Spreadsheet for Boat-Buying Comparison?

[outthere09]

Hi all,

I'm on the hunt for a boat and need to condense the info into a spreadsheet for comparison purposes...i.e., hull&deck, rig, electronics, tanks, etc. It gets especially tricky and eventually confusing when you are looking at several different builders at the same time...As oft said here, it's always a trade-off but you need it down so you can price out the trades.

Does anyone have something handy-dandy that they have devised or know of an online site that may have one?

I'm looking for 30-32 cruiser, coastal with possible eventual offshore..Westsail, Pacific Seacraft, Tartan(?), Tayana.

If not, I'll make my own and post here...why reinvent if not necessary! Any help appreciated!

[rjrap]

I'm not sure this is what your looking for but it a basic scorecard for condition and gear on a boat. Rate each item 1-5 for individual boats.

BoatUS Guide to Buying & Selling A Boat

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by outthere09

Does anyone have something handy-dandy that they have devised or know of an online site that may have one?

Things are never quite what you want are they - so I wrote me own

But I was looking at one specific Model only.......

"Wayluya" Seadog! |

It wasn't perfect, but good enuf that I sent out to a number of Vendors to complete some of it for me. I am sure it made me popular

BTW it does "Cut and Paste" from the Webpage into Excel (ok, a bit of fiddling to then do ).

[nautical62]

When shopping for my most recent cruiser, I made a similar paper grid. This was more to identify which boats I wanted to look at more closely. (Once I decided which boats I wanted to look at, I had a list a few pages long of things to inspect.)

Some of the things that I wanted to compare were probably differnet to what you wish compare, so I'd recommend just making your own.

For me some of the things were:

Year, Make, length and location.
Asking Price
Engine type, HP, year, Rebuild, Hours
Holding tank
Bimini
Fridge (yes, no, type, retrofit or original?)
Anchors and Rode
GPS/Chartplotter
general condition
Stove/oven
Other:

For me things, like whether or not it had a working VHF were minor enough, they did not affect my decision to look at a boat. Certatinly there were things which are even more important like does it have blisters, delamination, functioning seacocks, condition of sails, issues with the stuffing box, rigging that needs to be replaced, etc, but these were issues I'd likely not know until I actually inspected the vessel.

I should also add, before I got to this point, I had already prioritized certain models and knew certain characteristics, such as draft, sleeping areas, handling characteristics, etc. so that was not part of my grid comparison.

When it came to comparing different models, I didn't really try to analytically offeset the difference, but rather looked more generally at what it would take to get each one cruise ready, how this compared to a fair market price for that model and what I'd get out of these differences in terms of functionality, enjoyment and resale. I passed on a Morgan OI, that even after repairs was much cheaper than the boat I ended up purchasing. The decisions was due to the erogomic differences, headache factor of upgrades needed, resale and what I was willing to spend.

In the end, for me, it can only be part formula. I calculate what it will cost to address any deficiencies, but then I ask myself:

Do I want to buy boat X with it's needed upgrades and characteristics for price A

or buy boat Z with it's needed upgrades and characterisitcs for price B?

[outthere09]

Thanks David and Nautical for the info and very good insights. I started working on mine this morning and your's David has some extra info I had not thought of so I've incorporated them.

I guess if you are a true DIY-er, it's a bit easier as you can look at the upgrades needed and gauge the time and expense needed. I'm more looking for 'sailaway' in present condition, which I can learn to upgrade over time.

This forum has been great too...one guy wrote that despite your 'dream', most buyer's never ultimately use the boat that way, and that made me take a harder look down the sea path and be more realistic. I stayed up last night into the wee hours reading 'speed vs. comfort' which is a GREAT thread and sort of makes you rethink your list of 'must haves'.

Anyway, Onward I go!

[burrowsmark]

I liked the last 3 posts, My wife and I are looking to upgrade to a larger boat, today we looked at 4 boats, Catalina, 34 & 38. We both expected to see some older boats, but we found all 4 of these were not taken care of and very dirty. So, I wonder myself, does one spend more money up front and pay all the interest for several years or take the gamble on a older boat, and not know until you buy it how well will it shine? Mark

[Pathfinder]

Send me your email address and I will send you an Excel workbook with five spreadsheets in it, mostly sailboats 28 - 36 ft. Helpful if you like to compare this way, using figures and specs.

[aseligman]

See enclosed website--it may work for your needs--maybe not.

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