Boat value relative to personal worth.

[Blue Sunray]

You are probably right - but the original question was asking about boat value to "net worth" which is reasonably defined as the amount of money you could lay your hands on if you liquidated everything you own. For the average person in late middle age, their biggest assets are likely to be their house and their pension pot. For "high net worth" individuals, this balance will be different.

+1

 

[Uricanejack]

Who cares?

Just don’t tell my wife,
I am worth more dead than alive.

 

[Resolution]

Using the 5% benchmark, the lottery prize that I will have to win (in order to be able to afford the 70 foot yacht that I desire) will be around £60 million.
Sounds reasonable to me.

 

[Kelpie]

Hmmm, we have either a very cheap house or a very expensive boat, because we're more like 20%. Eek.

 

[maby]

Using the 5% benchmark, the lottery prize that I will have to win (in order to be able to afford the 70 foot yacht that I desire) will be around £60 million.
Sounds reasonable to me.

I suspect that the ratio is somewhat different for people buying high-end boats. For those of us down at the low end of the net worth scale, we are going to hang onto quite a high proportion of our assets to cover old age and retirement. A multi-millionaire can only eat as much as we plebs - albeit better quality, perhaps. He'll have a nicer house, but probably not more expensive in proportion to ours. If you have a net worth of a million, then spending £100k on a boat is a big commitment. For the guy with £10 million, spending a couple of million on a boat still leaves him with more than he is likely to be able to spend in whatever is left of his life. I suspect that, long before you hit the £60m, you will come to the conclusion that you can afford £5m for your dream yacht.

 

[maby]

Hmmm, we have either a very cheap house or a very expensive boat, because we're more like 20%. Eek.

If your house is on the Isle of Skye, then I guess it is the former. Down here in the south, a fairly modest house can easily be worth half a million...

 

[zoidberg]

'I have nothing. I owe much. The rest I leave to the poor....'

 

[AndrewB]

2% of my net worth, but 25% of my annual income to run!

 

[Neil_Y]

I try not to think about it, one boat 20 years ago was more like 70% of net worth. But I took a couple of years out and it was then my main home.

 

[Orion Jim]

There's a thread ongoing on Trawler Forum about the typical relationship between boat value and personal net worth. There's mention of 5% as a guide figure but, in the main, contributors argue there's no typical relationship. Things are a bit different in the North America of course because of the high proportion of owners who borrow to buy. I'd imagine very few in Western Europe borrow to buy. What do forumites think? Is there a typical relationship between the two or even a perceived sensible target percentage?

I don’t know of any statistics to prove or disprove your theory but I am willing to bet those who borrow to purchase are mostly those who purchase small runabouts and go-fast craft.
I don’t know of anyone who has borrowed to purchase a yacht in many years. The median age of owners has grown over the years and most have also financially matured to the point where toys are not financed.

 

[maby]

I don’t know of any statistics to prove or disprove your theory but I am willing to bet those who borrow to purchase are mostly those who purchase small runabouts and go-fast craft.
I don’t know of anyone who has borrowed to purchase a yacht in many years. The median age of owners has grown over the years and most have also financially matured to the point where toys are not financed.

I suspect that a lot of purchases are also funded out of inheritances - small families with elderly parents living in houses that have shot up in value. I've seen a couple of fairly expensive boats in marinas recently with names like "Thanks Mum!" and "Thanks Nan!"

 

[dom]

I suspect that a lot of purchases are also funded out of inheritances - small families with elderly parents living in houses that have shot up in value. I've seen a couple of fairly expensive boats in marinas recently with names like "Thanks Mum!" and "Thanks Nan!"

I dunno. I think lots of younger people are buying boats under their own steam, especially in the South East. £350-600k would be a good but unexceptional wage for a mid/late-twenties finance worker and over the years both capital and salaries mount up.

By their late thirties decent boats are often well in range and a great addition to family life as their kids begin to grow up.

 

[maby]

I dunno. I think lots of younger people are buying boats under their own steam, especially in the South East. £350-600k would be a good but unexceptional wage for a mid/late-twenties finance worker and over the years both capital and salaries mount up.

By their late thirties decent boats are often well in range and a great addition to family life as their kids begin to grow up.

That surprises me. We are based in Solent marinas and I see few boat owners under the age of 50. A high proportion are well on the wrong side of 60. It seems that the young have largely lost interest in boat ownership.

 

[dom]

That surprises me. We are based in Solent marinas and I see few boat owners under the age of 50. A high proportion are well on the wrong side of 60. It seems that the young have largely lost interest in boat ownership.

For cruising sailing boats I'd certainly agree. But there's a heck of a young sailing scene in the Hamble and Lymington, and not to forget power vessels.

Many younger folk seem attracted to the turn-key convenience and speed of a mobo; I'm not quite sure why this is but it certainly seems to be a trend in the UK?

 

[flaming]

For cruising sailing boats I'd certainly agree. But there's a heck of a young sailing scene in the Hamble and Lymington, and not to forget power vessels.

You're joking aren't you? We haven't had a young owner join the fleet in 10 years. Youngest owner I can think of is about 50. Most are retirement age. It's a big issue with future fleet numbers.

 

[maby]

You're joking aren't you? We haven't had a young owner join the fleet in 10 years. Youngest owner I can think of is about 50. Most are retirement age. It's a big issue with future fleet numbers.

That's my experience too. Of course there are some young owners, but the vast majority seem to be well into middle age, at least. Many of the (relatively) young sailors we see are actually borrowing the boat of an older relative.

 

[dom]

You're joking aren't you? We haven't had a young owner join the fleet in 10 years. Youngest owner I can think of is about 50. Most are retirement age. It's a big issue with future fleet numbers.

In terms of sailing I was thinking of dinghies; bigger sailing boats have certainly fallen out of fashion for younger buyers. My point is that I don't think young are more cash strapped than they used to be, quite the opposite for those with good jobs.

But for whatever reason the younger types seem attracted to mobos not yachts and friends of mine in the business tell me the £600k-£1.2m mobo new bracket has tons of interest with a significant chunk coming from buyers far from middle age. As a consequence, apparently great value exists in fairly new mobos as the new buyers seem to only want new.

 

[Graham376]

I dunno. I think lots of younger people are buying boats under their own steam, especially in the South East. £350-600k would be a good but unexceptional wage for a mid/late-twenties finance worker and over the years both capital and salaries mount up.

By their late thirties decent boats are often well in range and a great addition to family life as their kids begin to grow up.

Be realistic, they're a tiny minority of the population and bear no resemblance to the majority of owners. Those based in the expensive south coast marinas may be surprised that, out in the sticks, there are still countless owners having fun in 1970s & 80s smaller and cheaper boats and enjoying doing their own maintenance.

 

[[3889]]

I think it depends on how much of a boating fanatic you are ....

I agree. I consider myself pretty fanatical in that I'd rather stay on a Westerly Centaur than in a 5* hotel. After downsizing the house last year I'm planning on moving from a 5% to 30% boat and can't wait.

 

[dom]

Be realistic, they're a tiny minority of the population and bear no resemblance to the majority of owners. Those based in the expensive south coast marinas may be surprised that, out in the sticks, there are still countless owners having fun in 1970s & 80s smaller and cheaper boats and enjoying doing their own maintenance.

I did say the South East!