Sailing School Fleet Investment Calculator
Estimate the pre-tax IRR and payback of a sold-out Canadian youth sailing program using Oriental 3s or fiberglass Optimists.
Use this calculator to estimate the investment, annual cash generated, payback and pre-tax IRR of a youth sailing program. The default case uses six boats, one instructor, a CAD $5,000 coach boat and nine sold-out camps.
Program assumptions
CAD, before tax and financing1. Fleet investment
Oriental 3 price supplied by Fareast Boats Canada.
The Oriental 3 and beginner Optimist options use two sailors per boat.
Purchase price supplied: CAD $5,000.
Safety gear, marks, tools and initial spares.
Estimated resale value in the final year. Leave at 0 for a conservative result.
Estimated resale value in the final year. Leave at 0 for a conservative result.
2. Camps and fees
Canadian sample median: nine operating weeks.
Default assumes sold-out camps.
Normalized sample average from seven Canadian programs.
How many operating seasons are included in the IRR calculation.
Optional. Leave at 0 to keep the camp fee unchanged.
3. Staffing
Current postings commonly fall near CAD $20–$35/hour.
Vacation pay, employer costs and training allowance.
Optional increase applied to instructor wages each year.
4. Sailboat and coach boat costs
4% of the original fleet purchase price each year.
Fuel, engine service and minor repairs.
Optional. Leave at 0 to keep non-payroll costs unchanged.
Fleet comparison using the same program assumptions
Six boats and the current staffing, camp-fee and operating-cost inputsCash available to reinvest
Operating cash the program could put back into docks, storage, boats or other improvementsThis graph shows the estimated cash generated each season after payroll, sailboat and coach boat operating costs. It excludes the initial fleet purchase and shows how much the program could reinvest over time.
Year 1 reinvestment capacity
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Cash generated in the first season
Total reinvestment over analysis period
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Cumulative operating cash over all seasons
Annual cash available to reinvestCumulative reinvestment potential
Canadian program benchmark
Public 2026 schedules and prices reviewed in July 20269 weeksMedian summer operating season in the reviewed sample. The sample average is about 9.3 weeks, or roughly 47 weekdays.
CAD $425/weekNormalized average across seven public youth sailing prices, with observed examples from about $340 to $505 per sailor-week.
100% enrollmentUsed as requested. Current listings show full sessions, waitlists, unavailable dates and programs that report spaces sell quickly.
Program sample and sources
- Royal Vancouver Yacht Club: 12-week 2026 season; Opti programs are generally two weeks at CAD $935 member / $1,010 non-member.
- Deep Cove Yacht Club: weekly camps from June 29 to August 21, an eight-week season; the club says spaces sell quickly.
- Nanaimo Yacht Club Sailing School: June 29 to August 28, nine weeks; public prices shown around CAD $320–$400/week.
- Toronto Harbour Nautical Centre: weekly sessions from June 29 through September 4; CANSail 1 is CAD $850 for nine days or $880 for ten days.
- Kitsilano Yacht Club: nine week-long camps from June 29 through August 28; several weeks publicly show full or waitlist status.
- Squamish Yacht Club: four five-day intro camps plus two nine-day CANSail sessions, totaling 38 teaching days; CAD $450/week or CAD $720/nine days.
- Kelowna Yacht Club: one-week Optimist camp at CAD $495.
- Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron: two-week Intro to Optimist at CAD $680 non-member, equivalent to CAD $340/week.
- Whitby Yacht Club: CANSail 1/2 at CAD $770 for two weeks, equivalent to CAD $385/week.
- BC Sailing job board: current examples include CAD $20–$26/hour, CAD $25–$30/hour and CAD $25–$35/hour.
- Fareast Boats Canada: the Oriental 3 is designed with room for two sailors.
- Website-linked Optimist component price list: racing hull, school spars, school sail, school mainsheet, FRP foils and trolley total CAD $3,865. Pricing is subject to change.
Method: The camp-fee benchmark normalizes published one- and two-week prices to a five-day sailor-week. The season benchmark uses public operating periods from RVYC, Deep Cove, Nanaimo, Toronto Harbour, Kitsilano, West Vancouver, Squamish and Shelburne. This is a planning model, not a safety or staffing standard. Clubs must confirm local insurance, supervision, waterfront and Sail Canada requirements.