My boat buying story

[Stephen Trapani]

Inspired by yzfr1's question, here is my boat buying story. The short version.

After months of searching and wanting to buy a boat, I heard of a semi-shady guy (who was not the owner but somehow could sell me the boat) in what seemed like a semi-shady marina, trying to move a semi-repoed 1979 H-33 for $6500. Coincidentally, I had happened to stroll through the marina previously and noticed the neglected boat on my own, loved the look of it, including it's possible bargain basement status.

We went for a meet on the boat, during which he started the motor. "She's a runner!" he and his semi-shady partner exclaimed. The interior was coated with layers of cigarette tar from years of being inhabited by what turned out to be two semi-shady alchoholics. As I looked things over with my novice eyes, a old marina rat with a strange expression confided to me surruptitiously, "I know that boat. The motor is blown!" Something about the way he said it made me semi-question his motives. The motor was running, something sounded a little rough, but I kind of liked the sound of it. Semi-shady seller said he would take care of me.

I decided to have the boat hauled out with a surveyor and diesel mechanic present and consumate the deal then if it went well. While waiting for the day, I came on a boating forum and asked the old salts about it. To a man they warned me off the deal. "Why don't you get a nice 25' or 27', perfect for your price range?" they said.

I didn't liked the cramped and sub six foot head room in those boats. I really wanted to reach above my budget if I could. I figured with that plus a lot of elbow grease maybe I could have it all. The old salts laughed at me. So far my positive gut feeling was in huge turmoil with the experts.

On the haul out, the mechanic and surveyor looked everything over. The mechanic said three out of four motor mounts were broken. It needed a new shaft and prop. $1500, he estimated. The surveyor seemed nice, but then started to seem semi-shady. He gave me the A-OK, for the most part, nothing major wrong with the boat. I agreed to buy the boat assuming the semi-shady guy would pump out the full-to-the-brim holding tank which he did with a power vac. I paid him and the mechanic.

After he left, I realized the surveyor had not mentioned the through hulls. I called him. He blustered and flustered. Later I realized he had never checked them because the first time I tried to close the raw water inlet for the motor, it snapped off in my hand. I didn't pay him the balance of his fee. -Now here comes the big finish.

Since then about ten potentially major problems have come up with the boat. But EVERY SINGLE TIME it's turned out to be nothing major and panned out like a charm. Things like the title, the motor, the tranny, the keel, the rudder, I could go on (The Head Mistress once called my toilet "the Cadillac of boat toilets!), but I have been cruising Puget Sound with my family in it for three years now. I call her My One In a Million Girl. Motor runs like a charm. Everything works and continues to work. The elbow grease I put in has it clean lean and green. I love the boat. I love being on it, working on it, playing on it with my family and friends, and exploring with it. And it's still getting better.

The moral of this story? Hell if I know. Maybe: Go for it.

 

[Snotter]

Nice story. I like hearing about sailors catching a break every now and then--keeps me from getting too cynical.

 

[Tim R.]

Wow, that could have gone wrong so many different ways. I hope your point is not to encourage those dreamers here that think this is a regular occurance.

I am glad you did find a great deal and with your hard work ended up with a beautiful and safe boat.

 

[Stephen Trapani]

Wow, that could have gone wrong so many different ways. I hope your point is not to encourage those dreamers here that think this is a regular occurance.

I am glad you did find a great deal and with your hard work ended up with a beautiful and safe boat.

I think a lot of the luck I've had with the boat, I made. You have to put yourself in position to get lucky before you can get lucky. That's what I'm really saying.

It's turned out lucky so many times in a row that it's hard for me to believe it's all luck anymore. One thing I left out of the story was the extreme amount of deep thought, research, and pouring over each and every decision all the way along, to give it a chance to turn out well. Not to mention the dogged determination to try to make it work when things looked bleak. I was tempted to give up many times. Like when I was told that the keel had fallen off.

