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Why buy a brand new $150,000 sailboat?

23K views 123 replies 46 participants last post by  ltgoshen 
#1 ·
Watch this video...he has some great advice...



Why buy a brand new sailboat costing bank and having a monthly payment of like $1,500 spread over 20 years not including insurance, slip fees, maintence, hulling out, etc? You won't be able to enjoy the boat really at all because you'll be working 24-7 just to pay it off. Why not just buy a way way cheaper boat 20, 30, 40 years old and just put some work into it. At least that way you'll have the time to enjoy it!
 
#30 ·
Even if I won the lottery I would never buy a new sailboat.
That is crazy talk!!! If I won the lottery I would buy a brand new boat with all the toys!

Maybe a couple of them!
 
#3 · (Edited)
For the kind of boat I have, $150K wouldn't even touch a new model!

I agree with him in principal. I paid cash for my H40. And it feels good to have that freedom. But I have no problem with people who borrow for what they want either - as long as they can afford it. It's their money...their time...their call.

I looked at some of this dude's other videos.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BugOutVehicles/videos

Okaaaay. The survivalist superiority complex is just really weird.

Survivalism is only necessary when it's necessary. And it's just not necessary. I'll stick with the good life.
 
#11 ·
For the kind of boat I have, $150K wouldn't even touch a new model!

I agree with him in principal. I paid cash for my H40. And it feels good to have that freedom. But I have no problem with people who borrow for what they want either - as long as they can afford it. It's their money...their time...their call.

I looked at some of this dude's other videos.

BugOutVehicles - YouTube

Okaaaay. The survivalist superiority complex is just really weird.

Survivalism is only necessary when it's necessary. And it's just not necessary. I'll stick with the good life.
I think Smack got it totally right here. Different strokes for different folks!

I bought my first larger sailboat when I was 55. I was not planning on sailing off into the sunset and living aboard. I just wanted a bigger boat to sail and use for a couple of long trips a year. I have lots of other hobbies and things that take my time. I am anal about maintenance and did not want to spend a lot of time fixing other peoples mistakes and lack of maintenance. Hell, things break on new boats, just not as often.
I bought what I wanted because I could and it was what worked for me. I'm happy, and hopefully anyone who makes a different decision is as well.
 
#6 ·
150g's won't buy much of a boat these days, new.
If I had the money (lottery win or whatever) I would have a boat built for me. All boats are compromises otherwise and it sure would be nice to incorporate all I've learned from all the boats I've operated over the last 50 or so years into what would be the perfect boat for me.
It has always been my dream to have some fat cat ask me to design the perfect cruising boat.
Hurry up, Richie Rich, time's running out.
 
#9 · (Edited)
It appears that prices of used boats continue their free fall. I would probably not buy a boat off eBay, but if I did:

1980 O'Day 37 CC for $11,000: 37 foot ODay 1980 $11,000 in Sailboats | eBay Motors

1976 Grampian 2-34 for $8,500: 34 foot grampian marine G-234 1976 in Sailboats | eBay Motors

Although some have pointed out two separate boat-buying market segments in the U.S., the high end and the low end, that behave differently, ultimately the continued drop in low end used boat prices will pull all used boat prices down, and perhaps even new boat prices.
 
#10 ·
buying a brand new boat and buying a brand new car are similar--the depreciation is huge.
a neighbor in sd had bought a brand new boat---then over time his family sed sellor i go..he had his boat appraised for selling--the remainder of his boat loan was twice the amount he could sell for--- be aware---he was stuck without his family and with the boat.no it wasnt a sailboat. it was a mainship..
 
#12 · (Edited)
There's no right or wrong answer. Actually it's a silly question.

It depends on your financial situation, what you want/enjoy and how long you intend to keep the boat.

There's a lot to be said for having a new boat with a new engine, new electronics, set up exactly as you want her, where no one has mucked up the wiring or the maintenance. Plus it feels REALLY good!

Your financial situation is a huge part of the equation. For some $10K is a big investment. For others $40K cash is a reasonable outlay. For a lucky few dropping $300K on a $600K boat gives them a payment that's perfectly comfortable. After all how many million dollar homes do we sail past along the coast...

I'm just happy mine is paid for. :D
 
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#13 · (Edited)
They can't manufacture used boats so I encourage and applaud those who buy new. Take good care of them because in a few years I will buy it from you.

There are lots of ways to lose money buying a used boat. If a buyer has cash and buys new, they could resell the boat at a decent price, depreciating it over several years, having fun and then selling it for 30% less than they paid with no work to do.... that might be a good deal. I say bravo.

Oh and the prepper thing is the stupidest ever... but in case of economic collapse, zombie outbreak, whatever, I can think of few "bug out vehicles" that would be better than a big sailboat.
 
