Why are you selling your boat?

[Crusty Chief]

Because it was time.

After20K NM, we had the opportunity to sell her for more than we paid. For us to continue cruising her we would have had to put another $100K for improvements for the area we would be going. We also found that its far less money to travel to “Exotic Places” than cruise on your own boat.
Dont get me wrong, we had a blast cruising over the past 7 years to places very few people actually would go to. And I would encourage anyone to experience it for as long as you can.
We also found over the years that most people who own a boat actually use the boat much less than we did. I would estimate less than 10 percent of boat owners actually cruise long distance like we did.
So if your not using the boat for what it was intended for, maybe you should consider selling it and moving on to something you would. We certainly look forward to the travels of the new owners of our beloved “Pairadice” and we plan to continue our future travels to far away places also.

 

[JohnP]

Yikes! This got me thinking I have been boating for over 50 years. At age 68 maybe its time?

 

[Jolly Ogre]

I don't think I mentioned this, but we're installing a dinghy derrick on the aft deck roof -- not really for the dinghy but to hoist your wheelchair on board, and the boys will be happy to wipe the tepid oatmeal from your chin as you take the helm when we launch out to Lake Superior in five years. And I installed a bell to ring 26 times when we come into Whitefish Bay.

29 times

 

[SteveK]

OMG, it just came to me, boat prices are going to crash by the end of 2022 as everyone is going to SELL. It will be a buyers market. Markets will crash. Gas prices sky rocket.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: What? Sell a boat?



I think this is a pretty cool thread. We love boating but we love life and some act like boating and life are the same or selling a boat would be the end of the world. We're still young and healthy but there will be a time to cut back.

Now, I could sell, but hubby has a hard time selling anything. Sold one boat about 3 or 4 years ago, but he didn't initiate that. Right now he knows one needs to go, but he can't decide which one between two. I guess I don't help by saying either one is fine with me.

I hope we're smart enough to realize when we need to cut back on boating. Same with other things we do. We love doing so many things in life and many we don't do much of due to boating. We don't visit places far from the water and I'm sure some are worth the trip.

 

[kthoennes]

29 times

Oh rats, of course -- oh great, see, my mind is going already! This thread is stressin' me out.

 

[slowgoesit]

Cruising from Port Orchard, WA up to Port Townsend, WA today, my wife looked at me, and said quietly, "I love this boat!" When she and I no longer feel that way, or are no longer able to handle her, that will be time to sell . . . . Hopefully that won't be for another 15 years or so though . . .

 

[BruceK]

The longest occupier on our marina is selling. He and wife (long time leukemia sufferer) upgraded to the current immaculate Riv 40 4 yrs back, 2 yrs back the inevitable happened, now husband health/mood has declined, son is selling. Fortunately hot market, could have sold it 3x.
Sad. Comes to us all. My previously less interested partner is now a "Boat Master" expert,and becoming very interested, a good thing as the years tick by.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Sold my Ranger Tug R31S a little over a month ago. I bought it with the intention of fulfilling a lifelong dream of cruising down the ICW in the fall, spending the winter in the Keys, and returning in the spring. I have a very good friend who has made the trip many times over the years with his wife, and he was going to be my traveling companion and pilot (she wanted to stay home).

We planned to make the trip in 2020, but covid got in the way. Then his health deteriorated (and so has mine) and covid didn't go away. After being on hold for two years, I've come to accept the reality that making the trip isn't as important as it used to be, and the logistics are more challenging than I feel like handling.

Add to that, the boat doesn't have any really comfortable seating for 'hanging out' for weeks at a time. I had hoped to use it as a condominium in the Keys and spend half the winter aboard. But there isn't enough room to add a suitable seat. I really need a bigger, more comfortable boat if I decide to follow this plan.

I'm thrilled that the new owners of my boat seem to be the perfect folks for this particular boat, and I wish them all the best. I'm still going to make it to Florida, but will take some of the money from the sale and use it to stay in nice resorts and eat in nice restaurants.

 

[Art]

I'm posting just to read the posts! May place a post myself as thread evolves.

 

[hollywood8118]

The boat we had 3 boats ago had been built and owned by the same fellow for over 30 years. He had spent almost every summer between SE Alaska and Port Townsend for over 20 years. The previous 2 years they had not gone north because of health issues and he was ready to pass her on to someone he though was worthy of his baby. The first year we owned the boat he still came down and tinkered on some things, the second he went down and read and napped. I could always tell he had been aboard because he turned one of the bar stools a certain way and often left a couple of his beers in the fridge. Never once did I take issue with his visits to the boat. He always turned down my offers to take them up to the islands or even a cocktail cruise. He died in our second year of ownership.

He knew it was time to stay on the beach and I believe he accepted it because he had all the memories of the previous years to reflect back to, even if he could no longer go.
We held on to that boat for nine years and my 2/3 of my family is still pissed I sold her. We were not even looking to sell when I was approached by someone who wanted her and made an offer I couldn't refuse.

