Sunday, June 30, 2013

About the "B" word...

I've noticed that, where boats are concerned, folks can be somewhat, shall we say, coy about their chosen budget...

It's problematic.

I understand that in a world where it's often more about what the boat costs rather than the boat, someone on a tight budget might feel disinclined to publicly admit he/she cannot afford what everyone says they should spend...

Just for the record "everyone" is almost always wrong.

Anyway, I mention this because folks write and ask about various boats for cruising but when I ask how much they'd feel comfortable spending I seldom get an answer. Well, as it happens, I do get answers of the non-answer sort like...
"It depends"
"Whatever it takes"
"Something reasonable"
Notice how none of those responses give even a slight clue to what the person wants to spend? Now, what I'd like to hear is more along the lines of...
"Between $7500 and $10000" 
"$15000"
"Something under $25000"
"Less than $35000"
See the difference?

The fact is, you can find or put together a proper cruising boat at any of those price points with some sweat equity and close attention to the need/want equation. But, to be able to do it, the first thing you have to sort out is what sort of budget you have to work with and be comfortable enough with it to actually tell folks what it is.