Buying a boat, what do you think?

[dfleminguk]

Im buying a boat in the very near future and the possibilities include a Princess V42, Fairline Targa 40 and a Sunseeker camargue 44. The boats I have seen all askinig around the £175k mark.

Firstly, I'd be keen to hear of any experience and thoughts on the above boats.

Secondly, in light of the current issues surrounding red diesel does anyone think this will have an affect on the value of boats in this price bracket? I'd be interested to hear your views.

 

[Whitelighter]

All three boats are from well established, good manufacturers are represent some of the most desirable models in their respective ranges.

Which boat you go for will probably be down to personal taste, as they are all pretty good. The V42 is the oldest design, with the boat little changed fro the V39 of 1996. The SS 44 is next, with the T40 being the newest model.

It is likely that interior design, wood and layot will be the deciding factor. Iw ould be tempted to go for the SS 44 as I think it has a second head and a larger second cabin due to the bigger LOA.

 

[oldgit]

Would have thought that all those boats especially in the price range you are considering are exactly the type of boat likely to be affected by fuel prices.That type of boat can only be used for a few all too brief decent days of summer here in UK and are designed to be used at the high gas guzzling speeds needed to get you from your bit of the coast to a similar bit 50 miles away and back again as expensively as is possible.. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[blueglass]

sad but true. I thing the safe money goes on slower semi displacement boats.

 

[Whitelighter]

yawn

 

[Sneds]

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Me, I'd have the Targa, purely on looks!

 

[Sneds]

Spelt Traga wrong!!

 

[Sneds]

IMO I don't think boat prices will suffer, anymore than they are doing at present ,due to the red diesel thing.
Maybe have to travel a little slower, a little less often, run with the tide a little more often and have to save a little harder for a wekend out on the boat.
All the above we are willing to do... 'cos boats is what we do!
And I am in the process of buying a larger twin engine boat, one reason for bringing the upgrade forward is to take advantage of a whole year of cheap fuel! Used to buying petrol @ £1.20 per litre!

 

[Sundays_Child]

Agree with Jez. Camargue 44. Great balance of space.

 

[oldgit]

25 knots at lets say 20 gallons an hour in those boats mentioned @ say £4.00 quid a gallon......................? Two hours there and two back £320.00.
Less a yawn more of a gasp perhaps /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[Sneds]

Hmmm frightning, but if you can afford to buy one?

Thats why we are upgrading to a 28 footer!

 

[oldgit]

Agree,but suspect that unlike the buyer of a new boat in that class,the purchaser of a second hand version is likely to have to take fuel running costs into account.
While doing a bit of googling about the actual running costs of a pair of Kad 44 came across this in a post by Petrolia

"Another thing is that before the bottom clean I never had the opportunity to run at WOT so don’t know what max fuel consumption was. However after the bottom clean at WOT the consumption was 40gph."

 

[Whitelighter]

Ok, well current costs are:

Monthly payment on a Marine Mortgage for £130k - £1400/month
Berth in a Marina - £500/month
Insurance - £100/month
Servcing and maintenance - £100/month
Fuel (assumed 40 hours on the plane @ 20GPH) - £136.20/month

So total monthly cost of £2236.20

When red goes up (lets say to £1.00/litre, or £4.54/gallon) the increase in monthly expenditure will be £166.46, or around £2000 per year. That represents an increase in expenditure of 7.44% assuming all other costs stay the same.

When you break the figures down it is not a huge % of your over all costs. Marina fees are rising at about that level, yet we all still boat. Yes, it will be a pain the arse, but don't think it will stop that many people with these boats.

% is even smaller if you buy new btw.

Que Gludy to tell me just how wrong I am and the sea will open up and swallow us whole in November '08.

 

[rickp]

Surely oldgit just wants to talk down the market so he can get rid of his egg whisks and buy a proper boat at last?

Rick

 

[gjgm]

hmmm, but for some reason writing a check to MDL doesnt seem as bad as standing at the pump going, oh my god, how much????
You forgot to include depreciation which makes the fuel issue seem even smaller. But we all know none of this makes any financial sense. Either you fiddle the numbers so you can live with it, or you just decide you cant. The numbers are the same. I think, maybe not November 08, that there will be a downturn. But hell, Footsie will be at zero, your pension will be negative, and half the country might be unemployed, so what the hell!!

 

[Frontier]

That percentage could be quite a bit higher for some though Jez.


For example it could be like this

No spare cash for mortgage, bought the boat with all your savings.

Brighton marina looks like one of the cheapest £340-£360 depending if you pay monthly or annually (Less if you are already a berth holder )

Insurance - £100/month
Servicing and maintenance - £100/month
Fuel (assumed 40 hours on the plane @ 20GPH) - £136.20/month

So the extra fuel is more like 25% +

Now I agree many in the £175k + range won’t be bothered by that, but unless there are people coming into boating (and staying) at the bottom end of the market the higher end will have nowhere to dump the trade-ins.

D

 

[petem]

They're all great boats. Note that T40 is on legs, others are shafts.

Pete

 

[neil01403]

Bugger red diesel - If with Peters in administration watch second hand values!!

 

[DoubleVision]

I think chaps the Targa and the V42 will be considerably more economical or should I say use less fuel than the SS 44. The latter in most cases runs on Cat 3208`s on shafts and the 2 former boats will have Kad 44 or 300`s. I would say the consumption on the shafted Cats would be almost 4 times the others.

 

[Gludy]

Jezbanks - Many folks will fork out £50k for a car and still get rid of it if it uses too much fuel.

What many judge costs on is the marginal cost so when an 80 mile return trip costs thousands in fuel in a large boat they simply cannot justify the marginal cost.

Many boaters really struggle to afford their hobby and the extra fuel cost is too much. Others who use their boats a lot face enrourmous fuel cost hikes. Fuel will be over £5 per gallon not the £4.50 you claim.

In addition in your example interest rate hikes will have gone up 40% or so on marine mortgages plus a mortgage hike for your home hence a number of factors will combine together to cause a depression in sales.

So I think you are wrong - I think that the red issue will be a significant factor and when combined with all the others will turn many away from Motor boating.