Used boat market - strange times

[mrming]

We’re looking for a larger boat for next season as our kids have got too big for our little trailer sailor which we’ve happily raced and cruised for the last 7 years.

Budget £20k max so not expecting anything too fancy.

Seems our timing is poor however, and that COVID-19 has had the effect of increasing demand / reducing supply of used boats.

Brokers don’t have much stock, and decent looking private boats are selling very quickly.

I don’t want to miss out on next season, but I can’t help thinking all these boats will soon be back on the market at much reduced prices if normality returns.

What does the panel think? Buy now at our peril, or get on with it and go sailing?

Will UK sailing enjoy an unexpected boom, or will it all be over as soon as foreign holidays are firmly back on the menu?

 

[RJJ]

We’re looking for a larger boat for next season as our kids have got too big for our little trailer sailor which we’ve happily raced and cruised for the last 7 years.

Budget £20k max so not expecting anything too fancy.

Seems our timing is poor however, and that COVID-19 has had the effect of increasing demand / reducing supply of used boats.

Brokers don’t have much stock, and decent looking private boats are selling very quickly.

I don’t want to miss out on next season, but I can’t help thinking all these boats will soon be back on the market at much reduced prices if normality returns.

What does the panel think? Buy now at our peril, or get on with it and go sailing?

Will UK sailing enjoy an unexpected boom, or will it all be over as soon as foreign holidays are firmly back on the menu?

I think people will want a "lockdown safe" family activity for a while, as in: not dependent on borders, flights, hotels or quarantine. Still of course vulnerable to in-country measures.

 

[coveman]

Presumably if you are selling your boat the same will apply

 

[mrming]

Yes that is a possible silver lining! ?

 

[Chae_73]

I found the same when looking to buy a few months back.

Tidy boats were shifting pretty quickly, but ones needing some work or very overpriced still hang around.

I found a sound boat which needed some cosmetic attention (and a few other things but no show stoppers), made an offer and bought it for what I think is a far price for a decent boat.

So I'd encourage you to keep looking; there are still a lot of boats for sale out there!

 

[TernVI]

In a normal year, late November would be leaving it late for a boat for next season.
This winter, getting any work done could be very difficult.

 

[V1701]

Definitely keep looking, sell yours before buying another if possible, but I guess that is much less of an issue if it's a trailer sailer and you don't have to pay for storage. It's been a similar story with motorbikes as well, I wanted a second hand one earlier in the year, there was a dearth of good ones and a lot at over-inflated prices but I still found a good one at a fair price...

 

[dgadee]

Definitely keep looking, sell yours before buying another if possible, but I guess that is much less of an issue if it's a trailer sailer and you don't have to pay for storage. It's been a similar story with motorbikes as well, I wanted a second hand one earlier in the year, there was a dearth of good ones and a lot at over-inflated prices but I still found a good one at a fair price...

Bloke I know was buying m/bikes privately in England and bringing them over to NI for sale. The sources dried up because everyone wanted them for commuting. Every boat for sale at my harbour went within days over the summer. Even the one I used to race on (which was an awful state, full of water) and wasn't even advertised went. I, of course, tried to sell a year ago and then decided to keep the 2nd boat. Never ever got my timings right.

 

[jordanbasset]

I suspect part of the shortage is that the euro-sterling exchange rate means some are being snapped up by buyers from the rest of Europe,

 

[dgadee]

I suspect part of the shortage is that the euro-sterling exchange rate means some are being snapped up by buyers from the rest of Europe,

I don't think any went down south - they were all sold locally, so far as I know.

 

[jonic]

I have been surprised how fast decent (and even not so decent) yachts have been selling. Asking price and in some cases over asking price is the norm. Demand is high but stocks are very thin and I do not see that situation changing for a while. If you find something you like I would move quickly. I have.

 

[Koeketiene]

I have been surprised how fast decent (and even not so decent) yachts have been selling. Asking price and in some cases over asking price is the norm. Demand is high but stocks are very thin and I do not see that situation changing for a while. If you find something you like I would move quickly. I have.

Out of interest, what did you get?

 

[[2574]]

We sold this summer in amongst the high demand - the boat sold in four days from first listing. Then we considered being sensible and sitting it out until a buyer’s market returned. Then it occurred that the wait might be for a year or two or more. And that wait consumes quite a lot of the time which one is allocated on this planet. So we bought immediately in amongst the other frantic buyers and now we are looking forward to enjoying next summer afloat. Value of the time afloat? Who knows, but it feels right.

 

[dom]

This thread appears to be based upon a false premise, born when the forum collectively convinced itself that the price of beautiful second hand vessels would collapse as dying elderly yacht owners and their heirs flooded the market. The same process, some reasoned, would lead to a rout in stock prices.

Charming Dickensian narratives or "talking one's own book" as it's known in the City?

Oh well, perhaps the New Year will ring-in a VAT-catalysed collapse!

 

[Pete7]

Oh well, perhaps the New Year will ring in a VAT-catalysed collapse!

Could the opposite happen? all those expensive yachts in the EU now need to be imported and VAT paid on them if they are to be kept in the UK post 1 Jan 21. So those already in the UK and for sale become a valuable asset increasing in value. Forget shares, buy boats

 

[dom]

Could the opposite happen? all those expensive yachts in the EU now need to be imported and VAT paid on them if they are to be kept in the UK post 1 Jan 21. So those already in the UK and for sale become a valuable asset increasing in value. Forget shares, buy boats

Excellent idea....

FTSE, S&P, Dow Jones, etc. could all be replaced by new indices including the MAB-100, AWB-500, and Skeg-30.

And we could have BitCQRs for the speculatively inclined!
?

 

[Pete7]

That's the spirit, we could try our hands at a boat building industry, must be profitable the third time around surely. We could have Westerly' Mk 3s, Sealine Pheonixs and Sadler Revengers to take on the Froggies, sold to the EU tax free.

Pete

 

[suffolklass]

I would say look around anyway. There is no telling what will happen over the next couple of years. I doubt people will feel completely confident booking foreign holidays next summer either so if you sit it out in hope of prices dropping you might miss a couple of seasons in a bigger boat - and then if the prices don't drop, what then? Best to keep looking and see if anything catches your eye without rushing to buy. Once you've bought, a small amount extra on the purchase price will be insignificant over your years of ownership. On the other hand it's always easy to tell someone else to spend their hard-earned!

I'd be interested to know what you end up getting. We've just started on the same trajectory as you - trailer sailer for now while the kids are small but with the aim of upsizing once they get bigger and we can afford it! What sort of boat are you hoping to get for your £20k?

 

[jonic]

Out of interest, what did you get?

Sold our Ovni 385 and bought a Moody 46

 

[Tradewinds]

Sold our Ovni 385 and bought a Moody 46

Ah. Scratched an itch and then got something better suited for your future needs (I'm guessing here) . My son bought a Subaru Impreza a while back and then realised he probably wouldn't have a driving licence for very much longer and went back to a Focus diesel!