Why are AB Yachts so cheap on the used boat market ?

I have looked through youtube and only been able to identify a video that shows still photo's of the boat (AB8O) and another that shows a quick showing from stern to bow on the starboard side. I will call AB on Monday as you've suggested because I believe this is the yacht for me. The Pershing 7x had me for a while but This yacht really has me wide open. After speaking to them on the phone, I guess I'll be taking my first trip to Italy in the spring of next year for a visit to see first hand my hearts desire, the AB 8O. I'm a real Niche kinda guy I guess and if I can get a few mods on the placement of Televisions and Living room/bedroom materials, that's going to be sufficient to satisfy my desires. Aside from Pershing, Riva and one Trawler from Sirena, I have no others on my list. With 450nm's at cruise throttle or thereabouts, I can pretty much make it to every "safe" PORT, I'm imagining for refueling or just hanging out to enjoy the lifestyle.

Speed is what I seek when necessary, and being a man who owns a Lamborghini's, 2 AMG Mercedes Benzes and a couple M class BMW's, I'll be right at home with my water speedster that also has some luxury amenities.

Do you intend to be an owner operator or get a crew? Either way, comfort with jets is required. If you've never run a jet boat, then essential to do so before buying. We love jets. Some captains may even not want a job on one. You're talking triple MAN 2000 hp. so a lot of routine maintenance.

If you need greater range in some areas, you can easily achieve it at lower speed.

I intend to be a owner/operator. It's just going to be my wife and myself and perhaps a couple of dogs. I'm from NYC and presently in Maryland with plans to wind up in Ft. Myers, Punta Gorda, Cape Coral, Palm Coast or Destin FL. Travel from the Keys to Cuba is a mere 90nm or so. Travel to Port Nassau of the bahamas is a mere 258nm @ 40 knots, that's about 0.3 hours. To Bermuda, From the port of Key West to La Habana Cuba it's 95nm. From Miami to the Port of Charleston is 399nm. From Port of Charleston to Port Of Virginia is 455nm and Port of Virginia to Port of NYC is 333nm. Of course I could make some course adjustments and am providing this just to give you an idea of some general trips I expect to make.

I think you need to very carefully re-examine the owner-operator idea on a boat that size with the complexities it has. The boat may own you. The time required with just routine care could quickly reduce the amount of pleasure in your pleasure boating.

Point Noted! I plan on having a management company and surely, for the first 2 years a captain so I can get my personal nautical skills together. I have a motorhome also and I've gotten quite adept at that over the past 4 years.

I'm also not too proud to beg... Perhaps you have some time that you could stop by and help. No question, I'll need some! For me, this will likely be the final call in Nautical. I'm green as baby leaf spinach but not afraid to admit and get what's necessary to help me mature.

DocCuzi

There was some good advice in lessons learned by OlderBoater. All boats are fun… but some boats are “easier fun”, or more livably and maintainably fun.

Suggestion; head to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat show this weekend (oct 27-31)and walk on a lot of boats to see -feel - learn what appeals to you….and your wife.

I have learned that going fast is fun, but my wife likes going slower and calmer. Often wake zones or weather makes it necessary to go slow anyway… and jet drives are a specialty item. Cool, but niche.

you’ve got a fun challenge ahead of you to learn what you like , so sample a lot of boats, layouts and systems. Charter a slow(er) and faster boat to get a feel.

my first experience was on my pal’s 54’ Pershing with Arenson Surface Drives from Miami to Key West. It was awesome…like a heavy ski boat…. but after several noisy jolting hours at 35kts, I was thankful when we slowed down for no wake zones.

I went the other way and bought a comfortable livable 54’ Flybridge Motoryacht. I like 20kts… but 8kts when I’m in no hurry is really relaxing….and my wife and guests like it calmer. We probably have more fun after we arrive where we are going; so make sure you have the right boat to live and entertain on.

Good luck in your search.

