interestrateripoff Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/business/22yachts.html?_r=1&ref=business What is tougher than having one sleek mega-yacht for sale in a glutted market? The answer, for the moment at least, is having two mega-yachts on the market. In boom times, yacht enthusiasts would order a new dream boat and keep their old one for the two or three years the builder needed to complete the new boat. Then, they would quickly sell the older yacht to impatient new millionaires and billionaires eager for their requisite status symbols. But that equation changed with the financial crisis two years ago and took the superyacht market down with it. Some of the wealthy have ended up like Peter A. Hochfelder, the principal and founder of Brahman Capital Management, a private investment firm in Manhattan. Mr. Hochfelder already owned a 134-foot Lürssen, named Blind Date, that was built in 1995. He commissioned a second boat in 2007, a 161-foot Trinity yacht, that he christened with the same name. It was completed in 2009. Now, Mr. Hochfelder, who declined to be interviewed, has put both on the market, in the hope that he can sell at least one. He has been asking $9.5 million for the older yacht and $33 million for the new one, which is big enough to sleep 12 guests. Maintaining a big yacht, after all, is expensive. Yacht specialists estimate that Mr. Hochfelder pays about $4 million a year to run his two boats. “It was a fool’s paradise,” said Malcolm Maclean, editor at BoatInternational.com, a Web site that tracks the yacht industry. Now, he said of the owners who cannot get rid of their boats, “They have caught very bad colds.” By one estimate, 300 new boats were sold annually worldwide from the mid-1990s until the 2008 collapse, when sales dropped to about 100 boats. More at the link. It's the yachtless recovery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fishbone Glover Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Definition of a boat: A hole in the water into which you pour money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ShedDweller Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 A boat gives two days of joy .. the day you buy it and the day you sell it .. Definition of a boat: A hole in the water into which you pour money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie The Tramp Returns Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 It's the yachtless recovery. Went to the London Boat Show this month SunSeeker boats all sold on display and in the Marina, brought to the show prior to delivery to their Clients. Prices from £2.5 to £7 million. Picked my one out at just £3 million and am now working hard at the Euro Lottery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Harry Monk Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 A boat gives two days of joy .. the day you buy it and the day you sell it .. Same as a house then? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest_Bosworth_* Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Sailing boats actually hold their value pretty well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichB Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 bought one last year, 5 and bit grand on ebay... Reckon I might upsize this year.... sod all chance of buying a home, and the cash is going nowhere quickly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lone_Twin Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 A rich old guy once said to me: If it flys, floats or fvvcks, hire it don't buy it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
libspero Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) Sailing boats actually hold their value pretty well. They seem to depreciate a bit like cars.. drop about 50% in the first couple of years, then after that it probably depends more on what state they are in than how old they are. A mid-size sailing yacht (35-40 odd ft) will hold it's value at around £30-£40k if kept in reasonably good condition.. and that can be after 20 or 30 years. Problem with the big super yachts/gin-palaces is that they are not just a large asset to get rid of, they are also a liability. This guy is paying, what, £4m a year just to keep them in the water? Imagine being stuck paying out that kind of cash on something you simply don't want and can't get rid of. Edited January 22, 2011 by libspero Quote Link to post Share on other sites
non frog Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 .... Imagine being stuck paying out that kind of cash on something you simply don't want and can't get rid of. That's what auctions are for I bet if he put it on ebay with no reserve it would go.......... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
interestrateripoff Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 A rich old guy once said to me: If it flys, floats or fvvcks, hire it don't buy it. How rich was he? Wise words? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erranta Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) http://www.nytimes.c...=1&ref=business More at the link. It's the yachtless recovery. Scone = Skoon = Schooner Gowrie > Perth > Blair Atholl Schooner - The two-masted schooner was another favorite of the Caribbean and Atlantic pirates. With many of the same features of the sloop such as terrific speed, maneuverability, and gun capacity . . . Rosi-Masonic SKuLLduGGery? Edited January 22, 2011 by erranta Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tahoma Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 I actually considered buying a Sunseeker Martinique and living aboard. I get a cold shiver down my spine just thinking about it. I really was thinking of doing it. Christ. This was about 2007 ish, when I looked then a decent one was about £85K. Now they are going in the mid-£50K range. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oracleofdoom Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 I agree, it seems now is the time to pick up a bargain ... if you have $45 million and you are Larry Page, one half of the brains behind Google, that is. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1346157/Google-founder-Larry-Page-buys-193-foot-yacht-45m-second-hand.html?ito=feeds-newsxml Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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