Which boat(s) depreciate the least.

When talking of depreciation, are we talking about a percentage or an absolute amount.

And are we talking about the depreciation on a new boat or on a second hand boat?

Garold
 
A boat holds its value and is very sought after when you are looking to buy.

A boat looses its value and is not very popular when you are looking to sell.
 
My benchmark is the Nicholson 32 which cost £3,000 in 1964. A well maintained model today can cost £20,000. The MkX which was built in 1973 will cost £30,000 today. If a Nicholson 32 was built to the same spec today I think it would cost well over £200,000 to buy and equip. Not sure about that though but even if only roughly correct it would warrant some serious thought about how much difference there is for an exact match example with admittedly a new engine and stuff.
 
I'm really surprised about that. You can pick up a Centaur for around £5k these days, so you can buy five for the average annual wage. Surely someone on an average wage couldn't have bought five 5 Centaurs a year back in the 70s?

Most people tend to just look at the price new (or when purchased) and then the price when sold, disregarding devaluation of currency or, the interest the money could have earned.

It's a pity many people buy boats for "caravan" comfort and status as lots of old boats are actually more capable of handling poor conditions or offshore passages.
 
It's a pity many people buy boats for "caravan" comfort and status as lots of old boats are actually more capable of handling poor conditions or offshore passages.

Perhaps that is because not many people buy a boat to undertake long offshore passages. However there are still plenty of people who do and seem to manage OK.
 
My benchmark is the Nicholson 32 which cost £3,000 in 1964. A well maintained model today can cost £20,000. The MkX which was built in 1973 will cost £30,000 today. If a Nicholson 32 was built to the same spec today I think it would cost well over £200,000 to buy and equip. Not sure about that though but even if only roughly correct it would warrant some serious thought about how much difference there is for an exact match example with admittedly a new engine and stuff.

£3000 in 1964 would be almost £60,000 today, in purchasing power. Was that the price of a new nic 32 then?
Or, for comparison, a property bought for 3k then would be worth a minimum of 100k now, if you got lucky with location, obviously could be a lot more!

I don't really think depreciation comes into it with boats, it's never an asset, your fooling yourself :) It's a cost, just spend what you can afford enjoying yourself. Never try and justify any boat in terms of financial merits.
 
I don't really think depreciation comes into it with boats, it's never an asset, your fooling yourself :) It's a cost, just spend what you can afford enjoying yourself. Never try and justify any boat in terms of financial merits.

In accounting terms Steve you are not quite right, eg a yacht is definitely an asset and does depreciate. But I think I understand what you are meaning, and agree with your approach.
In the context of this thread, the problem is that most of the models being discussed are to be blunt very old and of modest market value now. The market value of any such individual yacht will depend much more on its history, usage and servicing than its original cost. The concept of depreciation rate is no longer applicable once an asset reaches its "floor value".
A second problem of course is to determine market value when you only have a handful of examples still in existence and very occasional ones coming onto the market.
 
£3000 in 1964 would be almost £60,000 today, in purchasing power. Was that the price of a new nic 32 then?
Or, for comparison, a property bought for 3k then would be worth a minimum of 100k now, if you got lucky with location, obviously could be a lot more!

I don't really think depreciation comes into it with boats, it's never an asset, your fooling yourself :) It's a cost, just spend what you can afford enjoying yourself. Never try and justify any boat in terms of financial merits.

+1
 
We bought a modest 3-bed roomed house in Herts in 1966 for £6,400, so a Nic 32 would have cost close to half that. I'm not sure what the same house is worth now, maybe £400,000, so, if a Nic could be built for £200,000, that would end up much the same in proportion. You could make a comparison with the HR 340 as a modern alternative, which is in the same ball park. What is new is the ready availability of similar or larger boats at half the cost, not to mention an awful lot more money floating around to buy them.
 
... if a Nic could be built for £200,000, that would end up much the same in proportion. You could make a comparison with the HR 340 as a modern alternative, which is in the same ball park.

I think you'll find that a new HR340 will typically be at least £300K.
 
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