Cheap Sailboats

When you think of Cheap Sailboats, you usually will think of an old sailboat or a used sailboat. There are quite alot of new sailboats that are inexpensive in comparison to their value (since in the current recession, the boat industry is dead in the water), but it is very likely that they are still expensive in real values.

So in all certainty, we are talking about a used sailboat that will be cheap and that is the reason this article is in this section of the website.

First you need to know what you want to do with your sailboat. These inexpensive ones are only likely going to be able to handle day trips in the case of a yacht and in the case of a dinghy it will mean an old or outdated design that no-one wants.

If you want a cheap yacht, you should expect to receive the bare minimum, which will be standing head room, room for a stove, an ice box, room for storage and running water on a sink. Any less and you should not consider buying a yacht and instead consider buying a dinghy.

The bare essentials of a cheap dinghy will be just the hull and a mast, probably no sails or trolley and that will bring the price down to a couple of hundred if not less.

One thing you should expect when buying an old boat, although not necessarily the case for a used boat, is the enormous maintenance fees you will have to fork out to get the boat into a seaworthy condition and you should be wary of any boats whose stated condition is average as you might end up with a boat like this:

So using this information, think up a budget of how much you want to spend on a dinghy and then double it, because you need to factor in marina fees and maintenance that will make up a large if not larger part of the entire cost of owning an old boat.

Now the time to buy is now, since I don't think boats will get any cheaper at this point, especially as it seems the economy is starting to turn around (albeit very slowly). So if you are considering buying a cheap sailboat, now is the time to get into the market.

Although before you actually get in the market, find a boat that meets your requirements and then find the one with the best price according to your budget. Don't look at lots of different boats on the market and try to compare them, because it is very difficult to figure out the value for money between the boats.

When you actually get into negotiation with the person who owns it, make sure that the boat has had a recent marine survey (to check for blisters in the hull and other problems with it) as well as the date of this last inspection.

Finally, the insurance for an old sailboat is likely to be exorbitant, so make sure that the total cost of this boat is factored into your budget. It may eventually save you time, money and worry to buy a newer boat, which will have smaller insurance premiums and will probably be a much nicer boat than the old scrap that might be cheap, but not great for sailing.

So in conclusion, stay realistic. A cheap sailboat will be cheap for a reason, whether it has problems with the hull or it is very old. Make sure you know what you are doing and that you know the value of the boat you want to buy before you start negotiation, else you'll probably end up with a piece of wood that costs the world to insure and maintain, rather than buying a slightly more expensive boat that works well and looks good.