Covid 19 and boat prices

[jac]

I think that boat prices are on the way down but to all the folk who have been looking for ages and find boat prices at silly levels........

...........you may have to face the possibility that your budget is too small and always was.

If you are scratching around for a few grand, bear in mind it's the running costs that kill you.

.

I think that some makes are very easy to get fair values for (or at least asking prices) go search for Bavaria’s from 35-38 feet and there is a massive spread of prices for the same model But with no real justification for why. If something is newer, has more / better sails, re engined Etc then that’s fine but for high volume boats like benjenbavs there should be no excuse.

when we sold we did have the services of jonic of this parish who advised appropriately but I had already done my research on what similar boats were up for and what the same money would get you elsewhere and my guesstimate was about£2k different from John’s.

i get the feeling that too many think ”bought for x£50k 10 years ago, that’s now the same as £55k due to inflation and also I spent £10k on new sails 7 years ago so advertise at £59,950 and take £55k.”

 

[sur-la-mer]

... and finally goes for half.

I'm at the low but "value" end of the market I've been offered two boats, arguably better than my own, for free without trying.

Get thee out to the boat clubs and yards, and start being helpful and asking nicely.

 

[lw395]

I think that boat prices are on the way down but to all the folk who have been looking for ages and find boat prices at silly levels........

...........you may have to face the possibility that your budget is too small and always was.

If you are scratching around for a few grand, bear in mind it's the running costs that kill you.

.

Very true.
Also the initial costs of putting your new purchase into a state that you consider usable.

When I look back, I think I would have done better to splash more cash initially, rather than buying fairly cheap then upgrading.
It's not a cheap game.

as for people moaning that old sound boats cost a lot, compare with old sound houses.

 

[Baddox]

A contrarian point of view would be that people who want holidays are unlikely to go abroad. More people than ever will be looking for accommodation at home in the UK but the possibilities are finite. For people who would consider buying a boat, the dream of 7-days a week availability offset by the cost of a family holiday makes buying a boat more attractive and may be the stimulus they need to act.

 

[newtothis]

as for people moaning that old sound boats cost a lot, compare with old sound houses.

I think the British obsession with uninsulated, unsupported Victorian houses is part of the problem: low expectations lead to paying a shedload in the name of the old. And while the analogy may work if you're talking about some marques from the days of old, yer average MAB is a 50s prefab, not a stately manor.

 

[jac]

A contrarian point of view would be that people who want holidays are unlikely to go abroad. More people than ever will be looking for accommodation at home in the UK but the possibilities are finite. For people who would consider buying a boat, the dream of 7-days a week availability offset by the cost of a family holiday makes buying a boat more attractive and may be the stimulus they need to act.

very contrarian!!

I Suspect that many will actually go abroad, especially as the fear fades and as air bridges etc open up. I can see lots of opportunities in the safer bits of europe as the school holidays formally start. ( Not that anyone can tell) There will be a scramble for UK places of course but i think you might just find holidays being spread out more.

Not sure that many of your typical holidays makers will will be prepared to spend out on boats unless they already have some history in that. Caravans and tents maybe

 

[[159032]]

We'll only find out at the times progresses. My bet is you are right and people's memory is frighteningly short.
But their financial circumstances may create many voluntary 'forced sale' situations of luxury goods and high items.

 

[jac]

We'll only find out at the times progresses. My bet is you are right and people's memory is frighteningly short.
But their financial circumstances may create many voluntary 'forced sale' situations of luxury goods and high items.

I think you're right . the financial reckoning has not yet come for most people but if unemployment goes up to the sort of numbers they are talking about ......

 

[lw395]

I think the British obsession with uninsulated, unsupported Victorian houses is part of the problem: low expectations lead to paying a shedload in the name of the old. And while the analogy may work if you're talking about some marques from the days of old, yer average MAB is a 50s prefab, not a stately manor.

In some ways, boats are closer to houses than cars on the 'consumer semi-durable' spectrum.
A house built 20 or 50 years ago will still perform its function, it will need to have had money spent over the years to keep it in its current condition and to upgrade/modernise. two grand a year to stand still for a typical semi?

A 20 or 50 year old GRP boat can perform its function as well now as when it was new, it will need to have had money spent in the same way. But its value will be a small fraction of a new replacement. Many are a very long way from 'as good as new' and would be very expensive to restore to that state.
Wooden boats are sometimes said to be intended for about a 40 year working life. GRP boats, grey area.
Cars are essentially tapering to nil value over about 15 years? Used to be less time?

Boats are mostly in the world of running costs. If you're worried about the purchase price and its depreciation, you're probably going to baulk at the reality of running costs. If you can find £2k a year to run an old centaur properly, you can probably find £20k in capital to buy one, so they're already cheap.
Even a dinghy, a grand or two buys you a tidy club racer, to keep it up to scratch cost hundreds a year. Sails, covers, insurance, parking space.
Higher up the scale, a £100k boat will typically eat what, £10k a year? Moorings, sails, engine and other systems, if you can afford that, then you can find the capital, if you really want to.
The running costs are not going to go down. So what people can afford to pay in capital won't change much.

The size of the market may change. More people may want a cruising boat for mid-range UK holidays, some existing boat owners and would-be boat owners may have reduced means. Some people who have the cash may decide that owning a yacht that lockdowns stop you using is no longer good value.
Possibly different types of boat will appeal to the new market and other types of boat will be more likely owned by the type of people who are going to leave the market?

Plus everything will happen more slowly. People won't rush. There are barriers to getting anything done. This year's stuffed.
Limbo, gap year, time out.
People are talking about next year.
It's always been the case that Autumn is the time to be looking, if you are serious about being ready for the spring. It will be autumn before we know where we are.

 

[STATUE]

The small boat market could well bounce-up as wallets get squeezed and swinging moorings and mud berths start to look attractive.

Hurrah, bring back the 1960s where self reliance was the moral norm !

 

[sur-la-mer]

How is it going on the boat scrapping front?

What does it cost to do so responsibly?

Are they talking or enacting legislation like they did for electronics?

I see a lot of boats being abandoned. Wooden aren't so much of a problem. Neither are metal, partly. GRP is.

 

[jac]

How is it going on the boat scrapping front?

What does it cost to do so responsibly?

Are they talking or enacting legislation like they did for electronics?

I see a lot of boats being abandoned. Wooden aren't so much of a problem. Neither are metal, partly. GRP is.

Electronics though is dominated by a small number of large manufacturers, the gear doesn't last that long and it contains some valuable material so it's fairly clear linkage between who pays and who gains from the new sales and some of the costs may be offset anyway . But boats are different. Lots of small producers, many of whom have folded. And a 50 year old hurley 20 has probably got nothing of value to offset the cost of scrappage. So beneteau may be slightly miffed to pay to clear up after an old Sadler