My wife and I have also been looking for 6 months. We got so darn tired of owners lying to us on the phone about the condition. To a lesser extent same deal with brokers. The few people who were honest about the condition of their boat on the phone had unrealistic ideas about the boats value.
Some of the funniest stories, were,
"we replaced the head hoses with hi end hoses so there would be no smell. Head stunk so bad I couldn't go in!"
"Lots of Sails, in good shape, ya lots of sails all 20 plus years old with all the snap of an old bed sheet."
Engine is in great shape..... ya sure, blows blue smoke and has 2700 hours with one small
fuel filter and oil blacker and thicker than roofing tar.
I asked.... any gel coat crazing or cracks, answer, just a few, yup just a few dozen.
We tried to keep a smile on our faces, but found it to be exhausting. The saddest part was having to answer untruthfully why I would not make an offer on one boat. Because the owner made cabinetry that he was so proud of was ugly, poorly constructed, with a horrible
varnish job to boot. I just couldn't look at it it was so bad, he was so proud of his work. I lied and told him I thought a more modern boat would suit us better.
Maybe the funniest story was when I went with a broker to look at another brokers listing. I went to take a sailcover off. He said abruptly hey, what are you doing, you can't do that unless you are going to buy the boat. Said same thing when I asked to have engine started. So pee on him, I wrote that boat off my list and found a new broker and a week later had a boat. Thousands in commission that fool won't see. The new broker, started engines, uncovered sails, got me service records, asked what else I need to see, what a refreshing change. If you need a good broker in Seattle , I got one for you.
With fingers still crossed, we have a boat under contract now, survey to happen this coming weekend hopefully. What everyone said was true........ "You will know your boat when you see it" We saw it and a week later wrote the deposit. It is quick, comfortable and one owner.
michael