T&T: Florida Boat Buying

[Oliver Moore]

Dave, I was the publisher of two of the oldest boat magazines and 

> maintained an office in Ft. Lauderdale in the process.  There is a 

> definite cycle to boat prices across the entire country as well as S. 

> Fl. The selling season begins in the fall.  People have used their 

> boats over the summer and are ready to trade up in that perpetual 

> search for the dream boat.  That is why most of the big boat shows are 

> in the fall.  Prices are a bit lower than they will be in the spring 

> reflecting the lack of storage costs if the boat sells.  There is 

> another flurry of activity in the spring and then the market really 

> slows down in the summer.  People are on the water using their boats 

> and not prowling classifieds and boat dealers. On top of that cycle 

> you can factor in fuel costs and interest rates.  At the moment both 

> are high which further softens prices.  At my local boatyard in 

> Michigan a 1989, 40-foot-Egg Harbor MY with stabilizers, bow 

> thrusters, gas engines and some bulkhead repair to be done sold for 

> $40k--the asking price had come down from $89.

>

>     As for Fl being cheaper, the internet has erased a lot of what had 

> once been real regional price differences.