On Wed, 28 Nov 07, Tim wrote:
I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people actually
keep their boat.

I guess a stats guy would call me an outlier. And I can't really
recall the number of boats I've bought and sold over the years. But I
don't think I've kept one less than about 5 years. And, among others,
I still have a 19' outboard I bought new (factory ordered in fact) in
1971 and a 6hp Evinrude my dad bought in 1968 (I inherited).

Rick

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:47:44 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people actually
keep their boat. Like if they buy a new runabout or cuddie etc. how
long do they actually keep it, before selling it or trading it in for
a new model.

Good question.

For me, I average about, roughly off the top of my head, 6 years on a
boat. The longest I've owned one is my Ranger CC - that's going on 8
years this Spring and will probably be the one that I will keep until
I don't need a boat anymore.

The Princecraft I had for two and a half years before I sold it to Don
is the shortest.

I suspect that Chuck is right on this one - for folks under 30 feet,
it's often a case of two foot bigger disease. Over that, it's a
different ball game - if they trade up, it's usually for something 10
or more feet bigger, but they tend to stay in their boats longer than
10 years at a time.

I was reading a while back that folks in the mega yacht world usually
have them for a purpose - as in to travel around the world or use them
as a floating condiminium for a specific purpose, then sell them. Once
they have achieved their purpose, that's it - sold.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:47:44 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people actually
keep their boat. Like if they buy a new runabout or cuddie etc. how
long do they actually keep it, before selling it or trading it in for
a new model.

Good question.

For me, I average about, roughly off the top of my head, 6 years on a
boat. The longest I've owned one is my Ranger CC - that's going on 8
years this Spring and will probably be the one that I will keep until
I don't need a boat anymore.

The Princecraft I had for two and a half years before I sold it to Don
is the shortest.

I suspect that Chuck is right on this one - for folks under 30 feet,
it's often a case of two foot bigger disease. Over that, it's a
different ball game - if they trade up, it's usually for something 10
or more feet bigger, but they tend to stay in their boats longer than
10 years at a time.

I was reading a while back that folks in the mega yacht world usually
have them for a purpose - as in to travel around the world or use them
as a floating condiminium for a specific purpose, then sell them. Once
they have achieved their purpose, that's it - sold.


I average three to four years, max. I downsized my fishing boat the last
go-around, and I'm glad I did. For me, it's the perfect size for
fishing the bay, quick cleanup and ease of launching and retrieval.

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:52:27 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:47:44 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people actually
keep their boat. Like if they buy a new runabout or cuddie etc. how
long do they actually keep it, before selling it or trading it in for
a new model.

Good question.

For me, I average about, roughly off the top of my head, 6 years on a
boat. The longest I've owned one is my Ranger CC - that's going on 8
years this Spring and will probably be the one that I will keep until
I don't need a boat anymore.

The Princecraft I had for two and a half years before I sold it to Don
is the shortest.

I suspect that Chuck is right on this one - for folks under 30 feet,
it's often a case of two foot bigger disease. Over that, it's a
different ball game - if they trade up, it's usually for something 10
or more feet bigger, but they tend to stay in their boats longer than
10 years at a time.

I was reading a while back that folks in the mega yacht world usually
have them for a purpose - as in to travel around the world or use them
as a floating condiminium for a specific purpose, then sell them. Once
they have achieved their purpose, that's it - sold.

Ya'll are forgetting the 3 or 4 feet smaller crowd!
--
John H

On Wed, 28 Nov 07, John H wrote:
Ya'll are forgetting the 3 or 4 feet smaller crowd!

Good point!
Over the years, I've been up and down and in between.
42' is the largest boat I've owned, for about 15 years. Normal
maintenance was time consuming enough but hurricane season is a real
bitch. It takes 6 hours to motor a sailboat around back to my
hurricane hole (and that much again to bring it back later). One year
we had 5 hurricane scares. That's a bit too much time to take off for
someone who has to work for a living. And you can't schedule that time
off ahead of time either. You just drop everything and go. So I sold
the boat and decided trailerable boats would be the way to go for now.
Once I retire and have time to burn, I'll be shopping for my ol'
Creekmore 42' again or one similar to it ;-)

Rick

I bought my MaXum 2500 new in 1990. First boat. Only 'new' conveyance
I've ever bought. I bought the biggest boat I could put on a trailer
without getting totally ridiculous, so I wouldn't have to trade up soon,
and knew when I bought it I would be happy with it for years. 17 years,
and still satisfied with what I have. Just perfect for the Sound and San
Juans. No 2-foot-itis here, and, no slip fees.
JR

Tim wrote:
I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people actually
keep their boat. Like if they buy a new runabout or cuddie etc. how
long do they actually keep it, before selling it or trading it in for
a new model.

some people keep cars a year then trade for new, others buy new and
run the wheels off it.

I've never bought a brand new boat in my life and really don't plan on
it. My two boats are 1983 and 1977. Both in very good shape and will
be keeping them for quite a while.

Does anyone know what is the average trade off or average length of
ownership is for boats?


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