Cheap boat -what am I missing?

[magnetman]

Say the broker takes 5%.

 

Boat "value" 25k.

 

Advertised for £30k. Brokerage fee difference between these prices is 5% of £10k which is £500.

 

What about if the broker then suggests dropping the price down to £23k (example) due to the boat being poorly presented then an offer comes in for £20k for the boat.

 

The difference for the broker is 5% of 3k which is £150.

 

But if the offer comes from someone in cahoots with the broker then the boat is tidied up it may well sell for £23k and thats £3k more than £20k (minus cleaning). For the few hundred quid difference it seems an obvious game to play specially with boats which are basically good but badly presented at sale.

 

All strictly theoretical.

[Paul G2]

Depends which you mean by no system I guess. There's an inverter and batteries so there's clearly some kind of 12v system. Many boats cruise with the inverter on 24/7 so what electrical work is actually needed?

.

 

That does make a difference! I was going by what the OP said, along with my own experience of boats as money pits.

 

"Electrical systems set up for using only shore power. No systems in place for power generation at all whilst cruising. 240v fridge, water heater etc."

[Alan de Enfield]

 

Why would the marina give a sh't ? Their primary aim is to buy the boat off you cheap so they can tidy it up and sell it on anyway. Achieving a good price for the vendor is going to come second unless the boat is exceptional.

 

 

 

Generally a Marina (or Broker) will take a % of the sales value - if the boat is in the ownership of the marina / Broker then a whole raft of legal 'rights' come into play for the buyer and the seller (who is selling "in the course of a business") has to offer guarantees, 'fit for purpose', money back if not happy etc etc.

 

Very few sellers will admit to selling 'in the course of a business' for obvious reasons.

[magnetman]

Yes I agree BTW :off topic:

 

 

Generally a Marina (or Broker) will take a % of the sales value - if the boat is in the ownership of the marina / Broker then a whole raft of legal 'rights' come into play for the buyer and the seller (who is selling "in the course of a business") has to offer guarantees, 'fit for purpose', money back if not happy etc etc.

 

Very few sellers will admit to selling 'in the course of a business' for obvious reasons.

That's why I used the word cahoots in a previous reply

 

Sorry for wandering off topic on this. I'm a conspiracy theorist

 

Elvis is now married to Lady Diana living on an island near Hawaii

Edited June 19, 2016 by magnetman

[Paul G2]

Elvis is now married to Lady Diana living on an island near Hawaii

 

Are you ever gullible........

 

Everyone knows he bought a private island in the Bahamas and they're living there.

 

[magnetman]

I thought that was Michael Jackson?

[Paul G2]

I thought that was Michael Jackson?

 

And you call yourself a conspiracy theorist?

 

In actual fact, the Bahamian island was originally purchased by Howard Hughes who let the US NASA use it to fake the moon landings. Hughes thought that the government would ultimately move all of their atomic bomb testing from Nevada to his island, but Nixon had problems of his own and was unable to deliver so Hughes had some cryo-tanks installed and then gave the island to Elvis on the condition that he keep the electrical system for the cryo-tanks up and running. Elvis retired to the island when he decided it was time to get out of the public eye, and he has invited a number of celebrities to join him when they decided they had had enough of the paparazzi.

 

All of this is very well documented, if you are willing to do the research.

[grannykins]

Depends which you mean by no system I guess. There's an inverter and batteries so there's clearly some kind of 12v system. Many boats cruise with the inverter on 24/7 so what electrical work is actually needed?

When I asked him about power supply when cruising he told me there wasn't any. Just plug in shore power.

 

To be fair, cosmetically I suppose it wasn't any worse than some of the others we have seen for 10k more, but with the visibly rotted wood by the side hatch, which could be extensive underneath, and the fact that we're not experienced boat maintenance people, we didn't want to take on more than we could handle.

[RLWP]

When I asked him about power supply when cruising he told me there wasn't any. Just plug in shore power.

