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Old 21-04-2016, 08:43   #1
alc
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Sunsail Brokerage

Hi, I am new to cruisersforum and looking for advice. I want to purchase a Jeanneau SO 42 or equivalent. I have seen Sunsail Brokerage offering many but they are from fleet use. Is this like buying a used car from a car rental company? Has anyone had experience with them? I am looking forward to heavy use/possible live aboard for 2 years and cruise the Caribbean and South America as well as Eastern US. Just don't want to spend all the time and money doing repairs. Maintenance I am happy to do and there will be plenty. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
John
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Old 21-04-2016, 09:58   #2
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

This has been covered in many other threads. Yes, its like buying from Hertz. Look at engine hours, plan to replace all rigging and expect to find the maximum number of cabins that were an option. Maintenance will vary from port to port. Good luck with your search!
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Old 21-04-2016, 11:17   #3
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

I owned a boat in charter for 7 years.

My feeling is that yes, charter boats get a lot of use. What many people fail to realize however is they have also been professionally maintained and they have been sailed primarily for easy days in protected waters. A full time cruiser may have many more hours and have experienced rougher conditions than a charter boat experiences. Many of the boats I've seen at the end of their charter are in much better condition than neglected privately owned boats.

As with any boat, look it over well and get a professional survey.
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Old 21-04-2016, 16:53   #4
alc
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

Thank yo for the quick response. I have seen the other posts about purchasing from a fleet and thought of both sides. Lots of usage but they would probably be well maintained. I also saw a couple of mentions of people purchasing from other fleets but wanted to know if anyone had purchased from Sunsail directly. The best advice I saw was to get a good survey so I know what I am getting myself into and if I can live with it to jump in and get sailing. The sooner the better, Tempus Fugit.
Thanks to everyone.
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Old 22-04-2016, 05:44   #5
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

Like buying a car from a rental-car company, it is a trade-off. It has had more and harder use than average, but it has also (usually) had more and better maintenance than average. How many car owners check the oil level and tire pressure every single week?

I haven't bought a boat from a charter company, but I have bought a car from Hertz. It was a great deal, and gave me many years of reliable service. I would not hesitate to buy from Hertz again, if the right opportunity came up. Likewise, I would not hesitate to buy from Sunsail, if the right opportunity came up.
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Old 22-04-2016, 06:01   #6
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

I purchased a boat from Sunsail and I am also the third owner of an older C&C.

The 5 year old Sunsail boat has more hours on the engine than the 30 year old C&C but which engine do I have more faith in? The higher time one. It has seen regular maintenance, injectors have been serviced, oil changed regularly and engine run routinely. The Yanmar in my C&C has only seen light duty use in fresh water with a fraction of the run time and I would love to pull it out and rebuild it.

Another big thing about buying a used boat from a private owner vs a charter fleet is dealing with all of the "DIY" repairs and after market installations. A boat from the charter fleet is generally in the same configuration as when it left the factory. No funky GPS installs where the power supply has been tapped or spliced into the 12volt line running the refrigeration. No added deck hardware that hasn't been bedded and is slowly flooding the core in the deck. Seriously, many owners are a boats worst nightmare IMO.

I have never purchased a used boat where a pre-purchase survey came up with say 50 items and the vendor agreed to address each and every one. Sunsail did.

So the experience has been a good one but like anything else. You need to do due diligence.
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Old 22-04-2016, 06:32   #7
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete O Static View Post
dealing with all of the "DIY" repairs and after market installations. . No funky GPS installs where the power supply has been tapped or spliced into the 12volt line running the refrigeration. No added deck hardware that hasn't been bedded and is slowly flooding the core in the deck. Seriously, many owners are a boats worst nightmare IMO.
.


Well said! I spent a year re-doing the "upgrades" installed by the original owner!
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Old 22-04-2016, 08:33   #8
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete O Static View Post
Seriously, many owners are a boats worst nightmare IMO.
So true! And so many times the owner thinks this crazy, cobbled-together "upgrade" that he did makes the boat worth SOOOOO much more, when the reality is that it detracts HUGELY from the resale value.
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Old 23-04-2016, 05:57   #9
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Re: Sunsail Brokerage

The blog Zero to Cruising has some good posts on buying a Moorings cat. They were very positive with what they had to say.


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