Used Cruiser Discussion - Old or Nearly New

[Delezynski]

From what I have seen over the last couple of decades, you will NEVER find ANY boat upgraded to the way you want it.

And, the newer the boat, the faster it depreciates to it's base level.

I find that unlike cars, that after that first big drop as you drive it off the lot, and then do nothing but drop to 0. Boats slowly drop to a level (I'll call it the base level) that they tend to stay at for a long time. Almost to the point that until they are neglected to the point they need to be cut up, they stay close to that level.

I am NOT saying that a new boat is bad! I am only suggesting that in the grand scheme of things, unless you are lucky and select one that will be looked upon as a classic some years from now, you may stand to loose bigger $$.

A side note, When we departed in 04, we also had the newest electronics out. In 08, it was so far behind that most needed replacing. When I shop for a boat, and some one says that it has this great electronics stuff aboard, I just think about what it will take to get rid of it and replace it if it's more than 4 or 5 years old.

Also, keep in mind, plans do often change, medical condition, family matters and ........

When we sailed out under the Golden Gate bridge in 04, we came to meet up along the way with the same 6 boats. One was built by the owner over a 8 year time frame. Of the 7 of us, two of us made it into Mexico. And the other one went fast, and was finished cruising in under 2 years and went back to England. We were sorry as they were nice people and we were looking forward to meeting up later.


Greg

 

[jibes138]

Why all this talk about selling the new used boat that you haven't bought yet and the potential resale value? Why buy a boat with the idea that you want to sell it? Buy a great boat that you will really enjoy. You don't buy a TV or a stereo for the resale value, you buy these items because you enjoy them knowing they will be obsolete when their life is over.
On the other hand a brand spanking new Caliber 35 is about $275K today. An O'Day 35 currently listed on this site is about $30K. You can afford to put a lot of upgrade money into a used boat and have it in just as good a usable condition for a third the cost of new. A new engine, new electronics, new sales, new canvas, new interior, etc. You'd still be only around 100K. I am not suggesting a O'35 is equivalent quality of a Caliber 35 just making the point that an old boat can be just as good as new for a lot less than new. Look at Mainesail's CS36, probably better than new and pretty old. The bigger issue is time to do work on the old boats. Unless you are retired and don't want to be using it for several months you have to curtail cruising while you do a bunch of work. Another option is to slowly upgrade while you cruise, each week have a project on top of maintenance and repairs.
My observation is a boat will lose half it's new value in about 8 years, then the depreciation curve seems to flatten out and either hold steady or decline a little as condition deteriorates. Some boats become chainsaw candidates from total neglect others become classics. I know of one old Hinckley Bermuda 40 from the 60's or 70's that gets outstanding maintenance every year but has never left the dock that I observed in two years. Varnish is sanded and coated every year by professionals. It is probably worth the same today as 7 years ago, but without use the engine could be suspect, certainly the hull is in great shape.
You buy a car and depreciate it down to nothing say over 10 years based on use and mileage. Why expect a boat to be any different. You should assume a certain percentage a year for depreciation and most of this "upgrade" talk is just maintaining systems in usable condition, like a car getting a replacement alternator or a new set of tires. This is not increasing the value, this is just keeping the depreciated value on the expected curve. Failure to maintain just steepens the depreciation curve.

 

[jibes138]

From what I've seen in this down economy the boats that seem to hold their value are the high end boats, seems like Island Packet, Pacific Seacraft, Caliber, etc. are holding their used prices while the lighter production boats are continuing to depreciate and lose market value. Another ad for buying a quality built product.

 

[anchorclanker]

For equal money, you can buy an older, top of the line blue water boat, for the price of a newer, lower quality boat. Or, you could buy a larger older boat, for the cost of a newer smaller boat, even after extensive upgrades, and still have a chunk left in the bank. But investment and boats really do not go together unless your in sales. Then its condition condition condition. I would prefer an older higher quality boat, over a newer lesser quality one, if the cost were the same, provided the older boat was in good condition. Also, many times a seller will throw in a lot of extra goodies with an older boat, have extra sails, PFD's, etc., stuff you may not get with a newer boat. Age and condition can be quite exclusive from one another if the boat was well cared for.