East coast used Tug market

I'm thinking of moving up, and I'm interested in opinions about the current used tug market environment. I see something like 19 used R-27s currently for sale on the East Coast. It seems this is a lot more than were available just a few years ago. Are boats moving, and there's just a lot to choose from? Or are they just piling up because there are few buyers? Or prices are wrong?

Is that count of the older inboard model or newer outboard? They are fundamentally different boats with nothing but the name in common.

The outboard r27, but there are quite a few of the inboard out there also. Just seems like a lot more choices than when I was buying.

My POV is having watched the R25 Classic market for about a year before buying in March. This is all anecdotal of course since I have no idea what is actually selling (or for how much) but I’ve seen enough to form an opinion.

I think boats are selling more slowly, there seem to be a handful more of them out there and I think asking prices on a lot of boats seem $10-20k overpriced. In my head, for the inboard classics, R25s are more likely to move when priced in the $60-80k range depending on year, condition, etc. R-27s in the $100-120k range.

The market for boats in general is pretty soft, but part of the reason I bought a Ranger was that they’ve a cult following and a decently resilient secondary market.

Well.....you now have the magic of ChatGPT. Ask away. A ton of people bought during Covid and are now realizing that boats cost big $ for storage, insurance, maintenance, etc. So...as they try to exit, the used market is now flooded with sellers trying to recoup their boat "investment" for what they paid back in the day. Obviously that story doesn't end well. Like any good supply and demand story, you have a market flooded with used boats, which means the factory can't sell new boats, which means the factory discounts or subsidizes interest rates..... it's a death spiral that's rapidly destroying the boating industry (Kadey-Krogen, Westmarine, etc.). The really good news is if you are a cash buyer you are about to get the deal of a lifetime. You just need to keep your gunpowder dry for a tiny bit longer. The sellers are about to scream "Uncle" and capitulate. There you will sit, ready to pounce.

I am looking for that deal on newer r25 outboard....brokers seem to be holding them for the 6 months to a year from what I see....

There is definitely a seasonality to the market in addition to all the macro factors that have made the market pretty soft. In the off months it doesn't seem off basis to revise numbers 10-15% lower. If the seller actually wants to move the boat you have all the leverage right now.

I had a 2012 R25SC that I bought it in 2021 for $87,000. Over the time I had it, I fixed everything that did not work, including a long list of deferred engine maintenance and replace the stern thruster. I listed it for $110,000 in 2025 and sold it for $100,000 through a broker. The surveyor only found one cockpit speaker that had a bad connection. The boat went back on the market one year later for $110,000 and sold for $93,000 without a broker. If you consider the original sales price in 2012 was in the mid $130s. That is about 30% in 14 years. General depreciation for a 14 year old boat is in the 50 to 70% range. These boat hold their value.

Good insite!