Real Resale Value of Homebuilt Catamarans

[44'cruisingcat]

Never said Easys were not capable of going offshore. In fact I think 2 or 3 of them recently sailed to New Cal and back. But IMO they are INTENDED more for coastal cruising. The have relatively low bridgedeck clearances for offshore.

Although Peter Snell has a newer design, the Sarah, which has much more clearance, and is more suited for offshore IMO.

It sounds to me like you're thinking of building, and want to know if the extra investment in Duflex will be repaid later if/when you decide to sell?

I think it will, both during the build and after.

[bayview]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

.I picked the Orams and Easy only because they are both flat bottomed hulls built of sheetgoods and because there have been enough examples built to perhaps have some real info available rather than speculation.Thanx,Steve.

You may find you are half right here Steve, with the Orams having a flat bottom and the Easy a nice "V". Wouldn't this make the Easy a better sea boat and the Oram more suited to protected waters?

[scrumble]

Originally Posted by Pblais

All home built boats suffer the same problem. They are all a one off. The design of a boat can be seen clearly but the quality of the construction (the things you can't see) are always an open question. It's not impossible for home built boat to be top quality but you can never prove it. Home built boats are built for one vision and it might not be yours or they may not have been able to get all the way there.

You don't build a boat all on your own because of the potential resale value. If they are building it for that reason then you don't want to buy that boat. They cost too much in labor for the builder to just turn around and sell unless they are forced to. The best home built boats are still out there going places. Some people can do this level of work. It's clear from the home built boats I've seen but not all of them. So the rule is you can never know - for sure. As a general rule home built boats don't resell well. No buyer can really know a lot of things and it can make them afraid unless the price is low enough. What method used to build them is less important than the fact that they were home built.

Originally Posted by David M

Think of a home built boat like someone who builds a home where the building inspector never shows up. You will always wonder what it looks like under the drywall. As Paul says, it could be good or it could be horrible, but you will never know.

If most owner builders had the time to record fine detail of their build in images and text if would help to alleviate concerns about build quality.

BTW here is links to photos of a home builders work, look down for photos posted by "44C":

YACHT BUILDING CORNER :: View topic - SV ??????? mark 2

YACHT BUILDING CORNER :: View topic - SV ??????? mark 2

[James Joll]

For my tuppence worth. !!! I would build my own boat after I had built my first car. Both make about as much sense. Cost way too much and sell for far too little. But if you think thats fun go for it.

[Cheechako]

"an amateur built boat can sell for about the cost of materials used to build it...."
This has been my experience even with home finished hull and decks designed by Marine architects...

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by James Joll

For my tuppence worth. !!! I would build my own boat after I had built my first car. Both make about as much sense. Cost way too much and sell for far too little. But if you think thats fun go for it.

Even production boats have a lot of labour content in them. Cars are built by robots. There's no comparison.

Originally Posted by Cheechako

"an amateur built boat can sell for about the cost of materials used to build it...."
This has been my experience even with home finished hull and decks designed by Marine architects...

Your experience? Have you built many cruising catamarans?

What you say may be true of building a monohull from ferrocrete, but......

The materials for my boat will have cost well under $200,000 AU, (and much of that was spent when our dollar was worth much less than today) fully equipped, rigged, ready to sail.

I was offered more than that when it was an empty, unpainted shell.

I've looked, and I seriously doubt I would be able to buy a boat like this for under $400,000. More than double the materials cost.

[clockwork orange]

Actually amature built cars such as hot rods are a fine showcase of the workmanship that can be achieved in someones backyard and i guess because for all intents and purposes you cant buy factory built customs they command a very high value.I think that with certain types of boat such as the light weight performance cruising cat where there are very few factory built offerings the value of home built boats can be quite good. It takes a great deal of skill and ability to build a large boat of any type or material so its understandable that those lacking those skills would be overwhelmed by the thought of doing so and they are wise to not consider it. BTW,nice job 44c.
Steve.