We lice in SW Florida and it is amazing at how many boats are
under-utilized. Our neighbor across the canal, has a new-ish 18 ft AquaSport
that I have NEVER seen leave the lift in the 4 1/2 years since we moved
here.

I can top that. I saw about a 35 foot trawler at the Brownsville, WA dock a few
years ago that had huge sea anenomes (!) covering the hull below the waterline.
Some of the critters were well over a foot long. Looked like the junk you see
growing on a piling. Boat couldn't have been moved for a good many years, and
it was (before it was allowed to decay) probably worth well over $100k. A
hundred G isn't all that much money in the relative scheme of things these days
(a low level manangement salary in many businesses), but it's still more dough
than should be allowed to simply molder away at the dock unused.

Some of it has to do with stubborn pride by sellers. When I worked as a broker,
there were many cases where a boat would languish on the market because it was
seriously overpriced. Some sellers would resist any advice that their price was
out of line and discouraging potential buyers. A few seemed to always adopt the
attitude
"I'm not going to give my boat away! It's in top shape! Do you have any idea
what I've spent on this thing so far? I can afford to sit on it until the right
buyer ((read 'bigger fool')) comes along." And sit on it they do- for years
and years while the moorage and insurance bills pile up. Those who don't spend
the money to keep up the appearance on an unused boat will discover the money
is spent anyway, as the ultimate buyer on the day of inevitable reckoning will
demand a discount for dirt and grime that is often far greater than it would
have cost to clean it up and keep it clean.