I'm fairly new here so by the time YBW have moderated this it will probably no longer be relevant but here goes.....
I really like jonic's style and thank him for bigging up the independent brokers! I try to do everything he lists but believe me it's not always easy, and often it's the buyers who cause the problems.
One thing I'd like to add, with some trepidation, is that the value of boat is quite relevant to whether or not a broker is used. The OP's boat probably falls right on the cusp of should / shouldn't, which makes his original question all the more pertinent.
The ironic thing is that, while with the smaller lower value boats there's obviously much less reason to use a broker i.e. less risk involved, reluctance to let any of the achieved price be lost on comission etc; it tends to be down at this end of the market you get the more difficult buyers! If you're thin-skinned or short-tempered a broker might be a big help to you
I've been trying to diospose of a Mirage 28 at a very low price for a friend on ebay and you wouldn't believe some of the nonsense I've had to put up with.
The OP seems to be web-savvy and all of the advice about making your own website etc. is undoubtedly good. But as jonic has pointed out, getting the leads is only part of the whole thing. With respect, a lot of the strongest proponents of the private website / sale have done it mostly with smaller, lower value boats.
I think the value of the OP's boat is just getting into the bracket where there will be a certain percentage of good buyers who aren't 100% comfortable with giving over that kind of money to a private individual (comments about escrow / conveyancing notwithstanding). Remember a private seller doesn't have a reputation to protect, whereas a broker is nothing without his. Buyers instinctively understand this - remember you were all buyers once!
I find with higher value boats it all changes markedly. Sellers don't have the time, or aren't interested in dealing with buyers. Buyers don't trust private sellers with that amount of money. The people tend to be much more straightforward, and could probably manage fine without a broker.But they almost alway use them. Such is life. Make no mistake, brokers have to work extremely hard to get to list high-value boats, and it takes years to built that kind of position in the industry. Which is why it can be dis-illusioning to find that some people hate brokers out of hand anyway: coming from the hands-on side of the marine trade I found this unsettling, but I'm getting used to it!
To get right back to the original question, to the OP I'd say with your kind of boat there's every chance you'll get interested, genuine buyers, so if you have the time and inclination to do the viewings, and can make your own website, then go for it without a broker. If you can enlist someone like jonic with a conveyancing-only service (good idea, that) then all the better.
Only sting in the tail is that, in the event that you don't get her sold and run out of time or whatever, brokers tend to be much less keen on boats that have failed to sell privately for ages before being brought to them.
Best of luck,
R.
