Sell or change engine?

[Sailorsam101]

I have an Invicta which i wish to sell and move on up to bigger things.

But my quesion is this. At present i have a Dolphin Petrol engine that needs an overhall. About £500 will get the boat ready to sell. But as many of you will be thinking it just won't sell with a petrol engine...and the way the market has crashed in the solent.

So do i try to sell her as is for a lower price or do i spend some money and put a small diesel in. I have loked into the Diesel option before and it will cost about £1000 before i buy an old engine. I need a new shaft, prop..etc.

So any ideas....My fear is that even if i put her up for sale at a low price nobody will be interested because of the engine...or if i spend the money will she sit there for sale just like so many others have done for months...?

Any ideas.....and if anybody wants to buy an Invicta (1978) let me know.

Cheers.

 

[Mirelle]

Changing the engine is a LOT of work - bearing in mind new fuel tank, bearers, etc. and your heart won't really be in it, which will make it seem even more work.

Might I suggest that you change the engine, keep the boat for another year and carry on sailing her, but put her on the market anyway. Boats that are in real regular use sell quicker than boats that are lying around with a For Sale sign on them and you would get some use out of the "new" engine.

 

[Gin]

presumably the £1000 cost is just the ancillary gear and you are going to do the whole installation yourself- so unless you have a secondhand engine you must be looking at another £4k(ish) for that; £5k minimum plus your labour?

If you are on a fixed buget,as most of us are, can it be sensible to spend so much and then still have to hope that you will get a buyer and is not this cost disproportionate anyway to the value of the boat (even in its engine upgraded state)?

You could and probably would have spent your vital funds with no realistic prospect of getting your investment back and being able to buy your intended replacement boat.

I reckon you would be looking at many more years ownership of the Invicta, albeit with a modern engine.

My advice- don't do it. Pitch the price at a sensible level, as is, and be prepared to reduce substantially if you want to get rid of it and still have a chance of affording a replacement

 

[Sailorsam101]

Thanks for your reply.

The problem is that her indoors wants to (and i'll say this quietly) to power. She is not into sailing so these sail boat has to go.

I don't mind really as i get all the sailing i want working for a sailign school as an instructor. Also i quite like to idea of going to Alderney in 4 hours and or going to poole and having a lazy morning. I've spent to many years getting up at 6am and no i fancy a change.

So any ideas now..??

 

[Mirelle]

Ah. In that case, I agree with Gin. Cut the price and don't change engine. Pretty the boat up and hope for the best.

 

[SimonD]

I think the advice to 'pretty the boat up' is key. There are so many festering heaps on the market you will really stand out with a clean, well prepared sweet smelling boat. In my view it's presentation that sells boats more than specification of equipment etc. Look at the number of programmes on the telly advising people how to sell their house. The advice is always the same - declutter, freshen up and keep the decor neutral. No reason why this shouldn't work for boats - same people buy em. Ideally your punter will fall in love with the boat and then be looking for a way to get round the engine problem (assuming he or she thinks it is a problem of course). At that point, a tactical reduction in price will do the trick.

 

[Spyro]

Another cheaper option might be removing the inboard and fitting an outboard?