Local opinions and help on selling my boat please

Cliveshep

Cliveshep

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With apologies for a double posting - I did put this on the mobo forum only to realise that it is more likely to generate local interest than from folk far away and I should have asked for more local knowledge.

Chances are, and I'll know over the next week or so, I'll have to sell my boat to survive. I posted pics etc here: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2487428#post2487428

Can I please ask for opinions on how much I could realise on it's sale and is the best way to sell at brokerage or on e-bay?

Thanks for all your help.
 
I look at ads at boats i cant afford and id say 20k .
I'm sorry you may have to sell her , have you thought of hiring her out or taking people on trips ? I suppose H&S rules that out but if i was going to loose my boat ......................
 
How about going on just about every free boat sale web site going that includes Preloved/Friday Ads?Gumtree all of which have boat sections which would be searched by people on a budget who would not set foot in a brokers carpark let alone the office..Put your absolute minimum price on a wide area all types and prices site like Boats and Outboards where people will travel a long way if the price is cheap enough and a hope for the best price on the more area specific Thames valley area websites.Need to keep a list of what price has been asked on what website.You can always tell people that the boat is sold if they ring ref you cheap price and you have any interest at the top price level.
Hate to say this but new boaters will pay way over the odds if the boat is on their doorstep and they are rendered witless by "first-boat-itus"
You will need a price of some sort in order to deter some optimists and to encourage some who do not believe that a boat of that size is within thier price range.
Good Luck.
 
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Really sorry to hear that, I hope it does not come to that.

I used BoatsAndOutboards in the past and got a lot of enquiries.
 
She will sell in the £15-£18k footprint. Try her on boatsandoutboards.co.uk and also on appollo duck.
Broom 30s are always in demand and former hire or not she's still built like the proverbial brick skata house.
 
Get down to Hampton Court on a Friday afternoon, moor up to the Barge Walk, make sure the boat is looking spick and span and put for sale notices up in the windows and stay there for the weekend.

I had a Norman 32 on the Wey and did just that. The eventual buyer stopped to look on the Saturday, we gave him and his girl friend a ride up river to Sunbury with their bikes on the Sunday and she was gone done and dusted within the month.

This time of year with a nice sunny day and the Gods will be on your side !

Oh, and dont believe that anyone is a time waster - they might be but treat everyone as if this boat of yours could be just what they need to change their lives. And tell swmbo and the kids to behave or send 'em off somewhere.
 
I have sold boats before through Boats and Outboards, but just as a point of reference I have had my little dory cabin boat (freshly serviced 40hp Mercury, 17'... ) on there for four weeks and it has had 71 viewings. It has been on eBay as a classified for three weeks and had just shy of 1400 viewings.

I know that there are lots of idiots on eBay, and serious buyers will look at both, but that's a big difference and the eBay Classified was only £12

I sold All Gold through a broker earlier this year and they were very good (really very good, well done Penton Hook), but it cost over a grand in fees! Again, serious (and first time) buyers will take the trouble to go there to look at boats. I would recommend them for your boat, but negotiate an agreement that suits you or walk away, these things aren't set in stone although they'd like to give that impression.

Finally, consider downsizing? I am off in a minute to look at a little river boat, good enough for the odd weekend away, but cheaper to own and maintain than my old boat. Somebody somewhere will be looking to upsize!
 
I agree with the for sale signs on her . I sold Seaspray without adverts and bought Cuchilo after seeing a for sale sign in her window . Plus you get to cruise about on your boat and tell the wife your trying to sell her .
 
To everyone who has offered help and advice - thank you very much. I looks as though I need to be asking around £16k and be prepared to drop somewhat. I think the mooring on the Wey although at Addlestone and 2 locks up is indeed a very valid selling point, costing £327 incl vat every quarter it is probably far cheaper than Thames moorings although the NT do charge £400 odd to transfer it.

If anyone else has anything to offer, please don't regard the subject as closed, there have been things mentioned here I would not have thought about and that is very valuable. So, once again, thank you all.
 
