You took the words out of my mouth. I was going to comment on pictures so old they're practically in sepia, featuring happy, smiling people with 1980's clothing and hairstyles.
That, and the phrase "Ready to go sailing!"
Pet Peeve with Sailboat Adds
- Thread starter Bad Obsession
- Start date
That, and the phrase "Ready to go sailing!"
So as a follow up to my post about prepping my boat. The Broker said my boat showed very well and finally we found the 'right' buyer and had no problems reaching an agreement on price. The new owner has called or texted me several times to ask little details about the operation of this or that. His last post reads as follows "I LOVE her" ..meaning the boat of course.
It's amusing, and a mild peeve, to see boats advertised with bad pictures and poor staging.
Another minor peeve is when owners represent normal maintenance as upgrades. Wow, a new impeller and a new belt on the engine!
My major peeve is when a boat's condition is misrepresented. The boats I've traveled over three hours to see that turned out to be crap are hard to forget. No amount of questioning on the phone or email is effective when a broker or private seller will lie to get you to drive out of state to view their smelly, poorly maintained "excellent" boat.
A local ad for a 1986, 36 foot Catalina in "like new" condition annoyed me enough to contact the owner, even though I was not boat shopping. We can argue all day long about what "fair", "good", or "excellent" mean, but "like new" has only one meaning. The owner's photos revealed a 1986 boat with all the wear and tear one might expect on a boat of that vintage with average maintenance. I emailed him, listed the obvious defects, and asked him if Catalinas were really leaving the factory with those defects in 1986, and suggested he drop the "like new" description. Seller was unreceptive to my suggestion, and maintained that his boat was truly like new, and became abusive about it. I countered by explaining to him that I've sailed past his boat in the mooring field when no one was around, and maybe he should modify his listing so as not to piss me off. And, he did LOL.
Another minor peeve is when owners represent normal maintenance as upgrades. Wow, a new impeller and a new belt on the engine!
My major peeve is when a boat's condition is misrepresented. The boats I've traveled over three hours to see that turned out to be crap are hard to forget. No amount of questioning on the phone or email is effective when a broker or private seller will lie to get you to drive out of state to view their smelly, poorly maintained "excellent" boat.
A local ad for a 1986, 36 foot Catalina in "like new" condition annoyed me enough to contact the owner, even though I was not boat shopping. We can argue all day long about what "fair", "good", or "excellent" mean, but "like new" has only one meaning. The owner's photos revealed a 1986 boat with all the wear and tear one might expect on a boat of that vintage with average maintenance. I emailed him, listed the obvious defects, and asked him if Catalinas were really leaving the factory with those defects in 1986, and suggested he drop the "like new" description. Seller was unreceptive to my suggestion, and maintained that his boat was truly like new, and became abusive about it. I countered by explaining to him that I've sailed past his boat in the mooring field when no one was around, and maybe he should modify his listing so as not to piss me off. And, he did LOL.
I hate to admit it but I like looking through adds. Yep, it is a hobby of mine. Because of this I tend to keep a good idea of what boats I like go for and what conditions I see in the ads.
When I was actively looking for my Catalina 30 I did see a lot of boats that didn't match their ads. Most of those were complete crap.
One thing I also do is think about what refit cost would be associated with a particular boat. This is based on age and things that will probably need to be replaced, even if the current owner replaced them already. Why is this, because some owners are complete hacks! I have seen some awful wiring jobs that are not to code. I have also see people use home calks to seal through deck fittings and things like this.
Another consideration is the age of the diesel. One example is that I really like the design and look of the Cape Dory 28 BUT it was sold with a raw water cooled Volvo diesel. Either the boat is cheaper and has a very old raw water cooled diesel or they are way too expensive with a newer diesel. The price to replace the diesel is more than the boat is worth too.
When I was actively looking for my Catalina 30 I did see a lot of boats that didn't match their ads. Most of those were complete crap.
One thing I also do is think about what refit cost would be associated with a particular boat. This is based on age and things that will probably need to be replaced, even if the current owner replaced them already. Why is this, because some owners are complete hacks! I have seen some awful wiring jobs that are not to code. I have also see people use home calks to seal through deck fittings and things like this.
Another consideration is the age of the diesel. One example is that I really like the design and look of the Cape Dory 28 BUT it was sold with a raw water cooled Volvo diesel. Either the boat is cheaper and has a very old raw water cooled diesel or they are way too expensive with a newer diesel. The price to replace the diesel is more than the boat is worth too.
You're right, they all seem to imply that if you had this boat you would be able to sail with gorgeous models in swimsuits.
Another thing I have noticed is that most of the ads show small-sized people aboard, to make the boat look bigger. Seriously, look closely at a few ads.
Another .... is when there are no pics of part of the boat. OK, it might not show well but at least the viewer knows what it is. He/She can decide if it's something they can deal with. If I don't see cabin pics I assume it's a mess. But that's not important to a some buyers. I want to see bulkheads, chainplates, the engine. I really don't care about the stove or how many (Outdated) anchors there are. Same with the bottom. Let's see it - craters and all. I'm gonna see it any way so let's save us some time and expense and be transparent.
I just read an ad re a "Live aboard" sailboat in which the seller starts out by berating the potential buyer for asking stupid questions and bothering him with low ball offers. But the rules of the sale are to remove the boat from it's current slip upon sail or pay monthly dockage - which is OK. But if that's the case you can't cut off the potential buyers from trying to learn more about the boat. He knows he has to sell the boat and yet he obscures the specifics. He has no bids. He can either wait and pay the storage fees or be more forthcoming and sell the boat.
I just read an ad re a "Live aboard" sailboat in which the seller starts out by berating the potential buyer for asking stupid questions and bothering him with low ball offers. But the rules of the sale are to remove the boat from it's current slip upon sail or pay monthly dockage - which is OK. But if that's the case you can't cut off the potential buyers from trying to learn more about the boat. He knows he has to sell the boat and yet he obscures the specifics. He has no bids. He can either wait and pay the storage fees or be more forthcoming and sell the boat.
And a bathroom. Every smart seller knows a boat with a bathroom sells faster than one without, right?
Brokers should take a lesson from real estate agents. Today, agents "stage" a house for both the web site photographs and for the time it's listed. All clutter is removed. Nothing is left on the counters. All personal items are stored away. They create a fantasy version of what the house would look like if you bought it. They do this because it works.
I agree on the staging.
Here is a new approach; get a GOOD camera. I see dark, blurry, and just plain awful pictures in adds all of the time. Take some good pictures.
Another new thing. I HATE it when the broker says there is a video of the boat. The video is nothing more than a montage of the pictures that are in the add. There is nothing new and nothing to see. This is usually accompanied by a description given by a computer generated voice. If you are going to post a video, make it a real video!!!
Here is a new approach; get a GOOD camera. I see dark, blurry, and just plain awful pictures in adds all of the time. Take some good pictures.
Another new thing. I HATE it when the broker says there is a video of the boat. The video is nothing more than a montage of the pictures that are in the add. There is nothing new and nothing to see. This is usually accompanied by a description given by a computer generated voice. If you are going to post a video, make it a real video!!!
My biggest pet peeve about boat ads are the three words "ready to sail" when used to describe a beat up, wore out, POS with bed sheets for sails and every frayed line about to break. I understand that it is a bit of a subjective term but seriously, if she hasn't sailed in the last year or so, preferably the last month, she probably isn't ready to sail!!!
Sam
Sam