Suggestions On Buying A Vessel

[lonesome boatman]

I have come to the conclusion that the perfect used boat to pre-conceived specifications is obtainable. You do your homework, research, shop around and view hundreds of boats and at the end of the day the boat you end up with falls well short of your specified requirements. To give an example years ago I was looking for a small pocket cruiser, full keel with a reputation for seaworthiness ect. What I ended up buying was an ex IOR ¼ Ton fin keel racer with heaps of weather helm. But the boat was fun to sail and had all the cruising accruements so at the time it was the most suitable boat for me. I used the boat for enjoyable coastal cruising for three years and then sold it within 1 week of placing it on the market. Sure I brought that boat as a knee-jerk reaction too not finding what the boat I was shopping for, but least I was out on the water living life. Things like aesthetics’, re-sale value, reputation ect are very hard to put a quantitative value on. Like Auzzee I am very impressed with Francis’s approach with the spreadsheet. I sold my last boat 10 months ago and have been on the look out for my next boat, which will be my retirement dream. This major purchase will be a lot more considered. I also use spreadsheets to appraise prospective boats but use a much simpler format of coloured cells.

The important items are highlighted yellow, and then rated in the adjacent cell from red (poor), light orange (fair), lime (good) & sea green (excellent). One boat I looked at recently is a very sound boat, but an overview of the spreadsheet red and orange areas means that the boat at the current asking price is not to be considered. Lots of red means lots of rectification (money!). I simply told the vendor politely although interested, I would need to spend X dollars and on that basis I could not justify the full asking price. On consideration of my calculations he immediately dropped his price 10K, but the price will need to drop further before I place an offer. Experience tells me that when the right boat (not perfect) comes along I will jump in head over heals. [^]

[JCFARER]

Originally Posted by name='Converted Post'

Originally posted by lonesome boatman

........ The important items are highlighted yellow, and then rated in the adjacent cell from red (poor), light orange (fair), lime (good) & sea green (excellent). One boat I looked at recently is a very sound boat, but an overview of the spreadsheet red and orange areas means that the boat at the current asking price is not to be considered. Lots of red means lots of rectification (money!). I simply told the vendor politely although interested, I would need to spend X dollars and on that basis I could not justify the full asking price. On consideration of my calculations he immediately dropped his price 10K, but the price will need to drop further before I place an offer. Experience tells me that when the right boat (not perfect) comes along I will jump in head over heals. [^]

Hello Lonesome...

I agree completely. Like yourself, this will be "thee" final one so we will do just as you will and, proceed with caution.

We kind of jumped at the 26 footer we have now after some research since we were not really enthused with the possibility of purchasing a one way ticket to permanent residence in Davey Jones locker, but, I can't really say that it was a jerk-knee reaction...maybe it can be qualified as a...as a twitch.

I am also color coding the spreadsheet that was provided and we're putting together some strategies for the purchase negotiations.

Fair winds,

J

[Luna C]

I am going through a similar process but have little desire to do a circumnavigation of this lovely orb....having done way too much time living in exotic locations while working for a living. The thought of hassling with petty bureaucrats, crime, and shoddy amenities suggests sticking to the East Coast, the Islands, Gulf Coast and ultimately a trip west through the Canal and north to Alaska with a permanent abode somewhere around the Puget Sound.

I don't have a spread sheet but as I find boats that I am interested in...be it for the price, name, model, equipment, layout....whatever....I print out the ad and make notes about the plus items and the negative items. As I go through this process I continue to arrange the printouts in a "Most desired, descending order based upon it's comparative value when compared to others.

This process follows about two years of study and contemplation of my interests for places to cruise, how many folks I might trick into joining me,sailing ability of the boat, liveability of the boat for various climates, quality of the construction of the boat.

Just as politics is a process requiring compromise...I see selecting the boat as much the same. Finding one big enough but not too big to be singlehanded...everything requires setting some sort of value from "Mandatory and neccesary" to "Undesirable and not needed". The key is in placing the correct priority on those factors.Having been a professional aviator....I approach selecting a boat much as I would an aircraft....balanced cost against performance and safety with safety being the trump card. The final, unavoidable issue is finding the right boat and being able to purchase the thing within your budget.

I am sure every cruiser has gone through a similar process when deciding which boat to buy.

[clarkso13]

Greetings,

Are there any feelings on the later model Tayana Vancouver 42, " " 46, or the Tayana 47/48. I understand they are a bit slower (shorter waterline/heavier, etc) than many of the other blue water boats out there, but otherwise seem to be of pretty good quality. I like the Island Packets, but it looks like I can get a great boat for a bit less money with the Tayana.

Best Regards,

[Spike_dawg]

Island Packets ... I've heard that the tank in the bilge (water and fuel) eventually corrodes and leaks. The repair is extremely expensive ($20k?). No access to the tanks is provided. I don't remember the details but had a friend buy one last year with this problem...Island Packet reportedly told him it was a known deficiency.