Where will boat buying be in 2 years -- pandemic.

[river251]

I have read people saying that in two years a lot of these boats people are buying now will be back on the market. I wonder if many people will buy used boats....apparently they are buying everything....and fix them up. Then there will be a lot of old boats that have already been refit and refurbished, at pretty good prices, as many people have had their fill of sailboating in a couple years? Sound possible?

Jim

[deltaten]

So Jim.... is it 'cause yer lookin' ta buy; or just curiosity in general.
Best advice I've ever heard and taken was...
Have CASH
Be patient!
I can't count the number of times folks bought what they thought would do, only to see some time later, the perfect boat for considerably less. If you have the patience for a sailboat, you should be d have the same patience in finding just the right one.
HTH

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by river251

I wonder if many people will buy used boats....apparently they are buying everything....and fix them up.

Jim

Nobody knows.

What I have noticed is a lot of threads postulating unanswerable suppositions by people who apparently have way too much free time these days.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Nobody knows.

What I have noticed is a lot of threads postulating unanswerable suppositions by people who apparently have way too much free time these days.

+1

And, sorry to say, River, but you need to get yourself onto a boat already. You've never sailed. You've dreamed for 30 YEARS. You don't even know if you LIKE sailing. You don't even know if you get seasick!

The best quote I read years ago from a book about women who change their careers late in life was from an centenarian who was asked during an NPR interview if she had any regrets.

"I would have learned to play the violin at 40!"

Taken aback at the alacrity of her response, the interviewer replied, "Why 'at 40'?"

Because I could have been playing sixty years by now!

SIGN UP for a sailing class! GET YOURSELF to a sailing club! Do SOMETHING that will get you onto and around boats ASAP to see, from first-hand experience, if you even like sailing at all.

All this speculation is getting you nowhere until you establish whether you even like being on a boat. And then you actually have learn to sail one.

LittleWing77

[Albinvega27]

The worldwide boat market is already a offer market and not a demand market. GF boats last longer than planned and during the last year, Charterers are renewing permanently their fleets. It is well known, that the Charterer market has a lot of participants, who are from drug business laundry money. This would mean, the boats are already on the market and the prices are down.

In my experience you can find worldwide a lot of boats, abandoned and dying. Look for one and find out the owner or owners. They might give it away for free. If not, I have bought a perfectly well Albin Vega 27, fit to sail across the Atlantic. I upgraded a wind generator, 12V freezer/cooler, bought new anchor, new lines, cleaned and polished the boat, painted the boat and made it up for singlehand. Price under USD 2500.-- The other one a Ericson E30 1978, completely fit foor offshore sailing. Has windvane, new Komatsu 3 cyl engine, and set for singlehand. The boat ahs been painted in 2015 and been stored since then. Price under 10000.--

It is already the moment to buy your boat. But you´ll need to have the knowledge to check, if the boat is ok and how to negotiate. I never pay more than 30% of asked. And have the time to be patient!

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by river251

I have read people saying that in two years a lot of these boats people are buying now will be back on the market. I wonder if many people will buy used boats....apparently they are buying everything....and fix them up. Then there will be a lot of old boats that have already been refit and refurbished, at pretty good prices, as many people have had their fill of sailboating in a couple years? Sound possible?

Jim

I think part of what we're seeing has more to do with the fact that boats for sale in more remote areas can't be accessed right now due to the Virus. It may be true that a lot of the people jumping on anything right now will find they're over it in a couple of years and maybe more great deals will be out there but I think the bigger factor has more to do with places finally reopening. At the moment, even if you had a boat ready to sail, where exactly could you go? There's a lot to be said for go small go now, but it might just be a good time to keep your powder dry regarding buying a boat until more sailing opportunities avail themselves.

[sail sfbay]

There will always be used boats for sale, some upgraded (depending on your budget) and most not, albeit the price should reflect that. The used sail and power boats I have seen for under $100,000 are generally tired with out dated or non-working components and the owners are selling them because they stopped taking care of their boat...........so if your initial boat budget is low be prepared to spend money to replace tired, nearing end-of-life and failed parts.

You might find this article interesting, as it suggests "The global recreational boat market by revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 11% during the period 2019–2025."

https://www.reportlinker.com/p055877...utm_source=PRN

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Nobody knows.

What I have noticed is a lot of threads postulating unanswerable suppositions by people who apparently have way too much free time these days.

They need to ask someone with ESP.

[river251]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

+1

And, sorry to say, River, but you need to get yourself onto a boat already. You've never sailed. You've dreamed for 30 YEARS. You don't even know if you LIKE sailing. You don't even know if you get seasick!

The best quote I read years ago from a book about women who change their careers late in life was from an centenarian who was asked during an NPR interview if she had any regrets.

"I would have learned to play the violin at 40!"

Taken aback at the alacrity of her response, the interviewer replied, "Why 'at 40'?"

Because I could have been playing sixty years by now!

SIGN UP for a sailing class! GET YOURSELF to a sailing club! Do SOMETHING that will get you onto and around boats ASAP to see, from first-hand experience, if you even like sailing at all.

All this speculation is getting you nowhere until you establish whether you even like being on a boat. And then you actually have learn to sail one.

