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Is it wise to buy a boat that you don't love??

5K views 35 replies 21 participants last post by  SailNet Archive 
#1 ·
My wife and sons I went down to LA and San Diego to look at boats, we got aboard quite a number of boats . What we learned is what we don't want , the only boat we saw that really struck us as being right for us was a pearson 422. We did look at three kelly Peterson 44's , the general design was OK but the boat never really struck us as "the one" however it has most of our requirements with the least amount of compromises. Neither my wife or I am thrilled about the boat. We do recognize that it will fit most of our needs and we don't hate it ( actually I like it) we realize that it will not be our last boat and it will serve us properly.

Is it wise to buy a boat that you don't love but will do what you need it to ?
 
#27 ·
Kmclarke-

I hope the sea trial and survey go well...if so, good luck and I hope you grow to love the boat... a boat that isn't loved is often not sailed or maintained anywhere near as well as one that is loved.
 
#28 ·
eryka is better of loving her husband and simply liking her boat than to have it the other way around. I am sure ideally you would want to love the boat too.

It's probably easier to get a divorce than it is to sell an unloved boat. It would stay on the market for a long time and be a constant pain the arse....well come to think of it, so would an ex-wife I suppose.
 
#29 ·
As a long time real estate broker and sailor I have this final bit of advice on how to proceed ( I have helped people with much larger purchases than this by using this method).
step one. Look at a couple more boats on the short list, JUST A COUPLE
step two. Put away all info about boats and stop discussing and thinking about for 3 days. If vacation time is due then take one so that you will not be thinking about the boat.
step three. Make decision.

Magically you will know what to do as your subconcience will sort it out.
I am no joking, I have seen people use this to sucess on the purchase of their largest lifetime expendeture.

pigslo
 
#30 ·
Yes, the subconscious mind is better at making big decsions than the "rational" conscious mind is.
 
#31 ·
pig's got the right idea...i'm assuming you have a short list of boats?..and after re-reading your original post... this is what i gleaned; you don't like the narrow steep companionway, small galley, narrow cramped berths, and lack of separate shower/ head set-up..and the title of the thread, lest we forget, deals with buying a boat you don't love. uhm...take pig's advice and keep looking..ask around here about the boats you like..i promise, people here have an opinion on just about everything.:D
and after you buy the boat..you will get great advice on just about everything else.
 
#32 ·
No. No one buys a boat because it makes sense from any point of view. The more you subject the purchase to analysis the less sense it makes. It is an uncomfortable way to travel, it is an expense way to travel, and the costs of ownership are outrageous. It is a bad investment. Having said all that it is like buying a work of art that is bought out of foundness for the work. And I would not be without some type of sailboat.
 
#33 ·
Urban cops & firemen will often often buy a "beater", a car that is in lousy cosmetic condition but runs reliably, because they want something that can get them to work every day but looks like a POS so no one will steal it while it sits outside the station every day.

I don't think anyone loves a "beater", they buy it as a disposable tool and use it for what it is. Is that what your boat will be for?

If you don't love the boat, don't love the way it sails or houses you, and aren't going to be making a fortune from it as an investment...

Buying it because "We didn't want to look any further and this is all we could find" sounds like it could be something you'll just come to loathe, not enjoy. You're going to put a lot of time and energy and money into...what, something you'd rather not spend time on?

Why? Did a voice come out of the sky and say "KM, I want you to buy a boat this week, and you'd better do it now because next week we're going to start talking pairs and animals." ? <G>

I'd wait, unless there's some other reason on the short list of "Why I must buy a boat real fast."
 
#34 ·
hellosailor nailed it...i'm betting 'buying a boat fever' has set in, brought on by a recent boat show visit perhaps. buying a boat for the sake of buying one cuz the "jones's" or brother/sister/best friend (you see where i'm going here), just bought a boat is the worst possible way to shop for one. selecting a boat based on important criteria is what needs to be considered (i know..duh)..i looked for over a year,and kept narrowing my list down,made compromises here and there, but in the end bought a boat i knew i'd be happy with and would make me smile each time i walked up to her and walked away from her, (frankly i can't imagine anything worse than buying a boat then hating yourself and it afterwards.i guess that's why the boatyards are the "land of misfit toys." anyone that has been to jabins in nappytown knows what i mean...but hey...YMMV and i could be way out in left field here.
km,what is important to you and the other part of the equation?
no evidence noted here of animals pairing up...
 
#35 ·
Km - we have been looking for 5 months now for our boat. Seems like an eternity, but I have talked to people that look for a year or more. Sometimes I get so sick of it, I find a boat that is just okay, but not really right, and almost buy it just to get it over with. But then I keep thinking of what the very knowledgeable sailors say on this site. 1. there are always more boats coming up for sale soon. 2. buy the boat you WANT. 3. you'll know the right boat when you see/sail it. So, we keep looking.....
 
#36 ·
I'll buy into the theory of buying a boat that you love, that kind of makes it much like a marriage, and very few people would marry someone they hadnt spent anytime with, of course, if first sight/impressions are near hate then no need to spend time with them, but, spending time is the best way to have a sound relationship, person, or boat. Both have too much about them to base a long opinion on a casual contact. Spend some time with this boat, you may hit it off.
 
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