split it a bit differently,

work the next year and spend some time on the same $50K boat, and bank the rest for the unexpected or once in a lifetime events that seem to come up.

Especially if you have your health.

happy holidays

 

So many variables make it a very personal decision.

Just to clarify: are you saying that you'll be able to put 100k in the bank in one year?

Or, an additional 25k. to get to 100 ? If the former and were it me, I'd work another year.

 

So many variables make it a very personal decision.

Just to clarify: are you saying that you'll be able to put 100k in the bank in one year?

Or, an additional 25k. to get to 100 ? If the former and were it me, I'd work another year.

Be additional money for a total of $175k...

I'm currently leaning toward something like a Sabre/Ericson 38's, or if I dare to say it a Hunter 376. I just don't see having a new boat is going to make cruising better or make us enjoy it more. Working on the boat with my wife beside me, beats work at a job any day of the week.

 

Go cruising as soon as you can.

You can not buy time!

 

So many factors. If you have a reasonable expectation of many more years of good health, work 2 or 3 more and have $250k to $350k.

 

I'm thinking if you work another year & buy a new boat . The first year you sail you'll lose the money to depreciation & as has been pointed out.....you can't buy time . Having said that , I would never seek the counsel of others on such a personal life decision . Everyone's life is different . Only you can decide what yours is .

 

Like many on here we are approaching our retirement, May 2016. If we retire then we will have a good pension and money in the cursing kitty so income is fine.

Mine has been a cursing kitty at times.

My reaction is that I would not want any brand new boat since you get killed on the depreciation as you pull away from the delivery dock. If you can't see any specific, functional advantages of the more expensive (not necessarily newer) boat I would go earlier.

 

The question is this... May 2016 I will have up to $75k total in hand for the boat, $50k for the boat and $25k refurb. If I work one additional year I can put close to $100k in the bank for the boat. That would take us from say a 37 1990's boat to maybe a new Jeanneau 349 or Beneteau 35.

The extra money, hell yes. Necessarily jumping to a new boat? Eh... I'd still trade some repairs and upgrades for having most of the depreciation wrung out of the boat.

 

Have you actually done any boat hunting? Could be just the boat, at just your price is out there right now (they ain't gonna get any cheaper). If ya can't find what ya want, keep working until you do.

 

This is a question only you can answer. If it was me I'd be thinking:

I can go now in a boat that I am perfectly happy with, which will do what I want it to do, and is affordable now.

OR​

I can work another year and get a more expensive boat that I will also be perfectly happy with, and it too will do what I want it to do. The difference will be, it will be somewhat shinnier, and maybe less immediate maintenance.

Time is something you can never get back. And lets face it, the older we are, the less of it we have going forward. For me, the answer is clear, which is why we're leaving in a <$50K boat.

 

Being self employed, I chose to continue working as long as possible, which keeps the sailing kitty full. And, I guess if I were working for someone else, and in reasonably good health, and had $75K available for a boat, I would jump ship, buy a good, ocean-going, cruiser, a used one that has just returned from a transoceanic cruise that has all the bells and whistles.

As stated above, you cannot buy time - I'm living proof of that. I'm 74 years old, still work 5 to 7 days a week, and probably will never retire till someone pulls the sheets over my face. But, I can also tell you my life has been one hell of a ride.

All the best,

Gary

 

Work the extra year, while hunting around for the perfect boat for you (while not getting hung up on age or size) and then buy it when you find it. The year you spend working you can spend weekends on the boat, refitting and getting to know it inside and out

 

As has been hinted at above, I don't see the advantage of waiting for a 'new' boat, though perhaps waiting for a 'better' boat may be practical to some degree..

As sexy as some of these newer boats may look, the trend today has veered towards ballroom accommodations and away from usable, practical storage spaces.. looking at a quality, well maintained older boat should save you money and leave you with a better setup overall.

With the market in the state it's in these days, I think you could do very well - maybe 'split the difference' - find 'the boat' that fits your plans and then schedule your moves around that figure; maybe an extra 3-4 months of work would get you there.

 

52 is very young, I'd probably stick around, bank the 100 k and buy a used Sabre 362 in good shape. Though, the exact choice of vessel is another discussion. How far afield and where you plan to cruise will help dictate that choice. I like my shoal draft and mast under 60 ft for the east coast of the US. Tankage could be better.

 

I've been asking a similar question of myself lately. For me, it has come down to if I want to keep working for another year or two or not. I work shift work and have been working too many hours on nice days and the 'ole bod is not liking it. I'm ready to bail so I've decided an older boat in good shape will be the ticket for me and the wife. We're not getting any younger (57) and even if I need to do some fixing on the boat, at least I'll have time to do so. If I was doing something I really enjoyed doing and not having to work 70 hours a week, I would stay two more years though.

Kevin

 

Like a lot of you, I've been playing this out myself....work another year or two or take off now? Certainly every person needs to make their own decision based on their particular circumstances....for me the decision is to stick with a $20k boat that I love (that has also had another $20k put into it) and work for another year or so to be able to enjoy finishing a couple of ongoing projects at work, with every penny I save in that time going into the cruising kitty so that I can stay out there longer when I do go.

 

Fortunes come and go. Time only goes.

Go now. Plus, I think the running expenses of the more expensive boat might be unbearable.

[One wonders how you can expect to save $100K in the next year but have so little in savings from your prior years...I would expect millions in the bank by now.]

