What type of boat incurs the lowest maintenance cost?

low cost boats/low maintenance boats include jon boats, 12 to 14' aluminum skiffs, canoes, kayaks. etc. human power requires the least maintenance (oars, paddles) electric motors and small 4 stroke outboards are easy to maintain.

as far as a good all around boat i would suggest a 12' or 14' v bottom aluminum boat. they are rugged and can be carried on a car top carrier, back of a pick up truck or a small trailer. they can be powered by oars or a small motor. you might take a look at the 2 hp honda engine, it's a 4 stroke air cooled motor so the problems of a water cooled ob are eliminated.

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hope this helps

Boat: A hole in the water you have to keep filling with money.
The optimal solution is not to own a boat but to know people who do.
Boats may be rented.
If one must have a boat, a kayak has many advantages. No slip rental or dock fees, you can transport it on your car, no motor =no fuel costs or maintenance, shallow draft means it can go anywhere, good exercise, you can fish off it, nobody will make you pull a skier around, no registration fees usually, very low maintenance, store in garage or shed.

A friends boat would be the cheapest! A boat that you can trailer would help, no docking fees. Fully welded aluminum would save in the long run over riveted, but you can fix fiberglass yourself easily. The biggest savings would be gained from you being able to do the majority of maintenance yourself. In the end you have to get what appeals to you with an eye toward these costs.

Are family has quite a fleet of boats 85 Glastron Carlson ski Machine with a V6 Yamaha
02 Crest Pontoon boat with 115 Johnson and we have 08 Kawasaki Super charger Jet ski

Now the Jet ski is a more expensive to maintain because of the supercharged engine you have to put 91 octane or higher gas in it

but as far as the boats you put regular gas in them replace the spark plugs every other year and put the oil in ( read owners manual )

and you have to winterize your boat my dad and I do it are selves but if you don't know what your doing you could really damage your motor

P.S. When put the oil in just read the jug most oils have the same stuff in the the Mercury oils is like half the price of the Yamaha oil. I use mercury in mine for the last 13 years never had a problem

A pontoon is the easiest to maintain in my opinion.

Not an expert, so some other answers will be better, but the one we got in my lake house, its old as rocks, but works fine.

Let's seperate "maintence" from the cost of boating. If you own a car, lets say a F-250 Ford pick-up you have normal maintence. Then you have all the other cost of "owning" an auto. As a Marine mechanic for over 37 years, my thinking has changed in the last few years. You wouldn't keep a car with water in the radiator in the northern tier of states. You change oil as needed, put new tires on it when they wear. In the boating world there are things you do, because it's always (not really) been done. Change the oil every year, even if it has only a few hours on the engine. With current technology,I feel this is no longer necessary. The point I'm making is that you choose the boat, like you do an auto........it's what meets your needs and desires. The cost of normal maintance isn't much different than for that F-250.

Simply, you friends. Boat maintenance is expensive, where I live $85 to $95 per hr for electrical and mechanical and that is somewhat cheap. The small the boat the more you can do and the more you can learn to do. Sail boaters do much more that power boaters. Best thing to do is get involved with your boat, it's like the kid that is always in trouble and you just have to keep an eye on him. If you own an outboard buy the service manual even if you aren't mechanical. You will understand what needs to be done and what you need to do to keep your baby healthy. I think every sail boat owner has a copy of Calder's Mechanical and Electrical Manual and they read it, use it and save money.
If you own an inboard gas or diesel there are books you should have on your shelf - Calder's Marine Deisel Engines and Compton's Troubleshooting Marine Diesels.

An aluminium launch with electric motor and wind generators seems to be the least expensive to own except now you have to maintain the batteries and generator system which may or may not become expensive depending on how much time you spend attending to the daily changes in wind and the type of batteries you have onboard. Remember no wind no charge no fun.

