Jupiter Sunsation

Long time OSO guy Tom with the last Gladiator called that shortage back then. He had just built a 39 TG/700s and said the slowdown will kill the future market due to lack of inventory. He was 100% right.

jeff32

i remember the day it became less than 1000 boats for sale in oso classified i had made a tread about it back then! So there was much more than only a thousand at some point!

benjen

I'm not sure what the problem is. I know peoples expectations are insane. Everyone is expecting these older /used boats to have all the newer amenities in the cabin, cockpit, dashboard, etc. That's not how they were built! A 69 Camaro isn't a 2020 Camaro why are boats expected to be different? Now perhaps nobody really wants my combination, but I don't even get calls. It is weird to say the least. I have a 39' Sutphen. A really nice 1992 model. Solid hull, number 6 drives, 1000 hp blower motors that runs 108. I have listed this boat several times for high $70's. I know it's my boat, but to me it's worth way more than that just in parts, but what do I know? Buying it now would really be a smart move for somebody as the engines are fresh, fresh still not installed in the boat. You know for sure they have no time on them. They are sitting in my garage still shrink wrapped the way I picked them up from Zul. Most people know how good Zul is.......he's one of the best marine engine builders out there, period! This boat is For Sale.

SB

I read it as “if you think there are too many ‘experts without a clue’ here, FB is 10,000 times worse”

Powerquest230

We have a 2003 Velocity 320 with twins that I need to get back in classifieds if interested.

Out There

Certain boats like a 33 Powerplay, Certain Cigarettes seem to have more demand than the market can supply. Many other specific models are in demand and therefore in short supply. People have learned which boats are most desirable. Other large average boats that are getting old now don't seem to have such a following. Most people also know what is involved with bad transoms and stringers and large power rebuilds. Potentially the cost to refurb an old boat might not be worth the effort. Even if the boat was free, many restorations might not make sense. In many areas, the shops that can take on a full restoration are non existent or extremely expensive.
I've seen many listings for boats for sale that have had extensive high dollar restorations, that don't sell at 1/3 the cost of the restoration.

Back to the thread. Many boats must just be sitting somewhere. Possibly owners are using and enjoying them .

Jupiter Sunsation

Powerplay is an outlier, strong resale from a company hasn't built a new boat since 2005. Limited production of a great boat line.


Someone posted a nice Formula 382 that was in need of power, that is a classic powerboat with the curved chrome windshield. Not the fastest hull but a nice ride/nice boat. Sure the spider/lightning bolt graphics look terrible 15 years later but how sharp would it be shot in solid black hullsides/white deck? Timeless but you might spend 100K with new power/paint/interior. Get the hull/trailer for 40K, 100K into it and suddenly you have a 15-16 yr old boat that isn't even made anymore (due to limited demand) and 140K gone out of your checkbook. Lets imagine you use it 10X a year (you live in a 4 season area, not LOTO), would you lay out 140K to use it 10X a year? Time is ticking towards 20 years old, the boat gets tougher to insure/finance which will limit your sales options to cash buyers not traditional marine finance. Suddenly you could find your 20 year old Formula isn't worth 50% of what you have in it.


I think without the production of new models (showing lack of demand) you will find less values in used models. Trying to get 140K for the above Formula looks way more attractive if you figure a new one would cost you 500K+ but if the new ones aren't there to compare then things look bleak. Watch an FPC poker run video, the I/O vee bottoms are usually less than 1/3 of the fleet with CCs/OB Cats making up the bulk of the fleet. I think there are plenty of boats out rotting under the sun, there are a few guys on here parting them out because the parts are worth more than the whole boat. Someone posted a 41 staggered Apache rotting on a lift in SW FL. If you got that boat for free, you still likely couldn't get your money back after a restoration. Someone gave away a 20 Cigarette earlier this year for the same reason....... guy realized it was a financial hole but he didn't want the boat to go to the landfill. As these running boats age, break something major the decline starts. Hurt motor/drive at the end of the season could be "yard art" for the next five years, then the other motor won't fire, leaf spring cracked on the trailer and the transom's soft.

1MOSES1

yet there are 4-5 guys in the cig section looking for older flat bottom top guns. I’ve also had a couple people reach out to me to see if I was interested in selling...

AZ Boater

I think there is great value in putting money into an older boat. The private aviation community does so all the time. New avionics, motor rebuilds, interiors etc in airplanes that were build in the 1960's. Sailboat guys incessantly upgrade their boats built in the 80's and 90's with significant upgrades to sails, autopilots, radars, comms gear, etc. There is no reason not to do the same with older performance boats. I did it with my 32' Sunsation. New everything over the past 5 years. Interior, stereo, electronics, lights, paint, new motors, new myco trailer. All of this not because the boat needed it, or it was a basket case (far from it)...it was simply because I wanted upgrades to the boat that I already owned and cared about. I think the boat is better than new and worth more to me to keep it and not worry about recouping my costs (this is a boat after all, and I'm not sure any of us think boating is a wise investment strategy). I feel especially justified when there are only two Sunsations for sale in the OSO classified and none are 32's.

Jupiter Sunsation

There are a few stunning flat botttom TGs, the silver/grey one that looked great is going through an over the top restoration. I can totally understand the desire to get a TG and at some price points it looks like you can get your dream boat for 40K then you start doing the math.........if you aren't doing the work yourself the math quickly goes "red" on your project. Everyone wants a fully restored TG with 6's at the price of a tired Bullet sitting on a floating dock in Greece.


The Gladiators, the Playboy boats always seem to have interest. I think Brad's red/white TS could bounce back to life with some fresh power/interior. The graphics are timeless on that one.