wrote in message
...
Frankly, I don't see 99% of boats on the market right now as a
"bargain" unless you have very limited sailing plans.


"Charles Momsen" wrote:
But Doug, mass produced boats are not marketed for the slim 1%


Maybe not, but they bring a lot of needless frustration & difficulty
to the 99%

Maybe not so. Maybe those people just don't care.



For example, look at the large number of 'production boats' that have
winches in unworkable locations. Can the boat be sailed in anything
but a drifter without using the winches? No.

Another example... mooring cleats. Undersized, not fastened or bedded
or backed properly. Guaranteed heaache to use, a safety issue, a
maintenance issue... the builders & sellers assume that the buyers are
idiots.

I could go on & on & on....

It's costly to build a good boat and most people can't afford them. If one
wants to sell boats to the masses it appears corners must be cut.


Why are 99% of boats on the market designed & built to be sold to
idiots? It's not that the buyers *are* idiots, it's that most want a
boat really badly and there's nothing else to choose from.

They can try to buy a good boat, but it might be out of their means.

Name 5 great blue water cruisers 30 feet or more for less than 100K new.
Less than 150K. Less than 200K. Less than 250K.

Off all the boats sold, what percentage is over 100K?






2nd, most boats on the 2nd-hand market are badly neglected.


Most boats? What is your sample size for this conclusion?


At least a couple of hundred. I go to a lot of different marinas &
sailing clubs and have a habit of taking a look around at each... heck
there are at least 60 boats for sale in the 5 marinas and 2 sailing
clubs that I go to regularly (right in our area). It doesn't take a
genius so see frayed lines, corroded fittings, etc etc on almost all
the ones with 'for sale' signs... heck it's nothing special, close to
50% of all the boats I see are prety badly neglected. Probably at
least 50% of the boats in these places have been sailed less than 10
times in the past 5 years.

Doug, all fittings corrode and lines do fray. If it's for sale the owner may
not want to sink money and effort into new lines or removing corrosion. The
bright side (no pun intended) is that half of the boats are low mileage. I
don't think a sample of 200-300 boats is enough to make conclusions for all
boats. But it is true that most of the boats for sale you have seen are
badly neglected. Can you say the same for boats you have seen that are not
for sale? For the most part I think people sell their boats because they
have lost interest in them.






..... So, pick a boat you really really like and will
find rewarding to own & sail. Then it will be worth the work & effort
you put into it.

I think that is what most people do. The problem is you don't like
99%
of boats and other people may like 20% or 50% of boats


Prob'ly right.

Like I said, I'm picky! Either that or I'm spoiled, having owned a
series of boats & dogs that were far above the average.

Would you say that Hunter you had was far above average? Was it that way
from the factory or did you make it above average?



Since the Democratic controlled Congress and the future
administration
will be and are saddling our children with massive debt, I doubt boats
will
be in the game plan for many in decades to come. There will be no rebound
for boats. Yachts will become what they once were - toys for the very,
very
wealthy.


And you can be sure it's all the Democrats fault.... not a single
Republican has any share of the blame!

Blame them too if you like. I'm simply holding the Democrats to their word.
They were going to get us out of Iraq. Remember pay-go? Bush's failed
policies? I do.


Isn't democracy just awful, the way you brilliant & perfect people
have to suffer the voting mistakes of the average folk?

It's not as bad as the marketplace where you brilliant and perfectly
knowledgeable sailors have to suffer the consequences of mass marketed boats
for idiots.


It's a shame
that President Bush & Vice President Cheney didn't just outlaw the
Democratic Party back when they had full control. Think what the
country would be like if they'd put all those libby-rulls in re-
education camps!

FYI: I'm not a Republican and it's more fun to wind the liberals up. BTW, do
you still think the Fed is doing a great job?



Fresh Breezes- Doug King