Where is my boat?

yoda

yoda

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Now I'm in a position to buy a boat everything that look promising turns out to be not quite as expected from the advert. I'm not worried about dirt, cosmetic neglect or known material issues but if a boat has an osmosis problem declare it. The quality of many adverts is also terrible with little useful information. The more I look the less I find. So if you know of a dirt cheap Sadler 32, Sigma 33 or possibly Contessa 32 (sub £20k) in need of some love let me know. Ta very much

Yoda
 
Searush said:
"Dreamer, Dreamer, Nothing but a Dreamer,
Can you put your hands in your head?
Oh no, nothing but a Dreamer"

Supertramp.
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Well that was helpful...

I happen to know Yoda and I also know that he is actively looking with cash in his hand wanting to buy another boat, or perhaps you were suggesting you can't possibly get a basically sound Sadler 32, Sigma 33, Contessa 32 for under £20k?

They are around - you just have to ferret them out.
 
john_morris_uk said:
Well that was helpful...

I happen to know Yoda and I also know that he is actively looking with cash in his hand wanting to buy another boat, or perhaps you were suggesting you can't possibly get a basically sound Sadler 32, Sigma 33, Contessa 32 for under £20k?

They are around - you just have to ferret them out.
Click to expand...

Thank you John

The dreamers in my opinion are some of the sellers out there who think their boat is worth more than it is. Cash is king.

Yoda
 
My point is that you are expecting a lot. Not every seller is desperate for your fistful of dollars. Some don't really want to sell, some ARE realistic & sort their boats before selling. Your desire find a sound but scruffy bargain boat is all well & good, but perhaps there is a reason why you aren't finding any?

Perhaps they are like Hen's teeth & need a few year's searching to wheedle out of the woodwork, or maybe they are snapped up by locals or pals before they hit the market. Bargain boats don't need much advertising, cos lots of people would buy them. What you find on the brokers' lists are the other dreamers who think their boat is worth a fortune, or will never sell cos it is a deathtrap or beyond economic repair. Plenty of them around & still for sale oddly enough.

I still think you are dreaming to hope to find a bargain immediately, just cos you can wave a few squid around. Good luck, it may happen, but it won't if you are in a hurry.

Any broker will tell you that good boats sell quickly, being scruffy may mean it sticks for a while, but owners seldom want to lose several grand just cos it's scruffy, after all a decent valet wouldn't cost that much would it?

Cash is king? Bollix - that only works if the seller is desperate for cash. Most are not enforced sales, even in the current economic climate. You make yourself sound like a vulture wanting to prey on unfortunate owners suffering severe hardship. I don't like that attitude. I suspect it isn't true, but it IS the perception you have given me with your original moan. I am simply trying to get you to be realistic & pay a decent price for a decent boat & not expect to be able rip someone off from a long queue of unfortunates dying to be suckered into selling to you for a song. It probably just isn't going to happen.

Finally, it isn't YOUR boat until you offer a price that the vendor is willing to accept - is it?

Finally (2) ;-)
I find the best deals are when the buyer thinks he's paid too much & the seller thinks he's been robbed.
 
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Tend to agree with Searush. Cash is not "king". Everybody has to pay cash for a boat (even if they have borrowed it).

The boats on your list are very popular, which means two things. Firstly there is a ready market should somebody want to sell and secondly they are less likely to be in that "dream" condition (for you) of being basically sound but a bit scruffy and therefore sellers likely to sell for substantially lower price.

Not to say that there are not such boats around but unlikely to be actively for sale.

There are, however, many of the less popular designs on the market and not selling, although you are still likely to find that they are not worth even the lower asking prices!
 
+1.
Yes. £20k is the very bottom of the scale for Contessa's. For that money it is unrealistic to expect to get anything more than a bottom end boat which will inevitably need a fair chunk of money to get up to a good standard.
 
While I understand the views expressed by Searush et al, I have to disagree with you. Firstly I am not a buyer who has a boat to sell unlike many. I don't have to arrange finance etc. The phrase cash is king was meant to mean that I can move quickly if required (and when potentially high storage or mooring charges are looming that can carry weight). Yes I am looking at the bottom end of the market but have already seen a number of boats of both the right sort of quality at the right price, each has had a slightly different issue which has not made me jump yet (but may still do so) because I want to have a good look round and be sure I get what I want. If you read other threads about boat use this year you will know just how many people are sitting on boats that they may actually consider selling if not already on the market. Hence my thread, only by using every available means am I going to find what I want. One of the worst things I have found so far is that many brokers fail to give decent honest descriptions of the boats they are selling masking an issue of significance. Owning up to scruffy paint jobs and osmosis issues (and not a stopper in my opinion) are top of the list. I've even seen black tape used to try and hide the fender scuffs on a black painted hull. So sorry I think you are wrong to think I am dreaming.

