Re: Bought me a new boat! - More pics
This post is about how this all came about. Three weeks ago, we weren't going to get a new boat, or do anything with the old one, except keep it. Fast forward to July 5th; Rain, rain, rain.... Lots of it. we had just moved the boat to it's new slip on davits, and we went down to check on her. Full of water.
Plug was in, but the float switch wasn't. Grumble.... We take care of what needed to be addressed immediately, draining the water, removing the plug, cleaning up the general mess. One of us says to the other 'it's almost not worth the headache with this boat', the other agrees. We start talking about a new one, but in the future. Wife wants (and I do to) to get a house on the water this coming winter, with a dock, and we decide to make the change once we have the house. Cool! Keep in mind, my wife requires dramamine before every voyage, and really isn't a boater, but she does enjoy it. She also doesn't like to spend money... on anything! I have to take her by the hand to get her new stuff for herself.
We own a small, but successful flowershop her in the St Pete area (PM me if you need flowers sent somewhere in Pinellas county
), and we watch the dollars very carefully. We have had a great year, and savings grow an absurd amount over the last 2 yrs. Not rich by any means, but we're finally 'getting comfortable'. We also have zero debt. Everything we own is free and clear, and we use/own no credit cards. That's huge. You younger folks should really pay attention to that last sentence.
Anyways, I say to my wife a few days later, how about we sell this boat (the Bayliner), and I get a small-ish fishing type boat (CC, W/A, small cuddy, etc.), which would be more comfortable, and I can actually go out into the Gulf without as much fear of swamping. She says ok.
She starts looking at boats for me, and next thing you know, she's looking at boats that are 3-6 times what I was budgeting for myself. Her thinking is, I want a nice fishing boat, and she wants something with a sundeck or bow area large enough for her to lay out on and sunbathe. Hmm. I don't want to spend that much I tell her. That in itself is really odd, since I'm the one that usually has the champagne taste with the beer budget. To get her off the $10k boats, I say, how about I get something for about $2-3k (its a buyers market as always in the boating world), and next year we can either sell it, or keep it and get a second boat. Her eyes light up, and we go looking. And looking. Came across some really decent boats, but they all had some level of being a project, which we didn't want. Next thing I know, she links me to the boat we bought, which was listed on CL at $3500. Hmm, let's go look at it.
We get out to the guy's house, and I'm drooling. I know this boat is worth at least what he's asking, probably more, and it's NOT a project by any means. Wife never makes instant decisions, so we leave and go look at another one. Then we go out on our boat, take our daughter and my mother in law for a cruise and to dinner at a restaurant on the water. My wife then decides that I can get the SportCraft if I really liked it, although it's not the 'perfect' boat for all of us (limited sunbathing area). So I call the guy, and ask him a few questions, and he then informs me that the boat was listed on CL for the wrong amount. His wife listed it, and put in at $3500, but he/they really wanted $4500. I asked for a demo, but he sold his truck, so we had no way to get it into water. I told him I'd think about it, and left it at that. At this point, I'm thinking he wants $4500, but I want it at $3500.
we get back to the dock, and I call him. Answering machine. I leave a message saying I'll take it at the $3500, and wait. Nothing. Tried calling again, and I figure he's not going to take less then the $4500. When we got home, I checked the CL listing, and he did change the price to $4500. I found out I was the first person to see the boat, and the only one to call/see him on the $3500 listing. Anyway, he called me yesterday, and apologized that he didn't get my message until then. His wife told him he should give it to us at the $3500, and they could them make their house payment, so.... it's mine at the $3500.
Even today, when we were doing the bill of sale, he mentioned the pricing mix up. I really feel I got a $4500 boat for $3500. Guess that's all that matters.
