Experience of trying to buy a starter monohull

[thinwater]

The greatest value of upgrades and good maintenance, in addition to the enjoyment you got from the boat, is when it comes time to sell. Your boat is the one that actually sells!! I've never taken more than 4 weeks to sell a boat, generally before they got listed. I got good prices, but not ridiculously over market. But the boat SOLD.



Did I recover all of my cost, over the years? No, I suppose not. But I always got my original investment back. Boats that linger on the market for years generally take a big hit.



There is simply no reason to buy a project.

[WindwardPrinces]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Meticulously maintained boats get a 50% premium and never make it to the market. They are sold to another owner, often in the same marina, soon after the owner makes it known they are considering selling.

I do believe this is true.

[DavidMRea]

I can only think that people who own boats of around £10k are not going to be using their boat for long cruises and rough condition. Assuming they use the boat sometimes, it'll be for short trips only. I agree they should spend on safety, but not necessarily on cosmetics, comfort, or the latest electronic kit.
In a while I'll be downsizing, and a £10k boat that 'works' will be fine!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Demonius

To be honest, that indeed might be abit of the case. I found one unicorn in my wife maybe I think I'm good at it .

However, if by unicorn, you mean a reasonably maintained old boat and a price that leaves something on the table for me to use to get up the boating ladder. If that is indeed a unicorn situation then the future of mass participation cruising is over. If the current situation remains the first boat you buy will be the only boat you buy, unless you are in the top 1% of the wealth bracket.

You have to remember that after the Boomer generation pensions are effectively over. There aren't going to be the mass numbers of retired people with disposable income in the future.

Always makes me smile when folks say this..
I'm a Boomer and if you call a €550/mth pension disposable income your having a laugh.
I know folk who are still working into their 70's just to maintain their homes and pay the bills and taxes.
I still work summers to keep my head above water but will still likely own another boat before I peg it.
There's a grand misconception about my generation that we are loaded and privileged.
£10K is chump change in todays terms, kinda like £3000 was when I bought my late 70's Virgo 23 back in the 90's.
As has been said, past a certain age values stick..
I paid £15000 for a Longbow back in 95, today there's only two going for less on the market.. hell one is up at 23K..

[Demonius]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Always makes me smile when folks say this..
I'm a Boomer and if you call a €550/mth pension disposable income your having a laugh.
I know folk who are still working into their 70's just to maintain their homes and pay the bills and taxes.
I still work summers to keep my head above water but will still likely own another boat before I peg it.
There's a grand misconception about my generation that we are loaded and privileged.

There are always the poor in every generation but most people are going to be hurting in the future. The middle class is going to start disappearing.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Always makes me smile when folks say this..
I'm a Boomer ...

You're a missile submarine?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Demonius

There are always the poor in every generation but most people are going to be hurting in the future. The middle class is going to start disappearing.

Many were not before pension funds collapsed at various times over the last two or three decades..
Be rich.. Spend 20K..

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Demonius

There are always the poor in every generation but most people are going to be hurting in the future. The middle class is going to start disappearing.

The NA middle class declined to near extinction long ago.

Partly due to government standing by and watching corporations first eliminate defined benefit pension plans, and then ship good paying manufacturing jobs out of the country (while sucking the hind one for grants for R&D), to line the pockets of share holders (and top execs).

Notwithstanding, the only reason why everyone (without physical or mental illness) having attained the age of 60 in NA is not a millionaire, is because they lived beyond their means.

Steps to financial freedom.

1. Stop whining.
2. Put in a fair day's work for a fair day's pay.
3. Stop spending money on worthless crap.
4. Pay off debt.
5. Put 10% of earnings into savings for retirement, and another 10% for wealth generation.

If you are 40 or less, you should be a multi-millionaire by 60.

That simple.

[Demonius]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

Steps to financial freedom.

1. Stop whining.
2. Put in a fair day's work for a fair day's pay.
3. Stop spending money on worthless crap.
4. Pay off debt.
5. Put 10% of earnings into savings for retirement, and another 10% for wealth generation.

