Long Distance Boat Ownership

[BandB]

Followup with him in the fall, have him show you his two settlement statements (when he bought, plus survey costs, and when he sold) and let us know how that theory worked out for him. Hint: don't take his word for it.

I've known people to make money on boat ownership. But then I've known people to get wealthy on penny stocks. Known people to win lotteries and known people to win at slot machines. It can happen, but just don't go in expecting it to happen.

 

[Camasonian]

Attempted frequently. Some come out well and some are sadly disappointed when trying to resell. I think anyone who goes in thinking they will make a profit on the resell is playing with fire. However, one who goes in hoping for a profit but prepared to accept a normal loss as cost of use can be happy with the results.

I expect this procedure is like real estate. You make your profit when you buy, not when you sell. If you can find something reasonably popular for a screaming deal then maybe it might work. But it’s only going to sell for what the market will bear. And boats generally don’t sell fast at the end of the season.

In other words, it’s a LOT easier to buy a boat at a discount than it is to sell one at a premium. And I’ve never known any kind of boat to ever appreciate over time.

Friend of mine got an absolutely screaming deal on a 24’ SeaSport in Alaska. Some woman put it on Craigslist and wanted it gone that weekend. Apparently her sleazy ex-husband had bought it and put it in her name to hide it from his previous ex-wife. Then he left her and went to Seattle chasing some other woman. She wanted it sold that day before he came back, and she ended up taking half of what it was worth which was all the cash we could scrape up on that short of a notice. She also took every bit of fishing gear in the garage she could find, dumped it all in the boat before we drove away. We felt kind of bad about getting into the middle of that situation but she said if you don’t take it the next guy will. Legally it was her boat. So we took it.

If you can find that kind of deal you might make money. But those don’t come around very often.

 

[Marlinmike]

In the end if you do all the math - chartering might be your most cost effective (taking into account emergency repairs etc) approach, not to say it can't work, it is about who you are too, can you leave and not have that lingering feeling of leaving unattended for long periods of time, some can some can't.

 

[Camasonian]

There is also a HUGE range in the level of maintenance and upkeep required depending on the age and type of boat purchased.

For long distance ownership it would seem that something designed to be simple and robust with little brightwork and fussy maintenance would be preferable. The types of boats preferred by the charter fishing fleets, for example. And something without much in the way of quirks so that hired boat maintenance companies and/or volunteer friends can do everything easily.

I’d also pay to have a boat dry stored, or put on a trailer during the off season and securely stored. My brother lives on a boat in the Juneau harbor and has too many horror stories of unattended boats moored during the winter. Lately it has been homeless types breaking in and living in boats with inattentive absentee owners, or just using them as places to shoot up. Or boats just sinking in their moorage for whatever reason. Maybe they got messed with by a junkie. Maybe shore power got disconnected and the bilge pumps failed. Who knows.

 

[sunchaser]

Humm, after decades of long distance ownership I guess I’m doomed.