If you are thinking of the hire option then i have a mate that does it but you do need qualifications etc to do it . I couldnt do it as i just own a boat . I dont think you need anything other than insurance to hire your boat out to unqualified people though ( thats a bit wrong isnt it but hey some smart arse thought that one up :rolleyes: )
Your boat seems to be large enough to offer hire maybe for the day ? I think i saw you on the Wey once and if that was you she is tidy although rather large for that river :D
Anyway a day out with food and wine etc must be worth a few hundred quid ? Not sure if you could be on board just serving the food etc as that may still make you in charge of the vessel and so will need to be qualified to take passengers .
I am assuming you are not qualified to take passengers BTW if you are then you are laughing .
With your boat i would aim at couples and advertise in riverside pubs . Maybe start at a low price to get it started but not too low that yobs club in and take here on a hell ride :eek:
I would find a way to be on board so the yob thing didnt happen but also be willing to get lost if the couple thing started to get a bit ermmmmmm ;)
Its yer boat mannnnn do what you have to to keep her !!!!!
 
Problem is I will need the capitol to live on and support my family if things don't change pretty smartly. The worry of that eclipses any possible pleasure from using the boat right now.

If you saw me on the Wey you should have made yourself known! It's the only Ocean 30 on there and you're right - it is a bit too big really but with Thames license prices we haven't been able to afford that for several years now so it's Wey or nothing! Also the moorings are cheaper anyway.

I wouldn't want to hire it out, certainly on the Wey. Anyone would have real problems unless an experienced skipper - it's just too tight for the boat. Bridges narrow and low, shallows and so on make it a challenge not experienced on the Thames.
 
Regret I cannot add anything meaningful with respect to value. But I would say in the past I have found Chris Manners at Penton Hook Brokerage extremely helpful. He will have a good idea of value of course.

Also he sees a lot of people and may even know someone looking for a vessel like yours. He helped me with re-valuation after engine change when I bought my second boat (not from him), and, albeit it in 2003, he sold my Birchwood 25 Thursday 10am when I left it with him 2pm the day before.
I hope your fortunes change so as to avoid the sale of your boat. Best wishes.
 
Well, at the moment I have just put "For Sale" signs on it asking for offers around £15.5k. However, I'm down on it this weekend and intend to take loads of photographs and then get more serious with the selling. I'm going to talk to some brokers to get a feel for the price they feel is realistic, and that will influence whether I sell privately or on brokerage.

We aren't using it, been out only once so far, and with stress of finances, strife at home and lack of work I'm not in a frame of mind to use it. I have lost the joy of it and just can't be bothered any more. I'm toying with the idea of a day-boat on a trailer for a bit of off-shore fishing as I will not have to worry about moorings and licences and maintenance and winterising and so on and will hopefully have enough cash from the sale to keep us rolling for another two years which is all I need.
 
Up for sale now!

Following the advice on this forum I was going to take her up to Penton hook, but got accosted by two different, ultimately time wasters, who saw the for sale sign in the boats window and phoned me. One spent hours on board then confessed after driving it up and down that he wanted to cruise the canals - pillock! The other was going into a joint venture with his uncle, this was what they wanted etc, emailed everything to the uncle, took them out for a couple of hours, his wife and kids as well, and at the end the chap phoned the uncle to confirm and uncle said he now wanted a trailed boat with an inboard he could take up to the Broads.

This selling lark is no picnic that's for sure!

Now on Apollo Duck and Boats and Outboards with pics on Mediafire,
links for anyone interested here:

https://www.apolloduck.com/display.phtml?aid=146331&bookmark=1

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/PAA4016

And link to internal pics: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=26cbd9d9727e81f1d956df2962098fcb1df00cf75fb05cf461390143435ec59c

Just dropped the price from Penton's original asking price so on at £15,750 and offers accepted.
 
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Why do people do that ! I took a few people out on sea spray when i was selling her and they had no intention of buying . Bloody time wasters !
 
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