There's no such thing as a stupid question? This one might be

[lateral]

Mostly good advice. Wish I had the balls (or brains) to ask this cruising forum before my purchase. Not that it was a disaster, I just could have done it a lot easier, less expensive, faster. Now at least I sail a boat that I built. May not mean much to most. (Yep, disasters are relative.)
Learnt now to have Zero debt unless its making you money. Boats generally don't do that.

[Amapola]

IMHO, you are not likely to find a lender for a 1974 boat. Plus, you will have difficulty finding insurance. I'd advice, pay cash, get liability insurance, and enjoy the boat. By the way, I agree with Don C L.

[Jaqun]

Also make sure you have the funds to keep the boat. You will need a slip or mooring and depending where you are you may need to haul it in the winter. Also routine maintenance as well as when stuff breaks.

[lwaugaman]

Take your estimated $93 payment plus the $100 that you are considering paying extra and put it into a no load S&P Index Fund instead. In 5-6 years you'll be able to pay cash and have peace of mind.

Also, banks probably aren't going to loan on a boat of that age, unless its secured by some other asset such as a house. Also, you will most-likely not be able to buy insurance. And, many marinas where I'm from are evicting boats of that age.

Lots of considerations...

[OneBoatman]

Most loans these days have no pre-payment penalty so that part of your plan is OK. A boat that age will probably cost you at least another 10K a year even if you have a mooring. Most all boats in 1974 were made using polyester resin so plan on seeing evidence of osmosis which means stripping the bottom or having it soda blasted and then applying at least 3 or 4 epoxy barrier coats and two coats of bottom paint. Cost for DIY ~3K. Also, if it still has its original Yanmar diesel many were commissioned as raw water cooled back then, so without x-ray vision there is no way to know how much longer it will serve before seawater is mixing with the engine oil. You will need liability insurance if you plan to be at a marina, and if you have a note it will have to be secured, otherwise they will make you insure the boat and it is getting next to impossible to insure a boat that old especially as someone without a credit history and minimal sailing experience.

[merrydolphin]

You are going to find it nearly impossible to get a loan on a boat that age. I tried to get a loan on a Tartan 37 1983. NO WAY. Not a boat loan. Finally a very nice boat mortgage salesman asked me “ are you a veteran” ? Bingo. You can pass start and to directly to USAA. Had a loan in 20 minutes. Good rate too. I do have over 800 score. And money in the bank. Just didn’t want to pull it out of investments.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by OneBoatman

Most all boats in 1974 were made using polyester resin so plan on seeing evidence of osmosis which means stripping the bottom

if it still has its original Yanmar diesel many were commissioned as raw water cooled back then,

99% of boats today are built with polyester resin

I can't remember when I last saw a raw water cooled Yanmar with more than two cylinders and even those are rare now.

[ChrisJHC]

Originally Posted by lwaugaman

Take your estimated $93 payment plus the $100 that you are considering paying extra and put it into a no load S&P Index Fund instead. In 5-6 years you'll be able to pay cash and have peace of mind.

Also, banks probably aren't going to loan on a boat of that age, unless its secured by some other asset such as a house. Also, you will most-likely not be able to buy insurance. And, many marinas where I'm from are evicting boats of that age.

Lots of considerations...

I also wouldn’t finance a boat in this situation, but in your example, the boat price will probably have gone up, plus you’ve missed out on 5-6 years of sailing your own boat!

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Never finance a depreciating asset. An old but true adage. If you have to finance a boat, you can’t afford it. Save your money. That’s not “elitist” thinking. It’s common sense. And while there may be limited and narrow exceptions to the above, none apply here according to his story.

How about "Never finance a discretionary depreciating asset"? If you need a car to get to work, that is a justifiable reason to borrow. I agree with the last sentence - a boat is one of the most discretionary purchases there could be.

[TabbyCat]

My first serious boat was a 1980 C&C 34 that I bought over 30 years ago. We joined the C&C sailing club for many years and had lots of good times. Another guy in the club had a 35 Mk II - it was a nice boat, and relatively fast. The thing I always liked about the C&C's is that the mast is stepped on the keel, and they have rod rigging, so a very solid rig, not likely to come down. And yes, we financed ours on a 15 year loan, and yes, after a few years we started sending in extra payments and paid it off 5 years early. We were young and poor. We drove old cars to avoid having a car payment so we could afford the boat. I'd say get into boating as early as you can, while you are still young and flexible, rather than waiting until you can afford it and are old and grumpy!

PS: My friend's 1974 C&C had an Atomic 4....

In your budget you will need to include maintenance, repairs, upgrades, insurance, dockage....

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Never finance a depreciating asset. An old but true adage. If you have to finance a boat, you can’t afford it. Save your money. That’s not “elitist” thinking. It’s common sense.

I must disagree with this point of view, but it does remind me of a Honeymooners episode where Ralph wanted to buy some appliance, and talking to the salesman remarked something like, “Never mind the price, just tell me how much it costs a month.” So, affordability means different things to different people. I just doubt that many or most of the >$300,000 new yachts I see around are bought with cash. And if so, it’s often the owners’ first boat (at > 45-50 yr old). Finance deals are expensive, yes, and in the end you must pony up new money at sale if the “asset” depreciates faster than you can pay it down, and you sell before “pay-off.” Many folks buy on finance, enjoy the boat for a time, then sell. The total cash outflow when all is done is the cost of yachting for those years. As like a perpetual vacation, you never get that money back. You did afford it; it was affordable, etc. That said, however, of the five boats I owned four I bought using cash. The last one was bought on finance for about a year, then paid it off.

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by TabbyCat

My first serious boat was a 1980 C&C 34 that I bought over 30 years ago. We joined the C&C sailing club for many years and had lots of good times. Another guy in the club had a 35 Mk II - it was a nice boat, and relatively fast. The thing I always liked about the C&C's is that the mast is stepped on the keel, and they have rod rigging, so a very solid rig, not likely to come down. And yes, we financed ours on a 15 year loan, and yes, after a few years we started sending in extra payments and paid it off 5 years early. We were young and poor. We drove old cars to avoid having a car payment so we could afford the boat. I'd say get into boating as early as you can, while you are still young and flexible, rather than waiting until you can afford it and are old and grumpy!

PS: My friend's 1974 C&C had an Atomic 4....

In your budget you will need to include maintenance, repairs, upgrades, insurance, dockage....

Good advice, IMO. If you wish to enjoy an expensive, high quality, recreation such as boating you CAN afford it. Just perhaps not in addition to everything else there is to buy. We’re still driving old cars. My wife and I have bought one brand new car each our entire life. Hers in 1983; mine in 1987.

[Dallen]

I’ve sailed a 1980 cc 34
Great boat good builder
Good price
One I sailed ( SF to Cabo )
Was purchased in the spring
Sailed south in Oct
Sailed north in march
Sold in may
Very wise accountant owner
I was crew
Win win for both of us
Not sure if he got all his purchase price back
But it was close

Sell motorcycle ? Offer 12. Go sail

[JBP]

Just a couple other points:

If you do ever use the 0% interest promotion on a credit card cash advance, make sure your balance is zero before you do it and never use that card to purchase anything until it is paid off. In the fine print you will be paying 26% on any existing balance or new purchases until the cash advance is paid off.

You can use a home equity loan to buy a boat but you can't claim the tax deduction.

It is always best to stay out of debt, but I too have been in the positron where I REALLY wanted a boat and financed it. Pay it off as soon as possible. Most loans from a regular bank will not have a prepayment penalty, but some financing from shady dealers might.