beat this! money lost on boats!

[Foggy]

The problem, as I see it, is in the 'thinking'.

The truth is recreational money spent on boats (and stuff for it) isn't the same money we all spend on gas for the car, clothes, groceries, mortgage, out for dinner, college for kids, a new car once in a while, repairs and maintenance for our stuff, and a fling or two. Get caught with a divorce, now that's real money, painful money... Aside from that getting into boating is like gambling, it's money spent that you can afford to lose.

When we spend money on a boat, we all have heard it, "It's a hole in the water to throw cash into". So, what's the surprise? Or, maybe you've heard, "If you have to ask 'how much does it cost or operate', maybe you shouldn't consider buying it."

My experience is, if you buy a boat and sell it after about 1 year, you lose about 25%. Keep it longer and then sell it, count on more loss @ 6%/year. And that's if it is in pristine condition. Go figure.

Once in a (great) while, you'll come across a "Black Swan". You buy a quality unique boat. That is a true find where, when you go to sell it, an unusual buyer really slobbers over your boat and is an exception to the above where you'll be better off $$$ wise after you sold it than before you bought it. My experience with this is rare, except I've wipe off drool from 1 or 2 of my boats without a sale. So, don't count on the "Black Swan" when you buy a boat. Plan on taking a loss and get on with it, being happy feeling wiser than you were before. I think it's true that is the best you can do.

Aye.

Aye.

[C-Nile]

I look at this a little differently. The cost for boating goes under the budgetary category of discretionary income. Think about all the money we would save if in our lifetimes we never played golf, saw baseball games, watched movies or television, listened to the radio, read fiction novels, purchased art, dined in restaurants, visited amusement parks, ate ice cream, and etc. How much money would we have saved? Actually, if we all did that, none of us would have any money and we would be living an agrarian lifestyle. I look at discretionary spending as necessary for supporting a vital economy. As all of you are aware, America is a consumer-driven economy. When we bought our new CD 16 Cruiser, then our Marinaut, we supported our economy, and in so doing we helped ourselves. We helped, in a small way, to put people to work. The hulls for both boats were made in the USA. In our Marinaut, a great many items such as the hull, canvas, fuel tanks, windows and cabinetry were all custom made by wonderful craftsman in our country.

So don't feel guilty about spending money on boating or any other discretionary pursuit; it's patriotic. I will never regret any money spent in such pursuits.

[jennykatz]

After all else is said about discretionary income .The fun factor of boating ,RV ing , cruising (holland america style) is getting out and seeing and meeting new people and ideas that's what recreation is all about . And the final thought it sure beats going to a head doctor

[C-Val]

My boat makes me happy. Its my happy place after a week of working hard to
make ends meet.

How much is that worth?

[jordanclarke]

1975 sangster. Paid 3500. Sold for 3200
1995 bayliner. Paid 8000 traded for 10000
2002 trophy. Bayliner plus 10000. Sold for 26500
2008 Hewescraft Paid 28000. Sold for 32000
2005 custom weld. Paid 31000. Traded for brand new stabicraft
2008 stabicraft. Traded customweld. Sold for $40000
2012 tyler boat. Paid 40000 traded it across for a fish rite
2012 fishrite. Traded for it sold it for $43000
2008 c dory 22 My current boat

If you buy the right boats do work on them yourself you don't always lose money. I have spent a lot of time buying and selling and slowly made enough money to get the c dory I wanted.

[Snider]

I'm sure I'm on the negative side. Their aren't many boats out there that make money. Even the ones you buy cheap and build sweat equity in, have opportunity costs. Your time is worth money, even if you enjoy it. However I did buy a 23 foot boat in 2008 for $4,500 and sold it a year later for $10,000. With dockage for the year, new engine, transport home and misc expenses I pretty much broke even for the year. So I had free use of a sweet boat docked in the harbor for year. That's probably once in a lifetime achievement. Lol!

I enjoy boating, for me its worth the cost.

