Advice on prepping to sell?

[oldcal46skipper]

After 37 years of owning, sailing, racing, cruising and living aboard cruising for 14 years, we are tearfully preparing her for sale as age (81) and physical challenges (vestibular dysfunction, arthritis, heart failure and skin cancer) are limiting what we can do. It was wonderful while it lasted.


I have questions regarding replacing or upgrading some equipment or reducing price and letting the new owner choose...?



The engine is a Perkins 4.236 which I installed new in 1987 and only has 3,600 hours. Gearbox is Borg Warner Velvet Drive, perfect, fuel tanks replaced in 1993, water tanks in 1987. Even though we have been physically unable to cruise, we have maintained our Cal 46 to leave tomorrow.


Questions: Our 12K BTU air conditioner died after 20 years. I am in the marine business, so can get a new one for $1,200. Should I replace or reduce the asking price?


Electronics: My Si-Tex Radar is 20 years old but works perfectly. Icom SSB/Ham tuner, radio, antenna are also good as all Icom products are perfect.IMHO My pilot house & outside steering VHF's are okay but don't have AIS, so I'll let the new owner choose. Plus old Furuno GPS could be updated.
I installed a new Will Ham autopilot in 2000. It is excellent, rated for a 80 foot boat. My Ideal anchor windlasses, fore & aft are also perfect. Their power is a Chevrolet starter motor, so heavy duty and inexpensive to replace.
I just completed replacing some copper hydraulic steering lines & seals in the slave cylinder.
My 5KW Yanmar heavy duty industrial genset has 6,000 hours but also runs perfectly. I love it because you can hand start it. Save my butt a time or two. Recently replaced the 6 six volt house batteries and will be replacing the engine start Group 31


I could go on, but I am looking for your comments....?

[Stu Jackson]

That sounds like a very well kept vessel. Congratulations to your for your onging efforts, and sorry you have to move on.


Given the mechanicals, I'd replace the AC because you can get a good deal on it. Otherwise, everything sounds fine and working.



Spend the rest of your time cleaning it and looking at your boat with fresh eyes, as if YOU were buying it. What would you look at?


Good luck.

[Tillsbury]

Definitely don’t replace the electronics, but AC sounds like it’s worth doing because a purchaser might think that would be a significant expense.

Otherwise just clean clean clean and remove absolutely every personal item from the boat, just like selling a house.

[Nicholson58]

I agree with Stu. If any of the other bits are an obstacle to a sale, then it’s negotiable.

I raced a CAL 40 for a while. Nice boat.

Sorry to see you leave. Kind of thought we’d run into you some day. We are a few years behind you I guess. I see the skin doc in a couple weeks.

[Chotu]

I was about to say fix everything and clean, but your boat sounds like she's ready to go.

If it's not too difficult physically, see if you can replace the AC because it's that cheap for you.

Electronics don't sell the boat anyway because prospective buyers are likely to upgrade or want something different.

Clean boats with clean, dry bilges and nice interiors that are in good mechanical shape sell best.

If, however, the AC replacement is a health risk, just buy it and put it in the boat. Still in the box. "Includes brand new AC"

[oldcal46skipper]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

I agree with Stu. If any of the other bits are an obstacle to a sale, then it’s negotiable.

I raced a CAL 40 for a while. Nice boat.

Sorry to see you leave. Kind of thought we’d run into you some day. We are a few years behind you I guess. I see the skin doc in a couple weeks.

Thanks!


When you get down this way, let me know and I will make space at my dock, so we can have a chat, coffee, beer or ____


Tom Vandiver

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by oldcal46skipper

Thanks!


When you get down this way, let me know and I will make space at my dock, so we can have a chat, coffee, beer or ____


Tom Vandiver

Not by boat I think. We stay in the Caribbean and haul out in Trinidad for storm season. We occasionally get to Miami on our way to/from Trinidad. Brother in law is there.

Do I have to pass the 292 bridge? We are 80 feet with 7 draft and 58 feet LOA

Martinique

[CSY Man]

Yes, replace the AC and whatever else that don’t work.
I have sold a few boats and have always been getting top dollars as the buyer’s surveor found nothing to drag the price down.
Full asking price is a beautiful thing and the buyers were happy as well.

[dfelsent]

As a buyer knowing that everything, no matter the age, works is a huge plus. There are no excuses or caveats in the listing. It’s all there.
There is a message you want to send to potential buyers. Part of that is “well found superbly maintained.”

[Knot Safety]

Can’t second the clean clean clean mantra enough. We recently purchased a new vessel and the searching/viewing process was eye opening and nose watering.

Some boats were not in good shape, filthy and stinky. Although they may have been diamonds in the rough, if we had to hold our nose to go below, it was a firm no.

On the other hand, if the boats looked clean, smelled fresh, we started digging deeper.

One thing that sold us on the boat we purchased (and made it sell quicker) is that the owner had a full rigging inspection and vessel inspection done by two qualified surveyors. These were proper, detailed surveys which I was provided prior to going on the boat. I was able to hold them in hand, closely examine issues the surveyor identified prior to even making an offer. In some cases, the owner had already resolved some of the identified issues. It worked out quite well for us and we were able to make a quick purchase

If I was going to be selling in the future, having the survey done as the seller in advance of the sale is definitely something I would do.

[crankysailor]

Well with all due respect it sounds like you are a good sailor and have done an excellent job on maintaining the boat (big pluses) but the improvements and major things you are talking about are 20 to 30 years in the past. This is probably not going to impress a potential customer beyond the good feeling that you took good care and that of course goes a long way but when pricing the boat, the difference in selling price between a 20 yr old radar and not having one is quite likely minimal if not zero. I know it sounds harsh but this is how most folks looking to buy will think. Also, these days these things are just not *that* expensive to replace.

So if you really want to sell and in a relatively short time frame, my humble advice would be to price her attractively for a well maintained boat her age but do not bank too much on the engine you exchanged when Reagan was president of the USA, etc.

Good luck with your sale!

PS: regarding the AC..I would save myself the money. It won't do squat for you on the selling price. Having a broken one though *will* have a negative impact on it though..So just remove the old AC and forget it. $0.02

[Dennis.G]

Anything broken should be fixed or if an optional item (air conditioning) removed. Nothing drags price down faster than items requiring buyer to fix soon after they buy.

[psp2psp2]

My advice is,

If you’ve decided to sell. Then sell. Any money spent replacing or fixing things now will be money thrown away. You will not recover any of these expenses from the buyer.

A serious buyer for your CAL46 will be interested in the condition of the hull, deck and engine. A well looked after and comfortable interior will help him or her make up their mind, but the rest of the fixtures and fittings you listed will not be a factor in the decision to buy.

AGE OF SAIL - Home

[Paul Howard]

I bought a second-hand, 20 year old boat three years ago and it was a mess with every locker overflowing, personal items strewn about and obvious signs of lack of minor maintenance. But the boat was solid and what I was looking for.
The original asking price $89,900.USD.
I kept watch and the price went slowly to $69,000. I looked at it, had it surveyed and took it for a sea trial and offered $58,000.
We eventually settled on $61,000. The owner took off a few sets of clothing and personal things and told me he would leave the boat, "fully equipped."
I took off hundreds of pounds of rubbish, it seemed if he could not find something in the overflowing lockers, he just bought another and added it in. Old moldy and rotting cardboard boxes and packaging and rusty tools and un-used stuff abounded.
If the boat would have been clean and neat, lockers emptied and well maintained I would have been willing to offer nearer the original price.

[Char99]

I will be interested to see the asking price. She sounds like a great boat.
Char