Finding The Boats You Want .

[Lady Captin]

This is a funny question , I guess you can tell by my posts I have a curious mind .

So would love to hear from as many people as possible, how you found your boat in the end ! Cruising the online ads ? Getting a broker ? Running around random Marina’s searching for old salty sea dogs to ask if they want to sell the boat you are looking for?

I am very curious about those who where really looking for a particular boat, or a very small list . Did you leave your country to get the right boat ? Did you go on owners forums?

Did you become discouraged when you did not find your desired boat for some time ? My wife seems convinced, that there are many boats that may be for sale, but not advertised? She seems to feel that if we start to travel in our own country and ask around we are more likely to get the boat we are looking for, that was not advertised other than a sign in a boat yard.

I feel this would be a great plan if you wanted a huge rebuild , or major projects boat .I do have to admit this could be a way to get a once in a lifetime deal ,but that the reality is it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So what are your thoughts and better still what was your experience when you were looking for that certain boat you really wanted ? Did you get it ? Did you have to settle for second , third , or even forth choice in time ?

I hope this post is fun as you recount your boats purchase journey looking back. Thanks for sharing , hopefully it inspires others , or helps them choose their plan.

Paul&Simone

[goboatingnow]

The vast majority of boats , especially decent ones are sold through brokers all over the world. There isn’t a great store of owners sitting on boats waiting to be asked to sell !!!

my process , is to narrow down the field by picking a select few model , honing the selection to suit my budget , I use the internet to get a “ feel “ for asking prices. Once I’ve decided that , it’s shoe leather time and yes I’ll visit other countries to see good examples etc.

Nothing beats walking around , chat to the brokers , pound the docks looking at for sale boats.

[SailingHoot]

I found my boat through Craigslist/the Vega Group on Facebook. For the type of boat I was looking for (and on my budget) there was no need to involve a broker.

The actual process was somewhat painful. A number of people were interested, and in order to keep from getting into a bidding war (which I was not willing to do) I visited the boat on my own time and then made a verbal commitment over the phone contingent on a thorough inspection of the boat inside and out. I managed to hold off the other interested parties long enough to get the deal done.

After losing out on a different boat a few month's earlier I knew I had to move quickly. No regrets a year later.

[Jamme]

We bought 2 boats in the US over the last 10 or so years. Each time my wife and I had already discussed at length and agreed on max size, max price and max travel distance between us and the boat; that helped narrow down the search immensely.
I would scan the web, find something really interesting for us, and reserve a visit. I would focus on the technical aspects of the boat during the visit, and if it clicked for both, I’d (reluctantly) let my wife handle the price negotiations. I would literally leave the room and let her do the talk… It worked like magic for us each time!
Fair winds to all.

[wingssail]

I knew the type of boat I wanted, and knew of several that were in existence though not known to be for sale.

I looked at a couple which were offered but didn't like them, (another, the owner would not accept my offer).

Finally one which I was familiar with and really liked showed up in a for-sale advert and I responded. It took a while for us to come to an agreement but finally we did and the transaction was concluded.

So the recommendation is, know what you are looking for and where any of these are, for sale or not. Then watch them like a hawk.

If you go around to brokers without a clear objective you might find a broker who connects with you and sells you on a boat which you later might think is not what you wanted.

Know your boats.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

This is a funny question , I guess you can tell by my posts I have a curious mind .

So would love to hear from as many people as possible, how you found your boat in the end ! Cruising the online ads ? Getting a broker ? Running around random Marina’s searching for old salty sea dogs to ask if they want to sell the boat you are looking for?

Read here: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...de-259356.html

-Chris

[Barkingmad]

From experience I knew exactly what I wanted in a boat for starters right down to interior layout.
Started making a list of all models that might work then starting crossing them off the list as research and availability became reality.

The big difference is I had already been aboard and/or sailed most of the boats I was interested in.
There was a couple of what I'll call outside shots I had on my list. Boats I would have liked to look closer at but just not common around here like a Wauquiez Pretorien 35.
It still took me over a year to find THE BOAT once I had decided on a specific boat, this was before the insane covid boat market explosion.
I found mine as a private sale. The boat was in a guys backyard, big dreams on sailing away and had almost finished the re-fit. Then the divorce happened, house sold, boat had to be gone asap before the new owners moved in.

