How Old is Too Old When Buying a Yacht?

[prv]

I think the OP revealed his opinion on this topic by wording the poll so that anything over 15yrs would be 'old'.

+1

Ariam was 16 years old when we bought her, and I think of her as "quite new"

Pete

 

[Baddox]

Thanks for all the thought, replies and offers folks.

Kelpie, don't read too much into the choice of poll, it just fitted nicely as 5 year periods since the turn of the century. As someone mentioned, I was considering the ease or difficulty of resale after keeping an already used boat for five or ten years; reassuringly, second hand prices don't warn of any cliff-edge for desirable age.

I'd love to have a wooden boat, and the time to look after one but I have neither. It's a Sunday morning pleasure, pottering, fettling and tinkering with my current boat, although that inevitable ends up involving little work and lots of tea and chat with other owners.

I appreciate Dylan's comments and altruism, that Rustlers in excellent condition are a liability to their owners and should be offered (by PM please) for sale at rock bottom prices or less; the same is true for Arcona's .

 

[William_H]

Boats particularly older ones are often for sale because the owners do not want to face the cost of imminent major replacements so it is rare to find boats in real sail away condition over about 10 years old. Replacement sails, engines, electronics etc can run into 10's of 000s for even modest boats.

!

I would disagree with that generalised statement on why boats are for sale. I think that apart from a percentage who want a bigger, or sometimes smaller boat, most people sell their boat because their sailing dream did not come to fruition. In other words they find they simply did not use the boat. The boats usually sit around deteriorating until they finally accept that the dream is not going to happen. Then they have accept that the boat is not worth nearly as much as they imagined.
Just my observation good luck in searching olewill

 

[Momac]

My present boat was one owner and 11 years old when I bought it . Little used and in many respects looking as good as new. Not neglected as such but not well used. I do not consider the boat to be old now is is approaching its 13th birthday.
I can only guess the original owners could not find the spare time to use the boat.
There have been some faults attributable to lack of use - so something to be aware of when buying. A well used but cherished and well maintained boat possibly being a safer bet. What appears to be as new on the outside may have deteriorated on the inside.
.

 

[jamie N]

PS You are asking this on the PBO forum, where boat maintenance is a hobby - get a different answer on Yachting World perchance

Excellent, and how true!

 

[rob2]

I couldn't help but muse on the fact that many current production boats will be revamped versions of designs that have been in production for the fifteen years, so unless you're looking at a completely new design the categories don't mean all that much. On that basis, it's not so much the age as the whole package that counts. If the boat is sound and the cosmetics undamaged then you can make her presentable. After all, we all have to do a deep clean at least once a year. More important is that the systems are all working and ideally repairable - mine has an obsolete engine and the instruments too. I accepted this as the overall condition was good and simply had to replace the instruments when they started to play up.

I would remind anyone assuming that a new boat is perfect that new builds have failed MCA coding with structural faults! Thorough testing (second-hand) backed up by a good survey is just as likely to get you a reliable and seaworthy boat.

Rob.

 

[Chris.Moody]

I personally think condition is far more important than age. There is no reason that a well maintained yacht from the 1960's or 70's cannot be in better condition than a recent model. In fact the build quality on the older yachts is often far superior.

 

[dunedin]

I would remind anyone assuming that a new boat is perfect that new builds have failed MCA coding with structural faults! Thorough testing (second-hand) backed up by a good survey is just as likely to get you a reliable and seaworthy boat.

I would agree with that. I think investing in a full structural survey of a new boat, either on delivery and/or end of first season, would be a good investment for peace of mind and avoiding issues later (and not just for large Oysters!)

I instructed two surveys on recent boats, and in both cases the only survey faults were related to original construction. One resulted in a walk away. Both were quality Scandinavian boats.

 

[how_old]

hey everyone ! last week i turned 40 and well im getting a yacht ! i feel like its time to do this and im at my yacht age

 

[Concerto]

Concerto turned 40 in September and should have been on show at the Southampton International Boat Show until it was cancelled. I wonder how many of the current crop of AWB's will be in good sailing condition in 2060? I still expect Concerto will still be sailing. Westerly built boats to last but I doubt if any of the AWB's will make it 80.

 

[fredrussell]

Concerto turned 40 in September and should have been on show at the Southampton International Boat Show until it was cancelled. I wonder how many of the current crop of AWB's will be in good sailing condition in 2060? I still expect Concerto will still be sailing. Westerly built boats to last but I doubt if any of the AWB's will make it 80.