If you are 40 or less, you should be a multi-millionaire by 60.

That simple.

1: I'm not an American so unfortunately I don't get to ignore economic reality with nonsense.

2. The median US income is $31K. After taxes. Your 10% wealth generation is $2k per year. 2k x 20 = $40K. You are trying to tell me that you can turn $40,000 into $1,000,000. Especially when the banks are offering 0.01% interest on saving. That is just a fantasy.

3. Honestly I have zero interest in financial freedom. I will work till my dying day to survive and I'm ok with that. When I have excess wealth I just give it away to my family and friends to help them. Selfishness and greed are too corrupting to the soul to be allowed gain hold.

[Pete7]

Hmm, bit of a thread drift me thinks

Anyway, were are we with boats? have we found a nice French or German fin keeled fast boat to sail off into the sunset with?

Pete

[Demonius]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Hmm, bit of a thread drift me thinks

Anyway, were are we with boats? have we found a nice French or German fin keeled fast boat to sail off into the sunset with?

Pete

Found a nice Seamaster 925 but broker says no negotiation possible (I think because of minimum brokers fee). So I think the plan this year will be to do more training unless we stumble on to something. Then look further away where I see prices are more sensible.

[boatman61]

Is that the one in Beaulieu for £11,000.. Re-engined 2013 and less than 10yr old rigging.?
Looks not bad at all for the price.

[Demonius]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Is that the one in Beaulieu for £11,000.. Re-engined 2013 and less than 10yr old rigging.?
Looks not bad at all for the price.

No it's in Scotland. Unfortunately we don't have the experience to sail a yacht back from England yet. Which is why we're going to work on gaining experience to allow us to do that. England has vastly more choice and more competitive pricing.

You see a lot of boats for sale online in Scotland and they look great in the photos but those photos are a year or two ago and when you turn up and the boat has been sitting out in Scottish weather uncared for. They get run down very quickly because the owners aren't seeing it as they don't go to the boat anymore, they don't realise just how quickly a boat degrades in the Scottish winter.

[Pete7]

[QUOTE=Demonius;3063721 Which is why we're going to work on gaining experience to allow us to do that. [/QUOTE]

An excellent plan, and sailing lots of different yachts will give you an idea of what you really want.

Pete

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Always makes me smile when folks say this..

I'm a Boomer and if you call a €550/mth pension disposable income your having a laugh.

I know folk who are still working into their 70's just to maintain their homes and pay the bills and taxes.

I still work summers to keep my head above water but will still likely own another boat before I peg it.

There's a grand misconception about my generation that we are loaded and privileged.

£10K is chump change in todays terms, kinda like £3000 was when I bought my late 70's Virgo 23 back in the 90's.

As has been said, past a certain age values stick..

I paid £15000 for a Longbow back in 95, today there's only two going for less on the market.. hell one is up at 23K..

This is all very true. My wife's and my combined 'final salary' pensions and my state pension come to less than two-thirds of what my own income was. We run our boat on a shoestring and could only afford the capital cost because we didn't buy expensive cars or have two foreign holidays a year or didn't have expensive gadgets etc. Please don't think I'm complaining. We are very happy. It's just that the myth of Boomer pensioners being wealthy is just that: a myth. I do feel for the next generation who will seemingly be worse off, but you get what you fight for. We were not given what we have. The Wilson report of a few years back which ushered in the era of average salary pensions made the point very strongly that the average public sector pension was £11000 per year. That was a few years ago, of course.

To get back on topic, there are many, many more boats on the South Coast of the UK and perhaps the East Coast, than the West Coast, so that seems to me to be the obvious place to look.
Some friends of mine, novice sailors, who live here on the Isle of Wight bought a boat in Scotland. It took them two years to sail it here over weekends and holidays, hiring professional skippers as they felt they needed them. They had a great time and are now reasonably accomplished, though still inexperienced sailors. It can be done.