Or like the very first thing, the semi-shady guy I bought it from. I asked around about him quite a bit. He grew up at that marina. He was a coke addict at the time, but with character, if there is such a thing. He said he would take care of me after the sale and to a reasonable extent he did. Once when the water pump went out he came out and towed me in no charge. He helped me out in a number of other ways. At first glance many wouldn't have touched him with a ten foot pole. I gave him the best chance to come through, got a little lucky too, and it paid off for me.

Yeah, caution and investigation is all important, but at some point you have to dive into the ice cold water even though it's scary and you know it's going to be a shock. Forums like this one are a fantastic service to thousands of guys like me who are badly in need of boating knowledge, but the nature of it can lead to too much caution due to focusing on the trees, missing the forest, I think. Taking the experts too seriously would have left me worse off, right?

 

[Tim R.]

Good point Stephen. I have known some folks that were so intent on finding the perfect boat that they missed 3 or 4 great sailing seasons. Then they finally settled on a boat that was not the perfect boat.

If you do not mind working hard to make your own luck and realize the consequences of making big decissions on emotions alone then you have a better chance to find/make a good deal.

With all that said, I still think yours was partly a case of being in the right place at the right time.

BTW, my wife would never touch a boat that had been smoked in like that. She would rather smell raw sewage.

 

[Bad Obsession]

"Good guys win every once in a while"--Jimmy Buffett.

Nice Story. Glad it turned out well. My spidey senses would have made me run from that situation screaming.

 

[gpd955]

Yeah, caution and investigation is all important, but at some point you have to dive into the ice cold water even though it's scary and you know it's going to be a shock.

If we rationalize and second guess EVERY decision we make, we would have no fun at all!

I usually go by my "feel with your gut, listen to your heart, think with your mind" philosophy. Kind of keeps all decisions in balance.

Great boat story!

 

[Stephen Trapani]

Good point Stephen. I have known some folks that were so intent on finding the perfect boat that they missed 3 or 4 great sailing seasons. Then they finally settled on a boat that was not the perfect boat.

If you do not mind working hard to make your own luck and realize the consequences of making big decissions on emotions alone then you have a better chance to find/make a good deal.

With all that said, I still think yours was partly a case of being in the right place at the right time.

BTW, my wife would never touch a boat that had been smoked in like that. She would rather smell raw sewage.

Ha! Another part of the story I left out. The seller had agreed to clean the interior before I bought it. True to his word, he somehow took out a goodly percentage of the grime on the walls (so it only took me a few days to get the rest), but the very night I purchased it while it was still on the hard I decided to sleep on the boat so I could get an early start the next morning. I didn't realize the boat wouldn't be level. I also didn't realize that the cushions had apparently been urinated on by what I swore must have been otter piss. I was laying there in the stench that night, water steadily dripping into the boat from almost every portholes because I had not yet learned how to completely close them, in their largely broken condition (I have since replaced all the lenses). I actually began to cry because I was sure I had made a stupid decision. That night was the worst case of buyers remorse of my life. But the next morning I plowed ahead. I ended up taking home all the cushions and washing them out in my bathtub. (Try that sometime! For example, forget about lifting a big cushion filled with water!) There is no hint of otter or smoke smell remaining.

 

[Don12364]

Hurrah for Stephen T.
In this world you have to trust people to get the best from them.
I've known people who approached the purchase of a brand new boat with total distrust despite being from the maker's most respectable agent .
Immediately the deal begins to go sour with the customer carping and the dealer backing off lest he gets sued for his life.
I trusted my dealer and when small things cropped up he came through for me - and I still regard him as a friend 15years later.

Good on ya Stephen. As you say you make your own luck in this world.

Anyway - its only a bloody boat after all - and a darned cheap one at that.

 

[David in Sandusky]

My only thought on your story is that it is possible to check reputations, and get a good surveyor. Our survey helped a little in the negotiation, and laid out our maintenance/upgrade picture for the first few years we owned Lady Lillie. We had no surprises in that time, other than a faulty fuel line.

The other part of the story is that we were able to sail her when we bought her, and confine most of maintenance to the winter months on the hard.

