What has happened to the boat market?

[ash2020]

I reluctantly decided last year to sell my Varne 27 because we're moving to Devon and there's little likelyhood of finding a mooring down there straight away. Also, I'm getting so old now that I want something a bit easier to sail, maybe a motor sailor.

She cost me £12K a few years ago and since then, it's been a process of constant refurbishment. Last year I renewed all the standing rigging and all the wiring. She sails beautifully, has a fabulous engine and everything works nicely.

I know boats, like cars, never hold their price but she is now up for sale at almost half the price I paid, with no glimmer of interest. There's another one that has been for sale for a year at a similar price. What do I do, give her away for £2K, including delivery? I just saw a Parker 27 for £10K. You can bet when I'm looking for a motor sailor I won't find one for £6K.

Is anyone managing to sell a secondhand boat or is it all hopeless?

Here she is, not for an advert, but I would appreciate opinions as to whether I am delusional.

Boats for sale UK, used boats, new boat sales, free photo ads - Apollo Duck

 

[shanemax]

Varne 27 is a beautiful boat with perfect lines and quite fast, and very roomy in the main cabin .If its in good condition I am surprised you are not getting your asking price. I would have thought 8,000-10,000 grand would have been a fair price for a good example.

 

[RAI]

A couple of years ago, post covid, boats were selling well. Now not so good. My Coronet Elvstrom 38 is for sale on apolloduck and scanboat but not a single response.

 

[ash2020]

Varne 27 is a beautiful boat with perfect lines and quite fast, and very roomy in the main cabin .If its in good condition I am surprised you are not getting your asking price. I would have thought 8,000-10,000 grand would have been a fair price for a good example.

She was on sale last season for £8,000 and I had just one person look at her. Trouble is, it costs about £2.5K a year to keep her so soon I will have lost all of the value.

 

[ash2020]

A couple of years ago, post covid, boats were selling well. Now not so good. My Coronet Elvstrom 38 is for sale on apolloduck and scanboat but not a single response.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you have better luck.

 

[wonkywinch]

I think something strange is happening in the outside world. I have a car on Autotrader, several things in Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree.

The car has had some views but no calls, the Ebay listing (8 in different categories) have not even had any views whatsoever and the FB/Gumtree ads no response either.

Very odd.

 

[ash2020]

I think something strange is happening in the outside world. I have a car on Autotrader, several things in Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree.

The car has had some views but no calls, the Ebay listing (8 in different categories) have not even had any views whatsoever and the FB/Gumtree ads no response either.

Very odd.

I agree, something's very strange. I sell 3D printed stuff on Etsy and I had a steady trickle of orders but now zero! Maybe it's just the cost of living, nobody having spare money.

 

[ridgy]

She was on sale last season for £8,000 and I had just one person look at her. Trouble is, it costs about £2.5K a year to keep her so soon I will have lost all of the value.

And there is the problem. As was explained to me by a broker when I was selling an Elizabethan 29 a good few years ago, boats this size are big enough to incur nearly all the costs of a bigger boat but not big enough to really do anything with. Bit of an older gentleman single hander special. That boat was up for 7k and eventually let it go for 4k. Gave up on Apollo Duck and let a broker sort it.

 

[fjcruiserdxb]

I am on the other side as a buyer and frankly all I see is overpriced sailboats in often poor condition with zero upgrades in terms of standing and running rigging, sails and electronics. There isn't anything more discretionary purchase than a boat and proper pricing is key if one wants to sell. I have been looking at max 15 years old boats and most aren't selling either. Will just be waiting until vendors come to their senses and may have to wait till 2025. I think the market is 30 to 40% overpriced. As a buyer, it's difficult to make such discounted offers without offending the vendors. Eventually motivated vendors will price their boats accordingly and we can achieve a deal that satisfies both parties. It's a buyers market like property. Takes time for some to accept it. I can be patient.

 

[ash2020]

And there is the problem. As was explained to me by a broker when I was selling an Elizabethan 29 a good few years ago, boats this size are big enough to incur nearly all the costs of a bigger boat but not big enough to really do anything with. Bit of an older gentleman single hander special. That boat was up for 7k and eventually let it go for 4k. Gave up on Apollo Duck and let a broker sort it.

I've never had much over this size but I do believe the costs are more manageable than the 32' to 40' range. Calisto certainly sails like a "proper " boat rather than an uprated dinghy like my Jaguar 23 was.

 

[ash2020]

I am on the other side as a buyer and frankly all I see is overpriced sailboats in often poor condition with zero upgrades in terms of standing and running rigging, sails and electronics. There isn't anything more discretionary purchase than a boat and proper pricing is key if one wants to sell. I have been looking at max 15 years old boats and most aren't selling either. Will just be waiting until vendors come to their senses and may have to wait till 2025. I think the market is 30 to 40% overpriced. As a buyer, it's difficult to make such discounted offers without offending the vendors. Eventually motivated vendors will price their boats accordingly and we can achieve a deal that satisfies both parties. It's a buyers market like property. Takes time for some to accept it. I can be patient.

I agree, it's the same with houses and motors, everything has a price at which it will sell. But this is a seriously good boat and I don't believe that £7K is overpriced.

