Beauty and the Beholder

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Actually, boats don't have that much in common

With cars. An old car is likely to have a rusted "hull"...but an old fiberglass hull can last forever if it's protected from moisture intrusion. Vehicles don't have much in the way of systems--just an engine, heat/ac...a boat is a floating self-contained dwelling--with systems that do indeed wear out, but are replaced. It's VERY unusual to find a 30 yr old vehicle still on the road--or anywhere except a classic car collection...but there are a zillion 20-30 yr old boats on the water...and while many are indeed dilapidated, just as many of 'em are essentially 2-5 yr old boats that just happen to be in 20-30 yr old hulls, 'cuz everything on 'em has been recently replaced/updated/upgraded. They don't cost any more to maintain than newer boats. And the best part is, you can buy 'em for a fraction of the price of comparable new, or even 2-5 yr old boats. Even if you had to replace everything on one yourself, in most cases you can do it all for no more than the survey value will be when you're done.

 

[Big Windy]

Beauty

One thing I like about the newer boats is that they require less maintenance. I purchased a late '90s Catalina 320 in March, and Catalina has gone to all stainless steel hand rails and external trim. The teak look is nice, but I'd much rather have no maintenance than a teak look.

 

[Stu Jackson]

newer boats require less maintenance..HA!

Yeah, and the amount of less maintenance is what percentage of overall maintenance?Folks who start believeing that nonsense will also stop thinking they need to change their oil, check their impellers, stuff their packing glands, clean their bottoms, check their batteries, tune their rigs, etc.If removing 1/1,000,000 of the maintenance required on ANY boat is important, then I sure hope the rest is getting maintained, and not ignored.Newer boats do NOT require less maintenance, they require just the SAME or else they become OLD boats, just faster.

 

[Richard]

Old Boats and Old Harley's

They both had a few folks who loved them so very much and there never where Millions of them, so they were worth keeping up and or restoring . I would assume that will not be the case with the new boats and many of the new owners . I assume that the boats will be just like so many Harleys are now . . . so many on the market because they were just a passing phase / the IN Thing ... to have for awhile. But less work should come with the boats just as it has with motorcycles . I ask this , Will we / Do we see the same love in the hearts of the new class of RUB's ( rich urban bikers /rich urban boaters) owners??? IMHO the answer is no : (