[Robert A Cook PE]

Pardon my cynicism, but I think the retired physician got the better end of the deal. The cheaper end at least.

“A boat is a hole in the water, into which one must pour a continuous supply of money just to keep the rest of the whole dry.”

[Wally_Kalbacken]

You got that right. This story illustrates a lot of concepts, but the one that stands out for me, as a former boat owner, is the fact that so much of the boat market is pure luxury goods. People do not need them, and when the economy turns south or the owner's health limits their ability to sail or pilot, these things go on the market at fire sale prices. Point being, never buy a new boat, look carefully at the used market to find the ones where the owner's estate is selling the boat, or the owner bought the boat and didn't realize they were not going to have the time/interest to use it enough. My last boat was a Sea-Ray that the first owner had for 10 years. He used it for 34 total hours, kept it in a high and dry facility. Looked new, had some dated instrumentation, but was otherwise flawless.We bough it for less than 20% of the original selling price of ~$74K (and at that the owner had spent $24K storing it over the years he had it.) A boat truly is a hole in the water, into which one must pour a continuous supply of money...