Questions for the Skater gurus

[ar15meister]

Just wanna start by saying that I am a big Skater fan (my favourite cats by far). One day I would like to join your 'Nation' I think.

I have a few questions.

How well do Skaters hold up over time? Lets say in comparison to a Cigarette. I know one is a V but I am interested to know how much different a high end cat ages in comparison to a high end V.

Do you think in 5 years (2014) 2002-2004 Skaters (32 or 36) will be afffordable to purchase? I am rtalking about I/O boats more but a newer 32 with 300's would be interesting too.

I have even been looking at a 1991 40 Skater in the OSO classifieds, wondering what kind of money would buy a boat like that and if it would need serious work.

I know each boat is obviously different but are there issues common to these particular models?

Is the cost of ownership different on an older cat than on an older v? (aside from Insurance which I have already looked into and is only 3x what I pay for my V)

Thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

[Chris]

Skaters will always be very expensive- they're very expensive new and they don't build that many. Like any boat, the use put on it is going to be reflected in condition. I'd be wary of something thrashed- these are very high performance boats and they're laid up light. They're constructed by what is most likely one of the best laminators ever, but they're built to be fast, not to hammer waves for 25 or 30 years. The only thing worse than a tired one would be an older one redone- I'd be very concerned about what's hiding under that shiny, new paint. There are also more than a few of them out there with soaked up balsa. A little can be repaired. Alot- probably not. And because of the light layups and the dependency on engineered structure, it's just a matter of time before one suffers a significant failure. This isn't limited to Skater- all balsa cored boats are susceptible.

[Bobcat]