Repower or sell as-is? How to price?

[KTP]

We are thinking of selling our 1989 Pacific Seacraft 34. We have so many things going on right now that there just is not the time to work on it, even though we have done a lot of things in the past few years (new chainplates, running rigging, new steering quadrant).

The problem is, it had the old 35hp Yanmar, which we pulled and replaced with a Thunderstruck 10kW electric motor and 18kWh of Lifeline AGM in a 48V bank charged by a Magnum 4kW 48V inverter charger. So in one sense, the boat has a super great AC system that can power anything you want, even a welder lol, but it does not have a very long range.

I still have the Yanmar, which was running when pulled, but had need of things like new mounts at the very least. It has been sitting now in a barn for 5 years though and is in unknown condition with perhaps not all parts like the control panel.

What are your thoughts on how we might approach selling this? There is quite a bit of money involved in the current electric drive, but the target market there has to be miniscule. It is awesome to silently slip out of a marina and good enough for going 20nm at 4 knots, but not so great for fighting a 4 knot tidal current for hours. We had considered adding back in a diesel generator but have taken no action.

We are so busy right now the choices are:

1) Sell as is, no idea how cheap we would need to sell

2) Keep paying $6,000 a year in insurance, registration and moorage, hope that we have more time in the coming years

3) Pay unknown price to haul the boat 350 miles to our mountain acreage where it would probably sit forever

4) Pay someone to repower it, then sell it.

[Polar Opposite]

Tough questions here, with a lot of it depending on your personal views. I went through the same thing when I parted with a Contest 32 a few years ago.

My advice would be that you sell it as-is with the old Yanmar tossed in. I think a new buyer would like the electric for the same reasons you did. But the right buyer would like the idea that they could go back to diesel if/when they wanted. Also, they might like knowing they could part with the diesel if it turned out the AC plant was sufficient for the type of sailing they want to do.

I wouldn't tell myself that I would get to it someday. The Road to Hell is littered with unfinished projects waiting for a day that never comes, and the boat suffers badly in the meantime.

[bil56]

find a fan of this type of cruising yacht, there are some...
but be patient, this type of propulsion is of interest to more and more people, but may worry some.
otherwise, if your health still allows it, bring your boat as close to home as possible, and enjoy it...
(easy to say, seen from so far away, France...)

[deltaten]

Wow...a lot of unanswerable questions and imponderable decisions here; but here goes.

Every thing is sold "as is", unless you contract to do thus and so prior to change of hands.
Sounds like you need/want to give up the boat and sailing...at least for the foreseeable future?
OK....look up what other similar boats are selling for, regardless of the electric conversion. Advertise that it Includes the original, running g when pulled diesel. Accept that there will be a financial loss.....virtually all used boats sell at a "loss".
Take what you can get, invest it and once you have the time, inclination, desire to sail again, buy another boat....perhaps smaller, simpler and with a diesel?

Best of luck to ya

[Reeve21]

Painful as it may be, I would sell it now, where it is, without putting more money into it.


You will take a hit on what you have invested, but you will start making that back right away on what you save once you stop writing checks.


I don't subscribe to putting a boat in storage because you may get back to it some day. It's not good for the boat, or you. By the time you are ready and able to jump back in it might not be the right boat anymore, and good luck selling a boat that has been out of action for a long time.


It's hard to let go. I did it once and wasn't sure I'd ever get back, but I did.


Good luck with your decision.

[wholybee]

I agree with Reeve21. Either keep it and use it, or sell it now at whatever price you can get for it. The longer you keep it, the more money you spend on it for maintenance mooring, or (gulp!) a repower, the more vested you are, and the more it will hurt to lose money in the end.

[Kettlewell]

Sell as is, where is. Where is it located? In some areas with lots of wind a limited range under power is not as much of a detriment and you might find just the right person who loves the idea of going electric. If I had a smaller handier boat I could sail most of southern New England without an engine, and in fact I did that on our first boat which had no working engine.

[KTP]

Thanks for the ideas, this is the way I was leaning (sell it without a repower).

It may be that someone wants to keep it electric, or maybe they do want to repower but they want a beta marine instead of the old yanmar back in there. Kind of like putting in carpet when you sell a house but the new owner wants hardwood floors.

How would you price this compared to what that era PSC34 are going for? Just knock off $15,000 from the average list price? The inverter/charger, brushless motor and other bits are like new, but I don't really want to rip them out as I did a nice job of the conversion, very tidy. I suppose the new owner could sell them on craigslist or something if they decided they didn't want a 48V system.

[wholybee]

I would price a new Beta marine engine and knock that much off. Not the full cost of a repower, just the cost of the engine.

[Rockinar]

Id just sell it as is, where is and just eat the loss.

[barnab]

I would go for a similar price as other comparable boats and include the old Yanmar. Wait at least 4 weeks and see if/what reactions you get. Any interested buyer is free to offer less money, but nobody will offer more than you ask for. If you don't get any interest you can reduce the price whenever you want.

[Thomas1985]

Selling for $15 is better than paying to haul back to your property and let it rot away.

Sell it cheap to someone looking for a project.

[malbert73]

Do you feel the electric drive was a mistake? Eg if it had a perfectly running new diesel installed would you keep and use it?
Because that’s your answer

[KTP]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Do you feel the electric drive was a mistake? Eg if it had a perfectly running new diesel installed would you keep and use it?
Because that’s your answer

I don't know that it was a mistake. It works, it just isn't quite right for some of the stuff we might do with the boat like attempt the inside passage in B.C.(where you can have periods of no wind and also strong currents). I know there are some sailors who go with no motor at all so this motor which lets you do 20nm at 4kts could work for some.

I did not like the location of the 35hp yanmar in the PSC34. I could not maneuver around the engine to work on the quadrant which I had to replace, nor could I repack the rudder stuffing. Both of those tasks I did easily with the diesel gone from that area. I think it would be better to have a smaller engine in that area, like maybe 15 to 20hp, which would still get the boat going at 6.5 kts I think.

The main reason though is the boat is not in a location where we really want to sail. My wife wants to do the Great Loop and also sail in Europe. Getting this boat to the loop would require either expensive trucking or going through the Panama Canal.

[Katapult Mike]

Originally Posted by barnab

I would go for a similar price as other comparable boats and include the old Yanmar. Wait at least 4 weeks and see if/what reactions you get. Any interested buyer is free to offer less money, but nobody will offer more than you ask for. If you don't get any interest you can reduce the price whenever you want.

I think this is the answer. I feel OP is way too down on the electric drive. Maybe it did not meet his expectations, but it is a differentiator and it might look attractive to someone. You will not be competing with a lot of other all-electric boats. You could appeal to someone who would not consider a diesel under any circumstnaces. Give it a try, see what happens.

I feel you should never invest serious money in a boat in order to prep it for sale. Get it on the market, see what the market will pay, and accept it whatever that is. Then get on with your life.