There's a gentleman from Pershing who sent me tickets to the show next weekend. Unfortunately, we cannot make that show for two reasons. 1st. our schedules cannot fit the timing and 2ndly we're not fully vaccinated yet. By my estimate, the prime time to make the purchase will be around this time, unless, the vendor constructed a yacht already and is trying to get rid of it. That could the the ideal situation because surely, the wouldn't want to sit on that inventory at that price.

At present, I'm looking to go fast. 45 knots cruising to Cuba or the Bahamas would be a dream. I do understand that sometimes getting the perfect timing in the deep is a matter of matching speed with the ocean currents for the smoothest ride. May I ask you, with Riva, Pershing and this craft I'm interest in AB 80, they all have those auto trim features when you identify your ideal cruising speed to make the ride less choppy, what is your personal opinion of the current implementations of the said technology to smooth one's ride on somewhat challenging seas?

I ask this understanding, there's a plethora of conditions that could present themselves, however, I'm looking for general assessment of how well you feel this technology works to aide the ride. I did attend a show here locally in Maryland in Anapolis MD, but certainly, that'll be nothing like what's going on in Ft. Lauderdale this coming weekend.

If you're looking to go fast, you'd better fly.
Leaving aside the fact that even 45 kts is hardly a speed for going anywhere fast, speed on the water is annoying at best, and scary at worst - with the odd occasion in between when it can be entertaining. And even then, just for a short while.

See, the fact that you are hoping to get a more comfortable ride through auto trim or other gizmos makes me think that you'd better try before you buy.
And mind, I'm saying this as someone who used to love driving boats (which is something completely different from cruising), but since you mentioned Lambos and AMGs, if that's the kind of experience you're after, forget boats like AB, Pershing, Otam, etc., because you will be disappointed by all of them, bar none.

Buy a DCB M31 or similar instead, keep it on a lake, and get your fix of 3 digits speed (but not before some serious training!).
With this kind of experience, you will laugh at 45 kts cruising on any 80+ feet boat, and you'll understand why folks who really want to go places by boat choose either trawlers or sailboats.

I'm looking at a trawler also. I don't mention it much here because it's certainly not this class of vessel and I didn't want to mangle this thread. No matter which direction I go, I'm going to need a ton of training and that's for sure. I appreciate your input as I'm presently poking around finding out what is what.

A couple of comments.

You never say what your wife is looking for in a boat or if she even is. Koffee says his wife likes slow. Mine likes fast but then mine is also a 500 Ton Master.

Second your auto trim comment scares me as if you're expecting something magical. Finding and maintaining the best speed for conditions is the art of a skilled helmsman. The AB does have Humphree Interceptors which are superior in finding the right plane and attitude but still just a tool to assist, don't tell you what speed to run for conditions.

I would say neither AB nor Pershing or any jet or surface drive is likely the easiest or best for an inexperienced operator.

And as to also looking at a trawler, that shows how far you are from being able to select a boat. I can't imagine any AB or Trawler lover who would also like the other.

I'd also suggest chartering boats similar to those you're considering. In 2013, we chartered many different boats and made our selections easy. You can charter any of the brands you've mentioned. We chartered an AB 116, albeit a slower one, prior to ordering ours. We chartered many Westport's and Pacific Mariners prior to ordering. Also, Hatteras and Burger.

I'd suggest the following.
1. Boat Shows
2. Chartering
3. Training
4. Engaging a captain to assist
5. Selecting 1st boat. Either used or if a new build have a representative to watch over it.

Doc
I’m smiling when I type this … but did you ever see the movie “Moonstruck”? Olivia Dukakis has a great line in the restaurant when she listens to the guy who just got dumped by his younger date…. She takes a sip of her martini and says to him “What you don’t know about women is a lot”.

if you want speed, get a Cigarette or a 5 outboard powered center console. It’ll be exhilarating… for a while. It’s the right tool for that job; but not the right tool to take a trip on.

hell- get the 116 Westport- an awesome choice-and get a Williams jet tender or a 38’ center console to get your speed fix.

but first - get yourself educated with real experiences. After trying several boat may find the AB80 is the right tool for you…. But at least you’ll know why and what it takes to feed and care for it , and what it’s trade offs are vs other boats.