We had the next boat for a couple years and it was beautiful and perfect but it didn't really fit us as boaters. It sold quickly and we moved on.


The current boat is a good one and has been really reasonable to own but needs some major upgrades to keep me happy and will be up for sale in the near future.



Our next boat will be a passagemaker again, and on the other side of the country. We plan to do the loop, the Caribbean and.. who knows. The current state of the boat market should make the sale of the existing boat fairly easy. but finding the next may be very difficult. We may not have a big boat for a season or so and I am fine with that. We still have our comp ski boat and I have access to drive some of the most amazing fast cats on Puget Sound if I really need a boat fix for the interim.

I'm hopeful the love of boating we instilled in our girls will someday find them skippering their own big boats. When I no longer feel comfortable keeping my own I'm counting on them to drag me along on their boats so I can relive my glory days aboard.boat

HOLLYWOOD

 

[Browny]

This is a really interesting thread, quite eye opening. I'm only one 1.5 years into "big boat" ownership, have had run around boats forever, and I have to admit, the struggle is real. I hope we don't sell our boat anytime soon and we can ALL learn to love it.

Besides age being a major deciding factor, time and interest is the main driving force behind selling.

My wife is a boat lover, but more in terms of floating on a pontoon boat on smaller lakes. We don't have a trawler, quite the opposite, a 36 Hatteras with twin thirsty gassers. Is it a perfect fit? Nope! But I wanted something we could fish on, yet still all sleep, in reasonable comfort, for weekends or a week long trip to 1000 island area (we're in lake Ontario).

We bought the boat in MI and brought her home via lake Erie, Erie canal/Oswego river, than back across lake Ontario to Wilson, NY. Half the trip home was spent with my retired father and son, who yanked out of Kindergarten for a week to join us through the canal portion. We had an absolute blast and I fell in love with the idea of minimal "cruising" around our area.

Time is huge for us, we're in our mid 30's with 3 young children. The older two are getting into sports and school activities, which seem to eat at least one day per weekend. The time needed this past year, rigging for fishing, chasing gremlins, and maintaining the boat was not well received at home. It caused tension, which causes ill feelings towards the boat. My wife hates the amount of time it take to keep a boat like this in decent shape, and there is always more I could be doing to upgrade her. With young kids, busy schedules and all of our friends being campers, we struggle to make good use of "my boat" (her words lol).

This year will be a true test, whether we use her enough to justify the time and expense. We're planning a week getaway in 1000 islands, to see how we'll all manage. If not we will likely down size to another trailer-able boat that can fish and join us while camping. I love the water and just being in a marina/on the lake, and my son LOVES salmon fishing (at least catching them), which is more often than not spent with his grandfather on board. Memories I have from my youth with my grandfather doing the same thing. So, she puts up with it for now. Hoping we can keep making memories and the rest of my family can love "big" boating as much as my son and I do.

Sorry, long winded, but this has been a constant thought of mine since we ended this past season.

- Trying to keep the dream alive

 

[rslifkin]

My wife is a boat lover, but more in terms of floating on a pontoon boat on smaller lakes. We don't have a trawler, quite the opposite, a 36 Hatteras with twin thirsty gassers. Is it a perfect fit? Nope! But I wanted something we could fish on, yet still all sleep, in reasonable comfort, for weekends or a week long trip to 1000 island area (we're in lake Ontario).

We bought the boat in MI and brought her home via lake Erie, Erie canal/Oswego river, than back across lake Ontario to Wilson, NY. Half the trip home was spent with my retired father and son, who yanked out of Kindergarten for a week to join us through the canal portion. We had an absolute blast and I fell in love with the idea of minimal "cruising" around our area.

Time is huge for us, we're in our mid 30's with 3 young children. The older two are getting into sports and school activities, which seem to eat at least one day per weekend. The time needed this past year, rigging for fishing, chasing gremlins, and maintaining the boat was not well received at home. It caused tension, which causes ill feelings towards the boat. My wife hates the amount of time it take to keep a boat like this in decent shape, and there is always more I could be doing to upgrade her. With young kids, busy schedules and all of our friends being campers, we struggle to make good use of "my boat" (her words lol).

This year will be a true test, whether we use her enough to justify the time and expense. We're planning a week getaway in 1000 islands, to see how we'll all manage. If not we will likely down size to another trailer-able boat that can fish and join us while camping. I love the water and just being in a marina/on the lake, and my son LOVES salmon fishing (at least catching them), which is more often than not spent with his grandfather on board. Memories I have from my youth with my grandfather doing the same thing. So, she puts up with it for now. Hoping we can keep making memories and the rest of my family can love "big" boating as much as my son and I do.

A 36 is a pretty good size or this area. Ours is 38 feet and as much as some days I wouldn't mind another 10 feet, there are definitely a few places we wouldn't be able to go with anything much bigger. We're also Lake Ontario boaters (based in Rochester), also close to your age (just a little younger and no kids). And we also have a gas powered not-a-trawler. It's a bit thirsty even at trawler speed, but it does the job well enough.

