Licensing isn't really a thing in North America (except maybe the $50 card we have to get here in Canada), insurance can get complicated / pricey but you only really need liability which is much cheaper, and all the fire & safety stuff usually comes with the boat and isn't that expensive anyway.

You can obviously go crazy on electronics, and boy are these expensive indeed, but you can also just use any old tablet* with Aquamaps or Navionics installed. Try to get one that's waterproof or get a waterproof case.

The most expensive part, honestly, is where you park it.

So yeah, it's a money-pit, but it's possible to keep costs under control.

(*) You need a tablet with a GPS receiver. iPads used to only have it on cellular models (no need for a plan), but most Android tablets have it.