Boat Shopping in Southern Cal

[MABell]

Plan to “get out of Dodge” over spring break and was thinking about heading to Southern California to do some (used) boat shopping.
If you have experience in the area – where would suggest I go?
Where would you suggest I stay while there.
Looking for a sailboat in the 38 to 42 foot range. Seriously considering a pilothouse boat (I’m in the NorthWest). But most important, I need head room (6’ 5”). A conventional boat (whatever that is) with a canvas enclosed cockpit is another consideration.
Something that needed some (cosmedic) reconstruction is OK – but with my height restriction, probably looking at a later model boat.
If you can direct me to a broker you would recommend in that area, let me know.
Thanks

[Samadhi V]

I cannot recommend a broker to do business with, but I can recommend that you steer clear of Mariners Yacht & Ship Brokerage in Dana Point.

You could easily spend a day in San Diego going from broker to broker... but take a look at listings for the San Francisco Bay area, you might find more boats matching your descriptions and equipped for colder climes.

[jackiepitts]

Yachtfinders in San Diego is a reputable brokerage. I have only heard good things and purhased a boat through them myself with no complaints.
Here is a link to there web site
http://www.yachtfindersbrokerage.com/
Good Luck!

[David M]

Look here: Advanced search for new and used boats and yachts. - YachtWorld.com

You wont find a larger search engine/database for used boats. Walk into Joe boat dealers office and ask them to look for a boat for you and you will be paying them a sweet commission...and they will probably look in the same place! Some listed boats are for sale by owner...which cuts out the middle man. You will still have to pay a surveyor but you will have to do that anyway.

Many, but not all, yacht brokers are scurvy ridden wankers that you want to steer clear of. Their goal is to part you with as much of your money as they can...keep that in mind.

[Kanani]

Marina Del Rey and Long Beach are the largest marinas down here.

[jackiepitts]

DavidM the problem is that you have to be a licensed broker to list on YachtWorld so if you find a boat on this website you will still have to contact a broker to get any information and I rather doubt the broker will provide the owners phone number
If you are suggesting to go without a broker perhaps you should provide a link to a website that is "for sale by owner"
Regards,
Jackie

[David M]

Originally Posted by jackiepitts

DavidM the problem is that you have to be a licensed broker to list on YachtWorld so if you find a boat on this website you will still have to contact a broker to get any information and I rather doubt the broker will provide the owners phone number
If you are suggesting to go without a broker perhaps you should provide a link to a website that is "for sale by owner"
Regards,
Jackie

Ahhh...I did not realize that. Maybe I should have read the title where it says "brokerage yachts"?

Is there a good website for boats that are for sale by owner that you know of? I would like to see one for myself as well.

Thanks for the correction Jackie.

David

[MABell]

So far for the input. Keep it coming.

[jackiepitts]

I do agree that it would probably be best to avoid the broker but unfortunately it is not always feasible.
When I was in the market for a boat I do believe that I found a website for sale by owner but cannot remember the name of it since that was over two years ago. Also, I believe you may find some listings for sale by owner in boat trader but I doubt you will find much of a selection still worth a try.
I ended up selling our smaller boat without a broker after having it listed for over a year with a broker and getting almost no showings (needless to say I was not happy with this broker). The only advertising we did was to put a for sale sign on the boat in it's slip and posting on forums such as this one.
Hope this helps

[chris_gee]

BOE Marine

[Tuna Dave]

Sailboat Listings - sailboats for sale

This is a decent site.


Dave

[SweetSailor]

I also like Craig'sList for boat searching if you want to branch outside of YachtWorld. I have seen some boats cross-listed both on YachtWorld & Craig'sList so I know that Craig'sList does have good boats.

Yes, you have to be careful.

Yes, there are a ton of really crappy boats.

Yes, you have to use a million generic search terms (especially if you are not looking for a specific size & actually have a range) & even then you get things popping up that you never wanted. (btw, I limit my searches to a price range, the word "sail" & only ones with pictures in the boat section -- then I subscribe to the RSS for that search & get new hits anytime something is added).

But for whatever it is worth, there are some acceptable boats on there & it never hurts to add just one additional resource to the list when you're looking for a good boat.

[MABell]

Plan to be in the area over (our) Spring break.
Would appreciate if all you could see to it that the sun is out.

[bdcruzer]

hi, don't want to step outside the listing bounds here but I just listed my Morgan 43 center cockpit in the classifieds and if not too late I would invite you to check it out if you are coming by the San Francisco Bay area. It is on the SF Bay area craigslist as well. nice boat and I can give a discount if I sell it without an agent.

good luck in your search

Jay