 

[nateman]

Great story! Our purchase was similar, without the luck! We went to look at our boat while there was snow on the ground. The boat was frozen so we couldn't feel that the cabin sole was mush! There was certainly evidence off rot through out but I was pretty blinded and made the plunge. I've been restoring the boat for the last year and have yet to splash it. This boat has it all - bad mast, rigging, spongy cabin top and sole, filthy - you name it. I've been very fortunate in that i've found a mast from a another forum member, have re-cored the cabin sole and will be finishing the cabin top this spring. Then I can finally sail her safely.

I wanted a project anyways so this little 23' boat will be the boat I rescue and learn on. The next ones, not so much! LOL I can't imagine the amount of work it would be on a 30 plus boat! Glad you have a happy story!

 

[Stephen Trapani]

My only thought on your story is that it is possible to check reputations, and get a good surveyor. Our survey helped a little in the negotiation, and laid out our maintenance/upgrade picture for the first few years we owned Lady Lillie. We had no surprises in that time, other than a faulty fuel line.

The other part of the story is that we were able to sail her when we bought her, and confine most of maintenance to the winter months on the hard.

What happened there, I had everybody lined up and the surveyor I had scheduled with the good reputation had to cancel. So at that late notice I ended up with the best I could find.

 

[kenn]

I think a lot of the luck I've had with the boat, I made.

That's the essence of it right there, I think. You possessed the drive and skills to persevere and tackle the problems you encountered, and most importantly, you apparently had a realistic assessment of those things. Or you were just lucky. Or both.

We managed to survive buying the worst house in a great area, and 21 years of work and judicious refinancing have made it a very nice house. Time and alcohol helps us forget just how bad that house originally was.

<hic> where was I ? Oh yeah, boats. We like boats.

Legal Disclaimer. Definitely not everyone can take on a disaster and make it work. If you don't have a track record for taking on challenges and enjoying them, and the aptitude for tackling the work, you're statistically better off by avoiding these problem children.

 

[w4pyleii]

Good for you! My buying story is a little in the opposite direction. Last fall i bought a ranger 28 that was advertised as the best example out there, and in excellent condition. I won't go into details on the buying process, but now i feel like i was pushed along, my questions brushed aside.

I brought the boat home and started going over things. My rosey goggles faded and i saw some minor gel coat cracking on the decks, and one bigger crack in the deck around the mast-head that needed repaired. So i decided to strip the hardware and go for a refinish of the decks.

When i opened up the crack around the mast-step i found soggy wet core, you could squeeze water out of it like a sponge. I wasn't really that surprised and went about the repair with enthusiasm, though i've never done any fiberglass work before.

Then i started using a dremel to open up some of the gel coat cracks in the deck for filling and repainting. Much to my surprise the source of the cracks were holes drilled in my deck that were filled with something like bondo. Started sanding back the decks and realized the ENTIRE boat has been drilled with holes in a grid pattern, every 2 inches. Started getting pretty frustrated at this point. Someone following my story on the sailing anarchy forums sent me his moisture meter to use. I pegged the meter on about half of my boat.

Decided the boat was worth fixing, and i couldn't afford to take the loss anyway so the real fun began. As it is right now, i've got about a 5 foot section of my port bow torn off, all the rotten core out, and ready for new core. I think about 75% of my port side decks will need replacing as well. The starboard bow is 99% dry, and one or two small areas on my starboard side decks will need replaced.

I have a long way to go, but i think it will be great when it's finished. The worst part is working through the "repair" job someone did previously. All those holes were filled with epoxy columns, and that has made taking off the top skin way harder than it should be. Even worse is the soaking wet core half saturated with epoxy. That does NOT come out easily, what a pain.

I put an order in this week for fiberglass and paint. I'm hoping i can start putting new core in within a week or two. I can only work on my boat during the weekends so it's been slow going. I'm still optimistic about having my boat ready to go by mid june.

