Hi,
I'm new here, but as I'm an aspiring sailboat owner I'm sure that I'll have many more things to read/ask once I'm on my own boat.
There is a wealth of information about the technical aspects of inspecting a boat (thank you sailnet.com forums) however I was hoping to get your opinions on how to handle the social side of it.
My partner and I live in Eastern Ontario and have done a lot of reading and research and narrowed down which class of boats we'd like, and have the money on hand to purchase one. Over the last month, we've been driving all over the province (and beyond) to look at boats.
After finding many of the boats to be misadvertized, and then, based on 3+ year old photos passed off as current, driving 5 1/2 hours (one way) to see a steel boat that 'just needed the halyards to be replaced and could be sailed today' and 'has a gorgeous exterior but is a bit Spartan inside' to find a decaying boat that will never see water again, we made a 'rule' that we will no longer drive long distances to see a boat if the owner/broker will not invest the time to meet us, as they presumably have the boat at that site because it is convenient to them.
This weekend, we had the opposite experience: we drove 4 hours (again 1-way) to see a hopeful. The owner had suggested that we stay on the boat overnight before we even came up and seemed really engaged. Upon arrival, we were shown through the boat and the owners suggested we go out for a sail before the tides changed - which I really appreciated as I had little experience with winches and their traveller-less mainsheet/rollerfurling boom etc. having come from club boat dinghies and a couple of weeks on a tall ship. However, I wasn't afforded the opportunity to do a thorough inspection, so we decided to take them up on the offer to stay so that I could inspect the boat. Which turned up about 1/2 the stanchions were weak, a 6-8' section of the port deck had delaminated, the cockpit sole (under teak grates) was soggy, an aftermarket anchor locker/forecastle hatch could not latch shut, some cleats were added without backing plates and the hull surrounding one of them showed light through, amongst other issues. In the morning, when we met up with the owner, we reitorated that we, as neophytes, we're not looking for a project boat, and so needed to pass. On our drive home we got an email impressing how great a price the boat was (it's a bit above market average asking price), how every used boat will have something to fix on it (agreed, but not quite that much/serious), and how they expected a bit more 'gratitude' for having taken us out for a sail.
So, my questions I guess is: since I'm ready to purchase the right boat today, and I don't want to take advantage of someone's time or boat, and I don't want to waste more time chasing down dead ends that could have been crossed off the list if the owners were forthright, what have you found to be a good strategy for narrowing your search? Am I being too stringent in not going to see a boat without the owner's representative present? Is there a formal order to an inspection? I was expecting: inspection then an offer contingent on survey and sea trial. Does sailing bind me to making an offer? Should I insist on inspecting a hull before sailing even if the owners are the ones suggesting a couple of hours on the water?
Thanks,
Philip
I'm new here, but as I'm an aspiring sailboat owner I'm sure that I'll have many more things to read/ask once I'm on my own boat.
There is a wealth of information about the technical aspects of inspecting a boat (thank you sailnet.com forums) however I was hoping to get your opinions on how to handle the social side of it.
My partner and I live in Eastern Ontario and have done a lot of reading and research and narrowed down which class of boats we'd like, and have the money on hand to purchase one. Over the last month, we've been driving all over the province (and beyond) to look at boats.
After finding many of the boats to be misadvertized, and then, based on 3+ year old photos passed off as current, driving 5 1/2 hours (one way) to see a steel boat that 'just needed the halyards to be replaced and could be sailed today' and 'has a gorgeous exterior but is a bit Spartan inside' to find a decaying boat that will never see water again, we made a 'rule' that we will no longer drive long distances to see a boat if the owner/broker will not invest the time to meet us, as they presumably have the boat at that site because it is convenient to them.
This weekend, we had the opposite experience: we drove 4 hours (again 1-way) to see a hopeful. The owner had suggested that we stay on the boat overnight before we even came up and seemed really engaged. Upon arrival, we were shown through the boat and the owners suggested we go out for a sail before the tides changed - which I really appreciated as I had little experience with winches and their traveller-less mainsheet/rollerfurling boom etc. having come from club boat dinghies and a couple of weeks on a tall ship. However, I wasn't afforded the opportunity to do a thorough inspection, so we decided to take them up on the offer to stay so that I could inspect the boat. Which turned up about 1/2 the stanchions were weak, a 6-8' section of the port deck had delaminated, the cockpit sole (under teak grates) was soggy, an aftermarket anchor locker/forecastle hatch could not latch shut, some cleats were added without backing plates and the hull surrounding one of them showed light through, amongst other issues. In the morning, when we met up with the owner, we reitorated that we, as neophytes, we're not looking for a project boat, and so needed to pass. On our drive home we got an email impressing how great a price the boat was (it's a bit above market average asking price), how every used boat will have something to fix on it (agreed, but not quite that much/serious), and how they expected a bit more 'gratitude' for having taken us out for a sail.
So, my questions I guess is: since I'm ready to purchase the right boat today, and I don't want to take advantage of someone's time or boat, and I don't want to waste more time chasing down dead ends that could have been crossed off the list if the owners were forthright, what have you found to be a good strategy for narrowing your search? Am I being too stringent in not going to see a boat without the owner's representative present? Is there a formal order to an inspection? I was expecting: inspection then an offer contingent on survey and sea trial. Does sailing bind me to making an offer? Should I insist on inspecting a hull before sailing even if the owners are the ones suggesting a couple of hours on the water?
Thanks,
Philip