Boat depreciation

[fjcruiserdxb]

I can't afford to buy new but what would be the sweet spot for depreciation on a 30-32ft boat from new so I don't have to immediately spend tons of money on new rigging, electronics and engine before I can sail. Seems to be many overpriced 2000-04 boats for sale at mo with original everything. But then I don't know anything about depreciation. Would appreciate some guidance. I am only looking at post 2000 boats.

 

[Bobc]

If you're worried about depreciation, don't buy a boat.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Yup. Answer is ‘about 5 years’. New enough to be in good shape and old enough to have settled down in terms of the selling price.

YMMV.

 

[Tranona]

Prices of used boats are set by supply and demand and the types of boats you are referring to are selling now for more than they were 5 years ago. Combination of increased demand, limited supply and inflation. I bought a new boat in 2015 for £100k and sold it in 2022 for £90k. An earlier boat that I bought new in 2001 for equivalent of £80k and sold in 2015 for £43k recently sold for over £50k.

There is no such thing as a sweet spot when buying boats. Decide what sort of boat you want set a budget, and see what is available. It may well be that you have to spend money on things like sails and rigging, but that has to fit your budget. However in terms of when in the life of the boat the big replacements come, that is between 5-10 years, but in today's market supply of such boats is extremely limited and almost non existent in the size range you are looking at simply because so few have been sold new in the last 10 years.

 

[wvansl]

I know a person that bought a 54ft boat in 2019 for 120.000 and now, end 2023 sold it for 250.000 without any major upgrades or repairs in between.

Boat are way overpriced at the moment so the possibility to loose a significant amount of value is real.

 

[Momac]

After a few years you will probably have spent a substantial sum on keeping and maintaining the boat which is likely to make any depreciation look very small.

 

[Boathook]

If you're worried about depreciation, don't buy a boat.

Best advice !

 

[wonkywinch]

We bought a 2016 Beneteau Oceanis 38 last year for c £130k. We were the 4th owners and the price appeared reasonable based on the market at the time.

Once the deal was completed and the paperwork handed over, I saw every owner from new had paid almost exactly the same price.

 

[AllWinds]

I've been following boat prices for quite some time now and have many boats marked on some of the popular buy and sell sites. I've noticed in the last few weeks that there have been a lot more price reductions than at the same time last year. I don't know if it's a short-term thing, but it's certainly starting to look like it's becoming more of a buyers' market now than it was around the post-COVID boom time.

 

[Momac]

I've been following boat prices for quite some time now and have many boats marked on some of the popular buy and sell sites. I've noticed in the last few weeks that there have been a lot more price reductions than at the same time last year. I don't know if it's a short-term thing, but it's certainly starting to look like it's becoming more of a buyers' market now than it was around the post-COVID boom time.

I have notice that too but thought it might be just a local to me thing.
Maybe prices are returning to pre covid of maybe a touch above.
It could be a different story outside of the UK

 

[onesea]

Boats cost money. I have heard 10% of the value of the boat a year.

You have to look at the big picture, how long do you plan on keeping the boat?

I seem yto keep boats for 8- 10 years, until life changes so much that you need a different boat.

In that time unless the rigging was new I would expect to replace same goes with sails. At certain ages boats become difficult to justify. Replacing engine on a 30 year old boat. The engine will be worth more than the boat.

replacing rigging? Etc

Nav kit is another biggy in the last 5 years there have been some considerable improvement. Buying a new boat nav gear 5 years old probably would be considered up for upgrade.

There are to many factors to consider. IMHO.

Awell looked after brand name boat bought at right time and place is IMHO a good place to start. On your path to loosing money.

 

[oldgit]

For many popular boats a median advertised asking price seems to become the norm.
Only an actual viewing of any boat will reveal the wide range of interpretations of the word "Good Condition."
Some are damp smelly heaps that the owner has not been near or touched pre Covid and is simply up for sale due to the prices apparently being achieved at the moment, round to something clean and tidy, ready to go and still being used by the owner.
Am aware of several folks who are now wanting to sell up, and one or two looking to upgrade their boats.
Only by looking at as many craft as possible will it become obvious if the boat you are searching for, at price you are willing pay, is out there.

After walking disappointedly off too many many pontoons,usually after some long tedious drive, it sometimes becomes obvious as you walk towards a boat that this is probably the right one. ?
As for depreciation, suspect that if you pay to much for boat intially, when you come to sell, the "market" will not be kind.

 

[jamie N]

One factor is what's fashionable. I'm in the process of buying a boat at very few pounds because it's considered more racing than cruising, and isn't a currently manufactured 1/4 tonner.
Great performance, well fitted out with a recent survey, greater comfort than my Folkboat, and larger volume at a 1/3rd of the price of a 'Centaur' type, and will suit me better. To step up into a more 'perfect' category will cost 10 times, for a small incremental advantage.
By the way and surprisingly perhaps, it's not an Anderson 22.

