Boat EconomicsKeep, Repair, Upgrade, Resale, and Review
Is a Known Repair Cheaper Than Switching Boats?
Compare a known repair quote against replacing the boat entirely, using only future cash, not what you already spent on the boat you have now.
Anchoring to the past makes this decision harder than it needs to be
"I've already put so much into this boat" is a real feeling and a real trap. What you've spent on the boat you have is gone either way, whether you repair it or sell it. The only numbers that should drive a repair-or-replace decision are the ones still in front of you: the repair cost, what the current boat would sell for today, what a replacement would cost net of that sale, and how each path's ongoing costs and eventual resale compare.
How this is calculated
The repair path adds the repair quote to the current boat's ongoing costs over your horizon, then subtracts what you expect it to resell for at the end. The replace path starts from the candidate's price (or its total financed cost if you finance it), nets out what selling your current boat brings in after transaction costs, adds any near-term condition reserve the candidate needs and its own ongoing costs, then subtracts its expected resale. Comparing the two totals gives the incremental cost of switching.
Worked example
A $4,000 repair on a boat worth $15,000 today, with $3,000 a year in ongoing cost and an expected $8,000 resale in five years, comes to an $11,000 repair-path cost. A $30,000 candidate, after netting $14,500 from selling the current boat (accounting for $500 in transaction costs) and adding a $500 condition reserve, starts at $16,000 net, plus $15,000 in its own ongoing cost over five years, minus a $16,000 expected resale, for a $15,000 replace-path cost. Repairing and keeping the current boat is $4,000 cheaper here; the repair would need to reach about $8,000 before replacing became the cheaper path.
Common mistakes
Comparing the repair quote directly to the candidate's sticker price, without netting out what the current boat would actually sell for, overstates how expensive replacing looks. The opposite mistake, an optimistic sale-value estimate for the current boat, understates it. Get a real number for what your boat would actually sell for before trusting the result either way.
Frequently asked questions
Does this tell me whether the repair is worth doing from a safety standpoint?
No. This is strictly a future-cost comparison. Safety, seaworthiness, and reliability need a qualified mechanic or surveyor's evaluation, not a cost calculator, regardless of which option comes out cheaper here.
Why does replacing "cost" less than the candidate's sticker price?
Because replacing isn't just paying the candidate's price, it also involves selling your current boat, which brings cash back in (minus transaction costs). The model nets that sale proceeds against the candidate's price before adding ongoing costs and resale.
What if I'm not sure what my current boat would sell for?
Use a conservative estimate from recent comparable listings. Since that figure reduces the effective cost of replacing (it's cash you'd get back), entering an optimistic number will make replacing look better than it may actually be.
What does the break-even repair amount actually tell me?
It's the repair cost at which the two paths cost the same over your horizon. A real repair quote below that number favors repairing and keeping the boat; a quote above it favors replacing, all else in your inputs held equal.