Who is looking to buy a boat in 2012?

Because of some recent news in the marine trades, namely Mainship taking a temporary shut down and Nordic Tug reported to be struggling, I thought it would be interesting to ask this question.

So, who is looking to purchase a new, used, larger, or smaller boat this year. *No dinghies need apply. *Please take the poll, so that we may get an unscientific informal idea.

Just bought a 15' Whaler this weekend....

We may be, depending on circumstances. We have narrowed the field to two specific choices and are not entertaining any others. But there are a lot of puzzle pieces that need to fit into place before we can pull the trigger. Either choice would be newer used. So we'll see.....

Yes, you need to add an option "Already have" to your poll!

It is a great time to be a buyer. The deals out there are amazing IF you are flexible and patient. Boats can be had at a fraction of their cost of even just 18 months ago. Who knows..probably will be the case again 18 months from now but at some point you gotta live your dreams.

Don't know if this counts.

I bought my Chung Hwa 46 on Jan 13, 2012.*** KJ

This is my last boat, unless I decide to buy a dinghy.

Just bought anAngler 173 Centre Console for fly fishing outside and up in the dams.
Take delivery when I get home from work.
Can't wait to go tuna chasing once I get home.
Don't think I will be buying another boat for a while.

We just bought ours this year, we do have a nice Grady-White Tournament 225 for sale, 2007 under warranty and a real beauty.

Currently looking at 2-36' Island Gypsy Europas.* Also figuring out if I can really retire this year.

Have a*nice Albin 25 for sale too.

*

Keith Olive

Willard 30/4 and Albin 25

Agree with Woodsong that you need to add "Already have" to your poll.

We take posession of our new-to-us 1983 Fu Hwa Seahorse Friday night, with the delivery cruise this weekend, weather permittng (looks to be a bit windy on Saturday).

Picts and video to follow next week! ;-)

OK, anything bought and closed in 2012 counts.


-- Edited by Moonstruck on Friday 17th of February 2012 06:18:03 AM

Just took possesion of our Fu Hwa, can't wait to see your pictures!

Moonstruck wrote:
OK, anything bought and closed in 3012 counts.

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*Don

I don't plan that far ahead any more.*

I'm still outfitting the one I bought in 2011!

Carey wrote:Moonstruck wrote:
OK, anything bought and closed in 3012 counts.

Click to expand...

*Don

I don't plan that far ahead any more.*

*

Don is a true visionary and truly likes to plan ahead.

Woodsong wrote:Carey wrote:Moonstruck wrote:
OK, anything bought and closed in 3012 counts.

Click to expand...

*Don

I don't plan that far ahead any more.*

Don is a true visionary and truly likes to plan ahead.

**I've always been ahead of my time. *My hearing and eyesight started going quite early.*It's good to know that you are paying attention, Tony,


-- Edited by Moonstruck on Friday 17th of February 2012 06:23:10 AM

I am looking at a couple of larger used Huckins. I don't know if anything will change, though. The rapid rise in fuel prices is not encouraging me to go larger, however.

Metafora wrote:
I am looking at a couple of larger used Huckins. I don't know if anything will change, though. The rapid rise in fuel prices is not encouraging me to go larger, however.

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*You should do pretty well with that Sabre, George. *Is she powered with Cats?You should probably get 1.25 to 1.5 mpg with what you have.

She is powered with Cats. I haven't figured out the mpg, but its not awful. She is a wonderful boat with a few design exceptions. One being the companionway is to narrow to allow a replacement fridge to be brought into the boat! Fridges need 22" and I have 19" (I think). Sabre does not seem willing to address this problem when I've written them. I don't expect them to do anything other than give me an idea how to replace the dead NeverCold unit. And then there is the deck crazing that seems to be common on my year boat (1997). I've encountered this problem in talking with several owners. Some, who were original owners, got some money from Sabre to repair it, but others, like me who are not original owners get ignored. Mine isn't as bad as some I've seen, and its cosmetic and I can live with it. Repair estimates have run from $40,000 to 100K. Not fun. But otherwise I love the boat. She is fast, handles well and all that. She is a little small for more than a 5-6 days.

I grew up on a Huckins and have always wanted one and that is fueling the current drive to consider buying one. The poor market is working in my favor as well. But if nothing works out, I'm very happy with the Sabre.

Well not 2012 but closed on my new to me 48 foot Californian last week of 2011. Even with diesel going up the Admiral has never been happier than she is with the Amar la Vida. We all know if she's happy everyones happy. She's powered with Detroits and I get way better milage with them than the last boat with gassers not to mention much more comfortable. I guess 16 footitis will do that.

