Any Regrets? A lot of low time RTs for sale

[Tuggo]

Good day,

‘My wife and I are testing and considering the RT waters. We are looking at a new to us model most likely a 23’ possibly a 25’. 2021-2024 model. Previous owned seems to be a good deal.. Newer models with lots of expensive upgrades and a hefty depreciation makes them look like an attractive buy. What concerns me is the low time low hours on these boats. 1-2 year ownership and very little use. Quite often less than 100 hours. I know everyone has their individual reasons but there seems be be a large example of “like new” boats available. Curious for some opinions. Is it loss of interest, high usage/maintenance fees, lack of free time? Etc. We have the time and funds but I really am a little curious/concerned.

thanks,
Chris.

 

[Submariner]

Good day,

‘My wife and I are testing and considering the RT waters. We are looking at a new to us model most likely a 23’ possibly a 25’. 2021-2024 model. Previous owned seems to be a good deal.. Newer models with lots of expensive upgrades and a hefty depreciation makes them look like an attractive buy. What concerns me is the low time low hours on these boats. 1-2 year ownership and very little use. Quite often less than 100 hours. I know everyone has their individual reasons but there seems be be a large example of “like new” boats available. Curious for some opinions. Is it loss of interest, high usage/maintenance fees, lack of free time? Etc. We have the time and funds but I really am a little curious/concerned.

thanks,
Chris.

I’ve seen a lot of folks start small and trade up for a bigger tug. 25 owners go to a 27. 27 owners go to 29 or 31. 23 owners go to a 25 or 27, for example.

I’ve also seen health conditions catch up with folks and force them to sell.

At this years boat show, with all the new changes to the r27, I even saw older 27’s upgrade to a newer 27.

It’s that time of year, late winter, early spring, and everybody is getting ready for boating season.

 

[American Flyer]

Hi Chris,

We purchased a 4 year old tug with less than 200 hours. In our case I think the people who bought it thought they were boaters but were not. I’ve witnessed the same thing happen with another boat at our marina. This was expected and happened even more during Covid. The result is, you can find good deals on these boats. We saved $100,000 from purchasing new. With a little elbow grease and getting caught up on the deferred maintenance we now have a low time like new boat. We are working hard to remedy that having put almost 600 hours on in less than 4 years! Mt opinion only but if I were you I would not be concerned, just thankful that you can find your dream boat for less money. Of course get a good survey so you know what you are getting into, in our case the problems were acceptable and addressed.

To answer your question on fees, I’ve found the highest costs to be 1, moorage, and 2, the annual service. Both of these are fixed whether we use the boat or not. The operating costs have been surprisingly low.

Hope to see you on the sound soon!
Brien

 

[JeffreyAC77]

More than 1/2 of Ranger owners are new to boating. I believe many of the boats for sale are due to one of the following:
1 - Surprised at the cost of keeping and maintaining a boat.
2 - Boating is not what they thought it would be.
3 - The boat isnot suitable for their needs and they trade up or down or out to a different boat.

We have owned numerous boats and our used R31-CB (LE) is a delight, even with all the costs and surprises!

 

[scross]

There’s a lot of benefits to buying an almost new boat. Initial depreciation savings and, hopefully, all the production issues addressed. The only downside is if the original owner didn’t take care of maintenance or even damaged the boat in someway.
I can’t imagine spending several hundreds of thousands of dollars for an impulse buy but for some that seems to be the case. And then they realize they were not getting the satisfaction they thought they would get from the purchase.
Or health, divorce or other life event caused a change in plans.
Personally, I’m the opposite of an impulse buyer. Months or even years of research before making a big ticket purchase. My previous 3 boats were owned 7, 14 and 10 years each respectively. Previous cars owned 11, 7 and 11 years respectively. Current home owned 23 years. You get the idea.
People are different. If you want to “save a bundle” on a boat, take advantage of the impulse buyer who has changed their mind and is moving on to the next impulse buy. “Save a bundle” really means spending less over the term of ownership. No matter how you do it, boat ownership is a pretty expensive commitment.
ALWAYS get a professional survey on a preowned boat. Even one with only a few hours on the engine.

 

[JMarshallR25]

One reason you are seeing a lot of boats for sale is that Fluid Motion is growing quickly and selling more boats every year. Existing owners sell to upgrade, or for any number of reasons. There will always be more used boats for sale from popular manufacturers as opposed to niche brands. In my marina the number of Ranger Tugs and Cutwaters continues to increase rapidly.

