We discussed in a past blog (February 21, 2024) that it can
be helpful to decide on how long you may want to own a boat. Regardless of
which timeframe you decided on, you need to care for the boat like you are
going to own it forever and pass it down to someone you don’t hate.
A boat is a consumable product just like cars and homes. Its various parts will wear out
over time, luckily at different rates, but wear out they will. If you decided
you were going to keep the boat for 5 years and figured you could push some of
those maintenance items to the next owner, you will find your boat will be more
difficult to sell. A boat with a long list of deferred maintenance items does
not typically show or survey well. If we keep the mindset of longtime ownership,
we know that we (not the next person) will have to deal with deferred
maintenance eventually and that should push us to keep to proper maintenance
intervals. This also will help to avoid a big headache in the middle of August
when we want to be on the water. For those that subscribe to the “I will fix it
when it breaks” mindset, I suggest you keep your towboat insurance up to date.
By sticking with good maintenance practices, when that day does come to sell, you
will have set yourself up for the best chance of a quick sale at a decent
price. And hopefully your years of boating, regardless of the number, will have
been as hassle free and enjoyable as possible.
Todd Powell Boats 