"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message
nk.net...
A while back there were several threads on values of used boats. It was
the
strong assertion of various posters that boats under 45' and of mature age
would be virtually worthless - to the effect that whatever you bought it
for, when you went to sell it, it would be worth half that.

I'm of very mixed mind on this matter, as I've found just the opposite.
Any
of you following my search know that I'm looking at that type of boat, and
in the 'do you know this boat' thread, I've received several replies which
have exposed us to boats we'd not known about.

In an effort to get to know these, all very minimally available in the
usual
YachtWorld universe, I've done a lot of searching, and unearthed various
reviews from '95 to '99 or so. Most of them were helpful in understanding
the type of boat, but very tellingly, and the point of this post, they
also
had "well equipped and good examples of this boat's selling prices range"s
quoted which were *under* any I'd found available today.

That suggests to me that either Cruising World, Good Old Boat, and the
like,
are badly misinformed (at the time) or that prices are actually rising,
rather than falling.

That's good news as a trend for when we eventually go to sell our boat
(presumably more than 20 years down the road, so I'm certain that the
20-30
year old boat we'll buy will be priced exclusively on condition and
equipment, the full normal depreciation having been achieved some time
before). I've even seen some of the boats we've been looking at in real
time (current experience) have price increases, and in one particular
case,
selling at the prior asking price. The bad news is the suggestion that
it's
going to cost more currently than, say, 4-8 years ago, for the same boat
type.

What's been everyone else' experience?? If we don't find a boat soon,
will
it cost us 10%, or something bigger, more, later?

L8R

Skip and Lydia, still looking, and appreciative of leads already and yet
to
be received!


I have been following your posts because I too have been looking to buy. My
feeling is that you will never find what you want because you do not
understand that all boats are a compromise, especially when you are looking
with limited funds, and you don't want to compromise. However, I also
understand the headroom issue. It is the only time when it seems to be
advantageous for me to be short. Maybe you should take up basketball ;-)

I have been looking at used boats but usually I get turned off by the
condition of the vessels. I just don't have the time or ambition to be
fixing somebody else's problems.

The only thing harder to do than buy a decent boat is to try and sell one.
Notice how long some of them have been on the market.

I do not see prices of used boats going up, but that is just my unscientific
survey over the last year or so.

It also seems like that after about 5 years, the boats stop depreciating at
a rapid pace, and the salt hasn't corroded everything yet.

Another thing, if you buy a boat that is not very well known, you will have
more trouble selling it - no matter how nice it is. People buy brands that
they know. Has to be the reason why certain brands sell - they are known -
and you know which ones I mean, because they are not very well done.

BTW, have you noticed that almost all of the sail boat makers are now
making power boats? Maybe we need another oil crisis.

Good luck Captain.