B,
(you stated) You can't tell really from photos but Boatshed London has a 1962 42' Dutch steel trawler with twin Perkins that on the surface looks very nice and they have apparently cut the price and even have put it now up for auction. Bid starts at $45,000 but they seem willing to take offers too. In Europe they sell easier than in the US but still now well.
I am not sure I get your point here. What would be unusual about a 54 year old 42' boat selling (or not selling) for 45K? Would that boat sell better or for a higher price if it were frp or wood? A quick search suggests probably not?
I agree that resale value seems like it should perhaps not be the prime criteria when buying a boat but the reality is that the vast majority of us (certainly to include myself) are dreamers in terms of what we will do with a boat and how long we will do it. It would be fun to see what percentage of boats purchased are back up for sale within 5 years. My instinct would be more than half at least.
I am currently shopping for a boat to add to the fleet and would rather have a steel boat. As it happens, I only expect to own this boat I am shopping for for a few years while I work on a project some distance from Klee Wyck. I will likely buy an frp boat that I boarded this past weekend because it will sell better when I no longer need it in a few years. The boat I looked at was one of the most revered 42s in America. It struck me as I crawled around it how much less boat it felt like to me than the one I currently drive.
The only point was they have struggled mightily to sell that boat. Perhaps not in the condition it appears. It's been sitting on land, on the market I believe, for two years.
I think all the statistics would be interesting including the 5 years you mention. I don't think half make it back to the market in 5 years but I think a tremendous percentage by 10. My guess would that half would be maybe 7 or 8 years or so. Now there are a good many put on the market almost immediately.
And, yes, I do believe the boat would sell better if it was glass. I think if it was wood though, it would have a far more difficult time selling. Most people are casual boaters, buying just to enjoy. Most don't do their own work on one. Also most don't really understand steel.
I think there are some great lines of steel boats.
As to getting struck by how much less boat one is, I've had that too. There are a lot of boats really designed for space and utility. Most steel boats are as they're not trying to cut weight or narrow the boat for speed and they're not trying to make it sleek and like a sportscar. Boat lengths are so misleading if one thinks they reflect size. We have a 63' Riva. 90% of the boats owned by people on this forum have more space than it. Space is the reason we wouldn't use it for a loop boat. But it's great if we want to get to Bimini in an hour and a half.
Personally, if I was looking for a "trawler" of the type many here have, and there were good choices in steel, I'd go for it. I think Bering has some nice offerings. Now, I'm not real sure about the company. The fact their headquarters and corporate office is in the owner's home in Raleigh, NC, I wonder a bit about. As I've mentioned before I think Coastal Craft makes a great aluminum boat.
Every boat is a compromise. Still, the average boat buyer is not going to consider steel. That's not what they're use to or like.