Here we go again then.

 

[Concerto]

Here we go again then.

Glad you could join the party. May be we should discuss at what age a boat should have its engine changed. ? ? ?

 

[Hallberg-Rassy]

I would not change her for a new jelly mould that has been built by accountants as a 'disposable toy' that is more at ease when on a marina pontoon than in a heavy sea.

I think Puff makes a good point.

Rather than age, you should be thinking of different vintages. Some vintages are better or worse than others both in the hull and engine departments. For example, on one hand, you will read time and time again about how the early generation of GRP boats were overbuilt; on the other, certain engines lasted and other younger ones did not age so well. Many younger designs turned out to be compromised, but most afloat will be fixed now.

Personally, I tend to think re-manufactured is often better than original, as it's has the bugs fixed.

However, I think the honest answer is, no one really knows how long GRP boats will last as we are still in the testing phase and 50 odd year old boats are still bouncing around happily, but I did read of a scrapper that broke up boat commercially, that older GRP broke up differently then newer GRP, so perhaps it is ageing and embrittling. I don't know, it was a purely anecdotal comment but one worthy of investigation.

Early 70s, around the time of the Oil Embargo might be a historical turning point due to the increase in price of petro chemicals. I don't know of how and when younger boats started becoming more vulnerable but with many older boats, there are nice touches, like the top and hull being seamed or glassed together, rather then just stuck together with gunk & screws.

Are there people in 40, 50, 60 year old boats doing more challenging sailing than you'll ever imagine? Sure.

But I would like to know the half-life of GRP.

 

[[178529]]

Concerto turned 40 in September and should have been on show at the Southampton International Boat Show until it was cancelled. I wonder how many of the current crop of AWB's will be in good sailing condition in 2060? I still expect Concerto will still be sailing. Westerly built boats to last but I doubt if any of the AWB's will make it 80.

I think with advances in materials, with vacuum infusion and better resins, boats built now will last as long or longer than boats built in the seventies. As ever it will be down to how their owners look after them.

 

[jwilson]

Two of the very best condition and best built boats we ( Yachts for sale at Yachtsnet - UK sailing yacht brokerage and boat sales ) have ever sold were a 1960s GRP long-keeler and a 1970s fin and skeg cruiser-racer. Both had very long-term owners who were skilled and highly competent at maintenance. Given careful use and more love could still look good and sail very well in another 40-50 years. But their interior layout is of the age, super for heavy weather passagemaking, not to great for a summer marina-hopping family cruise.

I doubt that many mass production boats built now will last as long: whilst they have better raw materials and certainly better production engineering, some cost-cutting build changes over the years are downgrades over more traditional build methods. Despite this I own a modern boat: the accommodation is excellent, and it sails very well in the sort of weather I want to be sailing in.

 

[fredrussell]

Glad you could join the party. May be we should discuss at what age a boat should have its engine changed. ? ? ?

Lost me there. Why is that funny?

 

[HissyFit]

How old is too old? 'Newer than 5 years'? Nobody should ever buy a boat! I don't know what Leo Sampson is thinking in buying that 110 year old classic wreak and rebuilding it.

Age of the boat has got nothing to do with it. It's about matching your budget with the boat's condition and your skill level, and having enough left over to enjoy it.

 

[coopec]

I definitely wouldn't buy a modern yacht as they are influenced by racing yachts and are too ugly. Many modern yachts have fin keels and spade rudders which I believe don't belong on a cruising yacht. Give me a Sparkman and Stephens type yacht anytime. (I wish! )






ALDEN SCHOONER.

 

[Praxinoscope]

My previous boat was the oldest in our harbour a 1965 Invicta 26 which still passed its survey at 50 years old with flying colours,
present boat is a 1981 Sadler 25 which passed its survey 3 years ago again with flying colours.
I bought both boats for cash, didn't have to borrow any money to buy either, so apart from routine maintenance, kit up-grades, mooring fees etc. my sailing is relatively economical in boats that were well designed, well built and sail well.
There is no way I could even consider the purchase of a new boat, but as I like these older designs, this doesn't interfere with my sailing enjoyment.

 

[Rappey]

It comes across from some posts that everything is old on an older boat
That is not true as things are replaced and upgraded as time goes by.
I've seen many 30 yr old boats that are still in amazing condition inside and out.