Stuff going wrong...

[JusDreaming]

Originally Posted by defjef

I take a different approach to boat gear. Installing, maintaining and taking care of it, is something I enjoy. While I don't like when something breaks, fixing it means you ultimately get to know about the piece of gear and system.

I bought my refer as a "kit" a Grunnert Caribbean and know what's going on. Same with my electrical, plumbing and so on. Yet I sail alot as well. I don't want to ONLY do maintenance, but when the sailing conditions are not optimal, it is a great time to spend messing about and taking care of stuff. Just another thing to do.

If you can't fix it... don't have it.

jef
sv shiva

I agree with jef, if you don't enjoy working on your boat you better be rich or bare boat all your life. Remember the definition of cruising is
"working on your boat in exotic places". And I think that you just hear more about working on broken things, than you do about the good times. People just need to vent, or ask questions about repairs. Otherwise you have to read the blogs for the good stories

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Vasco

I have bought three sailboats in the last 24 years. All were new. I have had few problems with any of them.

This is a very interesting statement. That's a boat every 8 years, probably before any real "refitting is needed.

If you bought the first boat outright, I am wondering how that has worked financially.

I suspect you eat a good depreciation on the "new" boat when you sell it but you do roll a bunch of cash into the next one, top it up with cash saved on maintenance and go cruising again.

I suspect you never have any "big" bills to pay regarding the boat hence the ability to build up the next top up.

Is this how it's worked out?

[starfish62]

A lot depends on your anticipated use. If you want to take off across the Pacific and visit unchartered lands, then Rebel was dead on--simplify and eliminate as much as possible. EVERYTHING will break when used daily for extended periods (except solar, which is a must have for cruising boats). If you're coastal cruising on vacations and long weekends, then opt for the comfort knowing that you will be spending your non-cruising weekends maintaining systems. I was in a marina with my 1976 Pearson and had a brand new 46 Hunter take the slip beside me. He had taken delivery in Jacksonville, Florida and had made it to West Palm Beach. He had more failures with his new boat than I had with my recently purchased 30-year old boat. So "New" is relative.

[shadow]

Good points, thank you!!

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

This is a very interesting statement. That's a boat every 8 years, probably before any real "refitting is needed.

If you bought the first boat outright, I am wondering how that has worked financially.

I sold the first boat (1984 CS30) for nearly what I paid for it three years earlier. I got nearly all my money , including sales tax, back when I sold it. The CS30 was a very popular boat back then and mine was the first to be put on the used market. In 1988 I bought a CS36 Merlin which I still own and sail in Toronto in the summer. The 36 cost nearly twice what the 30 did. As you can see I've had this boat nearly 20 years. In Canada there are no write-offs for boat loans so all were paid for at time of purchase. Merlins sell today for a bit less than what I paid for it in 1988 but I do not intend to sell mine. Of course there's a difference between 1988 dollars and 2007 dollars.


I suspect you eat a good depreciation on the "new" boat when you sell it but you do roll a bunch of cash into the next one, top it up with cash saved on maintenance and go cruising again.

I bought the 2004 Ben393 in 2004. I got tired of making the long voyage south every fall and back to Toronto in the spring. I use the Ben for cruising in the winter. Boat owning is not a money making proposition. I intend to sail this one for a few years yet. It is ideal for the type of cruising I do and right now I think it'll be the last boat I buy.

I suspect you never have any "big" bills to pay regarding the boat hence the ability to build up the next top up.

I have repowered the Merlin with a 3GM30F. The original engine, a Volvo 2003 was a p.o.s. In addition I have continually updated the equipment on this boat. Davits, dinghies, upholstery etc. You don't keep a boat twenty years without upkeep. On the Ben393 I put on a full enclosure last year and replaced the cheap Beneteau upholstery with something more suitable for cruising.... fake leather.

Is this how it's worked out?

Ex-Calif,

As you can now see it's slightly different from how you imagined. I really wanted to start with a CS36 (the traditional model at that time as the Merlin started production in 1987) but the club I joined had a rule that new members could not start with boats bigger than a 30. If they did not have this rule I would only have owned two boats.