careful
i get grief here all the time on this one. but here goes. the question is what do you want to do. sail or rebuild a boat, or are you in business of salvage. (with the exceptoin of no money in which case beer and chips will get you on a lot of boats) i buy newer boats because as you fix up the old ones it is surprising how much it actually costs to get it in shape(and most folks want the old boat to look pretty new and new costs money plain and simple). sure you can reduce the cost with doing the work yourself .but then that is time you are working and not sailing. most people seem to enjoy working on their boats but a major refit is a lot of work. by the time you factor in all the elements i feel the best "value " is in the 5 to 8 year old boat. depending on the time line you intend to own her. hardly any work (for another 4 years) and most of the depreciation is out of her.all in all you probably cant sail a 22 for less than 2-3k year on a 4 year ownership. (including slip,ins, parts,upgrades, trailer,tow vehicle(the diff of the truck vs the smaller car you'd probably own it were not for the boat, plus the lost gas milage....yeah i sit around and think too much..) storage ect. others will do it cheaper but i dont think its the usual) and i dont think they have actually done the cost analysis. that takes time from sailing too. so armed with this the first thing to decide is ask what do you want to do. i did this last year after 6 boats and picked up a laser. nothing to do to it but sail. later i decided that boat ownership appealed to me and picked up a mid year 22. now i sail less but hang at the marina more. if i had gone with the older boat id be at the marina doing work . start with what you really want to do . by the way im convinced we all need 4 boats. one to cruise , one to sail fast, one to fish , and one for just beat up and not care about . good luck oh one other thing , pride of ownership needs to be figured in too . but thats another day. and may be the fourth boat on the list.