[Foggy]

Buying a boat and personalizing it to your taste level is just that, personal. When you want to sell your beloved vessel, buyers don't give a rip about your personal attachment, or sweat equity, because it is not 'personal' for them.

Ah, but have a buyer find your boat that satisfies their personal taste, you'll have a sale. Probably not a profit, unless it's a "Black Swan".

Aye.

[jordanclarke]

Ya time is money when it comes to working on boats. But I like working on boats as much as I like to run them. So if you in joy doing it and your helping increase the value how do you put a price in it. When I bought the the custom weld jet boat I knew I should not of bought it. I hated the way the jet boat handle around the dock I only used the boat twice and sold it 26 days after I bought it. The jet boat had a lot of goodies like a T8 kicker and a tr1 autopilot and scotty downriggers also. I took all of this stuff off and traded it in straight across for my stabicraft. Which was about $10000 more then I paid for the customweld. Yes that was the sticker price and the guy wanted to move the boat. The other thing about trading boat in Canada is you save of the tax which is nice. If you enjoy doing the work and some time it's just elbow grease you can make money. In my opinion you can't really count the moorage or storage of a vessel be a use that's a running cost not a capital cost. If I own a boat for 5 years and spend $10,000 on fuel in those years I'm not going to factor that into the value lost on the boat.

[dotnmarty]

[El and Bill]

Discussions about the costs of owning, cruising, modifying, maintaining or other costs involved with boating, for us, involve the basic economic concept of opportunity cost.

"Opportunity cost is what you have to forgo when you choose to do A rather than B."

So, bottom line, we choose how to spend our money according to:

1. Needs - they get first priority -- food, shelter, etc.
2. Wants (pleasures) -- now we each choose how to spend this money, after the needs are fulfilled.

We gained wonderful pleasure from our live aboard lifestyle -- at that time in our lives (good health, retired, no overriding family needs, wonderfully compatible) it seemed to be the best choice of any alternative lifestyle (with its attendant costs) we might want to assume. (AND IT WAS). Our previous lifestyle was years of "drifting" all over our continent in a small RV, interspersed with long periods of "drifting" (usually between hostels) on all the other continents (yes, Antarctica also).

Throughout our lives together, we have jointly decided on transitions in our lifestyle -- and the transition to living on water was a delight. We have now transitioned to life back on land, and are enjoying the glory of winter Colorado and sharing life experiences with grandkids (watching, and helping in their adaptations to life). We still enjoy drifting down a river with a commercial trip (like on European rivers) and are thinking of another cruise down one of those beautiful rivers in No. America we previously experienced on our C-Dory.

It's all about personal choice -- and opportunity costs. And, if all other factors are favorable, a boat in your life is a WONDERFUL choice. That's not money lost -- that's money well spent. "The death shroud doesn't have any pockets" my Orthodox roommate used to remind me.

[Snider]

Well said.

[patrick and linda]

Best statement thus far, "my boat makes me happy"! That's the bottom line for me as well. Each boat has made me happy and when I am happy I am more productive and thus earn more money. After 13 or 14 boats I finally got it right. It's a Nordic tug and a Boston whaler that makes me happiest!

[Foggy]

Not a stranger to stirring the pot, I offer the following:

FYI: "Happiness" does not come from the external; i.e., "things". If your current boat made you truly happy, you'd keep it indefinitely since that was the source of your happiness. If your happiness depends on some "thing", what happens when it's gone? Collectors of things always want more things and, thus, are never satisfied, never really happy, always desiring more things. It's endless.

Real lasting happiness comes from the inside, not the outside. Realizing that what you now possess is enough (maybe even too much, and, being grateful for what you now have since you could always have less). Gratitude, thankfulness, and inner peacefulness are some characteristics real happiness. Wanting "more" is simply your ego; not the "real" you.

Rather than "my boat makes me happy", I prefer "my boat is fun" or "I like my boat". That's enough semantics.

Aye.