Getting a boat ready to sell.

[Renegde_Sailor]

I've had my current boat going on almost 8 years now, she is a 1966 Spencer 42.


I have really enjoyed this boat, she is fast and nimble, sails incredibly well, took her to Alaska last summer.

Several times now I have had 6-10 people onboard her, and at that she is just getting too smalle and thus have decided the time has come to get a bigger boat and that will mean getting this one ready to sell and on the market.

In the time I have owned her I have spent around 100k making upgrades to her, did a massive refit of her systems, replaced most of the 12v electrical, all of the 120v, installed a new Victron Multi-plus 3000, a pair of MPPT charge controllers, 400 watts of panels, all new plumbing, through hulls, a fresh bottom job that involved stripping the bottom bare etc.

As well I did new water tanks and a new holding tank for the head, and I did a major refurb to the head.

She is in pretty incredible condition inside, everything that matters has been dealt with systems wise, however, her gelcoat is pretty dead, and her exterior is a bit on the shabby side.

Part of my thoughts are to spend the money, buy the paint and get a fresh coat on her, then get her up for sale, the other thought is to do a few gelcoat repairs and get her brightened up as much as possible, sand and oil the wood and call it a day.

I know when I put her up for sale I am going to include all of the Makita tools I have in her and what not because I will be flying to my next boat, so going to have to pack light and it will be easier just to replace things there.

When I put her up for sale I also plan on doing a very solid video tour showing her condition, what I love about her, what she will still need.

As well when I haul her, she is going to get a fresh survey, so all of that will be included in my documentation of her and so on, and I had this surveyor inspect the boat several times to check off on the work I was doing to ensure it was sound.

Right now I am stuck in that place of fighting a balance, because I know I could always do more to her, it would be pretty easy to shovel another 50k into her making small improvements if I start going through the rigging and painting her etc.

I am trying to find the fine line of where to cut it off and hand it to the next guy.

I would really appreciate any thoughts you all have to offer on this, I am hoping that I can get her sold this spring so I can make things happen on the boat I have worked a deal to get and move on to that next chapter.

[Katapult Mike]

Originally Posted by Renegde_Sailor

I've had my current boat going on almost 8 years now, she is a 1966 Spencer 42.


I have really enjoyed this boat, she is fast and nimble, sails incredibly well, took her to Alaska last summer.

Several times now I have had 6-10 people onboard her, and at that she is just getting too smalle and thus have decided the time has come to get a bigger boat and that will mean getting this one ready to sell and on the market.

In the time I have owned her I have spent around 100k making upgrades to her, did a massive refit of her systems, replaced most of the 12v electrical, all of the 120v, installed a new Victron Multi-plus 3000, a pair of MPPT charge controllers, 400 watts of panels, all new plumbing, through hulls, a fresh bottom job that involved stripping the bottom bare etc.

As well I did new water tanks and a new holding tank for the head, and I did a major refurb to the head.

She is in pretty incredible condition inside, everything that matters has been dealt with systems wise, however, her gelcoat is pretty dead, and her exterior is a bit on the shabby side.

Part of my thoughts are to spend the money, buy the paint and get a fresh coat on her, then get her up for sale, the other thought is to do a few gelcoat repairs and get her brightened up as much as possible, sand and oil the wood and call it a day.

I know when I put her up for sale I am going to include all of the Makita tools I have in her and what not because I will be flying to my next boat, so going to have to pack light and it will be easier just to replace things there.

When I put her up for sale I also plan on doing a very solid video tour showing her condition, what I love about her, what she will still need.

As well when I haul her, she is going to get a fresh survey, so all of that will be included in my documentation of her and so on, and I had this surveyor inspect the boat several times to check off on the work I was doing to ensure it was sound.

Right now I am stuck in that place of fighting a balance, because I know I could always do more to her, it would be pretty easy to shovel another 50k into her making small improvements if I start going through the rigging and painting her etc.

I am trying to find the fine line of where to cut it off and hand it to the next guy.

I would really appreciate any thoughts you all have to offer on this, I am hoping that I can get her sold this spring so I can make things happen on the boat I have worked a deal to get and move on to that next chapter.

Clean her up, do the maintenace / repairs you can do yourself wthout too much investment of time and money, get'er on the market and get on with your life. You will never get your money back on a 50k refit at this age.

[Sailer_Med]

If you want to do some things do them and keep the boat. Don't do anything to sell. You will never recoup the time and money spent. Put your effort into the next boat.

Sell as is, where is.

[letsgetsailing3]

Clean it and spiff it up, but don't put a lot more money in.

Price accordingly.

Don't expect to get the money you invested back out, or you'll still have that boat next year.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

...Don't expect to get the money you invested back out, or you'll still have that boat next year.