 

[S. Todd]

We had 5 Sea Rays and now own our second Ranger Tug since our first new boat purchase in 1982. The middle Sea Ray ( A 230 Weekender ) we had for the most years (17). When we bought our current R29S I finally decided to stop saying it is our last new boat. We bought each of them thinking it would fit our needs and be the last new boat. They all did some things well and fit our budget at the time. Families grow and shrink and budgets change. We have been lucky and health reasons have never been a reason to change boats. Unfortunately, that impacts some that wait too long in life to experience the water. There are many that buy a boat without really knowing what they are getting into and decide for one reason or another it is not an activity for them. When we were working and doing soccer and other family things 50 hours a year on the engine was typical. One year we decided to do land based national parks and I decided it was not even worth taking the boat out of the garage and spending two days winterizing it at the end of the season. Those 50 hours a year were often the most memorable and took us where we wanted to go the way we wanted to get there! Even today when we are retired and spend weeks at a time on the boat due to weather and enjoying where we are we still haven't put more than 80 hours a year on the boat - after all it is snow skiing season not water-skiing season. The boat is happy, clean, and dry in its garage waiting for spring and warmer weather. I think we have changed RVs no less than we have change boats over the year. We are currently trading in our 2023 motorhome for a larger 2025 because once we bought it and decided how much we could actually use it (compared to the prior travel trailers) we decided we could spend more $ for a little more room, comfort and features. Some lucky person(s) will get the benefit of us taking the initial depreciation hit but given the limited lifespan we all face we are doing what we want and can afford now.

 

[Submariner]

It's often said that selling a boat is better in the late winter/early spring... as the buyer is anxious to go boating and use what they just bought... as opposed to trying to sell a boat in the fall, where the buyer will buy only to pay money to winterize and store the boat for months before they're able to go use it.

 

[Tuggo]

Like I said earlier everyone; “Has their reasons..”. I never considered pure volume of boats out there.
Great input and explanations thank you.

 

[venajeff]

I think right now we are seeing many of the COVID purchasers realizing what boat ownership encompasses. Down at the harbor I was talking to the harbor master and he said that many of these new boat owners don't understand anything about required minimum maintenance (washing, bottom cleaning, zincs, ...) They think that you just come down and start it up and go.
I try to tell people that if you don't enjoy working on a boat you shouldn't own one.

 

[scross]

I think right now we are seeing many of the COVID purchasers realizing what boat ownership encompasses. Down at the harbor I was talking to the harbor master and he said that many of these new boat owners don't understand anything about required minimum maintenance (washing, bottom cleaning, zincs, ...) They think that you just come down and start it up and go.
I try to tell people that if you don't enjoy working on a boat you shouldn't own one.

Yeah, I when I tell people I spend 100 hours a year on cleaning and routine maintenance the new boat owners are surprised at that. The long term boat owners ask me why I spend such little time…..
On my airplanes it averaged 4 hours of maintenance for every engine hour over my 50 years of airplane ownership. I think I’m getting off pretty easy on the boat maintenance!

 

[Bruzer]

Good day,

‘My wife and I are testing and considering the RT waters. We are looking at a new to us model most likely a 23’ possibly a 25’. 2021-2024 model. Previous owned seems to be a good deal.. Newer models with lots of expensive upgrades and a hefty depreciation makes them look like an attractive buy. What concerns me is the low time low hours on these boats. 1-2 year ownership and very little use. Quite often less than 100 hours. I know everyone has their individual reasons but there seems be be a large example of “like new” boats available. Curious for some opinions. Is it loss of interest, high usage/maintenance fees, lack of free time? Etc. We have the time and funds but I really am a little curious/concerned.

thanks,
Chris.