I grew up boating, and never did sports or anything as a kid. There was pretty much a family policy of "it's a weekend during boating season and not raining, we're going boating". If a kid wanted to do something else, they had to find a way to do it without interrupting everyone else's boating, or too bad, it wasn't happening (for the most part).

 

[Art]

A 36 is a pretty good size or this area. Ours is 38 feet and as much as some days I wouldn't mind another 10 feet, there are definitely a few places we wouldn't be able to go with anything much bigger. We're also Lake Ontario boaters (based in Rochester), also close to your age (just a little younger and no kids). And we also have a gas powered not-a-trawler. It's a bit thirsty even at trawler speed, but it does the job well enough.

In regard to your intelligent input about boat size... compared to boat use.

Sure... for comfort and sea keeping ability, as well as some really good other boating items, it would be great for us to have a Tolly 48"er... we simply love em!!

However, for sensibility, in regard to what we use our boat for, the waters in which we hang out and costs in regard to how much we actually get time to be aboard - our 34' Tolly tri cabin fits the bill! Easier to locate covered berth too; and, that factor alone is worth thousand$ in savings over the long run of decades as well as 100's of hours reduced need for maintenances.

Which brings me back to the point: Know exactly what you want your boat to provide you, what you can afford to do with your boat [regarding both money and time] and what you actually will do with your boat... not the fantasy of what you'd like to do with your boat - that you may never get opportunity to accomplish.

 

[ScottC]

29 times

Ok - I took the bait. Why??

 

[AlaskaProf]

Ok - I took the bait. Why??

It's about the 29 crew members of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

 

[ScottC]

It's about the 29 crew members of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Aha! Having grown up on the Great Lakes, I should have got that. But I couldn't get Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin out of my mind...which led me astray.

 

[draakken]

Many of you probably know of Gordon Lightfoot's song about the fitz, recently another Canadian band took their turn at the song, generally I'm not a big fan of covers, but they kept enough of the original feel, but yet put their own stamp on it to make it a worthwhile listen.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Holding hand up...Teacher, teacher, call on me. I've got the answer now.

Selling to buy another boat.

That's the right answer, isn't it? Please tell me it is.

 

[SteveK]

Wifey B: Holding hand up...Teacher, teacher, call on me. I've got the answer now.

Selling to buy another boat.

That's the right answer, isn't it? Please tell me it is.

WRONG.
Dave already had the right answer. It is because all electronics are updated, all repairs and maintenance is done. The boat becomes boring running perfectly on each trip. And the prices are falling.
Getting another boat while true is an incomplete answer.

 

[bowball]

Prices are falling? Yikes. But maybe good too.

 

[SteveK]

Prices are falling? Yikes. But maybe good too.

Not yet, but they will when I go to sell

 

[ANTONINA]

Every 3 to 5 years we like a change. My motto is to choose: change house, your partner, or your boat. Not all together please....

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr./Ms. A. Welcome aboard, eh?

 

[long-cours.62]

During the last ...47 year keep the same partner BUT change 15 time our boat and lived in 8 different countries may it is a compensation ?

 

[O C Diver]

Every 3 to 5 years we like a change. My motto is to choose: change house, your partner, or your boat. Not all together please....

If I were changing partners that often, I would switch to renting.

Ted

 

[hollywood8118]

Every 3 to 5 years we like a change. My motto is to choose: change house, your partner, or your boat. Not all together please....

I think it is likely if you get rid on #2

You will also loose #1 and #3
And in the process you will loose a lot of $ to your lawyers.




Hollywood

 

[garychurch]

My wife and I bought a boat post retirement at 71. Spent 5 years cruising East Coast, Keys, Bahamas and Caribbean.

It was a 5 year plan, but at 76 time to move on back to dirt and post Covid international travel, sports car, private airplane and golf. Looking forward to power cat charters and more scuba diving.

Ultimately, too much time, money and work to keep a 64’ boat going. Time to move on.

 

[gettaway]

I usually sell the boat when I get everything done to it that I want to do.

Hi Dave!
I’m in the same “boat” once I have the boat the way my wife likes it, I thinks about selling it!

 

[Kintala]

Boy this is a potentially very depressing thread.

I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Other than the cancer response (Sending healing vibes your way for sure), I hear positive responses from a lot of people who were able to realize their dreams for a lot of years. We had six years of full time cruising on our sailboat before selling it to move to our current (although not launched yet) trawler. We're fortunate to still be young and healthy enough to go back out again on a power boat but, honestly, if we couldn't have accomplished it I would still be so grateful for the changes those six years made in me. Those positive changes will be with me for the rest of my life, whether that's my current 65 or 84 or 98. Can we always wish for more time? Sure. But what counts is what you've done with the time you've had so far. We all only have today.