BOATING TIPS -- JANUARY 1995
Northwest Boaters Take Good Care of Their Boats

I went east to New York State and Maine in November, and during part of my trip I had occasion to visit a large, successful Maine boat yard, which also was a dealer for several premier sail and power boat manufacturers.

Like many eastern dealers, this company had a large indoor showroom, where boats of various sizes, some brand new, and others up to ten years old, were on display. The showroom must have been around 6,000 square feet! Meanwhile, surrounding the showroom were scores of boats of all sizes, all hauled out, wrapped in canvas, sealed in poly wrap, or simply exposed, to avoid the ice of the adjacent river, for it was, perhaps, a quarter-mile to the Atlantic Ocean.

Of course, my first reaction was "Boy, I'm glad I don't have a boat here!" The thought of boating only from May to October when compared to our nearly year-round activity was depressing; and the hassle and expense of having to haul and winterize these big boats every fall, and then restore them to running condition and re-launch them every spring, was a dismal prospect.

But another thing caught my attention: how poorly kept nearly all the "used" boats were by our Northwest standards. Here I was, looking at boats at what was obviously a quality, well-regarded dealer, boats rated as "excellent" and "bristol", and they looked pretty shabby to me. In fact, I inspected an expensive 34' Diesel cruiser, and another 42' first-class trawler, the first a '92 and the latter a '85, and neither was even a "5" on my 0-9 scale, and they were both offered for sale at top (for the East Coast) prices.

Later, when I got back to Bellingham, I chatted about the experience with some professionals in the marine industry, and we reached several conclusions:

• Northwestern Americans may take better care of their boats, in general, than pleasure boaters anywhere else on our continent;
• That fact, more than regional economies or discretionary incomes may explain why Northwestern boats sell for a premium of 7-20% more than boats from elsewhere.

There is another interesting point here, too: because of the higher standard, it bodes well for you, as a northwestern boat owner, to take extra care of your boat: a local buyer will expect it to be better when the time comes for you to sell it, but he'll pay a premium, too!

For several years now, I have been helping folks find boats all over North America. Many of these have been very low priced. But I have yet to find one where, when all was said and done, the saving was more than 5% when compared to a similar boat from this region, partly due to the cost of shipping the boat from far away.

Fortunately, this has not been so true of California boats: frequently, these can still save over 5% in total cost delivered to the Northwest, and turn out to be in fairly good shape. So sometimes, a good buy can be found.

But if you want a "primo" boat, I think you're probably just as likely to find it right here in our back yard.

And that, dear readers, is a tribute to you and all the other Northwesterners who really care about, and take care of, their boats. Congratulations on being the best boat-keepers on the continent!

Best wishes for safe and happy boating in 1995!

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