LittleWing77

Hi LittleWing, thanks for the continued support. It's not exactly like that. I haven't dreamed of this for 30 years. I went to a boat show (well you know all this) when I started grad school and was dazzled, but the whole thing was financially impossible so I haven't seriously been thinking about it. So I think about it occasionally. A girlfriend from 40 years ago got in touch jan before last; she lived on a Morgan for 12 years with her husband and then when they divorced she got a smaller Morgan. That and impending retirement got me into this again but in a far more serious way. The internet and forums are terrific for research and I can learn a lot faster than people could in the old days before the internet (I was there). Anyway, yes, now as I approach retirement, this has become something I am really thinking about. I don't think there is anything wrong with using forums to gain knowledge which will benefit me when I do this. You can't really learn that much on youtube videos. And yes the plan is to get on a boat and on the water. That will be a whole higher level of learning that could make or break things but I don't think it will break them. I know that asking millions of questions can be annoying for some people who feel helpful and get tired of the questions, believe me. I've been through this with motorcycles, guitars, remote controlled planes, bicycles, cameras.... The trouble is with sailing, the practical doing-it, is a lot harder. Whether I go to LA or Houston, it's a four day trip, just for the travel part; I drive slowly and safely. I'm not going to do this, or fly, while COVID is a problem (which hopefully does not mean never). Also I still work full time. Mine is not a 9-5 job. It's a 80-100 hour a week job by my choosing. Heck they don't even know if I'm on campus. There are certain times when I have a block of days so I could do this-- I get (unpaid) summers off technically though I still work the same, plus spring break, thanksgiving, and a month around Christmas. So yes, I do want to get the experience asap. I can find a time to do this but not just any time. My plan was to crew. I've responded to a few ads but no response. I could keep trying after COVID. Several months ago I called a couple places in Florida. Whether chartering or lessons, it was several days and a few thousand. But your message prompted me to call several places in Houston, and it is far better. For about 400 one gets the 101 class, where you go sailing 2 days, then a class on saturday mornings, then a 4 hour session where you just take a boat out. So this sounds like what I should do. When, given all the constraints described above, I can do this, I will. Then maybe I'll try to crew. In the meantime I have a lot of questions. If they are annoying, and I understand that, then maybe ignore me. I've switched to reading existing threads to cut down on my questions, I'm subscribed to over 100 threads which I'm working through. But there are questions that would be very hard to get info on anywhere else. If I get annoying, throw a fish at me. You are most kind and generous with your responses and help and support for people here, and it has been important to me. Hopefully one day we can share a hot chocolate and some sea stories together.

[Captain Graham]

I have bought and sold 5 trailer sailboats in the Cleveland OH area over the past 30 years.

There has been a trend.
1. Fall is the best time to buy a trailer sailboat.
People who own a sailboat that they do not use do not want to pay for winter storage and sell their boats cheap.
2. Spring is the best time to sell a trailer sailboat.
People are getting excited about owning a sailboat and are willing to spend more to make their dream come true.

I am currently looking to buy a 27-30ft sailboat and I have decided to wait until the Spring to buy.
This decision is mostly because the right boat just have not come along.
I am 64 years old and I am being a little more picky because this will most likely be my last sailboat.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Captain Graham

I have bought and sold 5 trailer sailboats in the Cleveland OH area over the past 30 years.

There has been a trend.
1. Fall is the best time to buy a trailer sailboat.
People who own a sailboat that they do not use do not want to pay for winter storage and sell their boats cheap.
2. Spring is the best time to sell a trailer sailboat.
People are getting excited about owning a sailboat and are willing to spend more to make their dream come true.

I am currently looking to buy a 27-30ft sailboat and I have decided to wait until the Spring to buy.
This decision is mostly because the right boat just have not come along.
I am 64 years old and I am being a little more picky because this will most likely be my last sailboat.

It seemed to me the trailer sailors were a smart move given the short season, why the change?

[Captain Graham]

Originally Posted by Cadence

It seemed to me the trailer sailors were a smart move given the short season, why the change?

Many reasons.
1. I am getting old and do not want to spend time raising the mast.
2. I want to do some extended 1-2 week sailing trips.
3. I want to be able to stand up inside.
4. I am starting a 2 hour sunset cruise business and I want a sailboat large enough to carry 4-6 paying passengers.

PS my marina is open from May 1st to the end of Oct (6 months)

[MicHughV]

the sailboat market is like the weather....hot today...cold tomorrow....windy after that...rain forecast for the weekend..
there is no time like the present.....nobody knows what tomorrow will bring..

once you have your boat....quit looking at others and enjoy the one you bought.....you can get mired in shoulda/coulda/woulda....it's gonna be your boat....get what YOU want, not somebody else's idea..

new boats hit the market every day...boats that have been on the market forever, may be gone tomorrow...

Identify what you are looking for...size....type....affordability...but most of all affordability....no point in looking at $100k boats with a $50K budget...

and remember this, there will come a time when you will want to sell the boat...how will you price it.....what you "hope" to get or a more realistic price???

Lastly, at your age, same as me, you need to consider a boat you can physically handle...especially so, if you plan to keep it awhile...

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Captain Graham

Many reasons.
1. I am getting old and do not want to spend time raising the mast.
2. I want to do some extended 1-2 week sailing trips.
3. I want to be able to stand up inside.
4. I am starting a 2 hour sunset cruise business and I want a sailboat large enough to carry 4-6 paying passengers.

PS my marina is open from May 1st to the end of Oct (6 months)

Good luck! Have you check insurance? You , might want to look at an LLC?

[Jim Cate]

They need to ask someone with ESP.

Why, that would be ME!

ESP= Expensive Sailboat Problems

Jim