Quote:
Originally Posted by 1977chris
. . . Should I by new or use. I live in central FL. We have a lot of lakes in our area. But I wanted something I could take in the lake and ocean. I've been looking at a lot of new bay boats. I'Be been looking at the new 20 ft sea hunt for $36,000. Something keeps bringing me back to the seacraft. . . .
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Wow, I think most of the guys on this site would agree: that decision is a no brainer if I ever saw one! For a several reasons:
1. That new $36,000 boat will depreciate about like a new car!
2. The SeaCraft will not only likely have a lot of optional extras that have been added like a GPS and depth sounder that you would have to buy for the new boat, it will hold it's value very well if you take care of it. These boats are widely respected as one of the best riding and best built boats of their size ever made.
3. Don't know much about Sea Hunt, but the SeaCraft hull is a solid fiberglass laminate with huge fiberglass stringers. They were considered premium boats when new, basically the BMW's of their class. Check out the laminate schedule comparison below. The increasing price of oil and the resin made from it have put significant cost pressures on boat builders, so there is a big incentive to minimize the use of expensive glass and resin in new boats. Solid fiberglass hulls are becoming history, as documented in
this article.
4. Carl Moesly used to say "The price of a new boat tells you what the builder thinks he can get for it. The price of a used boat tells you what other folks think it's worth!" Back in the 70's, the SeaCraft Seafari had the highest resale value of anything in it's class. So what are they getting for a 30 year old Sea Hunt these days?! Take a look through the For Sale section to see what some nicely restored 40 year old SeaCrafts with new motors have sold for!