Should you buy a boat?
Use this free calculator to pick the water you’d actually use, set what counts as a decent day, and check the last 10 years of hourly historical weather and waves.
Select the area(s) you’d typically use
Tap the water you’d use. Each area is about 20 km across. Choose more than one to count good weather in any of them.
Use Tab to move between areas, then Enter or Space to select or remove an area. Use the arrow keys on the map to pan.
Weather and wave data available Coming soon
Your results
What does that actually mean?
- History
- Areas
- Your plan
Would you get your money’s worth?
| Annual fixed cost | Per weather opportunity | Per likely outing |
|---|
Illustrative only. Fuel, launching fees and other trip-specific costs are not included.
Year by year
Good years happen. So do the other kind.
View yearly values as a table
| Year | Decent opportunities |
|---|
Where you’ll get them
Decent days/year for each area alone. Select an area for details.
Show the assumptions
How does the boating days calculator work?
What counts as a boating day?
A day counts once when at least one selected area has a continuous 3, 5 or 8-hour window between 7 am and 7 pm with wind, rain and waves within your chosen conditions. Your season and weekday choices narrow the days checked.
What weather is used?
The map shows which areas currently have data. The estimate uses hourly historical wind and rain from Open-Meteo and wave height and period from its marine data, based on Copernicus ERA5 and ERA5-Ocean reanalysis. Results show how years varied, not a forecast.
What should I keep in mind?
Gridded historical data can miss local conditions. The wave rule is indicative; separate swell, tides and other marine hazards are not included in the score. Likely outings and ownership costs are illustrative; use current marine forecasts and safety advice before any trip.