Market Trends: 30’+ Boat Lengths

Don Finkle with RCR Yachts is on the front lines and shares the view from his station:

Why were so many sailboats under 30 feet built in the 1970s and 80s, but so few today? The main reason is cost; it is tough for manufacturers to build small boats at an attractive price and make money doing so.

I learned the reason why many years ago when speaking to one of the designers at C&C Yachts. He said it is really rather simple. Take two boats—one a 28 footer, and another a 38 footer. Each one has a rudder, a keel, a mast and boom, mast step, an engine, bow and stern rails, bilge pump, steering, electrical system, running lights, stove, etc., etc. Not only does each boat, regardless of size, have many similar parts, the installation labor is not that much different.

While the larger boat can command a higher price, the smaller one can’t, so the cost to build per foot does not go up as much as the price you can sell it for.

As the number of used boats on the market grew, the number of new boats built shrank, further compounding the problem of keeping costs down. So small boats being built today need to have features, design, construction and performance that are not available on the used market. These are often performance sailboats like J/70s, Melges 15s, etc. There is always a market for performance, whether it be in skis, tennis rackets, or boats.

The flip side of that is why most boats are now larger and more expensive, and there are several reasons.

First, that is what buyers of new boats want. There are new boat buyers and used boat buyers. Those who are at a stage in their lives able to afford and enjoy a nicer boat, buy new. They are often older, want more comfort, seaworthiness, stability, space and convenience. Larger boats provide those things. The other factor is what the manufacturers can make money building, and it is not small boats. The larger the boat the more profitable for the builder.

If you have been in boating for any length of time you realize just how many manufacturers have gone out of business, as mentioned above, and it is not easy to make money doing this. The vast majority of sailboat builders of the ‘70s and ‘80s are long gone. Most of the boats they built back then are still out here, but they are getting long in the tooth and in most cases are not what today’s buyers are looking for. So, buyers want larger, nicer and more expensive boats and the builders are happy to oblige.