$1000 a Foot Club
So what exactly do I mean by the $1000 a foot club? Simple, raise your right hand and say, “I won’t spend more than $1000 a foot for a boat.” Easy on a smaller boat you might say, but what about bigger boats in the 25 to 40 foot range? Not more than $1000 a foot that is the RULE. By using that bench mark, I can keep myself somewhat out of trouble. So can you. Here’s another good rule. Never buy a boat you would be ashamed of being seen on no matter how good of a deal. These 2 rules together will keep you on track for affordable boating. It all comes down to taking advantage of depreciation. As boats get older they get cheaper. Yes more maintenance will be needed but in the big picture you’re going to save money.
I’ll give you an example. I purchased a 1973 Gibson 36 foot Houseboat in 1999. While looking the boat over the previous owner pointed out a soft spot in the rear corner of the interior floor. He said, "Oh, just a few hours work to cut out a little piece of wood floor and replace.” I said, "OK, no Problem.” The boat looked great cosmetically so I said, “I’ll give you $13,000” and the deal was done. ($361 a foot at this point) Well...experienced boat owners know where this is going. I started to replace that piece of floor which turned into most of the floor and the rear bulkhead. This turned into replacing most of the bathroom. I replaced the water heater, the plumbing, some wiring, the plywood coring of the forward deck, completed some fiberglass work and I painted most everything except the lower hull. I calculated that I spent $7,000 in materials over a 2 year period. And you know what?…I LOVED IT! Yep…you know you’re a certified boat nut when you do things like that. Now, for the good part. I had a great looking solid boat that if purchased new would cost $140,000.00. So, if you add in the cost of materials $7,000 + $13,000 original purchase price = $20,000 divided by 36 foot boat… gives you $555.00 a foot. Of course if I tried to add on getting paid for my labor that would move it up, but I would still be below the $1000.00 a foot rule. The Gibson looked great, I often got complimented on it and I clearly stayed below the $1000 a foot rule.