Internet shopping

[TraCove]

As we have found ourselves in the horrible position of being about 12 hours away from the nearest marina, we are doing a lot of looking for boats on the wonderful internet. Hoping for some advice, tips, things to be careful of. I know anything can look good in pictures!!!

[Sunspot Baby]

Similar experience here. Living in Kentucky, we spent two years searching for boats on both coasts (mostly east). I can’t count the number of trips we made to Southern Florida to look at boats.

First, yes, they all look great on the internet so “eyes on” is a must.

Second, if you make the trip to look at a certain boat, take the time to look at all other prospects in the same geographic area. You might make contact with a good broker who will keep an eye out for you, or turn up a boat not seen on the web.

Third, don’t be afraid to look at boats above your budget. A motivated seller might be a bit insulted by your low offer, but figure a bird in the hand . . . and take it. I had this experience on two boats, one of which fell out of survey, and one we bought.

George

[chuckr]

Tracove -- George makes a couple of intersting points - particularily if you are looking in Fla as it is becoming harder and harder to find a marina and sometimes folks will lower the price quite a bit to get rid of a boat.
As for a broker, not sure what you are planning to do with the boat, but when i was talking to brokers i wanted one that had been a cruiser and was a good teacher of what made a boat good or not. I found one and he worked with me for 2 years before i purchased SoulMates and then worked with me on what i needed in terms of additions and what i did not want to put on her or could do without.
good luck
chuck and soulmates

[TraCove]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Now how does one find a "good" broker???

[chuckr]

Tracove -- i can only tell you what worked for me. I went to a lot of boat shows and talked to a lot of brokers. Met one that seemed interested in what i wanted to do and seemed to have a lot of knowledge. After the annapolis boat show went to his yard in CT and he had some time to just talk. I had never owned a boat before or even knew what made a boat up except for a lot of book reading. He took time to teach me what makes a boat good or bad as showed me as we took apart 5 different makes of boats from expensive to cheap. He took time to learn me and found that i use to be a high altitude mountain climber and was something of a risk taker. He was also a cruiser in his younger days and knew what worked and what did not. but before he was a salesman he was a teacher and was very good.
As an example, i took my son who was in the USMC and worked on high tech stuff to the annapolis boat show and we were going through a boat and i was showing him what was good and what was bad about the boat - as we left the broker asked that we stay that he learned more from us about the boat than he had ever known. how sad.
it looks like you are in Utah so ct is a bit away - but his name is ted novakowski owner of sound yachts.
as a summary find someone who is a sailor and has been cruising
good luck
chuck and soulmates

[Gallivanters]

My personal favorite website for looking at boats (new & used) is www.yachtworld.com It's a global broker's site and full of info and pix which enable one to compare prices, layouts, rigs, engines, etc, etc, etc. One can easily determine the market value and almost see the evolution of popular production boats. I also find it interesting to see how other owners have customized the sisters of the boat I currently own.

Happy Hunting,

Kirk

[SkiprJohn]

TraCove,
My personal favorite for looking at boats and finding boat gear and comparison shopping is eBay Motors. Use search word "sailboat" and when you've exhausted that list use search words "sail boat." eBay is like a lot of other commercial concerns, they haven't looked in the dictionary to determine that sailboat is the correct spelling. Good luck in your search.
Before buying hire a good marine surveyor.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[sv_makai]

I am a firm believer in avoiding marine stores when ever possible as they over charge for items. We shop via the internet for either the best prices or like our solar we went to home / commerical PV sites.

3 years ago West Marine wanted 1200 USD for the kyrocea 120watt blue panels We found several sites and evetually bought 4 from partsonsale.com for $500USD a piece. The were not seconds and were shipped from the kyrocea warehouse in CT. Most of the marine stores sell the same exact items with markups the would embarass a jewelry store.

Internet shopping can and will save your more money than the shipping. Not to mention the abilty to compare. I would recommend researching the sites you chose to buy from to enure thier reputation.

[gulfcoastsailor]

Originally Posted by TraCove

Thanks for all your suggestions. Now how does one find a "good" broker???

IMO ~ One "hires" a broker much in the same way you would hire anyone that is going to work for you. Ask people for references... interview... and then put the lucky winner to work. Their payday comes when they preform their job well... at closing of your new boat.

Good Luck!

Dennis