I happened to look at a boat with a broker on Tuesday night for about an hour. It's a '96 model Catalina that seemed to be a bit under the market price. The broker's explanation is that it is a well-cared for boat but the seller is an old man now whom needs to let it go and is a motivated seller. He claims it is ready to be sailed and motored away without any complications. A red flag to me was when he said the rigging is all original but will last a lifetime, no need to worry about replacing it (after 20+ years), he says. Also, the rudder stock had some movement when I wiggled it. Shaft and prop rotated nicely.
As far as I could tell, the boat looks and feels solid and I didn't see any sign that port lights leak. The problem I have is that it is dirty and the interior woodwork obviously didn't see much care. Interior upholstery is dirty and worn. The floor actually looked pretty good ... until I opened the bilge. A couple of inches of black ugly water obscured everything beneath the surface. The boat is on stands now because owner isn't using her this year.
So my question is, if the issues are cosmetic, is it reasonable to make a request to the broker to get the boat cleaned and definitely dry out the bilge before I have a survey done or even show it to Sue? For one thing, if I show this boat to Sue, she probably will be turned off as soon as they open the hatch, maybe even before as the cockpit has a fair amount of dirt on all the surfaces. The boat smells like it hasn't been opened in a while but it's not so bad that it might just need a little ventilation. If it was a bad case, I'd dismiss it, but it's kind of borderline and might be a decent deal if all systems are go. Engine has 1500 hours, so says broker, but I haven't verified.
As far as I could tell, the boat looks and feels solid and I didn't see any sign that port lights leak. The problem I have is that it is dirty and the interior woodwork obviously didn't see much care. Interior upholstery is dirty and worn. The floor actually looked pretty good ... until I opened the bilge. A couple of inches of black ugly water obscured everything beneath the surface. The boat is on stands now because owner isn't using her this year.
So my question is, if the issues are cosmetic, is it reasonable to make a request to the broker to get the boat cleaned and definitely dry out the bilge before I have a survey done or even show it to Sue? For one thing, if I show this boat to Sue, she probably will be turned off as soon as they open the hatch, maybe even before as the cockpit has a fair amount of dirt on all the surfaces. The boat smells like it hasn't been opened in a while but it's not so bad that it might just need a little ventilation. If it was a bad case, I'd dismiss it, but it's kind of borderline and might be a decent deal if all systems are go. Engine has 1500 hours, so says broker, but I haven't verified.