Time to Repower?

At a recent brainstorming session convened on a conference call, one of the Power & Motoryacht gang suggested that because of the shortage of new boats on the market maybe buyers would opt to buy an older vessel and repower it, thereby acquiring a boat sooner rather than later, and also taking advantage of the improved efficiency and lighter weight-to-horsepower ratio of modern engines. This makes sense if the motors are really old, I suppose, but then someone suggested that, rather than repower a new-to-them used boat, skippers might simply upgrade their current engines, even if they still had a few good years of life left in them. This is okay if you’re flush perhaps, but otherwise I’m not convinced.

Why replace engines that are still running and reliable, whether in the boat you own now or one you buy, even if they don’t have the latest technology? It costs a boatload of cash to repower, and it will take many running hours to recoup your investment