Used Boat Price as a Function of Construction Material

[R. Bush]

I was looking at yet another boat. It wasn't all that different from others I have looked at, but the price was considerably higher. The main difference was that this one was made of steel instead of the usual fiberglass.

It occurred to me that I have no feel for how the material from which a used boat is built affects resale value, so I though I would pose the following question to the great hive mind:

A buyer walks into a used boat lot. They see three 1980s era slow trawlers sitting there. They look to be identical, have the same equipment installed, and are in similar condition. The only real difference is that one is FRP, one is aluminum and the third is made of steel. Would you expect these boats to have a similar price, or will the price vary significantly depending on the material from which they are constructed?

Looking forward to hearing what people have to say.

 

[rslifkin]

I'm not sure necessarily about price difference, but I'd expect the FRP boat to sell much faster than the other 2. Depending on the category of boat, it may sell for more or it may not. People tend to be scared of things they aren't familiar with. And far more people have experience with FRP boats than metal.

 

[Mako]

Agree that FG would sell the fastest, followed by AL and then Fe. However, price-wise I would guess that AL would be the most expensive due to high initial construction cost.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. RB. It also depends on where the used boat lot is, as well, IMO. Metal boats, in general are in better shape when not exposed to salt water.



Also depends on the builder. Companies that build in FRP have a lot more boats coming off the assembly line than metal fabricators. Again IMO.


While steel boats are quite popular and accepted in Europe, they have much less of a following in NA.

 

[O C Diver]

If you're looking at 1980s aluminum, the alloy is very important. An aluminum trawler in the 80s was most likely a custom build. Knowing the quality of the material is important relative to life expectancy.

Aluminum and steel are good metals for building boats. However, do to the nature of the material, having an extremely thorough survey done by a surveyor with lots of metal boat experience is critical. It's extremely important to know how and where to look for wasted metal on the outside and inside.

Ted