To buy a yacht treated for osmosis ?

[Tranona]

There you are Tranona, another lesson for you.
I bet you did not know that buyers knew the real value of something better than the seller who had owned it, until you got involved in this lesson.
You should thank him for educating you in the ways of the boating world.

Thanks for that! I was beginning to think it was me.

It is clear there are different worlds that people inhabit, some perhaps more real than others.

We have just been through the process of deciding whether to sell our Bavaria, and part of the reluctance was I am not looking forward perhaps to having to deal with people whose value systems are different from mine.

Anyhow problem was solved by a permanent berth coming up at the Yacht Club yesterday with 24 hours to decide. Concentrates the mind, so boat not for sale - yet!

 

[Ubergeekian]

There you are Tranona, another lesson for you.
I bet you did not know that buyers knew the real value of something better than the seller who had owned it, until you got involved in this lesson.
You should thank him for educating you in the ways of the boating world.

Only buyers know the value of anything. Or was that your point?

 

[Quandary]

Only buyers know the value of anything. Or was that your point?

No, the opposite, a potential buyer only knows what he thinks it is worth to him, only the vendor can decide the actual value, and for every real buyer there are half a dozen time wasters, Surely you have sold enough boats to have encountered the guy who is 'a serious buyer' but has been purchasing a boat continously for years, or the other one who asks 'did you sell her? How much ? I would have offered you more than that.'

 

[Tranona]

What people seem to forget is that for every buyer there must be a seller. Almost every thread on the subject starts of with something like "don't they know it is a buyers market" or "they always ask too much money" or "don't they want to sell the boat" or, as in this thread "why should they expect to recover the cost of making the boat saleable".

A private vendor is very different from a salesman (or builder) trying to earn a living out of making or selling boats. He is selling his own personal private possession so he is much more acutely aware of the value to him and whether the price he accepts is greater or less than that value. Each individual has a different motivation to sell and if he won't reduce his price then rationally he is saying he would rather keep the boat than accept the price offered. On the other hand if his need for money is greater than his desire to keep the boat he may well be prepared to take less than he would otherwise like.

Trying to tell him he should not expect a return for the money spent on turining his boat into a saleable proposition - and passing on the benefit of that expenditure to the new owner is just arrogance.

 

[Billjratt]

The treatment has been done and (presumeably) has a guarantee. = value
If there had been no mention of osmosis in survey... then negotiation normal (and possibly the onset of osmosis within a short period)
What do you think is the best deal - a guaranteed osmosis free period, or an unknown quantity?
It hinges on the quality of the osmosis treatment, original quality of boat, and how YOU are going to look after it in future.
Think about it - you could find an osmosis-free boat that had spent the last 25 years mostly out of the water due to absentee ownership. It would (oddly) survey cleanly, but after a season or five of your type of use, start to show signs of pox...
If you're in love with it, you'll attempt to buy it anyway. If the vendor has any sense, he'll stick to his price.

 

[Lakesailor]

As a purchaser:
The boat has been treated and has a guarantee for X years. You pay what you think it is worth to you. What the vendor has spent is irrelevant.

In a few years you will be the vendor:
You will then have a boat which has been treated and has a guarantee of X-a few years.
Suddenly the money you paid over-the-odds for the boat becomes very relevant.

Sure, other boats have osmosis. Some are not treated. Some are.
But this relates to this boat and your chance of paying more than it will be worth, later on.

 

[Boo2]

arrogance

Arrogance :

...But you can't use the treatment as a bargaining point if he has already declared it...

...If you don't want to buy a boat that has had osmosis treatment, don't waste any time on it...

...the warped logic that there is somehow a fixed price from which you require a discount...

...None of this is of any concern to the vendor...

...You make your offer based on what the boat is worth to you - you don't have to try and persuade him he has "added something on" that he should not...

...he is just as entitled to tell you to clear off as you are to walk away....

...When you become a seller instead of a (non) buyer you might begin to understand!...

...Why are you treating the seller as an idiot by trying to tell him why he is asking too much...

...you don't need to tell him why you are offering less...

...it is best ... for the buyer not to waste his time if the asking price is different from what he is prepared to pay...

...there are different worlds that people inhabit, some perhaps more real than others...

And my personal favourite :

I am not looking forward perhaps to having to deal with people whose value systems are different from mine.

Arrogance, huh ?

Boo2

 

[BrianH]

I've heard it said that all GRP boats kept afloat will eventually develop osmosis. I'm not sure I agree with that. I have also heard it said that any treatment for osmosis is merely a stopgap for a later outbreak - I agree with that because it happened to me with an earlier boat, a Trapper 500, which again developed osmosis beyond the guarantee period (5 years).

What I have observed is that some marques of yacht are susceptible to osmosis and some are not. This particular yacht under discussion has demonstrated that it belongs to the former category.

Of course, in general osmosis is rarely structural and mainly cosmetic and one can sail and grind out and patch when hauled out. Nevertheless, it is a worry and a definite problem when selling. Personally, because of my bad experience I would not consider buying that model or any other from its builder - but that's me, your milage may vary.

 

[Tranona]

Arrogance :



And my personal favourite :



Arrogance, huh ?

Boo2

Yes, if you want to read it that way!