Boat reviews & Construction Faults

[TheRock]

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/indexboatreview.htm

If you have some time here is an excellent read on several boat reviews. It is quite an eye opener! After reading all his reviews it makes you look at fiberglass boats in a total different way! Even the top brand name of boats that every one thinks are the best cause of their reputable brand names, all have terrible design and construction flaws.. you come to realize the high quality reputation of some high end boat brand names is all superficial...

Read all his reviews.. it will open your eyes to boat construction!



"Our boat reviews are unlike any others you'll find on the Internet. They are not marketing gimmicks nor intended to sell you a boat. The primary reason we write these reviews is educational."

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/Introduction.htm

"Top Twenty Design & Construction Faults"

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/TopTwenty.htm

 

[Dogbreath]

Thanks for that!
Had that link a long time ago but lost it-very educational.

 

[5-Salt Fever]

Good stuff but should be taken with a grain of salt.
That is to say, the aurthor has a very narrow list of boats that meet with his approval most of which can only be found used and/or are very expensive used/new.

I definately agree that all high-end fiberglass brands have their faults (major faults in limited cases) just as most automobiles manifactured are crap compared to the five-ten all-time greats. However, that does not stop us from purchasing the lessor product just the same. It is a question of aquisition cost vs total cost of ownership not just which is designed/built best. Top-top quality often costs more than that of overcoming/maintaining the short comings of lessor price offerings. This among brands who meet generally acceptd industry safety standards. Those that do not I not worthly of consideration.

I would bet a years salary that the fishing pleasure realised on my $35k 25ft used fiberglass hull is no less than that of the guy who is running around in the comparable $60-100k 25ft aluminum hull. Our annual service costs will be about the same. As well, "quality" fiberglass hulls will not likely ecounter any major repair expense during the period of ownership if, one does their pre-purchase homework and takes care to keep the the boat cosmetically/mechanically fit.

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The counter to that aurgument is that the alum hull for example will last 30years trouble free but for normal maint where as the fiberglass won't - that fact cannot be argue with.

But, who owns any single boat for 20-30years? The majority of recreational consumers do not. Yes the resale of the alum hull will be far greater but only as a result of the high aquisition cost. No matter how high the quality and long lasting built the boat is, 20-years old is....still 20 years old. Better technology of electronics, rigging, power, paint, and upolstry will always make the 15-30 year old boat just that, outdate compared to lessor brands/hull material type when is comes time to trade/sell for newer/bigger boat. That fact alone will put downward pressure on your re-sale/trade cash proceeds to the point where your total cash outlay including purchase, maint, less cash from resale will be greater that that of the lessor product - far greater in some cases. This is particulary true if you are re-selling and a down-market or recessionary period. Too much risk and greater net cash outlay of total cost of ownership make purchasing the top-top quality a less diserable option - let's not also forget the loss oportunity cost associated with what you could have done the with money you saved at the time of purchase had you gone with lessor product.

Going back the authors postion on quality/design of brand name fiberglass boats, when all things are taken in the consideration, the articles have lot of excellent information for the boat buyer but his position represents one part the multi factor equation when determining which boat to buy and the real value of one vs another.

Fiberglass is tricky but when designed/contructed right and subsequently purchased right (read Used) the often are a far greater value that more durable contruction materials and techniques.

 

[SSfisher]

Anyone got there own reviews? On local builders? We had a boat built by Lifetimer, quite a few problems we had with it. There quality has dropped over the last 3-4 years i think.