What is the yacht sales market doing?

A good friend of mine has just bought new. He said that there was not much used available and all the good used boats were getting sold very quickly (he was looking for a 40-45ft yacht under 5 years old).

At the other end of the scale, there seems to be an over-supply of older, smaller boats.
 
We were chatting to the broker at the kip boatshow back in April - he was lamenting slow boat sales and the ones that were sold going for significantly less than advertised price. He had sold two good condition sigma 33's each going for circa £6k!
 
Bobc said:
A good friend of mine has just bought new. He said that there was not much used available and all the good used boats were getting sold very quickly (he was looking for a 40-45ft yacht under 5 years old).

At the other end of the scale, there seems to be an over-supply of older, smaller boats.
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They are just piling up at the bottom of the market. Very few boats get scrapped unlike cars. Unfortunately what would once have been called a small older boat is now creeping into the 28-33ft range. see the post about the Sigmas.
With regards to the OP I wonder who is buying that sort of boat these days. Yes it's a classic but not for everyone. I've just had a look at one for sale that was built in 1989. From the internal pictures It looks like something that might have been at Dunkirk.
 
I think a lot of people here are trying to justify their own loss of interest or onset of old age; chartering for a fortnight a year will never replace pride of ownership and the ' row away factor '.

Our club is busier than ever both in the cruiser and dinghy sections - mind that is the result of direct efforts by the club especially open days to introduce people to sailing ( all sorts of boats from Sailability for the disabled to dinghies, dayboats and cruisers ) and a lot of activities like dinghy cruising and camping, not just racing as clubs used to present dinghy people with.

We have plenty of social cruiser meets, and work with neighbouring clubs who seem to be doing well too; it's easy and a national habit to talk things down but it's all busy fun here, boats are changing hands and I don't recognise the doom and gloom of this thread - if I were trying to sell new boats I might think differently but from the users' point of view we've never had it so good.
 
scruff said:
We were chatting to the broker at the kip boatshow back in April - he was lamenting slow boat sales and the ones that were sold going for significantly less than advertised price. He had sold two good condition sigma 33's each going for circa £6k!
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30 year old, and probably a bit tired. There are an abundance of boats like this on the market.

New boat sales seem in good health. This buddy of mine ordered a new X yacht, and was told the earliest delivery date was March (10 months), and if he left it a few more weeks before making a decision, it was likely to be June! (13 months lead-time).

So they clearly don't have boats waiting to be sold.
 
We have several cruisers owned by 20-somethings, and a pair of 30 something couples with unfeasibly large amounts of children aboard, I think they must stack them vertically but they all seem to enjoy it, the ' Swallows And Amazons ' spirit lives yet.
 
The clubs in the Upper Bristol Channel are dying. Creek moorings are vacant in two clubs I am associated with and old drying harbours almost unused. The young folk stay in the marinas and either share ownership of fancy boats, or are well paid enough to own them. (This country is getting a serious wealth divide). They don't need clubs they have facebook or email to arrange things.

For over 100 years a 28 to 30 foot boat was what a cruising man wanted, now anything less than 35 foot is regarded as too small. Where would you fit the shower etc?

Of course GRP may be the problem in boat prices. My elderly Westerly will outlast me and possibly no GRP boat built since 1950 has absolutely needed scrapping. Wood decay kept the market clearer in an earlier generation of boats
 
At the upper half of the marketplace sales are relatively strong and the available choice is much less than it was a few years ago. I think people’s expectations have changed and more comfort is demanded now. There also is a steady move upwards over time in the average size of yachts being bought from new.
 
It's very true that people mostly have neither the inclination or the skills to work on boats these days; which is why kit boats died out long ago.

However young families are still taking up sailing in 22' boats as several at my club prove, and while good value it's not a cheap grotty club and these newbies are apparently quite well heeled, it's just a matter of attitude.

oldmanofthehills,

sorry but I know the Bristol Channel quite well inc drying creek mooring places like Uphill; frankly you couldn't pay me enough to be based there, it has nothing to do with any financial or demographic trend.
 
Fashions and tastes move on. Scruffy old GRP yachts have been heading the same way as "brown" furniture for some years. Whilst still intrinsically usable, current generation want something different. No option but to scrap most of it.
 
Everything has changed in society in ways that make old style boat owning no longer viable or desirable. People expect more comfort than is achievable in a small boat. There are many other enticing things to do with your leisure time. And there is less leisure time for just about everyone. The idea of mending or maintaining anything has largely disappeared, partly because modern gear in general doesn’t need any maintenance and even if it does you get it done rather than do it yourself. Who even does an oil change in a car these days? And then there is the rich -poor divide. Having a 28 foot cruising Yacht was an achievable ambition for an ordinary family. They could buy it, paint it, fettle it, have holidays in it... now they probably can’t afford the mooring fees and if they can then they are more likely to have a charter holiday and a week skiing than pay out Marina fees. What really does need to be addressed is the dreadful overhang if cr@ppy old boats taking up space, with bilges full of mosquito larvae and a half life of 1000 years. We need a way of getting them out of the way
 
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But for the 1% or whatever there’s no prob having something new and shiny, yard maintained and 2 loos, even if it doesn’t get used hardly at all.
I don’t mean to sound bolshie, but there is a multi tier market now and the old style of ownership and participation has just died, leaving a non biodegradable corpse.
 
That is simply not the case, may be where you are but we and other local clubs have plenty of members including newbie relative youngsters happy to work on their boats and indeed the half tide moorings.

I'd suggest one gets out what one puts in, which doesn't mean just money - if you like sailing your boat a little effort is very rewarding not to mention a lot cheaper than paying a ' professional* ' to do things

* The only time I've been on a boat with total engine failure was when a relatively inexperienced friend had his engine serviced by a ' pro ' as a precaution and they entirely cocked up the inlet - there's no better incentive to doing it right than it being your own boat !
 
gdallas said:
Everything has changed in society in ways that make old style boat owning no longer viable or desirable. People expect more comfort than is achievable in a small boat. There are many other enticing things to do with your leisure time. And there is less leisure time for just about everyone. The idea of mending or maintaining anything has largely disappeared, partly because modern gear in general doesn’t need any maintenance and even if it does you get it done rather than do it yourself. Who even does an oil change in a car these days? And then there is the rich -poor divide. Having a 28 foot cruising Yacht was an achievable ambition for an ordinary family. They could buy it, paint it, fettle it, have holidays in it... now they probably can’t afford the mooring fees and if they can then they are more likely to have a charter holiday and a week skiing than pay out Marina fees. What really does need to be addressed is the dreadful overhang if cr@ppy old boats taking up space, with bilges full of mosquito larvae and a half life of 1000 years. We need a way of getting them out of the way
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Spot on but you missed the part about on the whole "the family" don't want to do it.
 
Seajet said:
That is simply not the case, may be where you are but we and other local clubs have plenty of members including newbie relative youngsters happy to work on their boats and indeed the half tide moorings.

I'd suggest one gets out what one puts in, which doesn't mean just money - if you like sailing your boat a little effort is very rewarding not to mention a lot cheaper than paying a ' professional* ' to do things

* The only time I've been on a boat with total engine failure was when a relatively inexperienced friend had his engine serviced by a ' pro ' as a precaution and they entirely cocked up the inlet - there's no better incentive to doing it right than it being your own boat !
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I have to agree with Seajet. Both the dinghy and cruiser sides of our club are doing well with people of all ages taking on cruisers of all sizes. Have also had the experience of a professionally serviced engine packing up just after launch as air was getting in as a hose wasn’t tightened!
 
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