I Just Fell Off the Turnip Wagon

[mikeguyver]

Uh....even in Oregon $115,000 or $129,000 are a little more than
$75k aren't they ?

[SaltyMonkey]

Messed yup but who cares. Let's die happy

1996 Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[DDabs]

If budget isn't an issue I could die a lot happier than that.

[tuffr2]

I think I can see the next economic bubble. A old sailboat with an asking price of 119k (ugh) before the bubble will be selling for a realistic price of 35k.



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[sailorboy1]

didn't happen on the last one, so good luck

[robert sailor]

If a sailboat that sells today for $100,000 drops to $35,000 (as you predict) our problems will be so severe that we won't have to worry about buying boats.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I think I can see the next economic bubble. A old sailboat with an asking price of 119k (ugh) before the bubble will be selling for a realistic price of 35k.



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Oh good...then you can join the herd here on CF that are looking for their next boat year after year. Seriously, that's the problem with trying to predict the different markets...You end up waiting, asking yourself if it's time yet. You'll hear a saying around here of "just do it", from the people who are out cruising.

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Yep - boat prices are mind boggling. I was always into go fast boats back in the day. Sailboats, because they had small engines used to cost a lot less.

I guess when they started calling them yachts they figured they could sell them for 475k.

Sailboats are expensive because they are labor intensive, especially in high-cost labor areas like France. A boat can't just be thrown on an assembly line line a truck can. And labor always goes up due to rise in economic prosperity, unions, increases in minimum wage, etc.

For a stark example, even a top of the line motor RV with about the same interior space as a 38+ foot boat will cost about $100K, about a third of what that boat would cost!

I know that some manufacturers like Seawind recently moved from Australia to Vietnam because the labor costs were sinking the company.

There is also the economy of scale. More cars and trucks are manufactured than boats, and they share a lot of standardized parts that are built on a large scale at lower costs, so that's another reason why boats look more expensive by comparison.

BTW - when did they start calling sailboats yachts? What year?

Not sure, but my stepfather had a 50' sailboat back in the 1940s and he called it a yacht. It was temporarily seized by the government to perform patrol duties during WWII.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Rohan

For a stark example, even a top of the line motor RV with about the same interior space as a 38+ foot boat will cost about $100K, about a third of what that boat would cost!

More! I've looked.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

........................
I guess when they started calling them yachts they figured they could sell them for 475k.
BTW - when did they start calling sailboats yachts? What year?
...................

The term "yacht" goes well back into at least the 17th century. It does have the connotation of being a more luxurious recreational vessel, but it's general meaning or use in marketing vessels hasn't changed for more than the time of anyone alive today.

Most consumer goods, fuel, automobiles, houses, food and boats cost about ten times the amount compared to when I bought my first liveaboard cruiser. At that time I settled for a three year old Sparkmen & Stephens design for 11K instead of the 45K new boat that was "outrageously" priced.

The only thing that is different in today's boating market is that there are a huge number of older fiberglass boats with sound hulls. I've seen people lament here on this thread about the poor condition of overpriced used boats listed by brokers and online sites such as Yachtword. That's no surpise to me. The good deals that I frequently see rarely last that long. I'm familiar with a number of cruisers and liveaboards in about thirty ports from Maine through Florida. I see boats helmed by new owners and I knew the seller from past cruising. My own boat will unlikely see a broker's market because I know others that are watching for the end of my cruising days. I've even seen new names on older boats and that was the first foretelling that one of my cruising friends had passed on!

I suspect that the difference between those of us that see great opportunity in the used market and those that don't is simply an exposure to boats and their owners over a large area.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

My own boat will unlikely see a broker's market because I know others that are watching for the end of my cruising days.

Who you kidn? Will never happen.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Who you kidn? Will never happen.

Thanks for the confidence, but in another ten to twenty years we'll likely be looking for an assited living matina if not on the ethereal cruise! 'no worries!

[Kevin84]

Originally Posted by Rohan

Sailboats are expensive because they are labor intensive, especially in high-cost labor areas like France. A boat can't just be thrown on an assembly line line a truck can. And labor always goes up due to rise in economic prosperity, unions, increases in minimum wage, etc.

For a stark example, even a top of the line motor RV with about the same interior space as a 38+ foot boat will cost about $100K, about a third of what that boat would

Not just that, but a sailboat has to survive in a much harsher environment than any RV. RVs are generally treated fairly gently. Even ones that are used hard will never see the abuse that a sailboat will see in its lifetime. Plus, sailboats are built to last. 30-50 year old boats are a very common sight. 30-50 year old RVs? Not so much.

Look at it another way. When you buy a yacht for say, 300k, you can reasonably expect 30 years of use out of the boat. But buy an RV for 125k (and that's a fairly inexpensive one) you'll get 5-10 years of use out of it if you're lucky and maintain it well. Replace your RV every 10 years and guess what? Over the same time period that you've owned your 300k yacht, you've spent 375k to own three separate RVs.

And one other thing to consider. A yacht is endlessly upgradeable. My last boat was a 50 year old Alberg that was upgraded with the exact same hardware that youd find on a new production boat, including a reverse cycle A/C. Kinda hard to do that with an RV.

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[tuffr2]

For 475k the darn thing should fly. We are talking 1/2 million dollars for a new 40' sailboat. Come on - you have to admit the new price is mind boggling.

At what size does a sail boat become a yacht?

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[SaltyMonkey]

"a medium-sized sailboat equipped for cruising or racing."

define "medium"