1996 Prout 37 Catamaran What to Offer?

[Curtinjulianna]

Hi!

My husband and I have recently found a Prout 37 Catamaran (regular not elite) we would like to put an offer on. The listing price is 95,000. I do not know what to offer as to not offend the seller. The boat definitely needs work as little has been replaced since its purchase date in 1996. The engine is diesel with 2000 hrs, so I think that should be in working condition for a bit. The boat appears to need new bottom paint, new upholstery, new sails, some electrical work, and some updates on rigging. All this will add up quickly so what is a fair offer?

Thanks!!

[Marc1]

Juliana ... if you are thinking in not 'offending' the seller, don't negotiate personally, find someone who has thicker skin.

I don't know which country the boat is and that makes a lot of difference. In Australia, boat advertised prices usually but not always ( due to fear of offend), range from 30% to 100 % higher than price paid.

Whatever I buy, I use a motto I learned in real estate ... If I am not ashamed at the price I offer, that means I am offering too much

The condition you describe makes me think that there will be more work required than what you describe, and that makes it an even lower proposition.

[Curtinjulianna]

That's a clever moto! Thanks! I'm located in America and pretty new to how the boat market works!

[Red_Jess]

Hi there

I bought my first boat in April (a '93 Prout 37 Elite). Here's what I learned:

1. Know your budget, and also know that you will spend more than you think on repairs and improvements, because you always miss something.
2. If the boat being sold via a broker, ask for a list of Prout 37 sales for the last five+ years, so you can get an idea of what a baseline price might be.
2. Price out the repairs you can already see need to be done. Deduct that amount from your offer straight away because faults you can see can't be negotiated after the survey and sea trial.
3. Make an offer, subject to survey and sea trial.
4. When you get the list of repairs that the surveyor says need to be done, price out the big-ticket stuff and renegotiate the price. If the repairs are deal breakers for you (full refits, months on the hard, project boats), cancel the contract and walk away.

For example, you might look at the sales data and see that other 96 Prouts go for 80,000. Upholstery, etc might cost you 10,000, so you offer 65-70,000. The owner accepts 70,000 and you go to survey and sea trial.

When you get the survey, the surveyor says you need to rebed the windows and service the windlass. You price that out and revise your offer to 65,000.

The owner can accept the offer or counter your revised offer.

Good luck! (Prouts are lovely boats!)

[mikedefieslife]

95,000 for a 37 (non-elite) would be expensive even in USD. For that price the boat should be perfect. That is going price (£77k in the UK) for a top condition Elite.

[sailingchiro]

I ask the seller for their best price and start the negotiation at 10% below that number.
As a buyer, we never know the thought process of a seller. Maybe the seller is tired of keeping the boat clean for all the showings he has and just wants to stop the madness. If the seller is firm on his number, he hasn't had to work that hard yet.
Some numbers:These are only estimates.
New sails: 7-10k
New electronics: 10k
Bottom: 2500
New upholstery: 5k
New roller furling:2500
Refrigeration: 1-2k
New rigging: 7k
A/C service. Etc.
Boat costs add up very quickly. I have put more into my boat than I paid for her. FYI.

[rmesfo]

Originally Posted by Red_Jess

Hi there

I bought my first boat in April (a '93 Prout 37 Elite). Here's what I learned:

1. Know your budget, and also know that you will spend more than you think on repairs and improvements, because you always miss something.
2. If the boat being sold via a broker, ask for a list of Prout 37 sales for the last five+ years, so you can get an idea of what a baseline price might be.
2. Price out the repairs you can already see need to be done. Deduct that amount from your offer straight away because faults you can see can't be negotiated after the survey and sea trial.
3. Make an offer, subject to survey and sea trial.
4. When you get the list of repairs that the surveyor says need to be done, price out the big-ticket stuff and renegotiate the price. If the repairs are deal breakers for you (full refits, months on the hard, project boats), cancel the contract and walk away.

For example, you might look at the sales data and see that other 96 Prouts go for 80,000. Upholstery, etc might cost you 10,000, so you offer 65-70,000. The owner accepts 70,000 and you go to survey and sea trial.

When you get the survey, the surveyor says you need to rebed the windows and service the windlass. You price that out and revise your offer to 65,000.

The owner can accept the offer or counter your revised offer.

Good luck! (Prouts are lovely boats!)

What Red Jess just said. Poifect.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by sailingchiro

I ask the seller for their best price and start the negotiation at 10% below that number.
As a buyer, we never know the thought process of a seller. Maybe the seller is tired of keeping the boat clean for all the showings he has and just wants to stop the madness. If the seller is firm on his number, he hasn't had to work that hard yet.
Some numbers:These are only estimates.
New sails: 7-10k
New electronics: 10k
Bottom: 2500
New upholstery: 5k
New roller furling:2500
Refrigeration: 1-2k
New rigging: 7k
A/C service. Etc.
Boat costs add up very quickly. I have put more into my boat than I paid for her. FYI.

Basic Dacron sails for a Prout 37 would be in the region of $3,000
Bottom paint needed is around 9 litres, plus haul out costs and painting yourself is around $1,500 (Done mine 35 twice now)
New rigging (just had mine done) $3,500

Electronics, refrigeration and the rest can be whatever you want it to be.

[Curtinjulianna]

Thanks everyone for all your replies!! I feel like I want to offer low because I'll end up spending a lot on replacements and upgrades. It would be able to sail as is but of course I want it outfitted properly.

The broker is not being forth coming about the level of motivation the seller has and the boat had only been on the market 3 months. Perhaps waiting awhile and seeing if it sits before making and offer would be a good idea.

Thanks everyone!!

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by sailingchiro

I ask the seller for their best price and start the negotiation at 10% below that number.
As a buyer, we never know the thought process of a seller. Maybe the seller is tired of keeping the boat clean for all the showings he has and just wants to stop the madness. If the seller is firm on his number, he hasn't had to work that hard yet.
Some numbers:These are only estimates.
New sails: 7-10k
New electronics: 10k
Bottom: 2500
New upholstery: 5k
New roller furling:2500
Refrigeration: 1-2k
New rigging: 7k
A/C service. Etc.
Boat costs add up very quickly. I have put more into my boat than I paid for her. FYI.

Well that’s one way to p*ss off a seller and make things difficult for yourself. Depends on the person, but when I was selling my last boat and had it advertised for a price, nothing grated me more than having umpteen wannabes ask for my “best price”, and then try and beat it down lower than that.

Sure, I know it’s a tough market and have factored in 5% to the asking price so when you ask for a “best price”, I can chop that 5% then we both feel like we’re getting a good deal. But then you try and take another 10% off? At that point, you can guarantee I’ll stop replying to your messages....🙄

As for prices listed, a lot depends on whether you do it yourself. My last bottom paint job cost £240 (42ft cat), electronics were well under £1k and rigging came in at £4k.

But yes, boat’s cost a lot more than you think they will and once you start on the “I’ll just fix / replace / swap” this, it’s a slippery slope...😂

N

[old pirate]

At a quick look at boats sold I found Prout (snowgoose) 37
78 sold for $32000
83 42000
80 40000
85 21072
84 56355
97 85901
All of these were sold between Jan 2017 and today except the 97 model sold in March 2016 in the UK.
Hope this helps !
p

[Hoodsail]

You note that you are in America...if on the east coast then also consider that in about 2 months boats are being removed from the water and put on the hard for winter storage. Additional cost that can make the seller more interested in negotiating, but also means additional expense for you. After survey found a few "need to be done" jobs, I negotiated additional credits that saved a few thousand more $$ for work i completed in the next season. good luck with your purchase.