edwincp@homxb.UUCP (E.MUTH) (03/03/86)
I am somewhat concerned about the drop in used sailboat prices, being an owner, since a boat is secondarily an investment which you expect to keep its value when you purchase it. I see two main reasons for the decrease. One is the lowered cost of imports over the last two years, because of a relatively strong Dollar. Taiwan, scandinavian, and French boats have taken a bite out of the domestic market share. The other reason is an apparent return to stinkpotting from many oil crisis inspired boaters who decided to Sail and recently found out that it is not what they really like. Added to these is the everincreasing number of used fiberglass boats. One thing to keep in mind if you seek a bargain: there are few around, mostly because people like me tend to hang on to their boat and wait for better days, unless they trade up to something big, in which case the money lost in selling the present boat is made up in savings on the new boat. So there are many boats on the market, but few are selling at a really low price. Those that are are designed to move quick, such as settlement property or estate sale property. I have seen some good ones, such as a C&C34 for 40k. ******************************************************** homxb!edwincp AT&T Consumer Products Lab Holmdel, NJ --------------------------------------------------------