Metafora wrote:
She is powered with Cats. I haven't figured out the mpg, but its not awful. She is a wonderful boat with a few design exceptions. One being the companionway is to narrow to allow a replacement fridge to be brought into the boat! Fridges need 22" and I have 19" (I think). Sabre does not seem willing to address this problem when I've written them. I don't expect them to do anything other than give me an idea how to replace the dead NeverCold unit. And then there is the deck crazing that seems to be common on my year boat (1997). I've encountered this problem in talking with several owners. Some, who were original owners, got some money from Sabre to repair it, but others, like me who are not original owners get ignored. Mine isn't as bad as some I've seen, and its cosmetic and I can live with it. Repair estimates have run from $40,000 to 100K. Not fun. But otherwise I love the boat. She is fast, handles well and all that. She is a little small for more than a 5-6 days.

I grew up on a Huckins and have always wanted one and that is fueling the current drive to consider buying one. The poor market is working in my favor as well. But if nothing works out, I'm very happy with the Sabre.

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*George, check for a private message pertaining to you fridge problem. *Look in the log in box at top right.

Would like to buy a new to us boat in 2012, but we have to sell our old one first. She is lying in the Bahamas right now, so we figure one more trip on her this spring, bring her back to S. FL. in June, then get serious about it.

Since I listed her in the forum classifieds though I've only had one not very interested inquiry, so I am expecting it to take a LOOOOOOOONG time to sell her. The boat is in great shape right now though, so we will just keep on enjoying her I guess.

We're looking for a bit larger tow-behind used fiberglass O/B in tip-top condition and with a trailer; we store ours in yard at marina.*

Currently have a near-cherry (bout 350 hrs total use) 1975 14 foot 8 inch fiberglass Crestliner Stinger with her (I think orig) 50 HP Johnson... she is a sweet 4 person back-to-back seater that cruises 29 and hits 39 at WOT (on GPS with just me that is 27 cruise with wife!)!* Fine for me and Admiral with occasional couple of guests - - > however, with just us two she handles well and takes even large wakes/waves pretty easily, that said, with more than two people the little Crestliner simply is too small if we were to encounter rough seas, wakes or otherwise!* Our grand kids are growing and their weights will soon get be a problem in our little tow-behind.

So... were looking for a near-cherry O/B about 18 feet with cruise and top speeds similar to our current Crestline and with seating for 4 to 6 people.* Id found just the ticket a few weeks ago... but it was several hundred miles away and the fellow sold it within 45 minutes of placing on craigslist.* If it had been near I would have raced to get it... sure seemed nice!* Continued Looken We Shall Go!!* **

We hope to pull the trigger as soon as possible on one of two boats we are currently looking at (Garden/Willard 51 or Cheoy Lee 46). However, the boat is part of our Pacific NW Boater business plan and will be our liveaboard/workaboard research vessel. We are finalizing the cash flow forecasts, and the marketing plan is done. Then we'll be making a presentation to a local investor group. We hope to be fully funded and acquire the boat in the next two months.

That's because our first major project is as a "partner" with Washington State Parks to create video cruising guides of all the state marine parks in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. They'll put the videos on their site, and we'll post them to ours (when we launch) and everywhere else (YouTube, etc.). When we're done with all 41 parks - hopefully by July - we'll create a DVD Cruising Guide with a portion of the proceeds going back to the state park system. They've been hit hard by budget cuts, and if you've ever been to any of them, you'll know why we don't want to see any of our state marine parks go away...

So, again, we hope to be proud trawler owners in the next few months! We'll keep you posted...

- Darren

Metafora, I too have been looking (in my case, just for fun) at several large Huckins. I am amazed at what you get for the money. Many of these yachts have been professionaly maintained and appeasr to have*stunning interior finishes. This 58' Offshore model is my favorite eye candy: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1973/Huckins-Offshore-2025029/Jacksonville/FL/United-States

superdiver wrote:
Very unfair and biased insinuation survey...lol...

I am not looking to buy a boat cuz I have one I like, if I didnt have one I liked right now I certainly wold be looking to buy a boat. When you answer no, the question infers disdain or dislike for boats or the economy... at least that how it came across when i read it...

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******** Good point!* I too would be buying if I did not like my boat--nothing to do with the economy-except it is a great time to get a deal!

JohnP

superdiver wrote:
Very unfair and biased insinuation survey...lol...

I am not looking to buy a boat cuz I have one I like, if I didnt have one I liked right now I certainly wold be looking to buy a

boat. When you answer no, the question infers disdain or dislike for boats or the economy... at least that how it came across when i read it...

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*Diver, I think you may be reading too much into this poll.

It's really just to find out how the general market for boats is. *Looks like most are looking for previously owned boats. *They are a good buy now, and new boats don't have the room for the big price cuts to attract the market.