If you were buying a used boat, would you rather?

[Jdege]

If you were buying a used boat, would you rather have obsolete electronics, that you'd either need to

• Figure out how to keep working,
• Ignore and work around until you could replace it, or
• replace it?

Or would you rather have a boat with no electronics in it at all?

[Mike OReilly]

When I was buying my boats I hardly considered the current electronics at all. They're like consumable items to my mind.

It's great if you can find a suitable boat that has a good set of usable electronics, but it's quite low on my list of importance. So, I'd be happy with electronics that are functional from the get-go, but it would be a minor consideration either way for me.

[Fore and Aft]

Jdege they are way more important items to worry about than the electronics on a boat your looking at buying. Structural condition should be the first priority then work from there. I recently surveyed a boat that was a real project and all the buyer seemed concerned about was the TV and stereo working..............
Good electronics are nice to have but they are way easier to replace rather than say getting the hull peeled for osmosis treatment.
Cheers

[goboatingnow]

Any electronics unless bang up to date have value = zero

[Jdege]

My thoughts, when I saw as boat I liked that had no electronics, was that I'd rather have nothing than have a lot of out-of-date stuff is have to remove and throw away.

[Jdege]

And when it comes to electronics, everything is obsolete.

[sailing_gal]

I am probably going to upgrade the electronics anyway. BUT- one nice thing about having some electronics on the boat, even obsolete ones- is that you have wire runs! It may be easier to pull new wires through using the old ones. But, that's about it. The electronics don't really affect the value of the boat unless they are all brand new and the kind you like.

[Ken Z]

One of the last thing on my mind, I buy the boat.

[TrentePieds]

Jdege:

You haven't said where you are sailing or what kinda boat you have. But for most people getting hung up on little black boxes is a waste of time and money.

If you are sailing a modest boat - like TrentePieds - in my waters - the Salish Sea - you simply don't NEED black boxes. All you need for nav equipment is a compass, a watch, the relevant charts, a coupla draftsman's squares and a sharp pencil. And open eyes, of course! Black boxes have only been in the yachtsman's ken for about half a century. But we navigated perfectly well for hundreds of years before that.

If you've money to spend, and you haven't already done so, spend it on a basic pilotage course, a a few good text books.

TrentePieds

[motretu]

i'm old and technically handy, but would rather have old working electronics than nothing, at least initially. i bought a '78 boat in '97. the plan was to circumnavigate the boat a second time. did not happen, something about boat being capable, crew not so much. spent a delightful 9 seasons cruising in mexico. the radar was original and worked. the rest (depth, wind, ham, AP, genset, water maker) were 10 yrs old but working. vhf was broke and got replaced immediately. eight years after i bought the boat, i had the opportunity to upgrade to a used and more modern radar, and did. the rest worked (with some repairs for the AP, genset, water maker, ham) for another 10 yrs till i sold the boat, 17 yrs after purchasing. i did install a new inverter/charger which failed and was replaced within five years. point is, keep or replace old depends a lot on the skill set of the owner, and intended use of boat. even new can fail.

[michaelratinter]

Jdege,

Fore and Aft has it right. I found a used boat that was built like a tank. The surveyor said I could use her as an icebreaker. (By funny coincudence he was the same guy who did the original survey when she was launched in 1990.)

The only electronics are the autopilot.

I navigate with Navionics on my mobile phone.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Jdege

If you were buying a used boat, would you rather have obsolete electronics, that you'd either need to

• Figure out how to keep working,
• Ignore and work around until you could replace it, or
• replace it?

Or would you rather have a boat with no electronics in it at all?

Electronics should not be an issue when comparing boats, unless the PO just upgraded with something you really don't prefer and expects you to pay for it. It'll be rare to find a boat with no electronics (unless it's a small trailer sailor) even weekender boats will have a transducer, VHF and probably GPS and AIS on them. The last monohull I sailed on had a VHF and a cassette player for electronics (nothing else worked) and it sailed just fine as long as you knew what you were doing and where you were.

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by Jdege

If you were buying a used boat, would you rather have obsolete electronics, that you'd either need to
[LIST][*]Figure out how to keep working, [*]Or would you rather have a boat with no electronics in it at all?

I would start sailing and figure what you need as per your sailing intentions. Star with a depth sounder, vhf, GPS, radar. Had that for 31 years in a rescue vessel... did not have anything else on a wish list. All depends what you need, want and able to handle without frustrations. Keep it simple and effective.

[Kd9truck]

Are we including auto pilot infrastructure with “electronics”, at a certain size it’s hard to single hand a vessel without it. Most stuff is Bluetooth functioning so you could go new supper cheap, broken is one thing outdated is another, if it’s functioning it’s a plus. So many variables in the boat buying process, “electronics” are more important on larger vessels going bigger distances imho

[Captain Puget]

One benefit of existing electronics, even if you are replacing them is that the wiring may be reusable.