How Many Boats Did You Look at Before Buying ?

[WillJacocks]

I didn't look at any boats. Just showed interest in sailing and a Catalina Capri 16 ended up in my driveway. Was talking about how much fun sailing was, and a Ranger 28 Tall Rig landed in my lap. Hm... I wonder if this is something I should pursue. LOL

[SaltyMonkey]

I keep changing my mind about what I want for my next boat. Each time I think I get close, I find something else a priority - comfort vs speed; etc etc.

[zeehag]

saltymonkeyboy---i looked at boats since i was 7 yrs old--many yrs. i looked in magazines as well as in person. i walked into one of these and found magic. didnt ever sail one. forgot about these for a while. i sailed everything i could to see how stuff sails--found some i really liked and some i coudnt stand to be near again in life--then i came here and started over again-- i found this one by accident--was my neighbor--this isnt a magic formosa--is a formosa. this is one of the ones that gave formosa a bad name, but much has been redone and is ok. that is one good thing about these--the bad stuff has usually been weeded out by now unless there are bad owners. there is no such thing as a basically bad boat, is there-(except clipper marine!)--jut different kinds and shapes. these , i found out yesterday, have a special advantage in their favor--they are one of the best boats at taking seas and in their movement. i am a happy camper--i just need to add a bit of weight to keep her down--her decking has been changed out making her much lighter than if she still had the teak. is a good thing i have that freedom of ability to fix and add weight--m0st feel the need to remove weight....how unique! but, as far as motion goes, you cannot beat heavy displacement, formosa/ct/hardin, to be exact., and at that, the 41 was the one..go figger---so , keep the secret--these boats rock!! keep spreading the bad words of them so there are more of them at a lesser price!!!

who needs speed--those guys can chill off the beer--we slowpokes get there rested and comfy and ready to play--the ones sailing performance cruisers get there in time for a long nap then have to resty up again for a bit--i know--btdt last yr--performance cruisers are a whale of a great time to sail and complete your need for speed and living on the edge--i think , for me, is time i slowed it down and got there with comfort and everything still on the shelves and in the cabinetry!!!!
yes, i am an adrenaline junkie, but i also like comfort. that is why i am selling my performance cruiser sand sailing away in my heavy displacement cruiser!!!! worked my butt off in the gulf in that performance cruiser in storms...consider that before you find out in a storm....
sail as many different boats as possible. dont just look--looks arent important. the performance and feel are.

oh yes--all those toys folks use in cruising--canoes, kayaks, dinks, etc?? they all fit on board my boat. easily. with room to walk and not fall!!!!

[rourkeh]

With new boats in the past I have always known what I wanted and narrowed it down to one or two makes then just decided which one filled my needs and bought it. I did that two boats ago with a 51 Bertram. But we just bought a sailboat used and we looked at 20 boats in person and dozens online before that. With the current economy there is so much used inventory out there it came down to price. We bid on 4 repo boats sight unseen, one a 50 Sweden yachts that we just missed by $10k. We made alot of offers, all quality production boats and none of our offers was more than 50% of the asking price. Finally it paid off and we got a nice used Cheoy Lee cutter for a great price. Prior to 2008 the sellers were in the drivers seat most of the time and really nice boats sold very quickly for top dollar, now the buyer with cash in hand is calling the shots. Anybody selling their boat in this market that thinks they are going to get top dollar for it is not in touch with reality. There are alot of desperate sellers out there, and very few buyers. It is nice to be in control as it is a very rare occurance.

[SaltyMonkey]

I think when the budget is complete and I eventually get fired (well I am saltymonkey) I will probably just buy something really quickly based on price and some relative nonsense parameters and just load it up and go. So, nothing more I can do about it except make some lists based on general parameters (such as whether it has inboard sinks and a sit down chart table and I can resell it). I love heavy displacement boats, and I love racer/cruisers and I love performance/cruisers...I love going fast and I love going comfortably. I just don't like sitting at anchors much. I love saling.

[windtraveler]

I think my husband and I are in the minority, we only looked at 3 in person - and COUNTLESS via the internet. What we did have was a VERY specific spec list of what we wanted (blue water boat type stuff), several makes/models that desired, and a very specific price point. We are also located in Chicago and did not want to (nor could we) spend a fortune flying to the coasts to look at boats. The stars aligned for us and we found a 1975 Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus in bristol condition in Michigan (bless the fresh water!) that we bought, LOVE and are currently "souping up" for our around the world adventure (we leave this September)! From what I understand though, most look at many, many more.

[Steve W]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Well so far based on the poll; regardless of what gets posted about how many boats people have looked at in their search, most people only go look at a few boats prior to buying. I think this suggests that most do their research on-line etc and narrow down what they want in the boat prior to going to look at them. So I would say those that post they have been looking for years etc aren't looking to buy a boat, they are just "shoppers" doing so as something to do.

Don, I have to also disagree. It was a learning process for us and I suspect that is true for most sailors moving up. Initially, I wanted a mid-80's Hunter 27 and looked at least a dozen before coming to the conclusion they were just not that well built. Rotten decks, mast compression problems, Renault engines or vibrating one cylinder Yanmars, plenty of water damage from leaks, small cockpit, lightweight hardware, blisters, waterlogged rudders, etc, etc. It was a great boat to learn what not to buy. It took 2 years and physically looking at almost 50 boats until I found the Newport 28, which I made an offer on the first time I saw it and have owned it 11 years with no regrets, based on the sailing we do. That is an average of looking at 2 boats per month over a 2 year period. If we started looking today, I could make a decision much faster because we know what we want and know the brands & models to avoid.

[S&S]

Current boat? I looked at six IIRC.

[trinescape]

I voted in the 10-15 range, one thing that happened quite a few times the picture of the boat in 'trade-a-boat'' [an aussie boat for sale mag] was excellent unfortunately it was taken when the boat was completed up to 10 years previously !! and the boat we looked at had some what faded from when said picture was taken , some brokers when questioned would throw their hands up and would say thats the photo the vendor wanted ,surely this is misrepresentation i would say !to this they shrug their shoulders and give you a what can i do look also what i found amusing is how some sellers rate their sails ,electronics and my favourite'' just cast off and go! shes got it all ''!!! In the end we found our boat from word of mouth an old fella at one of the marinas we frequented said to us you guys are always here your looking for a boat arn't you ? we nodded and he said that tri on the end is for sale the owner hasnt listed it yet but i know he's keen to sell -well the rest is history ! cheers andy

[David_Old_Jersey]

I narrowed the choice down to a Seadog via internet.

Once decision made I saw 4 or 5.

But only 3 onboard (1 very good and not for sale / 1 a bag of poo and the 1 I bought) - had also already ruled out half a dozen via internet / e-mail.

For me it was a buying trip abroad (to the UK) - so lots to think about and organise in advance.

[Hudson Force]

There is another factor! I was looking at potential boats early in college well before I had an income. I checked a high number simply because I spent a lot of time looking at boats when I couldn;t pay for any boat! Take care and joy, Aythya crew