How much should boat age factor into a purchase? Where's the diminishing-returns point?
Shopping for my first proper cruising boat, aiming for something around 40 ft to eventually move aboard and head for the Caribbean. As I work through listings I keep getting hung up on age, and I'd like to hear how experienced owners actually weight it.
A few things I'm trying to sort out:
How old is too old? All else equal, at what point does a boat tip from "purchase" into "project"?
On the flip side, where's the diminishing-returns line, the point where paying up for a newer boat stops being worth it?
Overall, how much should age itself factor in versus maintenance history and how well she's been cared for?
I know the big-ticket items are what really matter, like standing rigging age, engine hours, sails, and electronics, and that a well-kept older boat can beat a neglected newer one. I'm mostly trying to build a mental framework for triaging listings before I get to the survey stage.
How do yall think about it? Thanks