 

[steveeasy]

I am on the other side as a buyer and frankly all I see is overpriced sailboats in often poor condition with zero upgrades in terms of standing and running rigging, sails and electronics. There isn't anything more discretionary purchase than a boat and proper pricing is key if one wants to sell. I have been looking at max 15 years old boats and most aren't selling either. Will just be waiting until vendors come to their senses and may have to wait till 2025. I think the market is 30 to 40% overpriced. As a buyer, it's difficult to make such discounted offers without offending the vendors. Eventually motivated vendors will price their boats accordingly and we can achieve a deal that satisfies both parties. It's a buyers market like property. Takes time for some to accept it. I can be patient.

Not sure why buyers always think boats are overpriced. If you have not found anything then your probably not digging deep enough.
Lots of boats for sale and easy therefore to do a deal I suspect.

Steveeasy

 

[fjcruiserdxb]

Not sure why buyers always think boats are overpriced. If you have not found anything then your probably not digging deep enough.
Lots of boats for sale and easy therefore to do a deal I suspect.

Steveeasy

Not easy to offer at 30-40% discount on a 15 years boat at this moment in time until sellers realise what's happening in the economy (and it's not good). Don't want to burn my bridges with brokers either. Boat bubble has burst. Who knew it's not supply and demand that drives price but affordability.

 

[Farmer Piles]

And it tends to be the middle to lower end of the boat - or horse, or sportscar, or campervan - market that suffers. Buyers who can marginally afford to fulfill their dreams - no buffer zone with their finances.

 

[shanemax]

Nice boat

 

[jamie N]

One of the big issues that'll plaque some, is that they need to sell their boat to be rid of a marina overhead, as well as to gain the equity for a new boat, but they've not got a trailer to move the boat 'home', or to somewhere less expensive for storage, thus are saddled with expenses.
This could be considered similar to a housing chain, where no-one is willing to lower their price, as it'd render the desired new vessel unaffordable, so it just chokes, until it possibly crashes.
I've just bought a new to me boat, and didn't haggle over the price, which I thought fair, but did ask for a couple of add ons. Nothing onerous or ridiculous, so doing the deal was easy for both sides, as it ensured an end to any of their liabilities.
Another important factor though, is the size of boat, as I'm moving from a Folkboat, which I've taken home, to a GK24, which are both far smaller than many would wish to have, with an appreciably similar reduction in liability and complexity. The Folkboat is now costing me nothing, and I'll be able to give it a much better 'refit' than if I were going to rush to sail her this season. I've been lucky in being able to keep my marina berth also, which isn't quite so easy on the Solent, I believe.

 

[bikedaft]

I reluctantly decided last year to sell my Varne 27 because we're moving to Devon and there's little likelyhood of finding a mooring down there straight away. Also, I'm getting so old now that I want something a bit easier to sail, maybe a motor sailor.

She cost me £12K a few years ago and since then, it's been a process of constant refurbishment. Last year I renewed all the standing rigging and all the wiring. She sails beautifully, has a fabulous engine and everything works nicely.

I know boats, like cars, never hold their price but she is now up for sale at almost half the price I paid, with no glimmer of interest. There's another one that has been for sale for a year at a similar price. What do I do, give her away for £2K, including delivery? I just saw a Parker 27 for £10K. You can bet when I'm looking for a motor sailor I won't find one for £6K.

Is anyone managing to sell a secondhand boat or is it all hopeless?

Here she is, not for an advert, but I would appreciate opinions as to whether I am delusional.

Boats for sale UK, used boats, new boat sales, free photo ads - Apollo Duck

she looks lovely, well kept.

after i looked at your ad, i glanced at 3 Hustler 30's - all 6-7k, same vintage etc.

if you really want to sell, reduce the price by 1k every fortnight, someone will got for her, she looks great!

 

[V1701]

The smaller, cheaper boats though are only going to be bought by (relatively) shoestring sailors and the less money you have to start with the more affected you are by the "cost of living crisis". But that's only one variable, another is that a lot are optimistically priced. Five years ago I bought a 1969 Bowman 26 with an almost new Beta 10 engine, recent standing rigging, good sails, windvane steering, tiller pilot, newish bunk cushions (in other words a really cared for boat) for £4k. You could reasonably argue that she was worth a lot more and she had been on at £6 or £7k before the asking price was reduced. And that was five years ago...

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I recently noticed a boat that I sold 12 years ago is now on the market for £5 less than it sold for and not a thing has been done to it, the photographs apart from the terrible cosmetic appearance ( green side decks) could have been the ones taken 12 years ago.

 

[Refueler]

And there is the problem. As was explained to me by a broker when I was selling an Elizabethan 29 a good few years ago, boats this size are big enough to incur nearly all the costs of a bigger boat but not big enough to really do anything with. Bit of an older gentleman single hander special. That boat was up for 7k and eventually let it go for 4k. Gave up on Apollo Duck and let a broker sort it.

I had the Agency at one stage for Ridas Yachts ... similar thing there ...

I asked Ridas why they didn't offer a 25 - 28ft build .. their 32 and 35 was excellent.

Reply was that building a 25 - 28ft was nearly as much as their 32 - but no-one would pay the money it would need to sell at.

Not long after - they acquired a mould for a 25 ... and they modified ... created a brilliant 25ft'r ... sold a few but it died just as he said ..