[Chotu]

Before building the “perfect boat”, I’ve owned 5 others over the past 30 years. There has never been a moment in my life I haven’t had one in all those years.

All of those were within a general, very loose set of parameters regarding size and price.

My advice is to be less picky and go with the flow. Know what you DON’T want. Not what you do want and keep a much more open mind.

Once aboard, you can adapt to things or change them.

As much as working on boats sucks, it’s more fun than trying to find one.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Lady Captin

So would love to hear from as many people as possible, how you found your boat in the end ! Cruising the online ads ? Getting a broker ? Running around random Marina’s searching for old salty sea dogs to ask if they want to sell the boat you are looking for?

For me, the boat in the adjacent slip, which had not left the harbor for as long as we'd had the slip, came up for sale at a good price. So we bought it.

[Barkingmad]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Before building the “perfect boat”, I’ve owned 5 others over the past 30 years. There has never been a moment in my life I haven’t had one in all those years.

All of those were within a general, very loose set of parameters regarding size and price.

My advice is to be less picky and go with the flow. Know what you DON’T want. Not what you do want and keep a much more open mind.

Once aboard, you can adapt to things or change them.

As much as working on boats sucks, it’s more fun than trying to find one.

This is probably better advice in YOUR instance, I've been sailing since I was a baby. 3rd generation sailor. I think I was 8 when I got my first boat.
Buy something local with a good resale potential, learn what you're doing and make the next boat purchase the right one.
If you're thinking Lk. Ontario area make damn sure you can keep you boat someplace! There is currently a covid driven wait list at my last home base there. 5 years at the yacht club that was around the corner.....Not sure about the Toronto area, couldn't afford to live around there!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Barkingmad

This is probably better advice in YOUR instance, I've been sailing since I was a baby. 3rd generation sailor. I think I was 8 when I got my first boat.
Buy something local with a good resale potential, learn what you're doing and make the next boat purchase the right one.
If you're thinking Lk. Ontario area make damn sure you can keep you boat someplace! There is currently a covid driven wait list at my last home base there. 5 years at the yacht club that was around the corner.....Not sure about the Toronto area, couldn't afford to live around there!

No, it’s the best advice in ALL instances.

So now we are counting napping in a boat as an infant and sailing inherited through genetics as some kind of experience on the forum? That’s a new one. Born with one of those ASA sailing certificates? Just stapled them to your birth certificate at the hospital? Ha ha.

Well, I’m a descendant of Vikings so imagine my genetic sailing experience. Lolol.

Not sure what contest I’ve been entered in here, but I’m not a willing participant.

In any case, your advice was exactly the same as mine so I’m very confused why you quoted my post. Getting a boat nearby them and finding out what they don’t like is exactly what you just told them to do. That’s what I said too.

[Barkingmad]

AH I now understand somehow post count actually equates to sailing experience.
Thanks for the invite there Littlewing glad we could be of service to you that day, real friendly place. I'm outta here.

[kayakerChuck]

We were looking for a 28 or 30' O'Day, or a 32 Endeavour within a reasonable distance from Detroit. We found several listed on Craigslist, Facebook, and thru brokerage. All of them had at least one "deal killer" type problem. (I'm a lifelong boater & can fix most anything, but I'm getting older and less willing to take on big projects.)

Eventually, I posted to Facebook owners groups asking if anybody had one for sale. A few hours later, I got a reply from a woman who was thinking of selling her O'Day 30. She sent pics, and I asked her how much $ she was thinking. Her number was less than I expected.

It's a 42 year old boat, so there are things that it needs, but nothing that scared me. The price was right. I offered $500 less than the asking price, which was accepted. Survey showed a dead battery charger, so we took another $200 off the price. No other surprises in the survey.

The boat was 3 hours away by car, and about 600 water miles from home.

[Lady Captin]

Thank you for all the good advice and insight, we are constantly learning and upgrading our demands and expectations in more realistic ways. As we are realistically several years away from purchasing our boat, everything we learn between now and then is hopefully going to reduce the odds that we make a mistake when it comes time for our purchase.

We realize this doesn’t give us any guarantees, but more importantly it keeps our dream alive and makes us feel that we are moving forward at a time when due to circumstances it is difficult to move forward.


As suggested we will be putting most of our time and energy into getting our little Tanzer 22 in the water, and most important of all learning to sail as best we can, knowing that by learning to sail , we will learn more about the boat we desire and prefer then perhaps anything else.