TAKING OWNERSHIP

WILL BRUTON ON BUYING FOR LESS THAN £100,000

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What can you really buy for up to £100,000 in today's yacht market? Perhaps a lot more than you think...

Between £50,000 and $100,000 might mark the point at which boat buying gets 'serious'. And while nobody is claiming that £100,000 is not a lot of money, in today's yacht market it's probably not going to buy you a new bluewater yacht.

So is the adage of legendary cruisers Lin and Larry Pardey 'go small, go cheap, go now' still feasible? Albeit with 'cheap' now being a little less cheap, and fewer adventurous sailors today likely to build their own yacht.

The £100,000 figure, and sticking to it, can be a useful benchmark in itself, forcing a buyer to focus the mind on what they really need for an adventure afloat. Air conditioning? Certainly not. A rig in good order? Certainly.

A lack of complication has other advantages; less to inspect and get ready means leaving sooner. But what is really possible, and what is it smart to look out for when shopping for a cruising yacht while spending under £100,000?

CAREFUL BUYERS

Broker David Morris deals regularly with yachts around the £100,000 price point. He explains that clients are quite often either those with very little experience, or a lot, but almost all are very aware of price.

"It's a very price sensitive area of the market. For a 35ft yacht you are going to be looking at around £800 for a survey, plus the haul-out costs; so even just thoroughly checking out a boat is a big amount of money proportional to overall spend."

A survey is still undertaken by the majority of buyers, but Morris explains that in this sector of the market some don't bother, particularly when it's a relatively new yacht.