Zelman...
I wasn't going to answer this question, because you have plenty of good opinions already.
However, I love my boats, and I encourage boating as much as possible, both as a "hobby" and as a "lilfe style".
It sounds like, in your case, you are simply looking for a small boat to go out and have some fun with... In that case - small boats = small money. Big (live a-board size boats that can't be trailered) = big money.
But, here is the thing, (the secret, if you will...) You (no matter the size of your boat) can be a much more "frugal" and "smart" boater - by totally avoiding CHEAP. This is the key in any boat, any size... "CHEAP" will always cost you more - especially in regards to boats.
A good quality (under 20') boat that can be trailered is actually probably the most fun, and the greatest "bang for your buck" as you can get. And what you need to do (as a financial cost factor) is compare the time you spend "boating" with the cost of what ever it is, that you would be doing, if you didn't own the boat.
For example: years ago, I had a 29 Chris Craft Cabin Cruiser... I also had a good friend (co-worker) that was an avid golfer. One day in a friendly disagreement, we pulled out our annual credit card statements and compared... Sure enough, he spent much more money playing golf then I did on my boat. Get my point? I hope so... And furthermore, in his case, his "entertainment" or "hobby" was just the cost for him alone... In my case, my "boating" expenses included me, my wife, my kids, and occasionally, other friends and relatives...

My only suggestion here, is that if you are just "boating" to have fun and relaxation - consider a sailing skiff or sailing dinghy even... WOW! What fun! Almost no expense, (very inexpensive to buy) and virtually no maintains other then keeping it clean. if you want to put an electric trolling motor on it - fine... again, minimum expense, maximum fun!
And by the way - most "round the world" sailors, were self taught, in sailing dinghies...

Don't let the size of your boat, limit the size of the dream...
Happy and Safe Boating!
John
PS. You might want to check out the link, to see what I am talking about.
And - by the way - wind generators will cost much more then the size boat you are referring to.

Rental boats. They are absolutely the go if you only use a boat a handful of times a year, also as you have no costs other than the rental and fuel you just use the boat, pay the bill and walk away with no maintenance, insurance or other care.

Boating can be very interesting and fulfilling, and it can be expensive so your impression is correct.

On the other hand the ownership of a boat is a lifestyle commitment. Either you do the maintenance or you pay someone else. If maintenance does not happen for whatever reason the boat will degrade frighteningly quickly, as will it's value. It is a fact that you will be unlikely to use a moored boat more than 5% of the time, mostly it just sits gently decaying ready to absorb a fair bit of time and money just in upkeep, and the bigger the boat the bigger the bills - some types really need serious financial commitment such as for classic timber vessels. Often you can see "bargains" advertised that may need 10's or even 100's of thousands of dollars to restore to a high standard, so there are not many truly 'cheap' boats out there. If the maintenance has been kept up the price and costs of a second hand boat will reflect this, new prices can be pretty startling too.

If you have a limited income you must pick an affordable boat within your budget and that could mean a simple rowing dinghy on a trailer or possibly a trailerable runabout built of GRP or alloy. There are pros and cons with all materials, basically there are not really any types that need zero maintenance (although the poly boats come closest), all engines need servicing, all trailers too. And anything metal and electrical rots fast if you don't keep the boat washed, clean and well serviced in general. When not being used covering a boat is a very wise move.

Once you are looking at larger moored vessels there are weekly costs just to have the boat at a marina, haul out fees and antifouling etc. so there are real advantages to having a boat on a trailer if costs are an issue. Liveaboard vessels may prove to be good value and an interesting lifestyle choice - if the boat is your home you can expect the costs to be comparable or even cheaper than running a small home or flat but with much less space and storage!

So it's very much dependant on your chosen vessel. To start with a small, cheap, simple to launch and retrieve type will give you a lot of fun and get used a lot simply because it is easy to get in and out. Once you have a drama and need to do a lot of planning just to go for a sail or a cruise it can be hard to get the use out of your boat, so don't go too big too soon. It's better to gain some experience with a smaller boat so you gain insight into what type of boat you may wish to end up with, that might be sail or engine power, fast, opulent, comfortable or basic depending on what attracts you and what you want to do.

Having the workshop manuals for any engines or machinery and undertaking some boat handling courses will save you a lot.

Good luck.

An aluminum canoe has probably about the lowest maintenance costs around.

Many good answers above, in my opinion Capt. John & Ricsuduk are best. I would only add, cost per hour of fun is key. Most costs on my sail boat are fixed for the season boat slip, ins., registration, etc. I get out 4 or 5 times a week. I know some people with same type of boat, same cost, who only get out a handful of times per year. My cost per hour of fun is next to nothing there's is huge. Like Ric said, start small. Many good small used boats, wont cost allot. Get your feet wet, and go from there. By the way, if your feet really are wet, make sure the drain plug is in place!!