#15 ·
My baby cost $2200. 25 feet of completely seaworthy, coziness. Sure, I don't have a large salon or a shower, but I have beds for 4, and I can sail the coast of Maine on a shoe string. If I had to spend . . . . $40,000 on a boat and $5000/year slip/haul/storage/maintenance, there is no way I would be sailing. I'm thankful and blessed with my little trailer sailor. I get the thrill and freedom of sailing, stay for a week at a time in remote bays and hidden coves, anchor in as little as 3'-0 of water (dead low), take friends out, motor up to the fancy man's dock at the Lobstah, Shack, then pull her out, take her home for a wash and re-store for next trip. I'll never cross an ocean but don't want to. I'll never travel the ICW, but don't want to. I'll never date Michelle Pfeiffer . . . wait, I could go for that. But you get my point. Bigger does NOT mean better, or more committed to sailing. In many cases it means just the opposite. I've seen folks who have obviously been at anchor for weeks. In Maine????? Well, off my soapbox and back to work.
 
#16 ·
The way i look at cars and boats are similar to what everyone else here is saying. I wouldnt mind a new boat, but my CAR cost me 3k and thst was a lot. If i can muster enough for a small boat and afford maint. Ill be happy. But if i could drop 150k on a boat to live in, id do it.

Come on luxky 7s!
 
#17 ·
Why do people buy $150k new boats? Because it's what they want. Boats, like other big toys, make zero economic sense. Regardless, new, used, big, little, none is justifiable from an economic POV. None is an investment.

However, from a value added POV they are totally justifiable. That is value added to enjoyment of your life. A boat is a value trade off. Would you rather have cash in hand or time on the water?

The question isn't why do people buy $150k new boats, it is did they get $150k of enjoyment from the trade? If they got that or multiples of that, money well spent!
 
#28 · (Edited)
$1000 a month versus $1500, doesn't really matter. The point is from a financial POV it's lost money.

On a recent thread a poster posted that he had purchased a 30 foot sail boat in 1975 for $12500. The new version of that same boat today, accounting for inflation should cost about $50,000, though in actuality it's about 3x that amount. Had that same person instead of buying a sailboat put that money into a run of the mill growth and income mutual fund that account today would be worth over $1,300,000.

Obviously, you can't sail a mutual fund. But there is a real cost to everything we do. The difference between what that 40 year old sailboat is worth today and that 1.3 mill is called lost opportunity cost. it is the end result of the road not taken.
 
#23 ·
friend of mine went in with his brother and father to buy a new powerboat. They got a 19 foot centre cockpit with a small cubbycabin and a 300hp outboard... it cost them 90,000!?!

This for a boat you cannot even sleep aboard. the cubby is just about big enough to house the portapotti and stow some gear
 
#24 ·
Kinda like asking why buy a new car?

Well, you don't have to ask what Bozo hooked up out of sight. The rigging is new and should be reliable. The sails are new are should perform well. All kinds of maintenance questions can be ignored and there might even be a warranty.

So sure, it costs more, but there is a "turn key" aspect to things that old used cars or boats will never have. Nice if you can afford it.

And besides, if no one bought new boats, where would we find the used ones??
 
#26 ·
And besides, if no one bought new boats, where would we find the used ones??
If no one bought new cars and boats there would be a lot of out of work factory workers... and no one would be able to slag off China.

It amazes me that so many people can think vehicles are unafordable and boats are unaffordable. Stop drinking alcohol and start saving and all this stuff will be theirs to buy when they have stuck their nose to the grind-stone.

And not before :)

Mark
 
#27 ·
My wife and I sometimes feel elitist when we tell friends we intend to upgrade to a 30' cruising boat next year because a well equipped older one is 'only' about $20,000. To us, that doesn't seem like that much money; to a lot of people, that is way too much to spend on a toy.

To someone else, $150,000 isn't that much money. Good for them; in 20 years someone will buy that boat used at a price they can afford.
 
#36 ·
Honestly at this job, living modestly, i could afford a 1g a month payment. Imnin direct sales for dish neteork. But i also wouldnneed to do 50 to 60 hours a week. But then who has time to sail?also, slip fees and maint. Just too much imo. Used i can do 5k or less on a little boat, and maybe aford all the slip and maint fees. there will always be poeple with the money to buy new, untill the day there arent enough, companies will make them at a high cost. When there are ONLY poeple like me in the boat world new prices will come down fast.
 
#38 ·
When there are ONLY poeple like me in the boat world new prices will come down fast.
Not true - there simply won't be any companies left building boats. It's already happening. Back in the 70's there were uncounted small boatbuilders out there. Now? BeneHuntaLina and a rapidly decreasing handful of others. Building pleasure boats is not a very profitable business - how many rich boatbuilders do you know?
 
#37 ·
I've long subscribed to the attitude that the only things I HAVE to have new are food & underwear. Let the other guy eat that initial huge hit of depreciation.

It's especially true with big ticket items - houses, cars, boats. Hell, I even hunt down sets of good used tires for my minivan - it doesn't require high performance tires so I'd rather spend $150 for a set with 90% life left than $800 for a 100% set.

Now on my wife's Jag however..... :)
 
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