Really Bad Boat Ads

Jul 7, 2004
8,534
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
I sold my Mac thru Sailing Texas. Alison stays involved with sellers and offers help on posting a good ad. And she just asks for a donation if your boat sells.
 
Mar 15, 2013
197
Islander 32 mkll Comox Hrb.
I really hate the big add write ups of gear and equipment and then there is this one little picture of the boat sailing away from about three miles!!!:banghead:
 
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Likes: shemandr
Jan 19, 2010
12,925
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
...... then there is this one little picture of the boat sailing away from about three miles!!!:banghead:
I find the ads that show four or five pics of the head amusing. And often there is nothing exceptional about the head. I'm sure some psychologist would have more to say about it....

Here is a classic pic

upload_2017-2-10_16-10-25.png
 
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Likes: Parsons
Jan 19, 2010
12,925
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Another classic shot...

upload_2017-2-10_16-15-45.png


I see a shop vac... (water damage?) and a garden hose !?!?!?! and something under the sail that might be a high velocity blower (more water damage?) a sponge, pail and rag..... yeah man.. sign me up. At least the sail looks clean.
 
Mar 15, 2013
197
Islander 32 mkll Comox Hrb.
I like the fact that the same line is used to lash the sail, the table, and everything else. It gives it a sense of panic!
 
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Likes: Parsons
Jan 1, 2006
7,982
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Maybe they are trying to show all the included equipment in one shot. They would be better served by taking a shot on the hard, and letting us see the boat. I've looked at so many boats with so much crap that I couldn't even open the compartments to see what I'm considering buying. And I don't try that hard. If I have to ask the broker or owner to move this or that, I'm pretty much out.
And what about the "Sistership" photo. Really? You can't even clean up your boat enough for a decent photo? I'm not considering buying the sistership.
 

RussC

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Sep 11, 2015
1,732
Merit 22- Oregon lakes
"Just testing the waters for possible sale" and "Will add photos later" come to mind. or the ads without a price or location included. I'll pass.
 
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Likes: BrianRobin
Dec 29, 2008
806
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
When we were shopping, the brokerage photos showed dirty dishes in the sink. The writeup, clearly cut and pasted from other descriptions, mentioned a head immediately aft the forward berth. On two trips to Annapolis to look over the boat, we could not for the life of us find that forward head. It simply wasn't there. Now, this was a custom boat, so I cannot possibly imagine how a broker could expect to cut and paste any description from another listing. When we finally did buy the boat, we did find some canned goods - and some dirty underwear - left by the PO.
 
Dec 29, 2008
806
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Do they fit well? Are they comfortable?
LOL - no, I think we used tongs to remove them and drop them in a dumpster!

We also found a bottle of "wine" from Easley's winery in Indianapolis. No vintage noted, but the address label had an address with an old style postal code - 6 alphanumeric digits. 5-digit numeric zip codes started in 1963...
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,722
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
We also found a bottle of "wine" from Easley's winery in Indianapolis. No vintage noted, but the address label had an address with an old style postal code - 6 alphanumeric digits. 5-digit numeric zip codes started in 1963...
"We will serve no wine before its time." Paul Masson
 
Sep 30, 2013
3,683
1988 Catalina 22 North Florida
I'd have drank the wine and danced on deck in the moonlight, wearing the dirty old underwear on my head, singing CCR's "Green River" at the top of my lungs. :dancing:
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,925
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
When we were shopping, the brokerage photos showed dirty dishes in the sink. The writeup, clearly cut and pasted from other descriptions, mentioned a head immediately aft the forward berth. On two trips to Annapolis to look over the boat, we could not for the life of us find that forward head. It simply wasn't there. Now, this was a custom boat, so I cannot possibly imagine how a broker could expect to cut and paste any description from another listing. When we finally did buy the boat, we did find some canned goods - and some dirty underwear - left by the PO.
OMG

That is a winner!
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,982
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I really would love to hear the broker's explanation of what happened to the mystery head. It was moved to the transom?
 
Dec 29, 2008
806
Treworgy 65' LOA Custom Steel Pilothouse Staysail Ketch St. Croix, Virgin Islands
I'd have drank the wine and danced on deck in the moonlight, wearing the dirty old underwear on my head, singing CCR's "Green River" at the top of my lungs. :dancing:
We still have never opened the bottle - afraid of what we would find. Besides, this way, we still have it to talk about! Oh, and the undies were dirty - no way we were going to even touch them, let alone put them on our heads. Gross!
 

DaveJ

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Apr 2, 2013
526
Catalina 310 Niagara-on-the-Lake
I know it has been referred to above, but it really surprises me when the interior pictures show cleaning products in the sink and on all the counters, V berths that are jammed with 'stuff''...cockpits full of leaves...pictures of the head with the picture takers reflection in the mirror, mainsails that are hanging limply off the boom. When I sold my first boat I took everything out of the galley and berths, all lines were neatly stowed, everything cleaned...that 25 year old boat looked new and sold quickly.
When surfing boat porn, dirty is not better.....

Cheers
 
Apr 4, 2016
201
Newport 28 Richardson Marina
Depends on buying or selling. If selling I take pictures of everything neat and tidy with just enough distance to hide the flaws. When buying I look for the lazy slob who has a real diamond in the rough who cannot be bothered to clean the galley or post a real picture. Then again I buy $5k boats not $50k boats.
On the other hand my favorite picture is the obscure corner of nothing which shows a finger tip, a small piece of varnished trim and some white fiberglass something. These really make me want to go check out the rest of the corners.
 
Jun 28, 2016
334
Hunter 23.5 Paupack, PA
My biggest pet peeve in ads these days is the word 'bespoke'... It is being over-used in advertising like a cheap hooker stowed away on a cold-war era Navy ship. I swear, if I hear another hipster utter the word 'bespoke' I will go from zero to homicidal in 2.4 seconds... They don't even know what it means or use the word correctly!
Ha! CloudDiver, I laughed to read you are tired of hearing 'bespoke'. I've only ever heard that word in church, or maybe a Monty Python movie. I can appreciate how it must feel to live in "Bill and Ted" land, but then, I would swap weather with you anytime. Good to learn your sensitivities extend beyond the life lines of that damn boat! Too funny.
 
Apr 27, 2010
1,279
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
If you work for a British firm, you hear "bespoke" all the time. It is not obsolete or archaic there. They use it like we use "custom made" or "custom built", e.g., "that is bespoke software" for "that software was custom built" or "that is a bespoke part". Ya get used to it.