Boat Buying Checklist - HELP!

[WotEver]

What the hell is "Annie Sloane Paint"?

Not just me then. Masons yes, Craftmaster yes, Annie Sloane???

 

 

I can see how the overall tactic makes sense, but surely you don't want to actively reassure them that if you just walk away, someone else will be along shortly who's prepared to pay the full asking price?!

However it's unlikely that someone WILL be along shortly and pay the full asking price. If they do then so be it. If they don't then the seller can call you and say "We've been thinking about your offer..."

[chubby]

Annie Sloane paint is the stuff they slap on second hand chairs , old chests of draws and other assorted bric a brac .

This stuff is then taken to Notting Hill and Shoreditch in order to contribute to the nonsense known as " shabby chic " .... or " tarted up second hand stuff " . Of course in such places its not de riguer to simply call it second hand and so its marketed as " vintage " ... or even worse ...... " upcycled "

 

Good grief ... what bollocks

 

Its a very flat paint with no sheen at all . You put it on , you rub it off a bit , you add some protective wax and it makes stuff look " retro ... vintage .... old n knackered " .

Its £20 + a tin , from poncey shops staffed by women with nose piercings , tattoo s and DMs .

 

In short ...... overpriced twaddle

Edited February 16, 2017 by chubby

[MtB]

 

I can see how the overall tactic makes sense, but surely you don't want to actively reassure them that if you just walk away, someone else will be along shortly who's prepared to pay the full asking price?!

 

 

Oops I missed a step out. The immutable 'condition' of only having '£X' cash available. I'll re-write it.

 

"Well its a FANTATIC boat, exactly what I'm looking for. Better than I expected actually. Trouble is, I was hoping to make you a low offer of, say £<25% off> because that's all the cash I can scrape together to buy a boat. But I can see it is actually worth your asking price so I won't insult you by offering £,25% off> as I know you wouldn't take it. Allow a pregnant silence to pervade the atmosphere. WAIT for them to speak first!"

Edited February 16, 2017 by Mike the Boilerman

[OldGoat]

chubby, on 16 Feb 2017 - 10:29 AM, said:

Annie Sloane paint is the stuff they slap on second hand chairs , old chests of draws and other assorted bric a brac .

This stuff is then taken to Notting Hill and Shoreditch in order to contribute to the nonsense known as " shabby chic " .... or " tarted up second hand stuff " . Of course in such places its not de riguer to simply call it second hand and so its marketed as " vintage " ... or even worse ...... " upcycled "

 

Good grief ... what bollocks

 

Its a very flat paint with no sheen at all . You put it on , you rub it off a bit , you add some protective wax and it makes stuff look " retro ... vintage .... old n knackered " .

Its £20 + a tin , from poncey shops staffed by women with nose piercings , tattoo s and DMs .

 

In short ...... overpriced twaddle

Absolutely!!

 

We've been looking for a large wardrobe (for our house....) and see many battered wardrobes CoDs tarted up and then bunged back on eBay with a silly price tag.

The shame is that they sell!

 

It's all about fashion....

[Holly Lacey]

When i bought my first and only so far boat 4 years ago i bought it for 9 K below the asking price of 40K . It was a resi mooring i didn t want and so my offer reflected the fact i didn t want to pay any " premium " to take the mooring on .

My " method " with the purchase was to adopt the same attitude i have to much of life in general ........ Don t bullshit , be honest .

So alot like MtBs comments above i simply said something along the lines of " i like the boat , im happy to put in an offer subject to survey , but i simply cannot stretch to your asking price im afraid . Im not taking the piss , im not trying to insult you - but i cannot go beyond £Xxxx . I will need to pay for XYZ to be done on the boat and my offer is , i feel , a fair one . I understand if its not acceptable , business is business afterall but i genuinely cannot go beyond the price of my offer . Id very much like to buy but understand if you are reluctant to sell "

Thats it really . My approach . No bullshit , be honest but make sure you have the funds to back up the offer if accepted .

 

I might well look to sell my 58 ft trad later this summer in 6 months or so . I think it would be an excellent boat for the OP but i cannot sell just now . Due to my financial situation i will need to sell it before buying the next boat and will sell it at a fair price where buyer and seller are happy . Its down London way so i could go for a piss take price as many do down here - i cannot believe the prices some crap goes on the market for down here !

My attitude to selling will be the same as buying as i can t be bothered with any nonsense .

just some thoughts

 

cheers

 

This is exactly how I've been so far. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so have been quite upfront about what I can afford. At the moment, I'm not in any rush, so I do have time on my side, and am willing to wait for the right boat to come along.

Always let the seller know that you have another boat or boats to look at later that day (even to the point of asking the best way of getting to location x from their location), if they want to sell the boat this plants the idea in their head that you might not buy their boat if you see another.

