Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

[JoLin]

I'm in the market for a used cabin boat, 25-26 feet. I've looked at a couple and I'm going to see a couple more tomorrow. Wife and I are interested in 1 in particular. It's a 1990 Larson 25'. We both like the cabin layout.

As soon as I think we've found "the one", I'll be hiring a surveyor to do a pre-purchase inspection. A fellow member of my Power Squadron chapter (who buys and sells boats fairly often) used to be a certified marine surveyor but doesn't do it anymore. Instead, he referred me to the guy HE uses, so I have good confidence in the surveyor I expect to hire.

Given that most of these boats are now winterized, blocked and covered/shrinkwrapped (and it's danged cold out there!), a sea trial probably won't be practical.

Will a good survey tip the odds in my favor enough that I can be fairly confident about the purchase?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

A seller that won't dewinterize, for a serious buyer, usually has something to hide. especially if the buyer is interested enough to hire a surveyor. if you buy it the expense to winterized it again is your problem not his.

 

[torcano]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

You have a couple of options. You could make the final purchase contingent on a proper sea trial in the spring. I bought my first boat last January and after the initial survey on land, I had the sea trial in March. The other option is if the initial survey on land is satisfactory, you could pay to have the boat commisioned and then pay again to re-winterize it. This can get expensive unless the current owner is desparate or willing to share this expense. I wouldn't buy an 18 year old boat without a full sea trial.
RK

 

[mthieme]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

Although I have before, generally I wouldn't buy something I couldn't test drive.
Certainly not something like you're talking about.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

All good advice, folks. When I go to look them over I'll get an estimate of the cost to de-winterize and set up again. I know it's the right thing to do, but between the cost of the survey and all that work, it's gonna get pricey.

In the case of the Larson, I may need to balance that cost against the fact that the owner has used the same Marina for the 5 years he's owned the boat, and says the Marina can show me all the maintenance records.

As far as making the sale contingent on a test ride in the Spring, it's a nice idea but I don't think it's very practical. If I were the seller, in this market, I'd be trying hard to sell and be done with it. The first person to come across with enough cash and no "strings" would get the boat. I wouldn't take a chance on missing a potential buyer.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

that's why if he is not hiding anything, he will dewinterize, and give you the test run, so you buy it. and you do the winterizing.

 

[torcano]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

Assuming he changed the oil and filters at the time of winterizing, I think it is a lot cheaper to de-winterize than winterize. The other option is to wait until March and see what's available. There are a lot of used boats for sale and a lot of people who want to sell them. In today's market, the buyer is clearly in the driver's seat.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

I'll check out all my options over the next few days. I know that used boats crop up every day, but the wife and I have a specific cabin arrangement we're looking for, i.e., room for 2 adults in the forward v-berth WITHOUT having to break down the dinette for sleeping.

That arrangement only starts to become common as you get up into the 27-foot and above range (Like a Searay 268 Sundancer), but that's a bigger boat than I want. Of the 25-footers that have come up for sale in the last couple of months, I've found specs on only two that seem to fit the bill - both of which I'll be seeing today (weird timing) - a 1990 Larson San Marino and a 1996 Bayliner 2452 Ciera.

I'll also tap my Power Squadron guy for some hands-on advice and guidance here. He's been doing this sort of thing forever, so he should be able to walk me through it, too.

Anyway, I hear you all loud and clear! Thanks!

 

[torcano]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

Let us know how you make out.
RK

 

[JoLin]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

Mini Update-

I looked over both boats yesterday and am taking Linda with me on Saturday to see them both again. Both boats have the basic cabin arrangement we want but they're surprisingly different overall. Both are powered by 5.7 Mercruisers and Alpha drives

The 1990 Larson 250 San Marino is older and it shows, but it isn't beat up. It was pretty dirty and Linda might not might not be able to look beyond that. Good sized v-berth for 2 adults. The dinette area is a longish lounge seat along the port side of the cabin, and 2 diners would sit side by side with the table in front of them. The table also dismounts and can be moved into the cockpit, which is kinda handy.

I'm personally not thrilled with the cockpit layout, tho I think Lin might prefer it. The sides and transom are lined with lounge seats. Great for sunbathing and guests. I personally prefer an uncluttered cockpit that I can fill in with deck chairs as needed. Overall, it seemed to be decently maintained and is a good candidate for a survey. Asking price is 10.5 K

The 1996 Bayliner 2452 Ciera HT was VERY clean. has a similar v-berth, but the dinette is the typical face-to-face seating arrangement with table between the 2 diners. The boats style (they refer to it as "Classic") is different. The cabin doesn't "flow" with the lines of the bloat- it stands proud of the deck and has a lot of window area. It's the style that all cabin boats had until they atarted being made "aerodynamic" (and giving up interior space) in the '80's. I like it. It looks like a boat.

The cockpit is open with rear seating on the motor box and a foldin seat on either side. I felt like I could move around well. At the helm, I did have a little trouble seeing the bow over the top of the cabin looking forward (I'm only 5' 8" tall), but there's plenty of headroom so i might be able to cobble up a platform to raise the floor and seat a few inches. I don't think it's an insurmountable problem. Another negative for us (more for my wife) is the fact that it's a hardtop. We like sun and wind on the face when we're cruising. Asking price is 12K.

It's gonna be hard to decide which to pursue. I was actually hoping that I wouldn't like the Bayliner, but it impressed me. Very well thought out and seemed to be screwed together okay, too. I might be in for quite a battle with the wife. I made the mistake of telling her that if we buy a Bayliner some folks might snicker, and well... she didn't take kindly to that.

 

[Maine Tom]

Re: Boat Shopping at This Time of Year? (Northeast)

I purchased my boat Christmas week a few years ago. A sea trial was out of the question. We just had a contract that stated I could return the boat for a full refund by April 30th if I was not satisfied. This gave me alot of confidence in the sale and also gave the seller the cash he needed for a boat he wanted. Everything worked out great for us. Good luck