Electric power: how does this affect resale value?

[sony2000]

I had to repower my Atomic 4. I also had a very good shipwright that had already installed plain 7.2 kw electric motors in a lifeboat.
Unknown to me another club member had just developed the Bruce 22 runabout with a 170hp electric motor. He had created Lasers in the past.
As a result, I sail more and motor less. As a third power source, I have a 800w gas generator to power my 48V charger, if ever the controller cuts me off and there is no wind, and the only current is in the fresh water.
No I can't go 500 miles upriver against the prevailing wind. Well if I want to,
I can put the boat on its trailer and have a Cummins Diesel tow it there.
If anyone wants to pay me the initial price of my boat (Atomic 4), I may sell it.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by SaylorMade

Well, a small sailboat like mine (27 feet) NORDSHIP 808 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com, is probably not an item that is sold for areas outside where it is located, so that would most likely be a fit. I realize that you StuM does not like electric and it does probably not suit your needs. But that doesn't mean that a boat with electric is rendered useless, if it is in an area with suitable conditions.

On the contrary, I really like EP - where it is appropriate. It's just that I'm not blinded by the hype about about it and try to correct the many false or misleading statements posted by its proponents where the stated use case is inappropriate. (You might notice that I am supportive of the OP's plans in the Tesla's Revenge thread).

EP probably is a good fit for your use, but I'm answering the question posed in this thread about a $20,000 boat and it's a fact that EP does limit the potential market for resale in the sort of boat that many people buy in that price range.

[hobopacket]

Check out Sv uma on YouTube. They repowered a Pearson 35 with electric. Used a golf cart motor if I remember right. Have a whole video about it. Think they used a belt drive to the transmission. Even used the original throttle control. They sailed up the coast from Florida to Carolina, even up the cape fear river to Wilmington. Now they are in Haiti.

If you are willing to wait on the wind and don't have a time constraint. It can work quite well. Many advantages to electric power. If done right, I could see the resale being fairly good.

[valhalla360]

To the original point: No one can tell you the exact discount because there are too many variables.


A garbage DIY installation may leave your theoretical $20k boat worth negative value as it's not worth ripping it out and putting a decent motor in it, so you have to pay to have it scrapped. A top of the line well thought out installation may have only a modest impact on the sales price.


The underlying answer is simply supply & demand. Fewer buyers means demand is low and that drags down the prices.


It's not "alleged" that pure electric boats have limited range. Show me an example where they have the same range at typical cruising speeds of say 80% of hull speed. Electric can work if you only want to get in and out of the marina but on a cruising boat most people buy with the idea of longer trips (even if they never follow thru). In order to get decent (though still lower) range, you have to accept significant reductions in cruising speed. For purist sailors, that's not a big deal but if you limit your sales to purist sailors you are back to the issue of low demand because most cruisers are not purist sailors.


Also, there is typically a holding cost if a boat doesn't sell quickly. Maintenance, slip fees, other parts of the boat wear out and need replacement, so waiting 5yrs to get that decent offer is often a losing proposition.


Electric boats are viable for certain niche uses but larger cruising boats will typically take a hit on resale value.