Have you bought a boat during cold off-season?

[Tally Ho]

I bought mine in the middle of winter. We ran the moisture meter over her, the decks had no softness in them. The broker did take the full amount but withheld $500.00 per my request to see the engine run in the spring. Everything worked out fine and she is still with me 20 + years later

Frozen water won’t show up on a moisture meter...and probably keeps the deck from feeling spongy....

But it sounds like you got a good boat.

Greg

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Should the OP be concerned about the Catalina smile?

 

[PGUTIERREZ]

Just a few random thoughts that might help.....While cold winter is obviously not the best time to look at a boat, it can be done. I have done a lot of off season boat hunting and bought three boats in the off season, two boats in late March /very early April and my current boat, a Catalina 36 on the 20th of January when the temperature was minus 20 F. (I had seen this boat in the summer and knew how particular the owners were about their boat). When you find a particular boat you like, find the marina mechanic, marina manager, dock neighbors or boat storage yard neighbors and ask their opinions about that boat and how well it has been maintained and who has maintained the boat? It is amazing what these pe can tell you about some one else’s boat.... Does the boat have a winter cover? If so, is it properly installed on the boat? If you are able to board the boat, take a flash light, your NOSE and disposable WHITE or light colored gardening gloves with you. Run your white gloves:
- under the transmission and engine to check for excessive oil or fuel leaks.
- under the floor boards looking for mold
- behind the head
Is the wiring look well organized or a tangled mess? Can the owner share with you maintenance records?
With the 2020 Covid summer, boats that came on the market were quickly snapped up. My gut feel is 2021 & 2022 may be the same. Good luck - Catalina’s are great boats, maybe not the fastest but pretty well built. I’m on my fifth Catalina. The support from fellow Catalina owners is spectacular...and the factory will talk to you. Best of luck to you.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Maintenance records are always a good indication that a boat has been well taken care of by a PO.
I'm documenting just about everything on Bella. Not that I plan to sell her in the next 10 years.

Keep us posted on your hunt. We have several C30's in our club

 

[PGUTIERREZ]

Also look at the Catalina owners association on line - there are for sale areas. Good Old Boat magazine has a for sale area too.

 

[David in Sandusky]

We bought Lady Lillie in March after climbing onto snowy boats from Cleveland to Sandusky with our excellent broker, Terry Freeman. The sale was dependent on a survey, which was completed with the boat on the hard. We accepted the owner’s assurance that the engine was working. You can start and run an engine out of the water by running a hose from a bucket of water to the cooling water intake on the engine.

 

[DArcy]

I sold my boat last January. I bought my new boat in September 2019 and didn't want two boats so listed the old one in the fall. I had no interest until January. I did sell it to the first person that was interested because my club waived the fees for this year since it was only a few weeks in. I did drop the price to meet the buyers request, as he said he wasn't getting a sea trial and I avoided the storage fee.
It turns out this was not the year to sell in January since boat prices went up in the spring due to COVID. Oh well, he got a good deal, used the boat a lot last summer, and I avoided storage fees.

 

[Tally Ho]

I sold my boat last January. I bought my new boat in September 2019 and didn't want two boats so listed the old one in the fall. I had no interest until January. I did sell it to the first person that was interested because my club waived the fees for this year since it was only a few weeks in. I did drop the price to meet the buyers request, as he said he wasn't getting a sea trial and I avoided the storage fee.
It turns out this was not the year to sell in January since boat prices went up in the spring due to COVID. Oh well, he got a good deal, used the boat a lot last summer, and I avoided storage fees.

@DArcy , don’t have sellers remorse. I would have bet boat prices would have fallen due to the pandemic...but I was wrong.

Be happy you sold her and avoided storage.

I sold my “second” boat a few weeks before the end of the season and discounted the price to reflect the new owner having to store it (or me avoiding the winter storage fee). All worked out and I was happy to only have 1 boat in a slip.
My admiral was not impressed when I said, “Hey, we have a fleet”...My Hunter 280 in the foreground and my O’Day 322 in the next slip.



Cheers,

Greg

 

[nickroskam]

I live in Chicago as well and have bough both our last boat and current boat in the winter. Buying a boat in the winter is the best time as you can have it ready to splash the second the harbors open. In both times we had a survey on the hard done with an engine start for a few seconds to ensure it ran then re-winterized the engine. We then closed on the boat and were able to get it ready for lunch over the spring months. However, we had the broker hold back about 10% of the purchase price until we were able to splash it and ensure no issues while in the water. This as added to our purchase agreement.

 

[DArcy]

@Tally Ho no remorse. I was happy not to have a fleet in the spring. I had my hands full with work on the new boat.
Here is my old C&C27 in the foreground and my "new" Freeport 36 in the background. This was launch day for me, didn't even have the mast up yet.

 

[jssailem]

Yes I did.
Bought my boat the 10th of February 2015.

Cold but we have water that does not freeze too often. Did the Sea Trial on the 20th, and closed a week later after the seller fixed the over heating issue. Or at least mitigated it till it returned 8 months later and I finally learned about Diesel cooling systems enough to resolve the problem.