MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregor has "cherry-picked" the most popular "mods" as options. The furler, boom vang, mast raising kit, origo stove, porta potty, spare trailer tire, surge brakes, and a 50 HP outboard are more or less expected on these boats in the used market. MacGregor sells them in the brochure and video. The bimini, cockpit cushions, and swim ladder are also highly desirable. You'll probably get much more of a "return" on these than other mods, which may only bring 10-15% of their original cost, labor not included. The boat will also probably sell faster with these than without them.

Out in the tails of the distribution of buyers, on one end you'll find those of us who may pay a premium for a boat with no mods, or at least no mods above Rogers, as a blank canvas to tailor to their own taste, and on the other end, those who have the same taste as you and are willing to pay more than 10-15% for your mods above and beyond these. If you have such a boat, you may have to wait for those buyers to get the best price.

The same is especially true for a boat with an outboard below or above 50HP. A few, especially prior sailors, may find a lighter, lower HP motor attractive, but most won't. And a few, especially prior powerboaters, may find an overpowered boat attractive, but many won't.

There are a lot of good points brought out here. From out & out "no" to YMMV.

MY .02:

I was looking for a tricked out boat.
I was willing to pay a little more for certain kinds of mods:
Ability to solo comfortably.
Auto pilot
All lines led aft.
Upgraded sheets
depth finder
Compass, lighted & in neutral place.
Leaks taken care of...[NOT]
Galvanized Trailer, double axle.
Plumbed head.
Dodger installed
Radar arch & Radar [ Although I haven't used it well - yet]
Modified pedestal for electronic goodies

I got all of that & paid about $1,500 more than I should have. [$16,000 in 2006]

There may have been cheaper deals- but not with these extras that I valued / wanted.

I still did Many, Many mods - Thanks Board, To make this My Boat.

I ripped out most of the custum interior "Cabinetry" and the Old A$$ed water system in the pursuit of making it "My Boat".
I anticipate redoing my electronics due to age.


I paid a little more than I would have now - but with no regrets.
You can pay more, in general, to not get your hands dirty. But that ignorance is bliss attitude disappears when you realize you're gonna have to fix it when it's broke, Captain... Especially out at sea.

So in closing, can you / should you get more for your bag of tricks? Yes;
You can always say no to an offer you feel is not worth it. But don't expect to recoup your costs of time equipment and money.
Wear & Tear devlaues stuff greatly.
Some buyers, experienced or not, will value certain comforts or abilities - but don't expect alot.

.02
-Gaz

one other thing that a "tricked" out boat tells me is that its been looked after.

A Bare bones boat tells me that the owner did not love his "baby"

bastonjock wrote:one other thing that a "tricked" out boat tells me is that its been looked after. ... A Bare bones boat tells me that the owner did not love his "baby"

I don't agree BJ. I would bet that there would be little difference in percentage of boats that were really looked after when comparing 'tricked out' to 'bare bones' boats. I think the relationship would have more to do with the budget one has to spend when purchasing and fitting out the boat. I'm sure there are many owners out there with everything fitted to their boat, including the proverbial kitchen sink, and still treat it like crap. On the other hand i am sure there are owners that have little more than a couple of sails and a hull and treat it better than they do their wife, or girlfreind...or both!

I purchased my 1996 Mac 26X in 2005 for $9500. The PO was 75 years old, and he was selling the boat, not because he couldn't sail it anymore, but because his wife had Alzheimers and he needed to spend time with her. Consequently, he sold everything he had with the boat. This included a bimini, roller furling, two batteries, shore power, a traveler he designed and made, 50 HP Honda, hand-held GPS, depth gage, portapotti, extra lines, bumpers, an extra jib, life jackets, and many other little things. I paid about $5k - $6k less than what comparable Macs were selling for in S. Florida.

As we all know, to buy these extras new costs $$. I figure if I had to purchase all the necessities (e.g., life jackets, bimini, etc) I would have spent another $5k.

My point is, the extras won't increase the selling price.

Incidently, the old man has since bought a 19 ft. sailboat because he missed sailing too much.

Lesson learned: Find an old man whose wife has Alzheimers and whose Mac is all tricked out and you will not end up paying much if anything extra for the add-ons.

For me, the decision was on;y between new boats (my wife is from one of the poorer European countries and swears that she will never have hand-me-downs again) and I thought the M was my best option (still do) – my associate who bought at the same time went with a 30 year old Eicson 27 that was immaculate, heavily “improved” throughout, and ready to sit pierside in comfort, he paid 2 ½ to 3 times market and has no regrets – it truely is a lovely boat, and after a few “lessons with the PO - he had never sailed before - he single hands regularly after work for an hour or two. I think we are likely to be extremes. Still it was funny when we were sitting on his boat and I was getting grief about owning “one of them” from the PO, my associate said “but it goes 55 all the way to Door County” so I know he wishes his beauty had a wider choice sailing options.

You’ll never, ever get back the cost of any modifications because as the price starts to climb towards a new boat - the buyer will almost every time consider that a new item is better than a tricked used item.

c'mon - most of us mod the boat because we can. a lot of the mods aren't critical, just cool. If I wanted my racing tri, I would have bought one. Instead I wanted a comfortable cabin cruiser which i could afford and still have enough left over for the tricks.

We do I for the love of it. I realize that every additional ounce that my trick mods adds to Bellaroo will necessarily slow her down. There reaches a point of diminishing return with speed. It’s therapy for me. I love shiny metal things and apparently am easily amused.

Cam,

As you can see from these replies, there are many different opinions to this subject. There are also many different buyers You may have to do some serious marketing to sell that boat of yours. There's a lot of competition out there. Maybe not? Depends on the market you're in.

If you are selling a Mac with many options installed, there WILL be a buyer out there for it at the price you are asking. The challenge is finding that person. That proverbial "needle in the haystack". Then again, although out there somewhere, you may never find that person.

There are many opinions, but none of them matter. The only thing that does matter is what you will settle for when the time comes. Add all of the mods you wish. No one knows for sure whether you will find that perfect buyer for that boat of yours.

This is one of those subjects like discussing how many angels you can fit on the head of a pin. Once you come up with THE answer, so what! It comes down to this..........the reality is that the situation for the sale will influence at what price you sell at. If you are desperate to sell NOW, you will accept less. Regardless of what you put in that boat. If you are not in any hurry, you WILL wait for the price you want. Maybe later you will be in the desperate category? Maybe not?

In the meanwhile, enjoy your boat. If you don't own one, and are looking, then good luck in the hunt.


Ray