The 2025 Sailboat Market Split: Winners and Losers

The sailboat market isn't collapsing, it's correcting: insurance requirements, pandemic fallout and generational handoff are reshaping which boats hold value and which ones don't.

By
Dave Bennett
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Modern cruisers like the Beneteau Oceanis 393 remain competitive in today's market because they offer updated interiors, efficient rigs and reasonable insurance costs—features younger buyers demand. Image courtesy of Yacht World.
Modern cruisers like the Beneteau Oceanis 393 remain competitive in today's market because they offer updated interiors, efficient rigs and reasonable insurance costs—features younger buyers demand. Image courtesy of Yacht World.

In my opinion, 2025 was a weird year for the sailboat buying and selling world. We saw listings pile up, price cuts, motivated seller edits, and dock-talk about boomers dumping boats and tanking the market—but the truth is more nuanced. Yes, prices are cracking in some pockets, but the real story is a split market with clear winners and losers. Below is a breakdown of the forces that shaped the 2025 sailboat market and how buyers and sellers can navigate it without getting burned.

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Dave Bennett
https://www.captaindaveyachtbroker.com/
Dave is a OUPV-Six Pack Captain with 40+ years of boating experience spanning inland one-design racing, coastal cruising and yacht deliveries throughout New England and the Caribbean. He's sailed a Beneteau 35S5 on Lake Michigan and Cape Cod, and currently cruises aboard his Silverton 38, Cash In Advance, with his wife Tricia. As both a boat buyer and seller, Dave brings practical expertise in evaluating vessel condition, negotiating deals and matching boats to their ideal owners. He holds degrees from Duke University and Purdue University, and when he's not on the water or brokering boats, he's restoring a vintage British car.

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