 

Always haggle... the seller probably has a price that they need from the boat and they will have added some extra on to get a "nice to have" price and then added a bit more to allow for being knocked down a bit. If the price is a round figure (or £5 short of it) they are probably expecting an offer that is next round figure below it and to haggle from there (i.e. 30k down to 25k and haggle to somewhere around 26-28)

 

when making an offer let the seller know when they can expect the cash if they accept the offer i.e. "25 thousand by bank transfer within 24 hours assuming the survey is good"

 

That's what 'Ive said, but in my case it is actually true. I've got a fair list of boats, and as I'm in no rush, I'm not going to be pressure sold into buying.

[magictime]

Not just me then. Masons yes, Craftmaster yes, Annie Sloane???

 

 

However it's unlikely that someone WILL be along shortly and pay the full asking price. If they do then so be it. If they don't then the seller can call you and say "We've been thinking about your offer..."

 

They could phone you, but will they phone you? It all sounds too much like "play hard to get and let them do the running". I mean, they might do, but they might just assume you'll have bought another boat by now, or phone someone else who made a similar offer, or decide to keep the boat for another year, or put the boat on brokerage.

 

 

 

Oops I missed a step out. The immutable 'condition' of only having '£X' cash available. I'll re-write it.

 

"Well its a FANTATIC boat, exactly what I'm looking for. Better than I expected actually. Trouble is, I was hoping to make you a low offer of, say £<25% off> because that's all the cash I can scrape together to buy a boat. But I can see it is actually worth your asking price so I won't insult you by offering £,25% off> as I know you wouldn't take it. Allow a pregnant silence to pervade the atmosphere. WAIT for them to speak first!"

 

But now you've both reassured them that their asking price reflects their boat's true value (implying that sooner or later they'll find someone willing to pay it), and spelled out that it's not worth them negotiating with you (because you can't afford one penny more than the price you've just told them is an insult)!

[dmr]

Annie Sloane paint is the stuff they slap on second hand chairs , old chests of draws and other assorted bric a brac .

This stuff is then taken to Notting Hill and Shoreditch in order to contribute to the nonsense known as " shabby chic " .... or " tarted up second hand stuff " . Of course in such places its not de riguer to simply call it second hand and so its marketed as " vintage " ... or even worse ...... " upcycled "

 

Good grief ... what bollocks

 

Its a very flat paint with no sheen at all . You put it on , you rub it off a bit , you add some protective wax and it makes stuff look " retro ... vintage .... old n knackered " .

Its £20 + a tin , from poncey shops staffed by women with nose piercings , tattoo s and DMs .

 

In short ...... overpriced twaddle

 

Wow, the trendy middle class aspirations of a whole generation totally destroyed in just a couple of sentences.

 

...................Dave

[Peter X]

But chubby's analysis is spot on. There's a lot of sturdy but cheap second hand furniture about, typically early to mid 20th century and made of solid wood and plywood, whose price soars when tarted up as he describes and sold in a trendy location. As I've got a garden shed near London and I know a bit of carpentry, I've been wondering for a while if I could get in on this fad.

 

OldGoat: I've got a nice big 1920s wood+plywood wardrobe in good condition, stained dark brown as such pieces usually were, in London SE20. I need to sell it quickly, buyer collects. Interested?

[MtB]

 

Wow, the trendy middle class aspirations of a whole generation totally destroyed in just a couple of sentences.

 

...................Dave

 

 

Well I quite like shabby chic stuff. It changes old but servicable furniture from being plain ugly to looking fairly nice, dunnit!

[magictime]

 

 

Well I quite like shabby chic stuff. It changes old but servicable furniture from being plain ugly to looking fairly nice, dunnit!

 

Yeah, I quite like it too. But then I look a bit like one of the women in one of chubby's poncey shops, only with a beard and piercings everywhere except my nose.

Edited February 16, 2017 by magictime

[WotEver]

 

Wow, the trendy middle class aspirations of a whole generation totally destroyed in just a couple of sentences.

 

...................Dave

 

And Drew's business gone down the pan to boot

[dmr]

 

 

Well I quite like shabby chic stuff. It changes old but servicable furniture from being plain ugly to looking fairly nice, dunnit!

 

Its not really a new idea, didn't it just used to be called "distressed".? I remember trying to recreate the same effect but using new wood rather than reclaimed, it was sort of ok.

For me it can look really good or a bit naff and its a fine dividing line. A good old solid table with a "distressed" pant job on the frame and legs can look great, but some of the modern "shabby chic" stuff just fails to convey that old well worn solid but lived in feeling and is ...well ... a bit shabby and a bit chic.

 

Must be time for another pint in the Black Swan, real distressed furniture in its natural environment.

 

................Dave

[MtB]

Its not really a new idea, didn't it just used to be called "distressed".? I remember trying to recreate the same effect but using new wood rather than reclaimed, it was sort of ok.

