Will there be a glut of boats for sale once Baby Boomers retire from boating?

[Joe Deepwater]

When is a good estimate of when that will be? What is the average age to retire from boating? The Baby Boomers are a substantial mass of people. Future supply/demand will seem to be out of balance unless there are a large new demographic of buyers. Are boat builders preparing for this?

[AKA-None]

I guess it depends if we help usher in the next generation of sailors

[Joe Deepwater]

I'm a power boater. Is there an average age when being tipped on a sail boat becomes too physically grueling? Do most sailors shift from sailing to power boating when this happens? Are we likely to see the demographic of Boomers sell their sailboats and buy power boats, leaving a glut of mostly sail boats? Or generally just retire from frequent boating altogether?

[jimboj]

How old are Baby Boomers then?

[John_Trusty]

Originally Posted by jimboj

How old are Baby Boomers then?

Typically defined as born post-WWII (1945) until early 1960's - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers

Don't hold your breath for great deals on mint-conditioned boats. I know a few 'retiring' sailors in their mid-70s (so war babies) and their boats are on the ragged edge. They've used them to death, and run out of money and energy to keep them pristine. Other than a few recently added winches and such, they're ready for scrapping, not cruising.

[Mike OReilly]

My prediction is: Yes. In fact, I think we’re already seeing it in the used market. The number of boats available seems to grow each year.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by John_Trusty

Don't hold your breath for great deals on mint-conditioned boats. I know a few 'retiring' sailors in their mid-70s (so war babies) and their boats are on the ragged edge. They've used them to death, and run out of money and energy to keep them pristine. Other than a few recently added winches and such, they're ready for scrapping, not cruising.

It depends, I was on a guys boat the other day, a 50ish foot Morgan.
He was 70 and seems to be in great shape, he had built a hard top for the boat that was very well done from what I could see and had painted the boat recently himself, and it looked great, he said he was going to redo the deck soon, but it didn’t look like it needed it to me.
I think it was an 83 model boat, but sure didn’t look like it.

[gonesail]

if there is a glut of boats they will be big boats .. 40' and up. big catamarans. expensive.

[rsn48]

There is another thread going about the Toronto Boat Show and how the number of new sailboats on display has gone down drastically and power boats on display up dramaticlly. It was also commented on that most that seemed to be looking seriously at purchasing boats had silver hair - baby boomers.

[BugzyCan]

This is the same issue experienced with Motorcycles, and Harley in particular. Their demographic are the baby boomers and they are quickly dying out, leaving lots of used bikes for sale, and limited buyers. The huge used market takes away from the new buyers, and this is hurting HD. This problem is only going to get worse.


Boats at least decay quickly if not maintained, unlike motorcycles, so there is that. It is not so easy to leave your sailboat in the garage for 20 years.

[CaptTom]

I think the bigger question is how many of the younger generations are going to become cruisers, or boaters at all.

I don't see the kids messing about in boats like we used to. They don't take little skiffs out fishing in the ocean, they don't hang around the docks, they don't buy dilapidated runabouts or sailing dinghies to fix up and run. They don't take after-school jobs on fishing boats, or hang out in dusty boat builders' barns. They're ferried to and from structured, organized activities in their parents' minivans.

Are they going to become cruisers? Not likely. Day boats are selling well, and probably always will. Besides, with all the anchorages being converted to paid mooring fields, or anchoring banned outright, where would they go?

[Lake-Effect]

I'm a boomer; I plan to be sailing to 80+.


I predict that there will be a glut of... old, baffed out boats from the 80s and before. I don't honestly know if the more common boats built after 1990 will last as long, and as already pointed out, they will be larger, and bigger headaches than the smaller boats.


Maybe the millenials will realize (as we did) the simple pleasures of the smaller, older boats and breathe some more life into them.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

My prediction is: Yes. In fact, I think we’re already seeing it in the used market. The number of boats available seems to grow each year.

Completely agree. I see it every day.

[Chotu]

The trends seem accurate as described here, but why are all the marinas full or on wait list?

Maybe the percentage of the population interested is shrinking, but the total number of boaters seems to be increasing to me.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Joe.
There may be (I wouldn't be surprised) a future supply/demand imbalance, but I doubt if boatbuilders are preparing for it.