BUYING NEW VS. USED CATAMARANS

Many catamaran buyers are misinformed about the major issues involving the purchase of New and Used catamarans. I've owned 48 boats and yachts and one of Florida's largest sailing yacht dealerships so I have some strong opinions about these issues. Every yacht is a "compromise" and I explain what the "sweet spot" is in buying which usually produces the optimal financial result for you.

[@midnite22767]

Mr. Fretz, new subscriber, this is one of the most informative channels about cats and boating I have found on You Tube, thank you for providing so much useful information. I plan on retiring in 4-5 years and was very interested in purchasing a cat for casual cruising after moving full time to the Caribbean (Grenada). I get the feeling based on your channel that cat ownership may not be right for me. You've saved me a boat load of money. (excuse the pun) Thank you sir!

[@ashleywynn4923]

The aggravating part of any new boat from your aluminum duck boat to a yacht, is the manufacture only makes the boat, not everything else on it. So you always have to depend on the dealer to fight with the manufacture to get everything fixed. Example would be the boat manufacture will say things like we only put in the engine, you’ll have to deal with that manufacture of the engine. I can see for a cruiser, it could be a real pain see’ing as you are out of country. Boat means break out another thousand. Thanks for these videos, as I have learned a lot about sailboats from you.

[@ytfa70]

BOAT - - - Break Out Another Thousand . Priceless and Accurate

[@IanHobday]

Happy new year! Great to see another video.

[@Lauterbach24]

Thanks for the great information.

[@sergest-pierre6160]

Great advise as usual. You are 100% right on new charter boat. I seriously look at the numbers and they don't make any financial sense even if you charter 2 to 5 weeks a year like I do. I will keep chartering until I'm ready to live aboard.

[@Catamarans]

Hi Serge, if you contact me by eMail I will give you a tip that sometimes enables you to charter with deep discounts. My address is [e-mail]

[@predator1739]

thx a lot！

[@MrHAPPYHAWAIIAN]

You said that a new boat becomes a money pit within 5-7 years Do I buy a new Catamaran or used? I have little fixing skills. 👍🌴❤️

[@Catamarans]

Buy a cat that looks like new but is 4-6 years old because it was well-cared-for...keep it well maintained and the engine hours low and resell it before age 9-10 ... Buy in the "right place" and the "right time of year" and you will preserve your capital. Then roll the money over upon resale into a newer boat. "Repeat" the process.

[@trueairspeed130]

what's the market for large cats doing these days?

[@Catamarans]

Hi Thanks for the question. The market is slowly cooling off as 5-10 catamaran listings are added each day (like we see every year as the Caribbean high season comes to an end). This does not translate into lower prices immediately but leads to lower prices later in the summer. The other catalyst for lower prices are the hurricanes forming off the coast of Africa. Some Europeans can only get insurance with 10-15% deductibles and when these Sellers "wake up" to the fact that their yachts have not sold because of waning demand and they could suffer a large uncovered loss they panic and ask us "What will it take to get my yacht sold in 1 month??". When we tell them "You must reduce the price by $30k and it will get sold fast." When some of these large price reductions are seen, the other Sellers realize the market has changed, and if they want to sell they must also reduce price or be "left in the dust". So prices usually tumble in late July and this is when you should be ready to lock-in a first option as fast as you can. Because if you wait until late August when the "snowbird buyers" flock into the market in anticipation of the upcoming high season in the Caribbean you will miss the best deals (which are "long gone" by end-September"). Prices only rise from late September until December and usually stay in the stratosphere all winter. The US dollar has strengthened against the Euro quite a bit lately which brings opportunities to buyers who have USD if they buy Euro-denominated yachts.

[@retiredveteran200]

Hi Mr. Fretz, I am a Disable America Veteran, my question is, is there onwers out their that wants to donate their boats to a person that wants to travel the world. I live in NJ, you have the exp. and is their any person out that want to donate their boat to a disable american veteran. Thank, please help.

[@Catamarans]

Hi, I dont know of anyone. sorry

[@marcoarnold679]

That about an hurricane yacht?

[@Catamarans]

Marco, What I have to say about damaged boats may not be what you want to hear. There are many hidden financial traps in these.Hurricane damaged boats are very difficult to make money with and financially-dangerous. I have bought and fixed up 9 of them and will not do it now because of the difficulties...the costs to move the hull to a place you can do the work are just too high...the title will say "salvage" and when you go to resell it the buyer will check this and you won't get what you put into it. Most of them are un-insurable. I'd look for something that isn't seriously damaged.In the past 30 years I have acquired and repaired 9 hurricane-damaged yachts. I used to own a boat yard in Florida and could do refits/repairs as cheap as anyone. But what I found is that it takes 4 times as long as you think to finish each project and it is very difficult to limit costs and to know what the final costs will be so it actually takes four times as long as you originally thought. Specialized contractors cannot always be pinned down on price and they play a game I describe like this. They say: "Yes, I will remedy this issue for $xxx". But then as they dig deeper, around half-way through the project they come back and say something like "Well, when I estimated the job I couldn't pull everything apart and didn't know the problem was deeper and worse than originally thought, so now it will cost double" and they already have a lien on your vessel and it is very difficult for you to say 'No' for a number of reasons...they made you sign a contract that protects them and their mis-diagnosis but doesn't limit your costs ).... Today it is more difficult to "Do It Yourself" because many systems like engines, sail drives and electronics are proprietary ... BOTTOM LINE: You often end up spending more than if you just followed my prescription for getting a good deal and using the same amount of money to buy something not damaged by a hurricane. You dont spend all of your time for 1-3 years working on the damaged boat.

[@marcoarnold679]

Thanks for the Advice.

[@eksffa]

Why owners version? I didn’t get the reasoning. Thanks

[@garyfretz1152]

Because only 10-15% of catamaran production are "Owner Versions". Most live-aboard cruisers need extra space to store their stuff away and not live in clutter. Owners Versons give you this and give you lower engine hours as a rule

[@eksffa]

If I read correctly, (1) scarcity (2) extra space due to one cabin used as storage area (3) less wear. Except for (3) if I want to have a cat for charter, still other reasons to prefer a owners ver?

[@lordschelken]

Gary explained that in an older video: Charter company's prefer boats with a lots of beds because their guests like to divide their charter costs with as many as people as possible. So the more friends and/or family members can come on the trip the cheaper it will be for each of them. But if you want to live full time, like full time cruisers do, on a boat than you will need the space for all of your stuff you think you will need for it (which is normally a lot more the you will actually need). And you have also a much bigger bathroom, etc. And people like that.

[@eksffa]

lordschelken Makes plenty of sense 👍

[@flagatorclearwater]

@@garyfretz1152 If the price difference between owner and charter versions is large, is it viable to rip out the fourth berth/head and make it into an owner's version? Also, how are you able to get selling prices on boats you didn't broker?