Less boat

[jrambo316]

Odd question. Anyone buy less boat than they want and can afford out of concern that the insurance would not pay up if she sunk?

[Cheechako]

I assume if I have insurance they will pay. I did consider buying a Westsail 32 once to do the So Pac milk run, use it pretty much as is, and selling it in Oz for whatever I could get, or just leaving it there! Would have been cheaper than just refitting the 47 footer!

[jrambo316]

There just seems to be a lot of fine print. Once retired, I would not want to go back to work because of bad luck and technicalities.

[cszosler]

I did that.
Boat was build as houl and deck package with riging, sails and motor "factory" instaled. The " fittout" done by previous owners was removed and I'd make new one to please myself; esteticaly and ergonomicaly.
Asking price was just above what, houl and deck only, was in 1978.
It was planed this way: buy in 2006, finish mods by 2011, get familar by 2016, retire to live on board. Well, now, I'm, due to family health situation
not working and not even close to my boat,such life.
Personaly I do not recomend such long planes for >50.
Chez

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by cszosler

I did that.
Boat was build as houl and deck package with riging, sails and motor "factory" instaled. The " fittout" done by previous owners was removed and I'd make new one to please myself; esteticaly and ergonomicaly.
Asking price was just above what, houl and deck only, was in 1978.
It was planed this way: buy in 2006, finish mods by 2011, get familar by 2016, retire to live on board. Well, now, I'm, due to family health situation
not working and not even close to my boat,such life.
Personaly I do not recomend such long planes for >50.
Chez

Hi cszosler,
Fellow Ozzie here. Really sorry to hear your plans were waylaid. Did you at least get to finish the mods? There is still a few years to go before 2016.
Best wishes.

[jrambo316]

Originally Posted by cszosler

I did that.
Boat was build as houl and deck package with riging, sails and motor "factory" instaled. The " fittout" done by previous owners was removed and I'd make new one to please myself; esteticaly and ergonomicaly.
Asking price was just above what, houl and deck only, was in 1978.
It was planed this way: buy in 2006, finish mods by 2011, get familar by 2016, retire to live on board. Well, now, I'm, due to family health situation
not working and not even close to my boat,such life.
Personaly I do not recomend such long planes for >50.
Chez

Perhaps things will improve. I read another thread of a guy who was looking for a boat years ago and then stopped because his wife got sick. The end of the thread had an update where they had been doing the RV thing but now looking for a boat as she had recovered.

[Mimsy]

We bought less boat so we wouldn't have to insure for other than liability. It did not sit comfortably with us to buy as much boat as we possibly can knowing the issues with insurance as well as the inevitable depreciation that comes with a boat. I'd rather spend the funds on making sure the boat is as fit for purpose as possible and avoid the need to worry about paying off a loan, or recouping a huge financial loss or salvaging all together.

When we briefly toyed with the idea of moving up in boat, I came to the realization that if we bought new, we should be paying a whole lot of cash for shiny without much real difference in functionality.

[wingNwing]

Less money spent on boat = more money available for adventures!

Our boat is the biggest thing we could move around by hand if "stuff" happened and we couldn't use the engine or power accessories. It puts us at the small end of liveaboard couples, but we've been happy aboard for 10 years. It also happened to be at a price we could pay cash, no loan, no bank.

[charliehows]

i dont insure my boat, its insurance is that it is 10% of my total asset value and i can afford to lose it. no ideology intended, there just might be one or two people who benefit from a different way of looking at this issue.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by jrambo316

Odd question. Anyone buy less boat than they want and can afford out of concern that the insurance would not pay up if she sunk?

No, I bought less boat than I wanted because my family cruise with me, and the boat is sized for what they can handle with the available mechanical advantage at 30 knots offshore at 3 am.

Me, I wanted a Kanter Atlantic 45. That is too much boat for an 11 year old kid and a fit but compact wife. So I got a 41 foot full keeler with a more modest rig. We can go across oceans safely at five knots instead of seven. Big deal. It's not about the speed, or we would fly, like normal people.

You buy insurance for the replacement value and/or liability. If you think the company won't pay up, you have the wrong company, unless you think a case can be made for them not paying up because you were Danny DeVito soloing in Miribella V. That might be a case of "too much boat, too little sailor".

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

We bought less boat so we wouldn't have to insure for other than liability. It did not sit comfortably with us to buy as much boat as we possibly can knowing the issues with insurance as well as the inevitable depreciation that comes with a boat. I'd rather spend the funds on making sure the boat is as fit for purpose as possible and avoid the need to worry about paying off a loan, or recouping a huge financial loss or salvaging all together.

When we briefly toyed with the idea of moving up in boat, I came to the realization that if we bought new, we should be paying a whole lot of cash for shiny without much real difference in functionality.

Very much this as well. We aren't selling the house, and the boat's total loss (with us in a liferaft) would not be the ruin of us should it happen.

But that's why I'm putting in money, self-education and robust systems in at the front end, to avoid that.

We are sailing, without selling up. We won't be bringing along the family albums and the good china. Far from it...we are about the functionality, too!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by jrambo316

Odd question. Anyone buy less boat than they want and can afford out of concern that the insurance would not pay up if she sunk?

We've bought the smallest boat we believe we can live with. Insurance has not specifically entered into the equation, but since costs general go up (exponentially) with size, we've tried to find the smallest boat that will allow us to achieve our planned goals.

BTW, we are insured now b/c our yacht club demands it. When we leave in 1 1/2 years we will likely travel with liability-only. I prefer the insurance of having a well-found boat, sailed by reasonably competent crew.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by charliehows

i dont insure my boat, its insurance is that it is 10% of my total asset value and i can afford to lose it. no ideology intended, there just might be one or two people who benefit from a different way of looking at this issue.

My boat is also about 10% of my total asset value, but the potential clean up costs in the event of spilling oil in SF Bay could easily run into several multiples of my asset value. Therefore I strongly suggest carrying at least liability insureance.

[jrambo316]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

If you think the company won't pay up, you have the wrong company, unless you think a case can be made for them not paying up because you were Danny DeVito soloing in Miribella V. That might be a case of "too much boat, too little sailor".

I think most people would try to pick a solid company, but I have read horror stories about many of the recommended companies. If the boat represented a large % of my net worth, even a small probability of total loss would not be worth it to me.

[jrambo316]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

Very much this as well. We aren't selling the house, and the boat's total loss (with us in a liferaft) would not be the ruin of us should it happen.

But that's why I'm putting in money, self-education and robust systems in at the front end, to avoid that.

We are sailing, without selling up. We won't be bringing along the family albums and the good china. Far from it...we are about the functionality, too!

I am coming around to this idea. Less stress. Even the most experienced person can encounter circumstances beyond their control.

I read an article the other day that made me think about that:

Edmund B. Cabot, Brahmin scion and avid yachtsman, drowns off Newfoundland - Boston.com