Graphing CD-22 Prices

I first saw a C-Dory at a marina in 1995. I took down all the info I could and contacted the dealer. $21,000 complete... way too much! I waited until 2001 and paid $43,000 for a used one instead. Lot newer boat though and think of the slip fees I avoided.
 
Thanks to all for the replies! In making the graph, I really wasn't trying to use it is a "selling" point, although it could be construed as such. All boats lose value over time, it's just the nature of the beast. I was interested to learn roughly how fast. But, as some people have pointed out, the C-Dory doesn't lose nearly as much value over time as other boat types, notably Bayliner. That's called quality. Also, I think if you squint your eyes and tilt your head, maybe there's a "bend" in the curve at about the 10 year point, after which the prices start leveling out. Maybe.

In any event, I used to live aboard for 4 years up until a few months ago. The liveaboard community is fantastic and like no other land-based community I know of. The C-Brat community is similar, and this website is proof. Another boat is in the works ... eventually ... just need to find the right time & place in life to get back into it.
 
Thermopile,

After 5 years of ownership my experience has taught me that price may not be the most important part of your decision. If you intend on single handing the boat or spending the majority of your time aboard by yourself or with friends, buy what you really want. The extra money you spend may be tough at first but in the long run will not matter nearly as much.

If instead you want your wife to join you as much as possible, buy what she feels comfortable in and enjoys. If she does not enjoy the ride, she probably will not be too gung ho on joining you,

The best money I ever spent was on our marriage license, it was an "investment" that has paid far more dividends than I deserve. I'd rather be in the cheapest Bayliner with that investment than in the nicest Tomcat without it.
 
Everything is relative. Relative to what you paid for it and relative to what money is worth today relative to when you bought the boat.

One of those dots on the chart is probably mine. I just sold the Shadetree with her original motors for 29K. I paid 31K in 1993 for the boat trailer and twin Honda 45s. That's over 14 years ago. I know the new owners will enjoy this boat because there is a ton of life left in it.

Oh, I guess this makes me a lurker now doesn't it.
 
Chivita":zkxy2vwv said:
The best money I ever spent was on our marriage license, it was an "investment" that has paid far more dividends than I deserve.

I'm guessing that you are going to have one heck of a great Christmas this year with a comment like that! :lol:
 
Were you happy with the price you paid for your boat?

And, are you happy with the price you settled on when you sold it?

That's pretty much the bottom line.

All else is speculation.

Ken
 
One of those dots is probably mine. It was seven years old. I think the worst return on the investments was the improvements.

A friend of mine bought a $10,000 old lobster boat ( 1986 I think ) He repowered with a new 240 horse Yanmar. At $28,000. He has been trying to sell it for 2 yrs. He dropped his price several times. Now he is down to $24,500. This friend I love dearly, but he is penny wise and pound foolish.
People do not equate the value of that new engine. It is still a $10,000 boat. If I lived here in Florida and had a place to keep it , I would buy it in a heart beat. Great fishing boat with huge cockpit. Gets better fuel mileage than the Ranger at 25 miles an hour. When the Ranger cruises at half the speed .
To quit paying slip rent he bought an old trailer made from a trailer house frame, It has 5 axles and looks like He........heck. For that $3000 he could have bought a decent two or three axle boat trailer. He is into the boat $41,000.

captd

It is an extreme example of not getting your money out of upgrades.
A point of diminishing returns, if you will.
 
captd-

What a great example of an absolutely basic principle!

Works for C-Dorys and just about everything else.

Improvements, especially very specialized ones, may not return their cost very effectively, and can only be justified by the need for and the anticipated use by the current owner. An unexpected premature sale of the boat may well result in the exotic improvement yielding very little return. In the extreme form, the expensive modifications may even make the boat less attractive to potential buyers than if it didn't have the extra equipment!

An unfortunate fairly recent example* of this in C-DoryLand was a Tomcat 255 set up as a dive platform with compressor, dive ladder, and extensive other modifications. Great if you wanted a boat to dive from, otherwise........

Some modifications are less risky, like re-powering a boat with a new 4-stroke engine which would replace an aging 2-stroke. One could probably arrange all the modifications possible on a sliding scale from the most financially secure to those least likely to return their investment dollar.

Of course, central to this thinking and decision making process would be an evaluation of how long one intended to keep the boat to recoup their investment, but their is always risk based on an unplanned event that would force selling of the boat prematurely.

As always, it pays to plan ahead!

*Used for illustrative purposes only, and with my highest regard for the former and current owners!

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Joe. :teeth
 
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