Cheap way to keep a boat that won't sale!

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Lulabelle

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I have committed one of the big sins for sailors! I bought a new sailboat BEFORE selling my current one!

My old boat, a Westerly W21 is up for sale but I may have to start thinking about a 'Plan B' in case she doesn't go! She is currently on a pontoon mooring in the Firth of Clyde so even though I no longer use her, she is costing me money every month!

She is a trailer sailor without a trailer so I'm guessing the options I have is a swing mooring or buy a trailer and move her to a cheaper hard standing somewhere. Buying a trailer will add more expense and swing moorings appear hard to come by!

This was my first sailboat so I'm a little new to all this and would be grateful for any practical advice from the more experienced community :)

Cheers

Paul
 
Stick it on eBay and get rid of it. By the time you've spent money on mooring and insuring it, and time on keeping it looking nice, the extra money you'll get for it won't be worth it.

Everything sells if the price is right.
 
Drop the price until it sells. It isn't going to go up in value, it will cost you time and money and it is not nice watching it deteriorate :(

The cheapest solution is to find a local yard that will haul out and keep her on hard standing - you don't need a trailer for that.
 
A question which I think many people are going to ask over the coming years, as thousands upon thousands of GRP boats come onto the market, with fewer people in the market place to buy them.
 
Thanks for the advice...

I am starting to think that there is maybe just a small number of potential buyers. At 21 foot, I guess it will be just locals that might buy her!
If she doesn't sell in the next six weeks, my thinking is that nobody local wants her!

Thinking about the advice here... maybe I will have to just cut my losses and look at the ebay route! There is something a bit sad about a boat being left to rot on a hard standing somewhere and not being used :(
 
LadyInBed said:
There are (or used to be) yards that offer free storage if the boat is on brokerage with them. They probably take a higher percentage.
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We were in a similar situation a few years ago. We stored the boat at Ardrossan for free and Sunbird did the brokerage. I don't know if they still have this arrangement but worth a call.
 
I did the same thing a few years ago. My situation was that the newer boat was a good distance away from me in a yard that didn't charge a lot for storage, so I kept her there, doing a little work to keep nature at bay while I kept the original boat in the expensive marina/boatyard close at hand. This gave me the opportunity to do a good deal of work 'prettifying' her to make her a more attractive buy, but in the depths of the recession it took a year and a half, plus a 40% price drop, to move her on.
I would recommend getting a cheap trailer and bringing your boat home, if you have the space. You can then improve her appearance to increase the chance of selling. Sell the trailer as a separate item and get your money back.
 
You could buy a trailer, which helps you out now and would add value to a trailerable boat. May also make it easier to sell. Alternatively, sell the trailer after the boat has gone. If you buy well, you won't lose a penny.
 
A suitable trailer is going to be about two grand new and second hand ones are hard to come by - I've been along that road. Decent secondhand ones will have boats on them.
If you need to shift it quickly, eBay is the way to go or you could list it on Boats and Outboards for free as well.
Its a buyers market and you'll have to take what you can get, probably £2.5k max.
The other thing about a trailer is the weight - its getting near the limit for a family car.
 
CLB said:
You could buy a trailer, which helps you out now and would add value to a trailerable boat. May also make it easier to sell. Alternatively, sell the trailer after the boat has gone. If you buy well, you won't lose a penny.
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That could be throwing good money after bad. A trailer could well cost more that the boat is worth, and the combined price you could ask for the boat and trailer may be little more than you can ask for the boat on its own.
 
I did think about a trailer and take her down to the south of England for a bit of sailing. As Bedouin mentioned... I could be digging a even bigger money pit! It's all a bit of a gamble!

At the moment, I could;
1. Find a broker that would cover the mooring costs. (However, it is a cheap boat with not much profit for them to make)
2. Buy a very, very cheap trailer and find a very cheap place to store her. (I have grankids! so maybe one day....)
3. Ebay bargin.... starting at 99p
 
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My first boat, Hurley 22 was bought for £2k. Spent £3k on refit and upgrades (seacocks, autopilot, radio, gps, completely new gas system from bottle to cooker, nav lights, partial rewire, depth sounder +++++). I sold it for £2k. It sold within 2 weeks of being on the market.

I did have one absolute time waster. Came to the boat in Cardiff, in his email to me he mentioned he was a 'mature student', should have sent the alarm bells ringing there and then. Told me how his old man was a ship right and how he'd even built his own rowing boat once upon a time.

Spent 2 hours going over the boat, the engine, how it all worked, even took him out for a sail around the bay! Walked up to the Marina car park, and in the back of my boot, showed him the yacht legs, the spare fuel cans, the box of various paints and epoxies etc that I had been using and that were being given as part of the boat.

The guy turned around and said......''really like the boat, umm, I think I need to learn to sail first''! Then offered me £20 for his trip around the bay.

Stick it on ebay and get shot of it. Boats are a bit like relationships, once you've made the decision to move on, don't waste time reminiscing about your old flame.
 
steveej said:
Stick it on ebay and get shot of it. Boats are a bit like relationships, once you've made the decision to move on, don't waste time reminiscing about your old flame.
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You could be right! I have a new mistress now and I don't think that I earn enough to keep two mistresses! :)
 
Put it on ebay. I am afraid, boats of this era would not sell more than £400ish. If you dont sell it soon, you will loose interest on the boat and it will deteriorate to the point where it will become a serious liability.
 
Sandyman said:
A question which I think many people are going to ask over the coming years, as thousands upon thousands of GRP boats come onto the market, with fewer people in the market place to buy them.
Click to expand...

Sandyman - don't understand this one. Are you suggesting that the huge increase in new boat sales which resulted from things like laser cutting will mean lots of unwanted 2nd hand boats ? We were told by many people that you get better value from a second hand boat because of all the kit they come with which a new boat doesn't. Or have I misunderstood you ?
 
It's worth a try putting an Ad on Boats & Outboards, and I sold my last 2 Westerlies on Apolloduck, also chuck one on the Westerly website as well. Aim to get as much coverage as pos.

Hope you have success.
 
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