Once again, all boats are fun;
some are just more fun overall. .

This is the very beginning of this leg of a journey for me. Most certainly, ALL of your suggestions above will be executed. I waited 6 years till purchasing the Motorhome and it only occurred after doing a similar process, Shows, Chartering, Training, more training, more training and then the selection. With a boat, I've already begun to elicit information about local captains and am willing to pay $$$'s to get my sea legs underneath me and have them become worthy.

I already heard back from AB boats (thanks for the tip) and got some preliminary pricing. Presently, we'll be taking our first trip to Italy sometime next spring or so and will visit a couple of MFR's while there. This process will be for about 2 years so my target to purchase will likely be more in the 2024/25 range with delivery in 2026 or so if we go new.

My wife didn't have too much of a desire to do the yachting initially, but that'd be true of the motorhome also. She got into it (Motorhoming) after experiencing it with me and to me today, says "Bring it on honey" (laughing). She was initially completely unnerved at the idea of driving a 45' 54000lb vehicle but today is quite the operator. I expect the same will be with the boat but surely, there will be a ton of review and training before a selection is made here. I am infinitely appreciative of the information/guidance you offer and am eating it up like a little kid would eat birthday cake.

And here is some more good news for you DocCuzi, and I mean that seriously, not sarcastically. Until you gain professional training and experience, no insurer in the world is going to insure you to operate your own 80' AB. So you will be required initially to have a professional Captain. Insurers protecting you as they protect themselves.

I've seen the Cigarette. That thing is an absolute beast speedwise on the water way. I don't really envision that type of speed though perhaps down the road after I've developed my skills and knowledge of the seas, as a secondary pocket rocket, I might consider. That's another 3 million dollar investment new. By my wallet, I could buy a ton of trips, have a ton of maintenance performed and eat my hearts desire in exotic meals with that kind of dough. I actually think the AB80 will be right for me after all the reviews are completed because I'm stuck on it mentally. If I don't wind up going this route, I'll likely look into a Trawler that can cruise at 10 to 15 knots efficiently and that would have a top speed of about 28 Knots that'll be incurred in spurts just as a means to outrun inclimate weather.

Trawlers go a whole lot further on fuel than anything else we're looking at and trust, over the next couple of years, that will weigh heavily into the final selection criteria. It's like OlderBoater said, "Figure out how you really want to use the thing most and then you can select" (more or less).

Best news is I have some time and will really enjoy sharing my entire journey with you all.

Point Noted! I've been speaking with Insurers and am well aware of that fact. I've got some time, so when I'm ready to pull the trigger, rest assured, I'll be ready with all the required training, certifications and the like. I know you're being serious, not rude or joking. May this post serve to keep all informed who are in the same current state as myself and who have comparable aspirations of the process and what'll be required to go forward in this fashion.

I debit you again......

You're using the term "Trawler" very loosely as true trawlers don't run the speeds you mentioned. They cruise more at 7 knots with top of 10.

A company Sirena makes a 58, 68 and 88 that to the best of my knowledge are all classified Trawlers. They're powered by Volvo engines and deliver on a full tank of
58 footer
gas,VOLVO D11 670HP x 2
VOLVO D13 900HP x 2
Max Speed
25 knots
28 knots
16 Knots Cruising
10 Knots Economy
estimated 850nm at Economy throttle

68 Footer
VOLVO D13 900HP
VOLVO D13 1000HP x 2 (optional)
Same Cruising and Economy as the 58 Footer
Same Max Speed as the 58 Footer
estimated 1200nm range at Economy throttle

There's a 64 also, but these are the two I looked at.

Interesting boats and most definitely not Trawlers under any definition used.