impossible boat market :-(

[penfold]

Don't forget that GRP is made of oil, which has gone from $20/barrel to $80/barrel this year, so 400% increase.

Same for all plastic goods. Input costs are going through the roof.

CAD/CAE and resin-infusion tech means there's much less oil going in to composites, not like it was prior to 1973 anyway. It all helps lower build costs, improve worker safety and reduce noxious emissions. Resin costs matter, but aren't likely to be as ruinous as it was to the boatbuilders back then, walloped as they were by the double whammy of VAT and OPEC flexing its muscles.

 

[Bobc]

CAD/CAE and resin-infusion tech means there's much less oil going in to composites, not like it was prior to 1973 anyway. It all helps lower build costs, improve worker safety and reduce noxious emissions. Resin costs matter, but aren't likely to be as ruinous as it was to the boatbuilders back then, walloped as they were by the double whammy of VAT and OPEC flexing its muscles.

Still takes quite a few tons of glass and resin to build a boat. They still weigh much the same.

 

[TSB240]

Market is definitely still very buoyant.
I am in the process of selling my baby.
A really well kept and specified Hanse 301. Advert on Apollo Duck went live only 48 hours ago! No broker involved. Getting some quality enquiries but open to more until a deposit is paid??

 

[penfold]

Still takes quite a few tons of glass and resin to build a boat. They still weigh much the same.

There's less composite and more 'stuff' though, which was the main point I was making; the AWB of 2021 has many of the accoutrements of a well-equipped house, the AWB of 1973 was lucky it had a cooker and an echosounder.

 

[Spanjaard]

The market must be buoyant but… where are the sailing boats? These must be in the marinas…

Very expensive toys; all over the country… in average sailing 5 days a year. So people must be buying boats for the increase equity; the boats are the new houses…their price it can only go up!

Ridiculous.

I think the boat market is in a bubble and that bubble is ready to pop, sooner than we thing.

 

[Scomber]

There's fashion when it comes to kitchens?

Just remember: fashion comes and goes, style and class are eternal.

As regards kitchens , sofas etc ,i follow the mantra "buying something you dont need is like stealing from yourself ". Now ,,,,the boat . Hhmm?

 

[Stemar]

As regards kitchens , sofas etc ,i follow the mantra "buying something you dont need is like stealing from yourself ". Now ,,,,the boat . Hhmm?

I need the boat - it's what keeps me more or less sane

 

[Wing Mark]

There's less composite and more 'stuff' though, which was the main point I was making; the AWB of 2021 has many of the accoutrements of a well-equipped house, the AWB of 1973 was lucky it had a cooker and an echosounder.

Very true, except the house doesn't need all those expensive winches, networked instrument systems, spars, sails etc.
I used to work with a bloke who wanted to build his own boat.
The cost of fitting out the shell of a 35ft yacht is horrendous.
It's also interesting to look through a bill of materials and see how much of the weight is 'stuff' other than the hull/deck mouldings.
There can be a lot of kg of plywood in a 'GRP' AWB.
Other stuff adds up too.

 

[Ink]

The market must be buoyant but… where are the sailing boats? These must be in the marinas…

Very expensive toys; all over the country… in average sailing 5 days a year. So people must be buying boats for the increase equity; the boats are the new houses…their price it can only go up!

Ridiculous.

I think the boat market is in a bubble and that bubble is ready to pop, sooner than we thing.

It's a reasonable way of affording a small cottage by the sea. So what if they never move?

Ink

 

[Momac]

I wonder if the used boat sales boom has calmed down now the weather has cooled off. I heard of one boat of a popular make/model that I am familiar with for sale at a very reasonable price that has not sold and it looks fine on the photographs. Another with a marina brokerage also reasonably priced has not sold and that brokerage has quite a few boats for sale .

 

[Sailordk]

we bought our first sailboat, a 26’ in the summer of 2020, before the prices went through the roof. We will hang on to it for a couple more seasons sell our current boat, and then upgrade to a bigger but still used boat. hopefully prices by then has normalized. Current level is way too inflated.

 

[Hambleite]

I saw a Fairline 35 Corsica for sale earlier this year (on the Hamble), marketed at £49,500 through a reputable broker. It seemed to take a while (+3 months) to sell. It did sell, not sure where it went.

The same boat appeared a couple of weeks ago. Advert doesn't imply that any work has been done since earlier in the year.

Asking price - £83,000.

At the end of the day - supply and demand is the only equation that works. Sure, there can be debates around the factors that create the S and D curves.....

 

[Stemar]

It's a reasonable way of affording a small cottage by the sea. So what if they never move?

Ink

If they never move, they don't need all the expensive bits.

Actually, you don't need all the expensive bits, even if you do move. When some of the old farts among us (I include myself) were kids, a boat with an engine, a compass and a depth sounder was well equipped. We've all got smartphones now, so add Navionics for less than the cost of a weekend's food and you're good to go. It'll do all the important stuff a grand or more's worth of plotter will

 

[SaltyC]

Aah the 'Old Farts Club' you forgot to mention it was an auxiliary engine! ie Starting was optional depending on its temperament. AND! that was after putting in a starting handle, decompressing the valves and hoping!!!

 

[roblpm]

I wonder if the used boat sales boom has calmed down now the weather has cooled off. I heard of one boat of a popular make/model that I am familiar with for sale at a very reasonable price that has not sold and it looks fine on the photographs. Another with a marina brokerage also reasonably priced has not sold and that brokerage has quite a few boats for sale .

I should have kept some figures but a few months ago there was nothing on the market. I think supply is increasing. I suppose it always increases at this time of year but hopefully it will continue as all the pandemic boat buyers realise what a financial disaster buying a boat is! ?

 

[Barton Seagoon]

For a rough comparison, I found a post in the forum that Dylan Winter sold his Centaur in good condition in 2017 for £8000. A quick look at adverts today shows the price range for Centaurs as £3000 to £10000. That doesn't seem to show a huge increase in 4 years - although any increase is perhaps unusual. Is the current price premium mostly in newer boats than this 40 year old example?

 

[ashtead]

As a centaur cost around £7500 at SBS in 1975 /76 delivery he even made a small profit discounting improvements. A lot depends on how much TLC older boats have had . I suspect not many about from 2008 due to a reduction in numbers produced compared to the early 2000s when you could not move around Sparkes marina for trucks bearing Bavarias .

 

[roblpm]

For a rough comparison, I found a post in the forum that Dylan Winter sold his Centaur in good condition in 2017 for £8000. A quick look at adverts today shows the price range for Centaurs as £3000 to £10000. That doesn't seem to show a huge increase in 4 years - although any increase is perhaps unusual. Is the current price premium mostly in newer boats than this 40 year old example?

Sure. But I don't think this end of the market is the end that has the price inflation. I think it is people choosing between a £60k Hymer motorhome or a boat not realising the motorhome is a much cheaper option! I am clinging to the hope that they all realise and sell them off next year!

 

[ashtead]

Would you really want a Hymer parked outside your house though so where do you put them when not blocking the country lanes on the IoW which are not designed for such traffic anyway only for tractors?

 

[Quiddle]

Would you really want a Hymer parked outside your house though so where do you put them when not blocking the country lanes on the IoW which are not designed for such traffic anyway only for tractors?

I've had both and, were I not a keen sailor, the motorhome would win hands down. Have to say the IoW was never a desired destination in either vessel or vehicle when far superior, and more welcoming locations lie close to the south.