory.
What does it cost to register a boat in Western Australia?
The Department of Transport publishes annual recreational vessel registration of $170.65 for hulls under 5 metres, $362.40 for 5 to 9.99 metres, $726.95 for 10 to 19.99 metres and $1,063.15 for 20 metres and over, plus a $36.90 recording fee on initial registration or change of ownership. Length is measured overall — including marlin board, sterndrive and bowsprit — and rounded down to the nearest whole metre, so a 10.9 metre boat is charged as 10 metres. Confirm the current figure with DoT before budgeting, as the published page does not state which financial year it applies to.
Do I need a licence to drive a boat in WA?
You need a Recreational Skipper's Ticket to operate a recreational vessel with a motor over 6 horsepower (4.5kW) in Western Australia, and you must be at least 14 years old. Only the person in charge needs one, and it must be carried at all times when operating. The government fee is $36.90 for a new ticket and $26.75 for a replacement card, and it is valid for life with no renewal fees. The assessment itself is paid separately to an authorised training provider, and DoT does not regulate what providers charge.
How long is the wait for a mooring in Perth?
The Department of Transport does not publish a wait time. It confirms that waiting lists are in effect for swing moorings in the Swan and Canning Rivers given significant demand, and warns there may be considerable delays before a licence may be offered. A recreational swing mooring licence costs $738.30 a year for exclusive use or $380.35 for shared use, with a $131.70 application fee. Note that DoT allows a maximum of two offers within 12 months — declining both removes you from the list.
What does it cost to haul a boat out in Fremantle?
Fremantle Sailing Club's 2026-2027 boatyard rates are $606 for a non-member to lift a vessel out and back in up to 10 metres, plus $69 per metre for vessels over 10 metres, with a mandatory $139 environmental levy on every lift. A 15 metre vessel therefore works out at roughly $951 plus the levy. Hardstand is charged daily and steps up the longer the boat sits — $81 per day for a 10 to 15 metre vessel for the first seven days, rising to $99 for days 8 to 20. During peak season from July to December the yard may have a waitlist of up to three weeks.
Do catamarans pay more for a pen in WA?
Yes, where an over-width vessel needs a designated CAT pen it pays 150% of the standard pen fee for the same pen length, or 100% of each of two pens if two standard pens are required. A catamaran that fits a standard-size pen, or sits at the head of a jetty, pays the same fee as a monohull of that length.
Every figure above, and where it came from
Retrieved August 2026. Operators change rate cards without notice — confirm before you commit.
- DoT — Maritime facilities: schedule of fees and charges 2026/2027 (PDF)
- DoT — Register a vessel
- DoT — About the Recreational Skipper's Ticket
- DoT — Get a Recreational Skipper's Ticket
- DoT — Swing mooring licences
- DoT — Pens and harbour moorings
- City of Mandurah — Marina pen fees and charges 2026/2027
- The Marina Mindarie — Berths and ramps
- Fremantle Sailing Club — Wet pen rates
- Fremantle Sailing Club — Boatyard fees 2026-2027 (PDF)
- Nautilus Marine Insurance — Agreed vs market value
Run the numbers with us
Tell us the boat you are considering and where you would keep it, and we will put real figures against it — including the servicing and antifoul costs we have refused to guess at above.