 

[Bruzer]

I agree with all of the reasons previously stated. I have owned 4 sailboats over 50 years and bought a R-29 last June because of health issues. I have observed people who bought trailerable boats (probably more true with sailboats) become disenfranchised with their boats because of the time and effort in the launching and retrieving process-stepping/unstepping the mast, etc. When we bought our R-29 in Florida for a trip to our slip in Minnesota, it took a fair amount of time and effort to make it road-ready and splash-ready upon our arrival. This may explain the reason for the number of low hours R-23 & 25s on the market.
Bruce
Full Circle
2020 R-29 S LE

 

[scross]

I agree with all of the reasons previously stated. I have owned 4 sailboats over 50 years and bought a R-29 last June because of health issues. I have observed people who bought trailerable boats (probably more true with sailboats) become disenfranchised with their boats because of the time and effort in the launching and retrieving process-stepping/unstepping the mast, etc. When we bought our R-29 in Florida for a trip to our slip in Minnesota, it took a fair amount of time and effort to make it road-ready and splash-ready upon our arrival. This may explain the reason for the number of low hours R-23 & 25s on the market.
Bruce
Full Circle
2020 R-29 S LE

We have trailered our 3 boats for 23 years now. I love that our C-28 is 2 minutes from my back door so I can work on it whenever I want off season.
We consistently go from arriving at the launch ramp to in the water and tied up at the guest dock in 60 to 90 minutes including getting all our provisions onboard and stowed. Getting the boat out of the water and back on the trailer and road ready rarely takes over 60 minutes. Just follow every step on the checklists. And we are both in our 70s.
Since most of our cruising trips are 10-20 days the time spent launching and retrieving is trivial. I also love that our total annual dock fees, mooring ball fees, on-hard storage fees, etc. are consistently under $1,400 a year. Being trailerable has been a big, big plus in selecting the right boat for us.

 

[scross]

We have trailered our 3 boats for 23 years now. I love that our C-28 is 2 minutes from my back door so I can work on it whenever I want off season.
We consistently go from arriving at the launch ramp to in the water and tied up at the guest dock in 60 to 90 minutes including getting all our provisions onboard and stowed. Getting the boat out of the water and back on the trailer and road ready rarely takes over 60 minutes. Just follow every step on the checklists. And we are both in our 70s.
Since most of our cruising trips are 10-20 days the time spent launching and retrieving is trivial. I also love that our total annual dock fees, mooring ball fees, on-hard storage fees, etc. are consistently under $1,400 a year. Being trailerable has been a big, big plus in selecting the right boat for us.

Had a PM asking how I kept total dock & storage fees at/under $1,400 a year. Here’s the breakdown:
5 Nights full service marina @ $90 = $450
10 Nights state park & city docks @ $35 = $350
4 months boat+trailer dry storage @ $115/mo = $460
6 nights mooring buoy @ $15 = $90
10-15 nights at anchor = $0
Total 40-45 nights on the water & 4 months dry storage = $1,350 total

 

[venajeff]

Had a PM asking how I kept total dock & storage fees at/under $1,400 a year. Here’s the breakdown:
5 Nights full service marina @ $90 = $450
10 Nights state park & city docks @ $35 = $350
4 months boat+trailer dry storage @ $115/mo = $460
6 nights mooring buoy @ $15 = $90
10-15 nights at anchor = $0
Total 40-45 nights on the water & 4 months dry storage = $1,350 total

So do you keep the boat at home the remaining 6.5 months?

 

[scross]

So do you keep the boat at home the remaining 6.5 months?

Our Journey is in its parking spot next to the house typically from 10/1 to 5/15. So 7.5 months total at the house.

 

[AGLyme]

I bought a low hours fresh water 12 yo RT 31 cb last June. Never owned a boat before.
Entering my 2nd year soon and cannot wait. Yes boats are expensive and can be doubly $ so if you throw your keys to the marina for every squawk, squeak and drip. I choose to do most of the work myself because it forces me to learn about the workings of the various systems.
I hired folks to Replace the seat fabric, Garmins, I replaced the TV, and this spring will replace the Racor with a see-through one.
Hull bottom painted, boat waxed and zinced. Shower valve replaced.
Managed to clock in 85 hours of running. Really fun. And my no-interest-in-boating family now love it too. Wife’s favorite part is the flybridge.
I don’t need anything bigger or faster. It’s just right.

 

[ID1890]

We bought our R-25 OB new in 2021. Our boating season in North Idaho was basically June until mid-September; boat was in covered storage the rest of the year. Hence, the low hours on our boat.

 

[drykard]

I bought a 2022 R-27 OB, and the boat is everything I had wanted. I am not disappointed with it at all. I have it up for sale now because of advancing age and serious health issues that keep me from using it.