Is it worth buying new boat "Options"

[WayneS]

Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

We are preparing to buy new at the London Boat show and am now working out what Dealer Options we should include with the purchase. Things like anchor, chain, VHF, Mooring kit, plotter.........

Has anyone got any views on whether this is the best way to do it, from both a quality and a price point of view.

For example, 50m of 8mm glav chain supplied by the dealer comes in at 212+VAT. A quick look at some online chandlers and I cannot match that. Is this because the dealer buys in bulk, or is it because they use low quality stuff.

Any views?

Cheers

W

 

[StugeronSteve]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

Anything that might give that might give the dealer a warranty opt out (ie. the electronics keep going up in smoke due to your poor radar installation sir) is worth having installed, equally anything that is too much hassle to do yourself, like inmast wiring and halyards. Stuff like anodes and through hull fittings that will require a crane out are best done before launching and the dealer will have to pay for another lift if any of them weep.

Unless you have loads of time on your hands you might as well cough up and get the kit fitted whilst you have your cheque book out and are in a state of financial shell shock. It becomes much harder to spend the money later. There is also often more room to negotiate on the cost of the extras package than there is on the price of the boat.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

Once sailed a Sun Oddity 42 that had the "comes as standard" anchor, a CQR lookalike, and it broke, leaving the entire blade section and half of the swivel on the bottom of a Croatian harbour. So, do they buy the cheapest they can get? Bet you life they do.

OTOH, when it comes to electronics, unless you go Tack Tick (and why not?), getting the damn stuff in, powered, and talking to each other is non-trivial and subsequently has the potential to cause some heartache if it goes titzup, so give someone else the responsibility for installing it, making it work, and keeping it working.

BTW, look very carefully at the 'standard' sails. If they're pants (usual) you might want to see whether you can opt out, and specify decent sails built to your spec, not to a low price target. Similarly, are halyards going to be stretchy, thus screwing your sail trim as the breeze builds or good stuff like Spectra. Might be worth looking for an upgrade from the off, rather than retro fitting in a season or two.

 

[MrG_2]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

When we bought ours we went and looked at the Raymarine plotter that was being supplied and decided it was a bit small so upgraded with a bit of negotiation...
Also the supplier only put one thin coat of antifouling on, as such it was very badly fouled up when we took it out of the water....

 

[Swagman]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

We did a mixture - checked out exact specs for each 'option' and if it met our standards, we then checked value. By and large for hardware and sails - the dealer was better value option and certainly simplest solution.
On £20K of electronics we found we could easily source for less - and did so.
Cheers
JOHN

 

[john_morris_uk]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

If you are buying, there is no reason why you shouldn't ask the exact specifications of all the kit - including what comes as standard. Some things you might want to 'upgrade'. Everything is negotiable after all! Quality of the sails, how many coast of antifouling, whether you get antfouling primer on first, what sort of anchor, what sort of warps and how long are they, how many fenders...??

You might also ask if you have a surveyor/yourself inspect as things are done?

I think I have heard of one budget boatbuilder who won't negotiate on anything - but such a deal is very rare.

 

[ROSSCO]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

what make of boat are you looking at?

 

[WayneS]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

Am looking at a Bavaria 33

W

 

[WayneS]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Most appreciated

 

[Sailfree]

Re: Is it worth buying new boat \"Options\"

I was advised to always specify the boat fully as often spinnaker fittings and Windlass fittings require the deck stiffened and that is included in the price and completed during the build.

I recommend you make a complete list of EVERYTHING you need. Get the dealer to price it. Then give it to a few other appropriate companies and ask them to price the bits they can supply. You then need to identify the exact quality of item each are quoting for as there are many different standards.

I would also ask for some typical purchase specifications as you may find among the "extras" things that you expected to be included eg Windex at mast head, Tricolour and anchor light at masthead, 3rd reef, mooring warps, fenders and many others.

When I finally listed everything the Bavaria headline price was not so attractive but only an exact comparison will demonstrate comparitive prices and ensure you don't get a surprise bill of £5000 for what the dealer considers extras.