From a Boatyard With Love

At a boat show many years ago, I overheard two executives from a major boatbuilder, one whose boats you’d probably like to own, lament the loss of first-time yacht buyers because of bad experiences with boatyards. Builders rely on buyers moving up into larger boats to keep solvent, and if an owner has a bad boatyard experience right off the bat, not only will they not move up, but they’re likely to sell the boat and take up another sport. Did I hear someone yell “Fore”?

It’s no secret that boats require lots of maintenance and repairs, and with builders piling more stuff onto even small-ish vessels, the situation is getting worse, at least from a technical standpoint. Keeping the mechanicals, electronics, plumbing and so forth working as designed, while also maintaining the vessel cosmetically, means writing checks, often for large amounts, on a regular basis. But that’s okay: It’s the cost of having fun, and you