"Everyone is buying boats'"during the pandemic, and it's causing a short supply

[250224]

Originally Posted by DeValency

The overall industry situation is quite alarming with ... Bavaria going out of business in Europe that just continues the industry downturn over the recent years.

Check your sources... Bavaria does not go out of business, they in fact had quite a successfull quarter (according to the Yacht, a german magazin).

Yes, Bavaria had problems (insolvency) in the past. But that was largely due to a devastatly overpaid sale which offloaded a lot of debt to the company. The previous owners made a lot of money and the locusts, as some germans like to call them, likely didn't get what they had hoped.

[DeValency]

Guess we are both correct. Bavaria Yachts went out of business in the end of 2018. The assets (not the debt) were acquired by a private equity firm in 2019.
It is yet to be seen how they will pass the loss of a full year of business like all other boat builders, as they have a very thin financial support and their cashflow in mainly based on ongoing sales and bookings - very much a diminishing situation as of April which may not get any better before mid next year when hopefully the new immunisations will get to at least 70% of the population.
Regardless, they will also need to deal with quality issues hurting their recent years reputation.

[gymrat]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

If you have the cash, and a cheap place to store (and also to work on) a boat over the winter, it would make sense to snap up a bargain now. Otherwise I would wait til the spring. Six months is an eternity in this currently chaotic economy.

Anyway, most Great Lakes boats will be out of the water by Nov.

I have CA$ 30,000 cash as the all-in budget for a boat. I've been looking for a few weeks now on yachtworld and boatdealers canada. I know I"m looking for a mid-80s Catalina 30 or CS 30. I can't say anything has been a bargain..certainly more expensive than spring before Covid restrictions drove up boat prices. The market price before Covid in Ontario for a 1986 C30 boat was around CA$27,000 (USD 20,800) for well maintained ones and right now they are CA$35,000 (USD 26,500)..plus 13% sales tax as they are all broker boats. Not too many choices available either.

Take this one for example - how much would you offer? i think the asking price is too much.
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1986/cs-30-3112374/

You're right about November, I probably have a week left to pull the trigger or wait it out. The gamble is if there will be covid-broke sailors who put their boats on the market with the second wave or will next year be another record year where boats keep going up in price like they did this year instead of depreciating.

Choices choices....as it stands today I think I will wait to spring.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by gymrat

You're right about November, I probably have a week left to pull the trigger or wait it out. The gamble is if there will be covid-broke sailors who put their boats on the market with the second wave or will next year be another record year where boats keep going up in price like they did this year instead of depreciating.

Choices choices....as it stands today I think I will wait to spring.

With your CAD$30k budget, yeah you need to see a negotiated price of around $20k to 22k, because you'll have survey, taxes, insurance, moving, haulout, fall maintenance, storage, marina or club fees, and the inevitable fixes and upgrades.

I expect that the people who have a nice 30 footer are not the ones who'd be forced to sell now because of COVID losses.

It seems there are more sellers of good boats where COVID has made them reconsider their life goals, especially if they sat this season out without launching, so they see this as a good market to sell into. Then there's the usual sales due to health issues, aging out, divorce, upsizing.

If you see a bargain, you can jump, but otherwise I agree that waiting for spring is probably wise.

[gymrat]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

With your CAD$30k budget, yeah you need to see a negotiated price of around $20k to 22k, because you'll have survey, taxes, insurance, moving, haulout, fall maintenance, storage, marina or club fees, and the inevitable fixes and upgrades.

I expect that the people who have a nice 30 footer are not the ones who'd be forced to sell now because of COVID losses.

It seems there are more sellers of good boats where COVID has made them reconsider their life goals, especially if they sat this season out without launching, so they see this as a good market to sell into. Then there's the usual sales due to health issues, aging out, divorce, upsizing.

If you see a bargain, you can jump, but otherwise I agree that waiting for spring is probably wise.

Lake-effect, what do you think of the link to the CS-30? What would you negotiate for that assuming the survey comes up OK? I still think the asking price is too much but I'm curious as Im only just figuring out the market now and lack the experience.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by gymrat

Lake-effect, what do you think of the link to the CS-30? What would you negotiate for that assuming the survey comes up OK? I still think the asking price is too much but I'm curious as Im only just figuring out the market now and lack the experience.

A friend owns a CS30 and I've been out on her several times. Nice boat.

As for knowing what they are currently worth... I'm not that informed, sorry. If that one is in good condition, well maintained, and has recent sails and electronics, the asking price might not be unreasonable. Of course you're free to negotiate or make an offer.

Wouldn't hurt to have a look at that boat, if you're on the Canada side of the border.

[Nauticus]

Up here in Ontario Canada, this year was different for sure. My home club in Ottawa and surrounding clubs had every boat selling at a premium price. 2 hours away on Lake Ontario, the exact same make, model and year of boat was half the price. I bought mine there, only to realize that my options to get my boat home were marine transporter $1500 or sail if home ( a week off work plus mast stepping, lock fees and haul out $2000 ). Good news is I got a great deal on my boat, bad news is it worked out to costing the same as a premium boat price up here. Lesson learned.