 

To be fair, cosmetically I suppose it wasn't any worse than some of the others we have seen for 10k more, but with the visibly rotted wood by the side hatch, which could be extensive underneath, and the fact that we're not experienced boat maintenance people, we didn't want to take on more than we could handle.

 

You don't have to justify your decision. As I said, no-one needs a canal boat, so if it isn't the boat for you, it isn't the boat for you

 

Maybe the next one will be

 

Richard

[Victor Vectis]

Perhaps you mean that they have a distinctive, pleasing beat as they carry on working for year after year?

PARDON !!

[Dave_P]

When I asked him about power supply when cruising he told me there wasn't any. Just plug in shore power.

 

To be fair, cosmetically I suppose it wasn't any worse than some of the others we have seen for 10k more, but with the visibly rotted wood by the side hatch, which could be extensive underneath, and the fact that we're not experienced boat maintenance people, we didn't want to take on more than we could handle.

Sounds like he was a bit confused then, assuming it does have a 3kw inverter.

[magnetman]

Or a fekkin long shoreline lead

 

Punctuation edit

Edited June 19, 2016 by magnetman

[Odana]

I've lived next door to that boat for years and have always liked it. It's a lot of boat for the price, I've never heard em moan about anything major, and it is being sold because life has moved on and the owner has moved away. It's been lived on by the owner and his son - tis a scruffy blokes boat now but has loads of space and would scrub up well. Anyone else viewing, ask any questions to the owner on the phone as son just used it as a floating flat and likely doesn't know techie details.

[Athy]

PARDON !!

[Taslim]

 

Are you ever gullible........

 

Everyone knows he bought a private island in the Bahamas and they're living there.

 

Yea. I heard that too. Is it true Glen Miller is their entertainment manager?

[Paul G2]

Yea. I heard that too. Is it true Glen Miller is their entertainment manager?

Shhhhhh...

 

That's supposed to be a secret!

[grannykins]

I've lived next door to that boat for years and have always liked it. It's a lot of boat for the price, I've never heard em moan about anything major, and it is being sold because life has moved on and the owner has moved away. It's been lived on by the owner and his son - tis a scruffy blokes boat now but has loads of space and would scrub up well. Anyone else viewing, ask any questions to the owner on the phone as son just used it as a floating flat and likely doesn't know techie details.

The owner was there when we visited, as well as the son. It was he who told us there was only shore power. Both very pleasant people. If son has been using it to live on that would probably explain the filthiness (it was beyond dirty!). I have had teenage sons and know what they are like. We were told it had been empty for 12 months though.

 

And it probably would scrub up. Wouldn't scrub away the rotted would I could almost put my hand through though.

 

Would make a good project for someone who was not worried about having to replace the whole top if the rot is all the way through. We didn't feel we were up to that.

[RLWP]

Would make a good project for someone who was not worried about having to replace the whole top if the rot is all the way through. We didn't feel we were up to that.

 

That's rather a wild exaggeration. It isn't the boat for you and your experience, not a total wreck

 

Richard

[grannykins]

 

That's rather a wild exaggeration. It isn't the boat for you and your experience, not a total wreck

 

Richard

We were advised that if we could see any real rot, then there could be real problems as it could have spread throughout the top. That wasn't my exaggeration.

Only repeated what more experienced people have advised.

 

No, it wasn't the boat for us or our experience. And I don't have a problem with that. Or with saying it.

But a couple of comments have made me feel that I shouldn't have said anything negative as he is a nice chap and the boat looks good from the outside. Yes, probably a bargain if you aren't daunted by the possible repairs necessary. But now I'm feeling 'got at' because I am repeating advice we were given.

 

I have been following this forum for about 5 years now, looking forwards to the day we get our boat and with sharing that here. I am grateful for all the comments and advice we were given when we were going to look at this boat. But I wont be asking or posting anything again.