I payed a premium for a boat in excellent condition, that was not. The previous owner new about the cracking on deck and the previous repairs but said nothing. Instead he put new paint on the non-skid and covered up most of the evidence. The broker played down all the negatives i mentioned and told me there was nothing wrong with the boat. Unfortunately i was trusting, and assumed people told the truth Mistake #1. I also did not have the boat surveyed for various reasons, mistake #2, but i probably would've bought the boat anyway, just for much less money.

This was my first boat buying experience, and taught me a few things for next time. I'm pissed at the previous owner for being a lying scumbag, annoyed at the sleazy used car salesman broker, and mad at myself for not taking other peoples advice, and not holding steady about things i knew weren't right. It bothers me knowing i over payed for the boat, so i try to think about how great it will be when i'm finished.

 

[Stephen Trapani]

I put an order in this week for fiberglass and paint. I'm hoping i can start putting new core in within a week or two. I can only work on my boat during the weekends so it's been slow going. I'm still optimistic about having my boat ready to go by mid june.

Wow, what a painful story. I too can only work on my boat on weekends and it's a five hour drive (and a paddle out) away from where I live. Not only have I done all the work on the boat that way, but a buddy and I built a little vacation house on the hill above where the boat is moored, driving there every other weekend for about six years. Are we all crazy?

 

[w4pyleii]

That vacation house sounds nice though!

My boat is on lake superior, in the town i grew up in, parents still there, friends, etc. Deep water, good wind, great harbor, good cruising destinations a day's sail away.

During the week i work in a town on lake michigan. Shallow, no wind, etc.

I could bring the boat down here where i work, but it's only an hour and a half drive to get home so it's worth it for me. I kind of do wish i had the boat with me this winter though, could've gotten more work done.

 

[Tim R.]

As long as we are sharing stories.

My latest boat was purchased under the premise of buying the best one out there that fit my criteria and within my purchasing budget reserving 20% for upgrades and mods the first year. We looked at many larger boats up to 47ft. but decided smaller and new was better. I did not want another project. Our previous boats were projects in my mind but most thought they were pretty good when we bought them. Either way, all previous boats received substantial upgrades and were sold for quite a bit more then we payed. We actually profited from one of them.

I found a boat that was actively being cruised, owners were living aboard and while cruising Maine sailed into my neighborhood. We got to know them under the idea they were not ready to sell and had a good look at the boat. They eventually decided that we passed their test so they offered us their home. We made any offer, surveyed a week later, haggled a little and closed 2 weeks later and sent them home in a truck(back to Texas). Within a week of closing we sailed in our first race on her which was an overnight 100nm race to NE Harbor and then cruised her for a week.

We are presently living aboard in a marina which is a 5 minute walk from work for my wife and I. No surprises to this point other than some corrosion on the base of the mast that will need to be addressed in the next few years. The boat came fully equipped and ready for a crossing and long term cruising. I will change out some minor things but the only major upgrades I have planned are new sails and standing rigging as these are original on the boat from 1997.

BTW, when previous boats were sold, I always listed good and bad points ensuring that all parties had complete information. Never used a broker and all sold to the 1st or second looker.

 

[gpd955]

Are we all crazy?

Well you know what they say....if we weren't all crazy we would go insane.

At least all of us crazy people are in good company!

 

[Stu Jackson]

I've found that even the cleanest of boats needs a lot of elbow grease and "fix-its" that sometimes almost approximate the amount of time required for a "fixer-upper." Interior and cushion cleanups and woodwork are examples.

We spent a year finding "our" boat, and only looking at this particular manufacturer and model. Saw a LOT of dogs. Bid on one only to not pass muster during a survey. Found "the right one" in great shape. But still had to do the woodwork (remove varnish, yes, our choice, but still hard work), clean the inside (it was perfect but we had to clean it all anyway to our satisfaction), upgrade the electrical system from 1986 to 1998 equipment, buy new batteries, do wiring diagrams, buy a reliable anchor (PO never anchored out, we do), cure the engine overheating (known and declared - simple: clean out the heat exchanger) and all the maintenance stuff that goes with owning a boat (fuel and oil filter changes, stuffing box, etc.).

We lucked out, because like the OP, we "found" a deal that worked for us.