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The
price of new boats.
I hear
all the time client's talking about how much new boats have gone
up compared to the last time they looked. True everything goes up
in life, boats included, but if you compare what you used to get
in a new boat 10 years ago vs. what you get today, you might be
surprised to find you're getting more than you bargained for.
Let's
take the average 32' today that runs about 90K from the factory.
Let's see what we get for our money now that we used to not get.
All of the items listed are things that are now standard on a new
boat that you wouldn't have gotten 15-20 years ago. Plus there's
an approximate price for comparison
Let's
start at the top, Sails: Yes you get the boat and then have to buy
the sails. By the time we get the basic main and genoa we would
have spent about$1,500 and $1,200 respectively.
Plus
we all want Roller furling for the headsail. Who could live without
that. That's another $2,000 for our 32 footer.
Plus
a lot of boats have In-Mast Furling standard. This option used to
be a 10-15K option back in the 80's but mass production and demand
has lowered the price. Even so it still would costs about $4K to
add to our 32 footer today.
So
far we've added $8,700 to our new unequipped boat and we really
haven't finished with the outside.
Everyone
wants a coach roof traveler, all the lines lead aft with halyard
stoppers , self tailing winches for both the halyards and the sheet
winches. A good traveler alone would run about $1K and to upgrade
the winches to self tailers and run all those lines aft would probably
run another $1K. So now we're up to $10,700.
Most
new boats have windlasses now and most of them are electric. Chalk
up another $2K for the windlass. New total $12,700
If
you wanted any instruments you had to buy them. Now we have knot
and depth as standard on most 32's, plus a VHF with masthead antenna
and a stereo with interior and cockpit speakers. Even a less expensive
combo unit knot, depth with a log will set you back $1,200. Add
another $500 for the low grade VHF and stereo and we've grown to
$14,400. I don't want to even consider the fact that binnacle compasses,
wheel steering and instrument pods weren't always standard.
Let's
move inside and start at the galley. Refrigeration was rarely standard
on any boat 15 years ago. Neither was propane-stove ovens and definitely
not microwaves. Those three item would cost you $2K, $1K and now
$200 respectively and most of the time the microwave now is built
in. New total $17,600. Plus here again I won't even mention a hot
water heater or even pressure water as an option but a few years
ago they were.
Batteries
are certainly necessary to run a boat, but they never came with
the boat. Neither did the battery selector switch or all those nice
overhead and bulkhead mounted halogen lights.
For
length of boat, manufacturers are installing much larger diesel
engines than they use too. I don't know how to equate that to dollars
but it's good to know they are. But we do see drip less packing
glands, fuel water separators, and sea water strainers as standard
now. Cost? Add in mere $500 for these.
Did
you know most boats didn't have opening ports as standard? You were
lucky to get one or two way far forward and those fixed deadlights
on the sides aft.
One
thing that is missing from some new boats is the absence of exterior
teak. It took me a long time to get over the non teak exterior look,
but every time I pay the teak lady's mortgage payment for doing
mine I get over it real quick.
The
bottom line is there is at least $20K worth of gear and equipment
that is installed on the average 32' as standard equipment today
that we had to pay for a few years ago. Take the average base price
of $90K for a 32' today and knock that $20K off when you're comparing
prices from years ago. I think you will find you get a lot more
boat for your money.
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