Given a market value, in the neighbourhood of $50K. you're already over invested.
Hopefully, you've enjoyed the benefits of your investment.

Take your beating, and move on.

[Chotu]

Do 3 things to sell any boat:

1) clean the interior and get all your stuff out, throw pillows, etc to make it look nice

2) make sure everything works (water pumps, heads, refrigerator, etc)

3) Using the Collonite 920 fiberglass cleaner, then collonite fleetwax, bring the gel coat back to as new condition. Paint isn’t the answer. Collonite is. A weekend spent doing that Collonite work will net you thousands

[S/V Illusion]

Not sure what value a survey buys you. As a prospective buyer, I wouldn’t bother reading any survey provided by a seller.

[desodave]

I wouldn't put any more work into it other than cleaning it up and decluttering it. That is, unless you want to talk yourself I to keeping it. Your market is pretty small, if the boat remains in Alaska, and you've already updated most of the important systems in it. As others have said, imo nothing to gain from more of your work. Best of luck with the sale.

[Renegde_Sailor]

Originally Posted by desodave

I wouldn't put any more work into it other than cleaning it up and decluttering it. That is, unless you want to talk yourself I to keeping it. Your market is pretty small, if the boat remains in Alaska, and you've already updated most of the important systems in it. As others have said, imo nothing to gain from more of your work. Best of luck with the sale.

I am back down in the Seattle area with her now. Pretty good sized market here.

[Renegde_Sailor]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Do 3 things to sell any boat:

1) clean the interior and get all your stuff out, throw pillows, etc to make it look nice

2) make sure everything works (water pumps, heads, refrigerator, etc)

3) Using the Collonite 920 fiberglass cleaner, then collonite fleetwax, bring the gel coat back to as new condition. Paint isn’t the answer. Collonite is. A weekend spent doing that Collonite work will net you thousands

I will take a look at that, thank you.

[SailingHarmonie]

With cosmetics you will not significantly change the value of the boat to a knowledgeable buyer. What you do is improve the marketability of the boat, and increase the number of buyers who will be interested. “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Do things that increase what a house seller would call “curb appeal”. The superficial things that make it look like it has been loved and cared for on a superficial inspection. No other repairs are worth the cost. Skip the survey. Not worth the cost, imo.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

With cosmetics you will not significantly change the value of the boat to a knowledgeable buyer. What you do is improve the marketability of the boat, and increase the number of buyers who will be interested. “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Do things that increase what a house seller would call “curb appeal”. The superficial things that make it look like it has been loved and cared for on a superficial inspection. No other repairs are worth the cost. Skip the survey. Not worth the cost, imo.

I agree this, but it is interesting to think about.

increasing the number of buyers increases the value of the boat. Why? Because you don’t have to cut the price to sell it. You can sell it at the price the boats are worth in the market.

if you have a boat with bad cosmetics, you have to cut the price in order to move it.

but I very much agree with what you said. It’s basically the same thing I said ha ha. We are in complete agreement. it’s all about that curb appeal.

One other thing I would add is that aside from having everything clean and the gelcoat restored, there is a little phrase that is absolutely true.

“interiors sell boats”

[OS2Dude]

Another option: Keep the boat, reduce the number of friends!

If the number of guests you have aboard at a time is the primary reason you are selling her, then consider having fewer on at a time or go out for shorter periods. You can take out smaller groups more often. Or take camping gear and setup a base camp ashore, then you could sail around with few folks at a time.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I agree this, but it is interesting to think about.
increasing the number of buyers increases the value of the boat. Why? Because you don’t have to cut the price to sell it. You can sell it at the price the boats are worth in the market.
if you have a boat with bad cosmetics, you have to cut the price in order to move it.
but I very much agree with what you said. It’s basically the same thing I said ha ha. We are in complete agreement. it’s all about that curb appeal.
One other thing I would add is that aside from having everything clean and the gelcoat restored, there is a little phrase that is absolutely true.
“interiors sell boats”

Yep. The other important first impression is that the interior doesn't smell "funny".

If you have a list of all the jobs you would do if you were keeping the boat, and, if you like the new owners, give them that list and other notes and manuals etc.

Once the deal is done, offer to take them sailing in their new-to-them boat to show them the ropes and give a run down of its idiosyncrasies.

Take away all of your tools and stuff so they first see the boat with huge interior storage. Offer to sell or give them the tools and boat accessories when you have a deal - once again, if you like them enough.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by Katapult Mike

Clean her up, do the maintenace / repairs you can do yourself wthout too much investment of time and money, get'er on the market and get on with your life. You will never get your money back on a 50k refit at this age.

Exactly what I'm doing with my 1981 Ketch. Its in good shape, maintained pretty good for the age, but will never see any return on additional upgrades.