We are in a never to be repeated golden age of sailing.

[benjenbav]

What puzzles me is the expectation of somehow coming out financially ahead (or not too far behind) on an item bought for pleasure.

Folks talk about depreciation and maintenance all the time but hardly ever about the cost of money.

Let’s say you call up the sales folk for a nice new state of the art family cruiser, relieving yourself in the process of £250k.

Well, wave goodbye to £10k - £20k per annum depending on whether you’re looking at a lost return on your own money or interest on borrowed money.

The counter argument is that you shouldn’t count the cost of money when looking at something that is being bought to provide enjoyment. If it makes you feel happy; there’s your value.

And I agree with that. But only because I’m not trying to say that buying a boat is anything other than a cost laid out in return for pleasure.

So long as it’s a cost that you can and are willing to meet; happy days.

Also, comparisons are freely made between buying a 50 y/o grp 24footer vs a new 40foot all singing and dancing cruiser which, frankly, is like comparing camping in a tent with staying at the Ritz. Either might appeal but for different reasons.

So, in short I’d say, buy that GK24 that’s linked above (or similar) if you want a simple £2k yacht and are happy to buy new sails and whatever else, pay the mooring charges and deal with ongoing running costs - if that’s what you’re going to enjoy and that’s what you want to spend.

Equally and for the same reasons (what you want and can afford) buy the shiny new thing.

 

[flaming]

I think a tad pessimistic. If you bought a well looked after 10k rival 32 or nic 32 now and carried on looking after it then i cant believe it wouldnt be worth much different to what you paid for it in ten years.
I think once a boat gets to 15 years old maintenance gets to the same. Rigging, sails, engines all consumables.
Running costs of a brand new boat are enormous if you factor in depreciation. If you stick with 32 foot, a new one fully equiped is going to be close to 200k. If you sold after 10 years how much would you lose?

But your OP was talking about Centaurs and Griffons. Now I know the Griffon well, my Dad bought one the year before I was born, and sold it when I was about 15. We had some fantastic times on that boat, but the world has moved on. It takes a very particular type of person to decide to spend their "fun money" on buying and owning a boat like in the UK that when the annual running costs are almost certainly enough for an annual charter holiday on a much bigger and better equipped boat somewhere in the med.

Because of that the demand for that sort of boat is very soft now - hence they're changing hands for "banger money". If you bought one now and kept it for a few years I think you'd be extremely unlikely to get any return at all when you want to get rid of it. The supply of small older GRP boats seems to far exceed the demand for them. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing to do btw, just that when you do your "man maths" on the purchase, you need to factor in writing off the whole of the purchase price. Anything you did get would be a bonus.

 

[flaming]

What puzzles me is the expectation of somehow coming out financially ahead (or not too far behind) on an item bought for pleasure.

Folks talk about depreciation and maintenance all the time but hardly ever about the cost of money.

Let’s say you call up the sales folk for a nice new state of the art family cruiser, relieving yourself in the process of £250k.

Well, wave goodbye to £10k - £20k per annum depending on whether you’re looking at a lost return on your own money or interest on borrowed money.

The counter argument is that you shouldn’t count the cost of money when looking at something that is being bought to provide enjoyment. If it makes you feel happy; there’s your value.

And I agree with that. But only because I’m not trying to say that buying a boat is anything other than a cost laid out in return for pleasure.

So long as it’s a cost that you can and are willing to meet; happy days.

Also, comparisons are freely made between buying a 50 y/o grp 24footer with a new 40foot all singing and dancing cruiser which, frankly, is like comparing camping in a tent with staying at the Ritz. Either might appeal but for different reasons.

So, in short I’d say, buy that GK24 that’s linked above (or similar) if you want a simple £2k yacht and are happy to buy new sails and whatever else, pay the mooring charges and deal with ongoing running costs - if that’s what you’re going to enjoy and that’s what you want to spend.

Equally and for the same reasons (what you want and can afford) buy the shiny new thing.

Absolutely this.

And sometimes the reverse snobbery that is evident around here directed at people who are spending their hard earned, or maybe less hard earned, cash on big shiny boats is a little odd... Those spending the big bucks keep the services that most of us use going, so that they can sell us the £10 item that we need.

 

[newtothis]

What puzzles me is the expectation of somehow coming out financially ahead (or not too far behind) on an item bought for pleasure.

I buy whisky for pleasure; you wouldn't believe the depreciation on that. It is simply unsellable even after a single use.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I buy whisky for pleasure; you wouldn't believe the depreciation on that. It is simply unsellable even after a single use.

Oh I don’t know….
- YouTube

 

[DoubleEnder]

If you know you know

Browns yes. Le Baron, anyone?

 

[mrming]

Wanting to own and sail a boat in the UK at all is now a niche, as said above.

If you’re in that niche, and you’re not mortally offended by new boat designs, then you’re likely to be doing more sailing and less fixing in a brand new boat.

You do need a large amount of capital to make the purchase, however, and not everyone has that.

If you’re self employed and your income is a bit up and down, you won’t be getting finance. Perhaps your family doesn’t like the idea of tying up £200k+ in a hobby, or committing to chunky payments on a marine mortgage.

A well maintained, older boat has a dramatically lower cost of entry. Yes it will likely cost a similar amount (or even a bit more) to continue to maintain and keep upgraded, but that can be done over time when cash is available. And yes you may not get your purchase price back, but the new boat will have lost far more than that if you keep it for 5-10 years.

The older boats that are really not selling are smaller, or have been run down by lack of use and lack of maintenance. In the current market, if a boat needs a new everything, it’s worthless. A genuinely well maintained plastic classic over 30 feet with decent interior space will find a new owner when you’re finished with it, providing you don’t set a fantasy price.

 

[Egret]

Problem is that the next generation like paddleboards and wingfoilers that fold up into a bag and go into the bottom of the wardrobe.

 

[Concerto]

Man on quayside: "What a lovely boat, you must be a very wealthy man to be able to afford that"

Man on boat: "I was before I bought the bloody thing"

You are a PBO - poor bloody owner.

 

[Concerto]

Keeping any boat is going to cost the same in a marina or mooring for the same length, irrespective of age. A new boat will probably cost slightly more to insure and an old boat slightly more to maintain. The depreciation on a new boat will be greatest in the first couple of years, whereas the value that may be lost on an older boat will be less. Every owner has different financial situations and chooses according to what they can afford. Keeping a smaller older boat in a cheaper mooring will probably cost less than a fortnight family holiday, but the boat is available all year and becomes a hobby besides a sport. I know quite a lot of younger people who enjoy sailing over many of the modern sports like paddle boarding, snowboarding, etc. Many of these people started sailing on flotilla holidays and got the sailing bug. There is nothing like owning your own boat.