Clarke and Carter or another brokerage?

DennisF

DennisF

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 Dec 2011
Messages
273
Visit site
As per other posts I will hopefully be upgrading to a bigger boat over the Winter. Assuming that goes ahead, I’ll then need to sell my Westerly Berwick. As it is based at Suffolk Yacht Harbour Clarke & Carter would be the easy choice of broker, but they are relatively expensive for smaller boats as they have a fixed £1000 brokerage fee. Do people recommend them, or are there better options?
 
DennisF said:
As per other posts I will hopefully be upgrading to a bigger boat over the Winter. Assuming that goes ahead, I’ll then need to sell my Westerly Berwick. As it is based at Suffolk Yacht Harbour Clarke & Carter would be the easy choice of broker, but they are relatively expensive for smaller boats as they have a fixed £1000 brokerage fee. Do people recommend them, or are there better options?
Click to expand...
Sell it yourself, an ad' on Apolloduck is an OK solution.
 
I bought my last boat via Clarke and Carter, a pleasant experience. I believe that they offer hard standing for a time as part of their deal which makes helps the cost somewhat.
 
I placed a 'mature' Rival 34 with C&C in February 2025, tidy and realistically priced (C&C agreed with my valuation) . It received an asking price offer within 3 days and sold. The photo's that C&C produced were, I'm sure, of considerable benefit as were their other activities to ensure the sale went through without a hitch.
 
DennisF said:
As per other posts I will hopefully be upgrading to a bigger boat over the Winter. Assuming that goes ahead, I’ll then need to sell my Westerly Berwick. As it is based at Suffolk Yacht Harbour Clarke & Carter would be the easy choice of broker, but they are relatively expensive for smaller boats as they have a fixed £1000 brokerage fee. Do people recommend them, or are there better options?
Click to expand...
The important figure to look at is the net proceeds from the sale rather than the commission you pay. Plus of course a speedy and trouble free transaction. However it is worth trying to sell through Apolloduck first to see what enquiries you can generate. However getting enquiries is the easy bit and converting to done deals is what you pay a broker for.
 
When I sold my Centaur 5 years ago, I took it from Shotley to David Morris @ Titmarsh, nearly half the price, free hard standing and a faultless service, he even washed and antifouled from a spare tin before the eventual buyer viewed, and then he went earlier on the day of viewing to open the hatches to give it an airing - absolutely exemplary service. Will definitely take my next boat there when the day comes David Morris Yacht Brokerage .
 
I had reason to look at this brokers website (at a Gunfleet in case of interest) and all I can say I was impressed by brokers display online. Whether paying £1k is worth it for a vessel worth say £13-15k (my guess) really depends on need to sell. Maybe the westerly owners forum has sale page like Moody do which might be another possible market place? I believe many WOA owners out there so maybe they have views?
 
They had my 1990 Moody31 on their quay at Chatham for a year and never managed to sell it. I had also asked that visits be accompanied. That certainly didn't happen as somebody decided to test the loo out in its ultimate manner - except the seacocks were off.....do I need to elaborate?
 
Well C&C were nowhere to be seen. I would have happily given them a  very close viewing of the bowl. It was left to me to open seacocks and pump. I subsequently had it moved the Hamble and sold. The year in their hands didn't help it's condition, they need using and maintaining. No, I wouldn't recommend them.
 
CJTurner said:
Well C&C were nowhere to be seen. I would have happily given them a  very close viewing of the bowl. It was left to me to open seacocks and pump. I subsequently had it moved the Hamble and sold. The year in their hands didn't help it's condition, they need using and maintaining. No, I wouldn't recommend them.
Click to expand...

Blimey, that's shocking.
 
While C&C were clearly wrong in failing to accompany the viewing, as requested, I don't think any broker will undertake to use and maintain a boat on their books for sale at least not without additional charges to cover the cost. Those matters are generally the owner's responsibility.

C&C has changed hands since the Chatham branch closed.

Peter.
 
PeterWright said:
While C&C were clearly wrong in failing to accompany the viewing, as requested, I don't think any broker will undertake to use and maintain a boat on their books for sale at least not without additional charges to cover the cost. Those matters are generally the owner's responsibility.

C&C has changed hands since the Chatham branch closed.

Peter.
Click to expand...

That's a fair point of course.. but if you had a viewing booked anyone keen to sell would surely make the effort to get there beforehand and hose the bird droppings off, plug the boat in for charging, pop the heating on or open a couple of hatches to get some fresh air in.

Not sure that's too onerous for a broker on 8%.

If the broker is going to tie the boat up and leave as is for a year you can probably knock 5% of the value off every month it sits unloved.

I wondered around the for sale boats out in our local boatyard, 50% had zero preparation, 25% 'you must be joking' and 25% looked tidy.

Anyway it comes back to your location and ability to deal with the general public, if you need to prep the boat for viewing because the broker won't, you might as well meet the buyer yourself, give them a quick tour then leave them alone for a good look themselves. Come back with some coffees half an hour later and answer any queries they have, take deposit,
 
I suppose it's fair to say that I can't blame a whole company for the lack of attention of one person. Nevertheless, the loo being used and left made an indelible mark on me. The free mooring while on brokerage cannot be that unusual. C&C had one alongside their cabin at Chatham and Deacons on the Hamble, who eventually handled the sale, offered a similar deal. Surprisingly, Premier Marinas, just opposite at Swanwick and the home of Moody's, wouldn't take it on. ...not in their price bracket presumably. The buyers of this and its replacement have come from MOA listings in the 'Wanted/For Sale with legals handled at minimal cost by Euroyachts Largs. Highly recommended.
 
My impression from seeing others view boats at our marina Haslar is that some brokers are attentive when showing visitors around. There is a rather well equipped Jen 42DS next to us for sale so I have been able to observe the broker close up from our cockpit with tyre kickers and discerning buyers. Personally I would try to find a broker experienced in your brand eg Clipper for Bavaria(but appreciate legacy brands might not have this luxury) however if selling a moody for example I would start with joining Moody owners for £x and listing on their site. This assumes you have time to handle viewings etc and no shows - we put things on flea bay and it’s amazing how many no shows occur even when they are being gifted something.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top