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  1. #1

    Market for 1980s 52c?

    In your estimation, how’s the US market for 52c’s of the 1982-1988 vintage? Buyer’s or seller’s?I’m looking at a couple in the 170k-190k asking price range. Pre-survey inspections haven’t revealed a pristine boat...each have their quirks. All are the galley up layout. All have the 8v92 Detroit’s. One has a supposedly recent rebuild (new head, sleeves, pistons, rods, bearings, injectors, turbos), but a smaller generator, no water maker, and a few other oddities. The others have more hours, but perhaps a better overall package. None have detailed owner history or maintenance back to the 80s.Seems to me that with diesel prices where they are, and the overall cost to maintain one of these things, they aren’t in high demand. Things get worse if you believe we’re heading into a recession in the next year. Perhaps I should just follow the sage advice on this forum, and be patient until I find a repowered 45cII.Or perhaps put new engines in an early 70s 42c that I know had been taken care of.Decisions decisions, and could certainly benefit from the collective wisdom here.

  2. #2

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    They’re 84-90 hi perf started in 88 I think. price seems high.
    "DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU READ OR HEAR AND ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE" - BEN FRANKLIN




    Endless Summer
    1967 50c 12/71n DDA 525hp
    ex Miss Betsy
    owners:
    Howard P. Miller 1967-1974
    Richard F Hull 1974-1976
    Robert J. & R.Scott Smith 1976-present

  3. #3

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    It's supply and demand. I've been watching my segment of interest for a few years now. I know what's for sale, how long it's been for sale and what sells. Little harder to get the actual sales prices but I get a few here and there.

    At the end of the day you have to answer the question for yourself....

    As to expecting a water maker.... I've only seen them on boats owned by long range cruisers. And, most of the time they are ready for overhaul after said cruise.

    Maintenance records 40 years back? Good luck with that. Far and few between.
    1978 53' Motor Yacht "LADY KAY V"
    Hull number 524
    Chesapeake Bay

  4. #4

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    I agree with you, Oscar. boat will be used for socal fishing purposes, so some range / speed would be nice, but neither needs to be excessive. Comfortable ride in typical conditions is worth paying for, however, hence my leaning towards the 52. I’d assume a 40 year old boat is very close to the bottom of its depreciation curve, but it hard to imagine the bottom is 170k (even with rebuilt engines).

  5. #5

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    I think on many of these boats, forty years might include 3-4 owners. Not much chance of maintenance records surviving all those transitions.

  6. #6

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    Anyone have an opinion on the 1987 52 repowered with 3406 cats on yacht World? Seems to fit the bill nicely. Can’t post a link yet, unfortunately. PM me if it’s easier.

  7. #7

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    Quote Originally Posted by The Hatt View Post
    Anyone have an opinion on the 1987 52 repowered with 3406 cats on yacht World? Seems to fit the bill nicely. Can’t post a link yet, unfortunately. PM me if it’s easier.
    Cricket has a pair of these in his 50 you might want to talk to him
    "DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU READ OR HEAR AND ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE" - BEN FRANKLIN




    Endless Summer
    1967 50c 12/71n DDA 525hp
    ex Miss Betsy
    owners:
    Howard P. Miller 1967-1974
    Richard F Hull 1974-1976
    Robert J. & R.Scott Smith 1976-present

  8. #8

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    I would say the market is still pretty strong for 52c's, and sportfish/convertibles in general. Of course when a recession hits they will be the first in the dumps and fire sales.

    For 170-190k I would not expect a pristine boat. When I was looking at comparables most boats in that range were mostly seaworthy but needed lots of upgrades to be considered current. Several of them were fairly close to rebuild time. Almost all in this range had dated electronics and dated interiors.

    To get into what I would call a truly pristine and current boat with many hours left on the engines and updated electronics they were all 300k++.

    When looking for a boat the things I really key in on are hull/structure condition, engine condition, generator condition, AC systems and then onto all the ancillary systems. I pay less and less attention to the items I can easily replace/add. For instance, water maker, even if a boat you are looking at has a water maker there is a good chance it will need overhaul or at minimum maintenance. I'd almost rather start out with a new water maker than try to hobble together something somebody has already worked on and screwed up. I want to make sure that they really expensive, difficult to replace items are good, or that I am at least very aware of their condition.

    Given the choice between a 45, 50 and 52, without a doubt I'd pick the 52. The biggest benefit you gain is cockpit and bridge space, which IMO make the 52c feel more like a MUCH larger sportfish. IMO the 52 feels more like a modern 65 in terms of outside space on bridge and cockpit. But if bridge and cockpit space isn't high on your list then the others are definitely worth exploring. The maintenance and fuel bills on all three will be similar enough to be a wash IMO.
    SOUTHPAWS
    1986 52C Hull #391 8v92TI
    PENSACOLA, FL

  9. #9

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    The benefit to pursuing these vintage vessels is that most either aren't interested in the time and effort it takes to bring these to full glory or they don't have the ability to do so. When we purchased our 55' two years ago it was listed for $189k, slightly over our budget and 10-15' bigger than we were pursuing. original 12-71's with 1600 hours, original 20k onan with 2100 hours, water maker, newish Garmin package, nothing spectacular. The PO was a hands off owner but he had strict maintenance/upgrade records from the 7 years he had owned. Personal inspection will tell a lot about the boats use and PO level of care. We searched the east coast for almost a year and spent 1/4 of our budget traveling to/from various vessels, how did we end up with this 55'? BEATs Therapy is a unique lay out in that it is a two stateroom, galley/dinette down with a HUGE salon, very attractive for our intended use. After pre-purchase survey and researching what the vintage vessels of that era necessitated we offered $130K anticipating a counter offer we never received. Point, don't exclude vessels you aren't looking for, ours was in St. Augustine and we had been to just about every major city in Fl, yet we never looked at this one. We became Hatteras owners 9 days after we laid eyes on it. Good luck, we're here to help in any way we can
    Last edited by ageless; 09-09-2019 at 10:45 PM.

  10. #10

    Re: Market for 1980s 52c?

    I just helped deliver a boat from Seattle to San Diego with the 3406 Catts and thought they were great engines, however you cannot believe their fuel flow info on their control panel ours read way higher than our actuall consumption but aside from that they seemed like great engines and used no oil unlike the Detroits. John
    Mahalo V
    1974 53 Motoryacht
    Hull Number 406
    San Diego, Ca. Ready 32 Nordic Tug, Brunswick Ga.

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