Scenario

[deniseO30]

"Honey, we are retired now... Lets sail around the world!" He says.. "Dear that's a wonderful idea!" Says she (they've never sailed anything.)

Off they go to buy a sailboat... they bump into mr sailboat broker .."I have just the boat for you" A nice "------- ft. long. "Yes it can handle anything the north atlantic can throw at it.." Oh yes we can teach you how to handle the boat too!" They get a few lessons in docking and sailing on sunday afternoons in light air. "Honey this is fun"!

Weeks later: $???,??s later... "Honey it's time to go out on our first solo just you and me" Off they go! OOPS! (didn't check the weather reports) Winds kick up to about 30 mph.. sails up. The boat lays over about 30 degrees dips the rail, rounds up, scares the hell out honey and dear. Everything down below that wasn't secure is all over the sole. Jib sheets flailing, boom slapping port and starboard. He didn't know that the jib would be so hard to roll in.. forgot how to use the selftailers "wrap the line left.. or right?" Frantic cell phone calls to the broker. (no answer) finally.. they get the engine started, the sails doused.. and motor back in to the Marina/dealers.. That was 6 months ago.. The boat is still sitting there.. where they left it.

3 months later on the broker's listings.. "A nice "------- ft. long. Only $???,?? "It can handle anything the north atlantic can throw at it.." PO is "Relocating Must sell! Lightly used!"

This has never happened right?

[Allanbc]

If you hang around the docks with a check book, you might be able to get a good deal.

[Pamlicotraveler]

Is it a true story?

[Tartan34C]

Originally Posted by Pamlicotraveler

Is it a true story?

Yes, hundreds of times every year. When I was in the business I found a lot of good deals that way. The other way to buy a boat is talk to the owner just after the insurance company gets finished with him when they are totaling the boat. One of the best live-aboards I ever had was a boat that was hit by a drunken powerboater while she was on a mooring. The forward 10 feet of the boat was cut off clean. My glass man put her back together over the winter and you couldn’t tell anything had happened. When I sold her I pointed out the damage but the owner thought I was kidding. He came back to me a few years later all upset that the boat had been in an accident. Someone had shown him a picture they had taken with the bow laying on the ground near the boat while she was in the travel lift. I pointed out that not only did I tell him but it was in the sales contract that the bow had been replaced. He sold the boat some years later without telling anybody about it and the surveyor MISSED the repair.
All the best,
Robert Gainer

[sailingdog]

I think the person you sold the boat to had some serious ethical problems. He was upset about something that you clearly disclosed...and yet turns around and doesn't disclose it to the new buyer. IIRC, that would be fraud, since he clearly knew about the repair to the bow, yet didn't disclose it to the new buyer.

[Tartan34C]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

I think the person you sold the boat to had some serious ethical problems. He was upset about something that you clearly disclosed...and yet turns around and doesn't disclose it to the new buyer. IIRC, that would be fraud, since he clearly knew about the repair to the bow, yet didn't disclose it to the new buyer.

I made it a practice to stay out of that sort of thing. As long as I kept my end on the high road whatever you did was your own business. Besides you don’t really know who said what. The person saying he wasn’t told might be the one bending things around and the seller might have told him. But don’t think for a second I will back you up if you lie. Ask a question and you will get the straight answer. The bottom line is I guess I should be more careful about how I word things and finish my coffee before posting anything at all.
All the best,
Robert Gainer

PS I knew the surveyor and talked to him after the fact. When I asked him what he thought about the repair I found out he had missed it. He knew the nonskid was altered on the deck but didn’t realize why.

[Cruisingdad]

Denise,

Yes, I see some versions of that a lot. I have a different version for you though.

Mr and Mrs retiree wnat a change of life and want to see the world. They start talking to sailors about cruising the Pacific, circling Fiji, and rounding the horn or their way to Utopia. They are strongly urged that they HAVE to get a Bullet-proof shoe box - and for what they have stated, is probably true. They empty their retirement and buy the "bluewater boat". It is a fine craft, and ready to circle the globe. But halfway out of the harbor, they hit a huge storm and realize that all boats have to ride the waves. Their awesome boat is a poor substitute for their total lack of seamanship and experience. They change their plans and decide to coastal hop for a while instead. Unfortunately, their boat is tight and life on the hook is very uncofortable. They spend mre and more time in marinas and off the boat until finally they decide this cruising stuff is not what it is cracked up to be and sailing is no fun. They sell the boat at a loss and leave it all behind: broken both mentally and financially.

I have always been a screaming advocate of being realistic on your goals and buying the RIGHT boat for the RIGHT cruising grounds. THere is more to see in this hemisphere than you could see in a lifetime and there is a lot to be said for the production builders and the boats they build. I find many people on this site underplaying the importance of a COMFORTABLE LIVEABOARD AND CRUISING BOAT versus a bullet proof shoe box. Living abord (ESPECIALLY WITH KIDS) versus the weekender and vacationer are toally different.

I read the Hoffa's thread with interest in the Liveaboard Forum. It isn't all sunsets and margaritas. Life is life, whether from a boat, RV, or your back yard. I prefer the life on the water, but it is not an escape from problems and it is far from being cheaper than living on land (especially if you are not handy and comfortable working on boats). I feel anyone who does not believe me here has never lived aboard or cruised.

- CD

[labatt]

Well said, CD, and it's why we're looking at large boats for our family. Even little things can drive you batty. We keep our shore power bags under our Nav station, so when I'm sitting at the station my legs are often in the path from the galley to the settee. It drives my wife NUTS that she has to push past me constantly to get through. After looking through boats this past weekend, we've really realized how big a boat we actually have to get so that we're comfortable as an entire family - kids and all. That's actually a reason why we're preferring a center cockpit... room between the aft cabin and the forward cabins

Back to Denise's original comment, several of the boats we've looked at over the past 2 years were from quickly aborted cruises. As a family, we've never experienced an offshore cruise and many people tell us that it's a necessity before we go out for a couple of years. Time won't permit, so I'm hopeful we won't become one of the aborted cruise statistics

[camaraderie]

Labatt...the nice thing about a big, comfy boat is that you can adjust your sailing plans. As long as you are all happy living aboard at anchor...you can cross an ocean or puddle jump to the bahamas....depending on how everyone feels once you get out in blue water. There's endless flat water exploring you can do here if the family doesn't take to the sea...but enjoys the boat and the water. If you don't get enough boat to keep you happy...even if they love the ocean...the close quarters will kill the fun before too much time has passed.

Most people don't have your resources...and so must decide between a capable blue water boat OR a comfortable production cruiser. I would urge anyone facing this choice to FIRST get on a boat doing a week long or more blue water trip. If you are still BOTH convinced that blue water is your dream...then get the largest blue water boat you can afford. If not...make the CD choice and get a good production cruiser that you will LOVE living on and enjoy the waters closer to shore.

[Valiente]

Crew on a bluewater boat first...in blue water. You'll soon know if it's right for you, or if you're more the strictly coastal type.

Most are, and there is no shame it in. I would always prefer seeing someone out in a boat they like, in conditions they can handle, then see a nice cruiser rotting at the dock.