 

My only qualification to respond is that I'll be retiring in a few days, at 64. As has been said, this is an individual decision. A little like deciding between a used car and a new car. But time is fleeting and your life could change totally in another year. Personally, I can't imagine working another year just for a newer/bigger boat, but that's me. Also, you should take a long hard look at your retirement finances to make sure some of the extra money shouldn't be going into your retirement savings if you decide to keep working.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

I bet over the next 10 years the 50k boat ends up costing pretty much as much as a 100K boat.

If I were in the OP's position (and I am) I would be looking to split the difference some in the choices. I would be thinking a 100k boat along with some more money in the cruiising kitty.

 

Hey,

I would NOT want to go cruising in a NEW boat (maybe cursing at it). The cost of adding all the gear, plus the depreciation, plus having to worry about service issues would give me a heart attack. The first scratch, ding, docking rash would hurt, a lot.

I can certainly see waiting a year to buy a newer, nicer, better equipped boat. Considering how young you are, waiting an additional year to save additional resources as well as purchasing a 'better' boat, would be my choice.

Barry

 

personally, and maybe this is because I am an ecccentric, contrarian, lazy, cheap bastard, I have no problem with spending $25-50K on a well found boat from damn near the disco era... but the idea of spending six figures on a boat younger than my kids stresses me out. It might be pretty irrational, but I have no problems drilling holes in a cheap(ish) boat and installing new gear and stuff, but i would be hesitant on a six figure boat. I have no problem with a 5" chart plotter on a cheap boat, but if i were to spend the equivalent of a 1998 Bentley on a boat, now i feel that no less than a full suite of ST instruments and an 11" display will do, and so on. Expense begets expense.

 

Oh yes ... and when it bites you on the bum truth really can hurt.

I'm not averse to the idea of a better than $50k boat especially if a bit of extra into the buy price gives you less to fix up, nor am I averse to the work extra year for an extra $100k idea but ....

I'd only throw half at the boat, keep the rest for when your fan has been formally introduced to the smelly stuff. Actually, I'd take the plunge and work the extra year but buy the $100K boat now.

I'd never buy a new boat, for pretty much the same reasons as those previously mentioned, though more the depreciation issue than being dissatisfied by modern design. Don't buy new cars for much the same reason.

 

Re: Would you work 1 additional year to go from $50k to $150k boat

And most of those same people don't spend a cent on learning to sail or to even find out if the reality is better then the fantasy.

Brokers love these kind of people!

Aw well, Happy holidays anyway!

 

Just a note on that extra year..
We've been aboard goofing off for the last 12 years and traveled a good number of miles, and its time for a re-fit.. much or everything we installed 10 to 12 years ago needs replacing.
Our funds are such that we can live comfortable as we travel but to do the re-fit, we have to go back to work for a year .. I'm into it 6 months now and hate it, and the only thing keeping me working is knowing our pay goes into the boat,
If its only a year, stick to what you want.. you'll be happier for it.
but lay out a plan, find the boat and decide when you are leaving, set a budget and stick by it.
I have a calender telling me when and what I can buy at the time.. It keeps me motivated and shows me light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Think the decision should include thinking about how you live now. If the boat means no restaurants and you like restaurants or no side trips on land or no flights home or whatever then downsize.
However if the less expensive boat means limited cruising zone due to seaworthiness or absence of key creature comforts (HVAC, Internet,TV, music etc.) then it's the wrong boat.
If living on the boat is a marked downgrade from your style on land you and your bride will be miserable even in paradise.
If you have the perfect boat but can't afford the cruising lifestyle ( mooring fees in that national park, happy hour, taxi to historic or beautiful spot) you will miserable.
Everyone talks about the boat. Many don't add in the indirect costs which give quality to the life.

 

If I work one additional year I can put close to $100k in the bank for the boat. That would take us from say a 37 1990's boat to maybe a new Jeanneau 349 or Beneteau 35.

Well, if working an extra year means you wind up with a Jeanneau 349 to go "cruising", I'd quit right now...

As is typical around here, no hint given to what sort of "cruising" you have in mind That Jeanneau might do you fine if you're just moving around from one marina to the next. But for any sort of extended living aboard and voyaging, I think most folks need something with considerably more tankage, storage space, load carrying ability, and so on... 54 gallons of fresh water? You honestly rate that as a "cruising boat"?

Pretty much the first thing that comes to mind, when I step aboard these latest and greatest production offerings today, with their settee backs pushed right out to the hull, and no shelves or cabinets behind or above them, is "OK, so where am I gonna put all my STUFF ?"

)

Looking at today's market, I'm certainly not seeing any new 35-footers suitable for extended cruising that would appear to fit your budget...

 

Pretty much the first thing that comes to mind, when I step aboard these latest and greatest production offerings today, with their settee backs pushed right out to the hull, and no shelves or cabinets behind or above them, is "OK, so where am I gonna put all my STUFF ?"

Easy... The storage goes into the overhead bins same as the airlines... I mean that photo looks like the interior of a 737 Boeing airplane! :laugher

 

extra 100k?

thats a comfy 10 year round the world cruise or extravagant 5 year cruise in my book plus some left over to start a small solo business or job or whatever after you did the cruising thing

man

merry christmas yall

we all have our cunundrums and wants and needs..and questions before taking the plunge boat wise and or voyaging wise

.my biggest thing when offering advice on threads like these is to always ask this question first:

WHAT ARE MY NEEDS????

all advice and thoughts on the matter return to this question

peace to all