A thought about what boats cost...

This is really interesting on a lot of levels, a quick economic point about pigs, and Scalzi with a few notes...

I've been thinking a lot about the cost of boats and why some are worth more than others. It's something of a mind bender...

For instance, just how do you base your value markers?

Is it workmanship/quality? Scarcity? Utility? Hipness?

Most boatfolk tend to obsess about quality and it's a given that a Hallberg Rassy is better built than a CAL or suchlike being built for different price points. Of course, where it gets complicated is that the CAL will take you to to the same places...

Which brings us to utility element and the argument that as far as simple transportation goes the CAL and the Hallberg Rassy are equal because they fulfill the same purpose. Not unlike the fact that a VW has four wheels just like a Rolls Royce and gets you from point A to B pretty much the same. As it happens, I'm a utility kind a guy...

If you're concerned with the whole hipness factor I should simply point out that boy are you reading the wrong blog!

Where I do see a real argument in favor of one boat costing more than another is scarcity. The fact that, being unique and offering something different that cannot be found elsewhere. This explains why junk rig or super shoal draft boats sell for more than their Marconi rigged or deeper draft brethren...

That said, in the real world it is always a mix of those factors but you'll seldom go wrong if you let the utility angle do the heavy lifting in your decision making process.

Listening to Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith

So it goes...