 

[Sandy]

I can't afford to buy new but what would be the sweet spot for depreciation on a 30-32ft boat from new so I don't have to immediately spend tons of money on new rigging, electronics and engine before I can sail. Seems to be many overpriced 2000-04 boats for sale at mo with original everything. But then I don't know anything about depreciation. Would appreciate some guidance. I am only looking at post 2000 boats.

Depreciation is an accounting construct for business use and has nothing to do with the price of a second hand sailing vessel.

The price of a vessel is the amount of money you want to spend in it on a given day and the current owner accepting that price.

Finding a vessel of that size built after 2000 will be an interesting challenge. Like the Mini motor vehicle boats have got bigger over the last 50 years.

 

[Stemar]

A boat is a hole in the water that you try, unsuccessfully, to fill with money. No boat makes financial sense

I'd decide my budget, knock off 10% for upgrades and making it work the way I want it to, plus some more for contingencies, and regard that money as a sunk cost. Anything you make when the time comes to sell is a bonus. As Onesea says, a rule of thumb is that maintenance costs are around 10% of the value of the boat year. Some years you'll do better then, the following year, it's time replace the standing rigging.

My tip when shopping for a boat is to look with your head, then buy with your heart. A boat that ticks all the boxes, but doesn't have that something that makes you want to be aboard isn't the right one. The right boat somehow winks at you and says "buy me", even if she does need a bit of TLC. Having said that, a project boat is a bad idea unless you want to spend all your time and far more money than you expected working on it instead of sailing.

 

[fredrussell]

A boat is a hole in the water that you try, unsuccessfully, to fill with money. No boat makes financial sense…

I think there is possibly one exception to that rule and that is if you live on said boat.

 

[Stemar]

I think there is possibly one exception to that rule and that is if you live on said boat.

Agreed, and that may be the only time that buying as big as you can afford rather than as small as you can makes sense. I had a mate who moved onto a Westerly Chieftain (Centaur with an aft cabin). It was OK in the summer, but he was going stir crazy by the end of the winter.

 

[Greg2]

When we first bought a boat around 23 years ago received wisdom was that prices remained fairly static in terms of number of ££ asking prices but in reality inflation meant that there was a level of ‘depreciation’. It appeared to have been like that for some time.

That changed after a few years as asking prices first weakened due to economic circumstances and then became stronger as the affect of new build prices and model / size availability became more of a factor. Then we hit the pandemic and prices shot up. Chatting with local Brokers the consensus appears to be that prices are returning to pre-pandemic levels but many sellers are having difficulty adjusting their expectations.

As already said, cost of ownership and what you do with your boat in terms of maintenance and upgrades soon make comparisons of purchase and sale values less meaningful. After six boats (including the current one) my take is that if re-sale price is a concern then do what you can to buy sensibly (price, mainstream model, good specification etc) and maintain it to at least an acceptable standard. After that just enjoy it and accept that boats are rarely a sound financial investment but they are an excellent investment in your quality of life
.

 

[scozzy]

While clearly at the very opposite end of the market the 2 boats I have bought were purchased cheaply....Why/how? I was actively looking and found 2 sellers who had had enough and were done with boats/retiring and just wanted rid of the boat and the soon to be called for mooring/craning/maintenance costs we all know too well.
So my advice is patience and a wander about a few harbours/marinas and get chatting to the guy with the nice boat who doesn't look like he's enjoying it as much as he should

 

[Paulfireblade]

Depreciation, really is not an issue. The original invoice for my boat was £62K, take off 20% vat and that is not far off what it would be advertised for now (much the same as motorhomes.) As said prices are dictated by supply and demand and with inflation new boats are rocketing in price.

The cost of a boat is not in depreciation but Maintenance and upgrades and that is a cost you are unlikely to recoup. I purchased mine three years ago, it was 20 years old and in reasonably good order and so much so it was more than able to do a 225 mile delivery trip without issue the day after I bought it, but 3 years later having upgraded fairly modern touchscreen chart plotters (went crazy setting up MOB positions randomly,) House batteries, charging system & Solar along with a new furler (around £3k for a decent one) replacing diesel heater, VHF etc ect plus maintenance including all rigging (standing & running,) propshaft, cutlass bearing & seal along with removal and re-bedding keel etc ect. I have managed to spend 75% of purchase price in three years.

I now have the boat exactly as I want it for trips to Holland, France and channel Islands.

A friend had to spend a lot of money on a two year old Dufour as he was struggling to find anything used that matched up to mine but although he has an almost new boat which hopefully wont need too much spending on maintenance for a few years it is not very well equipped so he is going to have to spend a lot of money on equipping it to a suitable standard.

Basically boats are really expensive but if you enjoy them the pleasure is immeasurable.