[RLWP]

And you are in a unique position of having seen the boat, not some armchair expert plugging away at a keyboard. In your opinion, having seen the boat, is the boat so bad that the whole top is rotten and needs replacing?

 

I'm asking because doing research on the internet is pretty common, and CWDF generally comes up as one of the top google results, so your opinion will probably influence future buyers

 

Richard

[ditchcrawler]

I think you said there were 2of you and 2 dogs? In which case, if it were me making the choice, it would be for 70ft and don't worry about some canals you can't get to, there are plenty of others. You will be glad you chose 70ft, with the options for space to spread into and often full length boats are cheaper pro rata than 55 or 57ft ones.

We have had this boat 14 years now, its 57 ft, before that it was 8 years on a 60ft share boat and in all that time the only small problem I would have had with length was Salters Lode, so I could have had a bigger one. Maybe one day I will do some short locks, but then again maybe I wont.

[ditchcrawler]

 

Are you ever gullible........

 

Everyone knows he bought a private island in the Bahamas and they're living there.

 

Funny, he works down our chip shop well that is what the song says

[mark99]

We were advised that if we could see any real rot, then there could be real problems as it could have spread throughout the top. That wasn't my exaggeration.

Only repeated what more experienced people have advised.

 

No, it wasn't the boat for us or our experience. And I don't have a problem with that. Or with saying it.

But a couple of comments have made me feel that I shouldn't have said anything negative as he is a nice chap and the boat looks good from the outside. Yes, probably a bargain if you aren't daunted by the possible repairs necessary. But now I'm feeling 'got at' because I am repeating advice we were given.

 

I have been following this forum for about 5 years now, looking forwards to the day we get our boat and with sharing that here. I am grateful for all the comments and advice we were given when we were going to look at this boat. But I wont be asking or posting anything again.

Let's look at the positives. You had a strong reaction not to buy. A real easy let down. Good luck with future searches. Everyones a winner. INCL. the eventual new owner. Edited June 21, 2016 by mark99

[Athy]

But now I'm feeling 'got at' because I am repeating advice we were given.

 

 

Well you shouldn't feel that way. Members have expressed a range of views which have, I hope, been largely helpful. It is possible that one or two would have liked to buy the boat but were not in a position to do so. But I saw no one expressing any views which appeared anything but honest. That, surely, is not a bad thing.

[Dave_P]

We were advised that if we could see any real rot, then there could be real problems as it could have spread throughout the top. That wasn't my exaggeration.

Only repeated what more experienced people have advised.

 

No, it wasn't the boat for us or our experience. And I don't have a problem with that. Or with saying it.

But a couple of comments have made me feel that I shouldn't have said anything negative as he is a nice chap and the boat looks good from the outside. Yes, probably a bargain if you aren't daunted by the possible repairs necessary. But now I'm feeling 'got at' because I am repeating advice we were given.

 

I have been following this forum for about 5 years now, looking forwards to the day we get our boat and with sharing that here. I am grateful for all the comments and advice we were given when we were going to look at this boat. But I wont be asking or posting anything again.

I'm sorry if you feel 'got at'. I don't think that's anyone's intention, least of all mine. However, it does seem like your expectation for this boat was well over what you're ever likely to find from a 15k 70' boat. 15k for a boat that size is often asked for total wrecks and this boat isn't one. It needs a good clean up and will need plenty of on-going maintenance, but so do all boats. I expect you'll find 40k boats with serious defects too.

 

When I was looking for my first boat a few years ago, my budget was 25k and I was consistently finding very poor, filthy boats at that price. I upped my budget to 30k which helped a bit. I ended up paying 34k which would probably be nearer 40k in today's market. You get what you pay for.

 

If I had 15k and was looking for a liveaboard, I know for sure that I could do a lot, lot worse than this boat. Major plus points are that it's big, the engine starts, it floats and can move, the interior hasn't been destroyed by fire or flood. All of these points are not a given at this price.