I'm looking at a Westsail 43 boat built from a Kit. The boats details are attached.  The original owner purchased the haul, engine, and mast in 1978 and sat on it for thirty years without doing anything.  The current owner, a professional in the boat industry, purchased the boat and did all the finishing work in 2010.  The owner had access to a boat repair yard and used its workers and materials to finish the boat.  The owner is selling the boat as a 2010 Westsail 43.

I've done some research on pricing of Westsail's 42-43 currently on the market.  My research is attached.  The average asking price for these 1974-1985 factory finished boats is $62,500 and I suspect, based on a 28% discount the sale price will average about $45,000.

My concern is that if I pay the owner his asking price less discount on a 2010 boat, which is almost double the asking price found in my research on the older factory finish boats, I will be treated very unkindly by the market in say five years when I sell the boat.  I'm concerned the market will take the position that it's not a 2010 boat but a 1978 boat and a Kit boat at that.

Do you have any suggestions on how I should view this boat and how the market will view it when it's time to sell?

Thanks,

Mark

Mark,

The current owner may claim the boat was not completed until 2010, but the hull was laminated and sold as a kit boat to the first owner in 1978.  The actual value of an older  vessel depends on the age and condition of the equipment aboard, and the care it has had over the years.  If this vessel was not launched and put into use until 2010, then the equipment is far newer than a boat sold in 1978 as a completed boat.

I have seen some kit boats built by a craftsman in better condition than those completed by the factory, so it is hard to determine value from that without a very thorough examination of the particular vessel.

The asking price on a vessel is up to the seller, but the actual sales price is what a buyer and seller will agree upon on a given day.

Just my humble opinion for what it's worth.

Bud 

Hi Mark,

Super cool to see pics of my boat here! Thanks for coming out to take a look, you guys were super nice and I hope your search is going well.  We just had a haul and survey on her, and wrapped up a ton of projects including working on making the interior a bit less eclectic :)

She surveyed well, but the buyer surveyed several other boats and is going with one of them instead. We took a bunch of new pics though, might give a better idea of her current status. I don't know how to link here, but she's on Yachtworld, I think the only 42/43 in the US on there at the moment. Fair winds!