For me it can look really good or a bit naff and its a fine dividing line. A good old solid table with a "distressed" pant job on the frame and legs can look great, but some of the modern "shabby chic" stuff just fails to convey that old well worn solid but lived in feeling and is ...well ... a bit shabby and a bit chic.

 

Must be time for another pint in the Black Swan, real distressed furniture in its natural environment.

 

................Dave

Good idea. See you there in ten minutes??

 

 

Kidding really, I'm fixing a boiler in Surrey at the moment...

[Athy]

 

A good old solid table with a "distressed" pant job on the frame and legs

What Victorian modesty!

[Holly Lacey]

Another quick question! When it comes to viewing boats, what papers would you expect a seller to have on the boat?

 

Also, is there any type of insulation that is preferable or is not good?

 

And toilets - I'm still not sure what type I think I'd like best. Has anyone had any experience with both and can offer some advice?

[WotEver]

The last question is easy. Quite a lot of folk will say pump out. The sensible ones will say cassette. A very few strange ones will say composting loo.

 

[Ray T]

Arrgh don't mention different types of loo. I did once but I think I got away with it.

 

Look for receipts for having the boat serviced, old BSS certificates, old licence discs, RYA / MCA bill of sale from previous owners.

 

e.g. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301532/msf_4705_bill_of_sale_rev_02-14.pdf

 

ETA. BSS = Boat Safety Scheme. http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/

Edited February 16, 2017 by Ray T

[Holly Lacey]

The last question is easy. Quite a lot of folk will say pump out. The sensible ones will say cassette. A very few strange ones will say composting loo.

 

I'm swaying towards cassette!

Arrgh don't mention different types of loo. I did once but I think I got away with it.

 

Look for receipts for having the boat serviced, old BSS certificates, old licence discs, RYA / MCA bill of sale from previous owners.

 

e.g. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301532/msf_4705_bill_of_sale_rev_02-14.pdf

 

ETA. BSS = Boat Safety Scheme. http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/

Yep, I was a bit apprehensive to mention it but I am genuinely curious to hear what people have to say on them

[magictime]

And toilets - I'm still not sure what type I think I'd like best. Has anyone had any experience with both and can offer some advice?

 

Our old boat had a cassette loo, which was fine because whenever we were aboard, we were on the move every day and so always sure to come to a sanitary station in good time. Emptying one is a bit gross, but you get used to it.

 

I'd probably feel differently either if I were living aboard and wanted the option of mooring in one spot for a week or two without worrying about the proximity of a san station, or if I were living on board at a mooring without a san station/Elsan point. Giving up two or three evenings a week to chug my way to a big hole and pour poo into it doesn't sound that appealing!

[OldGoat]

Peter X, on 16 Feb 2017 - 2:08 PM, said:

But chubby's analysis is spot on. There's a lot of sturdy but cheap second hand furniture about, typically early to mid 20th century and made of solid wood and plywood, whose price soars when tarted up as he describes and sold in a trendy location. As I've got a garden shed near London and I know a bit of carpentry, I've been wondering for a while if I could get in on this fad.

 

OldGoat: I've got a nice big 1920s wood+plywood wardrobe in good condition, stained dark brown as such pieces usually were, in London SE20. I need to sell it quickly, buyer collects. Interested?

Thanks for the kind offer - after a week of missing bids - much went for what we considered to be silly money, but a double wardrobe turned up a good price - and 20 minutes away!

[Bewildered]

I'm swaying towards cassette!

Don't sway towards a cassette, sit on it properly like a grown up!

[Bewildered]

I think the reality of the situation is that for the budget and size of boat you are looking for you will probably end up with cassette or portapotty. Smaller boats generally need all the storage space they can get and giving up the space under the bed to a big holding tank eats into the storage space available. Having said that you may find some smaller boats with pump out due to the original owners priorities.

[David Mack]

And toilets - I'm still not sure what type I think I'd like best. Has anyone had any experience with both and can offer some advice?

A quick look back through the forum will find strong views for and against both cassettes and pumpout. I suspect you will end up with whatever the boat which eventually ticks all your other boxes has, and you willl manage with that. Few people change one for the other, unless they are doing a major refit.

[Chewbacka]

Asking about toilets on here is like standing in the middle of a pub and asking how people will vote and why. Just don't do it

 

Cassette is low cost but needs frequent emptying - a job some find unpleasant

Pump-out is infrequent if you are careful, and easy but and it is a big but, you will need to be near to a pump-out when you need it and if living aboard and you get frozen in then you may not be able to get to a pump out. The cost of a pump out is about £15 irrespective of the size of the tank. So if you go pump-out make sure the tank is a reasonable size.

[system 4-50]

Insulation is most important, then no matter what your sitting on, you will be warm.

Sprayfoam done well is easily the best. I'll leave it to others to rate the rest.