Tangible Boat Value

Originally posted by Punky But the intangibles can quickly disappear. Solo fleet racing is fantastic and rightly valued highly. But if that fleet racing vanishes or the A/Zero offers it too, then the bare boat does not justify the price. Just because something costs a lot to make doesn't mean it can be sold for that cost plus a bit. So spending £7k to fleet race a Solo may represent value and in that instance you may not separate the boat from the class, but to spend that amount to cruise it or handicap race it is less good value. All IMHO of course.

Solo fleet racing has been around a long time, you won't see it die in a short space of time.
Whereas a SMOD can go out of production overnight.
Whatever you buy, you need to be realistic about the value retained in it.
Buy a used boat for £5k, you may only get £3k or £4k back after a couple of years.
Buy a £500 eBay bargain, it may be worthless next week.
Buy a new class boat, you'll enjoy having the latest, and you may get a good deal as the class launches. You may find you get a good price after a couple of years if demand is strong, you may not, if the next bright new thing has overtaken it.
I suspect most dinghy sailors waste more money on cars than they do on boats?

Originally posted by Chris 249  That is strictly against the rules in road bicycles and (I think) track, TT and CX  as well - frames, wheels and other gear must now be pre-approved by the UCI.

Originally posted by 2547 Originally posted by Chris 249  That is strictly against the rules in road bicycles and (I think) track, TT and CX  as well - frames, wheels and other gear must now be pre-approved by the UCI. The UK TT scene is probably the most active and sizeable of any country and in the UK the bikes are not required to be UCI compliant; in fact the rules are minimal ...

Sadly I find this an interesting subject, probably due to my sales and marketing background, but the question of why people spend what they do on certain boats and choose why they won't spend on others is often made far more complex than it probably is.

In reality if you phone up a builder/supplier/distributor a new Solo is going to cost you somewhat over £8000 with all the kit, I know people who have spent that in recent years. Sure you can make a few savings if you shop around, buy at winter discounts for sails/covers etc, but most don't. So why do people seem to spend that sort of money quite happily while choosing not to buy other less expensive product.

My conclusion would be that they...

• Like to sail the boat
• Like the class & circuit
  
• Like the competition
• Like the security of an established class
• Feel happy with the quality of the product
• Feel their investment is safe/secure
• Like something they know
• Trust the boat, the class and the manufacturer
  
• Feel they have value for money

And probably a host of other similar reasons depending on the individual, but the sailing experience is just a part of that equation, and probably not the deciding factor. They are not buying it because of technology, they are not buying it because it's new.

The Phantom is another class that has seen good growth in recent years, probably all the above apply to your nearer £9000 investment in one.

From the outside the Musto Skiff seems a very well supported class, and the one thing that stands out seems to be the support and dedication the Class Association has and continues to give back to the class (view from the outside)

I'm sure both Devoti and RS have put a lot of effort into researching the market over the last 2-3 years before launching their latest creations, and had endless discussions about the likely market size and how to maximise this and their return, if they haven't then they have taken a massive gamble and ignored all marketing wisdom.

Boats are no different from other commodities, why does one man wear a Rolex and the guy next to him a Casio, both tell the time and little else, and you don't buy the Rolex just because you can afford it, and you don't stick to a Casio because you can't afford anything else (just examples, other brands are available)

People buy what is right for them at a given time, the actual cost is rarely the deciding factor, it's the combination of all the parts and I would suggest all classes look at what they are "not" providing for sailors that sailors seem to value, it's very easy to look at things through your own eyes and not look at the wider market, remember 99% plus of dinghy sailors in the UK don't contribute to this forum and probably 95% don't read it either, they just get on with their sailing, and spend their money on what they feel comfortable with.

Anyway I better get back to selling some skeletons...

I'm pretty sure we could find examples all day of situations where class associations have kept their class strong, healthy and progressive, within whatever rule set they have chosen, and others where the actions of the CA have caused it to stagnate and die. The same would hold true of builders.

It seems that the experience of the individual in these situations will colour their views as to what is good or bad in dinghy sailing, but, as usual, one single view never shows the whole picture.

On Jim's point about the affects of modern construction materials, it can be seen that the majority of classes that were around 30 years ago and still going strong will have picked up on some or all of the above, to the point where many of the OD classes are stiffer, lighter and better rigged to the extent that older boats wouldn't be able to compete even if they had been put in mothballs and never used up to this point. The Laser is probably the popular class with fewest changes (controls are better, sails more durable?) so is it any wonder its handicap is slowing?


Edited by Rupert - 12 Mar 14 at 12:11pm