DSK wrote:
Peggie, wasn't it a couple of years ago that you sold your boat?
Things might have changed just a little.

The new AND used boat market has always been, and will always be,
cyclic...or have you forgotten that you couldn't give a boat away in the
late '80s-early '90s? By '95, the market had recovered, but there will
always be a glut of used boats 'cuz fiberglass, unlike wood, can last
forever...by 1999, 67% of all boat sales had become used boats. The
market is depressed again, but that's the boat biz. There's an old joke
among boat builders: How do you make a million $$ in the boat building
biz? Start with 2 million and get out quick.
Which is a great value in itself, but not one that puts bread 7
peanut butter on the table.

That's not why I restored it.

There will always be old or storm damaged "project boats"
available,


Yep. Far more than the market can absorb. Most of these boats are
landfill.

More of 'em than should may end up there because there are so many...
but not nearly as many as you might think belong there.


The problem is that a storm damaged boat will always have the
insurance claim on it's record, and will not ever be as marketable as
a sistership that was not storm damaged...

What "record?" Vehicles have that kind of paper trail, but boats don't.
The only thing that matters for a boat is its survey value...and if it's
properly repaired, even structural damage is immaterial.


plus the 2nd-hand boat
market is in the dumper right now.

That much is true. But it's been there before and it's recovered...it
will again. And there's a much better market for used boats in pristine
condition than for new ones...by '99, 67% of all boat sales were used
boats...that number is only gonna get higher.

Everybody says "Pristine boats
always sell" and that's pretty close to true, but they don't always
sell for their asking price.

They do if the asking price is realistic for current market conditions.
When my husband died in '92, I'd have been lucky to get more than $45k
for my 34 Sea Ray...by the time I sold her in '96, the market had
recovered...I had no trouble getting $60k.

I enjoy having the confidence that major equipment on my boat was
properly selected & properly installed, and also knowing how it works
and where all the key hidden bits & pieces are.

Except for very high end boat builders, OEM equipment selection is more
often based on price, not quality...and as for OEM installation, it's
not always done right, it's done the least expensive way. I could have
achieved the same result for about $5k less had I opted for lower
quality materials and equipment...even less than than if I could have
done more of the work myself...but I restored the boat for MY use. I
also had one of the best surveyors in the country (a close friend)
bird-dogging my every move to make sure everything was done right
according to all the standards...she wouldn't let me short-cut ANYthing!
I've said many times that I learned more about systems other than
plumbing in the 2 years I spent restoring that boat than I'd learned in
the previous 25 years.

But as for fixing up trashed boats & selling for a profit, I'd
suggest what you really need is the kind of salemanship that will
allow you to sell boats for a profit... period... and you should
become a broker, not a fixer-upper.

One really needs to be a bit of both to do it right. I could never be
a successful broker...I'm too straightforward...sellers don't want to
hear what I'd tell most of 'em they'd have to do to make their boats
worth what they THINK they're worth. And unless they did it, I couldn't
in good conscience represent 'em as anything but "project" boats.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/store/custo...0&cat=6&page=1
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304