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**avb3** · 23-01-2012, 09:08

Many may be following Taru and Alex blog; over 40,000 people are.

They started their world tour in a HR 352, and now have bought another boat. The HR got them from the Med to the Caribbean, and is extremely well outfitted.

It's been for sale for a while, and they dropped their price from $119K to 109K to 99K and now to 79K. Their refit costs were $60K alone just a year ago.

To my little inexperienced brain, it would seem this would be a slam dunk blue water boat for someone to pick up; HR has a stellar reputation, the equipment and apparent condition is right, and the price sure is.

So, why hasn't anybody been all over this boat like ants to a picnick?

Is the market THAT bad?

If these guys are having problems selling a boat like this, what does that say about the rest of the fleet out there?

tropicalescape · 23-01-2012, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by avb3

Many may be following Taru and Alex blog; over 40,000 people are.

They started their world tour in a HR 352, and now have bought another boat. The HR got them from the Med to the Caribbean, and is extremely well outfitted.

It's been for sale for a while, and they dropped their price from $119K to 109K to 99K and now to 79K. Their refit costs were $60K alone just a year ago.

To my little inexperienced brain, it would seem this would be a slam dunk blue water boat for someone to pick up; HR has a stellar reputation, the equipment and apparent condition is right, and the price sure is.

So, why hasn't anybody been all over this boat like ants to a picnick?

Is the market THAT bad?

If these guys are having problems selling a boat like this, what does that say about the rest of the fleet out there?

Dookie

**avb3** · 23-01-2012, 09:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

Dookie

Slang term for ???? Some of us are not up to speed with whatever pop culture or geocentric colloquialism this may refer to.

Or is it an obscure nautical reference?

**David M** · 23-01-2012, 09:59

PM sent to tropical requesting a definition.

four winds · 23-01-2012, 10:09

Must be a southern US colloquialism if David hasn't heard it.

dookie = excrement, feces, etc.

denverd0n · 23-01-2012, 10:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by avb3

Is the market THAT bad?

Yes, obviously it is.

It is just like with houses. They could sell it TODAY if they wanted to. They might, however, have to sell it for a $1. They could get $500,000 for it if they wanted to. They might, however, have to wait 20 years for the right buyer to come along.

Somewhere in between $1 and $500k is a number that will get it sold in the time frame that they want. They just have to find the right number.

**Cheechako** · 23-01-2012, 10:28

Well.... I'm not sure what all this means, but that seems like a reasonable price... dont know how old the boat is though. And still... HR or not it's a 35 ft boat right? Lotta money for a 35 in this market.... The issue is likely that it is in the caribe right? A lot of people want to buy a boat, work on it here and dream... not ready to untie the lines yet...

**David M** · 23-01-2012, 10:33

Part of the problem is that fiberglass does not rot and very few new berthing spaces are being built. So you have more and more boats to choose from and the cost of where you are going to berth it keeps going up. When the expense to store something keeps rising then its value will be forced down. This is because a potential purchaser must take all expenses of owning a boat into account.

It is a constantly increasing supply and a constantly increasing cost of ownership with a flat demand or maybe a slight increase in demand as the economy turns around. This of course forces prices down.

mbianka · 23-01-2012, 10:35

Noticed the engine hours are at 5800. That's getting up there for a marine diesel. One might have to add in the cost of a rebuild or repower which may be the reason no one has jumped on this good looking boat.

**rebel heart** · 23-01-2012, 10:35

Seems to be just "bad" for a seller. For someone buying, they can get a ton of boat for less money than a few years ago. Good for them, and I'm sure you'd love the opportunity to get the same.

Personally I think it's great and hopefully will cause more people to buy less expensive boats, which in turn get sailed more often and cost less to maintain, which opens up sailing to more people.

**Cheechako** · 23-01-2012, 10:35

No doubt about it... nowdays you really need to use to boat a lot to have one...

symagellan · 23-01-2012, 10:46

One more thing: Prices for new fiberglass boats are dropping. Many new boats are build for charter market and are about to be replaced after 3 years of use.

So there are many low priced boats to buy out there. But there is an increasing number of (relativley) "cheap" build boats among them, which is definitely not true for a HR.

Paladin787 · 23-01-2012, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by David M

Part of the problem is that fiberglass does not rot and very few new berthing spaces are being built. So you have more and more boats to choose from and the cost of where you are going to berth it keeps going up. When the expense to store something keeps rising then its value will be forced down. This is because a potential purchaser must take all expenses of owning a boat into account.

It is a constantly increasing supply and a constantly increasing cost of ownership with a flat demand or maybe a slight increase in demand as the economy turns around. This of course forces prices down.

This is an interesting view and hadn't thought about boat prices in this way. I had always thought that things like currency rates had an influence etc. But not considered berthing availability and cost. So if that's the case, are there 'better' places to sell than others? Would the owners in this case be better off not discounting but moving the boat somewhere else? But then doesn't the Internet do that anyway?

tropicalescape · 23-01-2012, 11:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by David M

PM sent to tropical requesting a definition.

it cant be good...DVC

easterly38 · 23-01-2012, 11:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paladin787

This is an interesting view and hadn't thought about boat prices in this way. I had always thought that things like currency rates had an influence etc. But not considered berthing availability and cost. So if that's the case, are there 'better' places to sell than others? Would the owners in this case be better off not discounting but moving the boat somewhere else? But then doesn't the Internet do that anyway?

Selling at a good marina where the slip comes with the boat helps raise the price. But, no matter which marina your boat is, it is still a buyer's market, at least in the US and, I'm sure, in many other countries as well.

I have seen boats in the last few years go for half of the original asking price. I have also seen others still sitting in their slips for years because the owner just isn't realistic about what he/she wants for the boat vs. what a motivated seller is asking.

I guess another thing that I, and I'm sure other sailboat owners forget too, is that we are an extremely small portion of the overall population. Combine the current economic uncertainty, rising marina fees, insurance, hesitant lenders, the prices at West Marine along with the relatively small demand (even in good economic times) and...yep, the market around here is that bad.