Yoda
 
OK, here's another clue; Brokers charge commission.

At your level, that is likely to be around a grand extra cost.

Do your legwork around clubs, boatyards, docks & harbour-side businesses. Chat to any boat owners you meet. You could include marinas, but bottom end boats are more likely to be on bottom end moorings. Leave your address & requirements & a "Cash Available" notice on display. Put a "Boat wanted" ad on Boats & Outboards & YBW website (& others), join the Owners' Associations.

Good luck, but finding the right boat is a never a 5 minute job, people are NEVER rushing to grab your money unless they are desperate tii get rid & that is generally not a good sign.

BTW I bought my boat many years ago as a bottom end example with a good discount as it had not sold as quickly as the owner expected. It was tarted up to look good, but had a few underlying problems which I new I could either solve or live with. Boats in our price range are seldom subject to purchase chains & all sensible buyers make sure they can raise the relevant money before maing offers.
 
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Where is your boat was the question and just like houses location - location is all important. I have seen many boats in Turkey that would be highly desirable in UK but are not valued in the same way here. Saw a Vancouver 32 (seller honest enough to say may need a new engine) with a 25K euro sticker on it but unlikely to find a buyer out here. Last year there was a boat in the Ionian 45 foot Taiwan moulded boat in good condition. The owner had died and his family did not know the value of the boat. Went for 20K. pds.
 
yoda said:
Now I'm in a position to buy a boat everything that look promising turns out to be not quite as expected from the advert. I'm not worried about dirt, cosmetic neglect or known material issues but if a boat has an osmosis problem declare it. The quality of many adverts is also terrible with little useful information. The more I look the less I find. So if you know of a dirt cheap Sadler 32, Sigma 33 or possibly Contessa 32 (sub £20k) in need of some love let me know. Ta very much

Yoda
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You are being unrealistic thinking that something of that age and price wont have serious issues like osmosis. A very well respected surveyor reckoned that by the time they were 10 years old over 90% of the old build style boats ( ie those from the 80s or earlier) had the beginnings of osmosis.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
A very well respected surveyor reckoned that by the time they were 10 years old over 90% of the old build style boats ( ie those from the 80s or earlier) had the beginnings of osmosis.
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Surely that should read "90% of boats, that haven't already been treated for Osmosis, of the....."?

Cos there must be more that 10% of boats built in the 80s and before that either have been treated or don't show any signs.... :)
 
snooks said:
Surely that should read "90% of boats, that haven't already been treated for Osmosis, of the....."?

Cos there must be more that 10% of boats built in the 80s and before that either have been treated or don't show any signs.... :)
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The "problem" with osmosis and its treatment is that there were many different kinds of treatment and nobody really knows how long they will last. So even if there has been treatment - and much of this was done 15-20 years ago, it could still fail. Time will tell.
 
tonybannister said:
Where is your boat was the question and just like houses location - location is all important. I have seen many boats in Turkey that would be highly desirable in UK but are not valued in the same way here. Saw a Vancouver 32 (seller honest enough to say may need a new engine) with a 25K euro sticker on it but unlikely to find a buyer out here. Last year there was a boat in the Ionian 45 foot Taiwan moulded boat in good condition. The owner had died and his family did not know the value of the boat. Went for 20K. pds.
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You are right about location. Markets adjust prices to reflect demand and there is little demand for odd old fashioned boats that need work in the Med. Very few local buyers and most N European buyers want a modern boat they can just sail without spending hours and money making good. There are of course exceptions and I have seen people pick up real bargains in Greece because they are in a position to perhaps live on them while doing the work.
 
yoda said:
Now I'm in a position to buy a boat everything that look promising turns out to be not quite as expected from the advert. I'm not worried about dirt, cosmetic neglect or known material issues but if a boat has an osmosis problem declare it. The quality of many adverts is also terrible with little useful information. The more I look the less I find. So if you know of a dirt cheap Sadler 32, Sigma 33 or possibly Contessa 32 (sub £20k) in need of some love let me know. Ta very much

Yoda
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I'm in the same boat but at an even lower end of the market!Prices are bound to come down over winter + the dire economic climate so pace yourself.It is better to be safe than sorry as my old mum used to say :)
 
your boat

Think about a WESTERLY,31 I have one , it·s brilliant to sail and live on, lots of storage, space to relax, etc

check them out you will be surprised.

Where is your boat ?,,,,,, In the Meditereanean , waiting, near Barcelona.
 
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