As mentioned in the last entry, we narrowed our search to a specific type of power boat. Trawlers, specifically recreational trawlers, are perfect for our needs with great fuel economy with (usually) diesel engines, plenty of space, room outside for parties or fishing, and a plethora of advantages for a family like ours. Most importantly, there are a lot of them under $50,000. Several under $35,000. Many of those are later 70's models, but every so often there are some like a 1973 Ta Chiao Trawler that appear for $30,000 or so.
If we miss out on one of these trawlers, I'm not worried. In his book The Essentials of Living Aboard A Boat, Mark Nicholas discusses the idea that boats, like homes for those who are real-estate inclined, grow on trees. Many of our friends and family are unaware that we have studied real estate, including taking classes in real estate investment. When I was studying for my real estate license I heard the phrase "Homes grow on trees", meaning that if you miss on one deal, there will be another coming along because situations change, life makes changes to your life before you're ready. Boats, being a "luxury" item (to those who aren't liveaboards), are more volatile a commodity than land since in all but the most extreme circumstances boats will depreciate in value rather than appreciate. This means that there is usually a glut of boats on the market at any particular time. In going back every week or so and checking my saved searches on YachtWorld.com and BoatTrader.com, I see that to be the truth, and eventually the prices drop until they're sold or the owner decides to keep the thing. Either way, there's always new merchandise added to keep the volume fairly consistent and prices that remain competitive so we're not worried about missing out on a "boat of our dreams". Another of that model and year will be along eventually.
That being said, it's always interesting to look at the ads that are out there in case an offer "too good to be true" falls into our laps. Craigslist is a great resource for information, good and ill. These are either owners attempting to sell on their own without a broker (speaking as someone who has trained in real estate I firmly believe that with a good broker you get more than if you go it alone and will usually sell quicker) or from brokers making sure their listings are marketed as thoroughly as possible. It scares us that people get suckered in by ads like these without doing their due diligence. Most recently, Kelly saw a boat for sale where the owner had the cojones to claim that the purchaser would get their money back when and if they decided to sell. If I was purchasing, I'd make him sign a contract holding him financially responsible for that.
Although this particular seller was really just using language designed to get $12k of the $13k+ he spent on the boat back, the value of these boats will continue to drop as the boats age. Lenders want to loan for the purchase of newer boats. Insurers know the longer the boat is in operation, the more likely it'll sink. These aren't floating homes in terms of resale value, more like automobiles that start dropping in price as soon as they're off the lot. You could add electronics, remodel the interiors, and there will always be a ceiling of diminishing returns. Yeah, there may be some boats out there that are diamonds in the rough, like a classic muscle car found in a junkyard. I know my knowledge of boats at the present is rudimentary so I refuse to get suckered in on any of these deals. Not to say that I wouldn't discount it in the future, after we've lived aboard and could find a profit...
Our real profit from this purchase will be in the experiences. The trips we take, the look of enchantment on Kiddo's face as we go out to see the Gray Whale migration, the sunsets we'll watch over dinner (as opposed to the glow of our television), the fireworks on the 4th of July from the ocean's perspective... I could do an entire blog entry on this alone! There will be plenty of difficulties associated with it, but we'll look at those later.
Let me dream about those sunsets now...
