It's a buyers market

[Kettlewell]

How do I go about getting one of those free or heavily discounted boat deals?

Wander around almost any boatyard of the right type and there will be boats that have obviously been out of the water for a few years--look for a faded For Sale sign, or ask others working on their boats nearby. The boatyard office may know more too. Another source is local sailing clubs or other boating nonprofits that may accept boat donations. I directed one of these and we got calls from people all the time wanting to donate some boat we couldn't use or do anything with. Even if they don't have a boat you are interested in at that moment something may come along later. I helped several people get free or low-cost boats that way.

[gulfislandfred]

You find deals by looking and making offers.
You find good deals by knowing the difference between a boat that needs a good cleaning and a little work from a pile of junk
Sometimes Free is Not Cheap Enough!
Craigs list, Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and friends are where you look. Estate sales can be good deals.
Beware of soft decks, old, blown out sails, and engines that 'just need a little work'.
If it's your first boat, I recommend around 27 feet with an outboard motor. If you know your way around diesel engines, a boat with a diesel is good, but they can eat a lot of money. You can replace an outboard for $1000, or less.
Try to find a boat with nice, crisp sails, a good motor, and a roller furling jib.
Three to five thousand dollars will get you something decent here in the Salish Sea.
(Puget Sound and BC)

[rslifkin]

As far as finding good deals, generally the less of a rush you're in to buy and the less you're looking for something specific, the better deals you'll find. Now, that doesn't mean everything cheap out there is a deal (many of them are being sold cheap for good reason). But if you're looking long enough, at some point you come across the ones where someone wants it sold more than they want maximum money for it, or one where someone doesn't want to deal with some issue that you think isn't a big deal.

[YADO]

Well said Kettlewell. "Bottom line on this topic is "It's a buyers market" if you're looking for an older used boat. Don't go by the asking prices--make an offer that makes sense to you, not whatever the seller wants."

That brings up the question: How does a buyer determine value?

A broker told me about a boat that wasn't on the market yet, he told me the price and how lucky I was to have the opportunity to buy it. I asked how they arrived at that price and he told me the owners priced it. I asked for comps and he gave me one comp but not the details, just the sold price. I asked for more data and he told me to make an offer contingent on a survey = owner gets free survey. I called a surveyor, told him the deal, he looked at sold boats on his phone and said the comps he had were on average 25% less than the fake comp the broker gave me.
The owners weren't quite that ready to sell.
No problem, it's business.
It brings up the issue of having someone in your corner who may be able to short-circuit the process of determining value.
In real estate I only yesterday met up with a friend who is a retired contractor. People hire him to give a quick estimate on potential repairs, etc., before they make an offer. His wife is an agent and she provides comps.
I'd gladly pay for that service boat shopping. Life is too short to get jerked around by a deceptive broker.

[Kettlewell]

Try to find a boat with nice, crisp sails, a good motor, and a roller furling jib.

OTOH, if you buy a boat for the right price knowing it needs new sails you get to choose and order exactly the sails you want. Just be prepared for the sail order to take twice as long as they originally tell you, and for unseen hitches along the way like the first ones come with the wrong measurements or the wrong sail slides. At least that has been my experience.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

OTOH, if you buy a boat for the right price knowing it needs new sails you get to choose and order exactly the sails you want. Just be prepared for the sail order to take twice as long as they originally tell you, and for unseen hitches along the way like the first ones come with the wrong measurements or the wrong sail slides. At least that has been my experience.

Agreed. Certain things being "new" aren't always a benefit as they'll drive the price up, but the new parts may not be ones you really want. I'd rather buy a cheaper boat that needs new electronics than one that has 1 year old electronics, for example. That way I get to pick out what I want instead of spending more for what the previous guy wanted.

[Mike OReilly]

When I was in the market for my 'next boat' I viewed things like sails, running rigging, anchor rode, and even things like electronics and canvas, as consumable items. If they were listed as "newer" that was a bonus, but I didn't consider them to be very important. In fact, if a seller was really insistent on telling me how great his new electronic doodads were, I took that as a flag to be extra cautious.


As for saying anything about the state of the boating market, the challenge is:

#1. There isn't one market. At best, there are multiple markets as defined by geography, boat type, and perhaps other things like age class.

#2. For many boats, especially larger and older ones, there really is NO market operating. By this I mean, a "market" requires multiple similar transactions to happen under similar conditions. Most larger used boat sales, are more like one-off events; more akin to how antiques or art is bought and sold. It's harder to generate standard market signals in this kind of environment.

I think the used boat sales world ebbs and flows with the general economic times. When times are tough, and people are struggling with basic cost of living (housing, food, cars, education, retirement, etc.), then boats tend to go up for sale, and prices tend to drop. After all, if you're struggling with keeping a roof over your head, you're unlikely to keep a 35'+ boat.

The challenge for the cruising world is that the up-and-coming generations are generally having a harder time with basic necessities. And they are doing it in an environment where even good jobs are more precarious, so are living with a lot less security about the future.

In this kind of world, the demand for cruising level boats can only get softer.

[KTP]

Hopefully all of these empty marina slips means prices will go down on those.

[Island Time O25]

With all the complaints about the lack of affordable housing and homelessness in general it is very surprising that no one in the gubmint circles has come up with the working solution of repurposing good old boats for housing units. The cost of such repurpose could be a fraction of new housing construction costs. 0erhaps it's because it would be harder to skim off such a program compared to a new construction.

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by KTP

Hopefully all of these empty marina slips means prices will go down on those.

When I first got a mooring in 2006 there was no wait for a mooring permit. Today it's a 3 to 4 year wait. But there are a lot of empty moorings each season. Officially one is allowed 1 year of non use before losing a permit. Not sure how strictly it is enforced though.

[ChrisJHC]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

With all the complaints about the lack of affordable housing and homelessness in general it is very surprising that no one in the gubmint circles has come up with the working solution of repurposing good old boats for housing units. The cost of such repurpose could be a fraction of new housing construction costs. 0erhaps it's because it would be harder to skim off such a program compared to a new construction.

Here’s a couple:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...asylum-seekers

https://guides.sl.nsw.gov.au/convict...ia/first_fleet

[FoxIslander]

I'm in the market right now for something semi-cruise equipped down here in Mexico. FWIW,
50% of the boats on Yachtword are sporting the "priced reduced" tag.

[MicHughV]

While you might be able to find some "good' buys on the boating market right now, there remains the problem of finding insurance for it, and if that is not enuff, still have to deal with exorbitant marina slip prices.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

While you might be able to find some "good' buys on the boating market right now, there remains the problem of finding insurance for it, and if that is not enuff, still have to deal with exorbitant marina slip prices.

Depends on a lot of variables.
We were lived aboard Roxy in the Caribbean for the last eight years. Insured with ANJO in Antigua. Roxy is 40 years old Camper & Nicholson 58 ketch. Extremely well maintained former mega yacht in its day. Strongly built. Insured for 300. Over a million to build a new equivalent. It’s an available bargain and a quick passage maker.
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1984-camper-$-nicholsons-58-9168374/

[Kettlewell]

Even powerboat sales seem to be slowing.

Recreational-boat engine manufacturer Mercury Marine instituted a summertime layoff of about 300 employees at its headquarters plant in Fond du Lac, citing softening demand in some of its markets.

https://www.bizjournals.com/milwauke...nd-du-lac.html

Borisch accuses Malibu of doing so to “artificially inflate Malibu sales and market share” amid “historic lows in retail luxury power boat demand and sales activity.”

https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/ne...in-bankruptcy/