To sell or not to sell?

[Huron Angler]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

Glad to hear you finally got a decent price on the Starchief

That story is pretty interesting. People are not very rational sometimes.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

Sigh of relief

Man that was a close one!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

The guy came by today to look at the trailer, I was asking $950, it's got new tires, LED lights, and a two speed winch. He says cash is tight and he don't have $950, would I take something in trade?
He offers up a 16' Starcraft Jupiter with a running 65hp motor on a full roller trailer as partial payment. The boat needs a deck and most likely a transom panel, and the plastic windshield is gone.
The boat runs, has a title, and the trailer is newer than the one I have for sale.
I let him set the deal, he said $500 and the boat for my trailer.
So, I'm back up to 9 boats. The motor is a 1972, electric shift but it runs and shifts fine.
The boat is faded, but not beat up, and its got a PA registration from Beaver Falls, PA laying in the boat that's still good. The boat has a NJ title issued in Dec.
The guy said he bought it for the trailer but the trailer was too small.
Then to top it all off, he shows up to get the trailer today with a set of PVC boat guide ons and raised tailight kit and asked me if I could put that on for him for a few extra bucks. I rigged up the guide ons and lights in about 20 minutes. I removed the brand new LED lights and kept those, he didn't even want them. He also had me mount up a Harbor Freight electric winch, I also kept my brand new two speed manual winch and strap.

So now I still have the new LED lights, the new winch, and a fairly decent looking Jupiter with a running motor. (I already water tested it). The boat, trailer, and motor all seem fine. I only wish it were an open bow model like the Mariner.
The Jupiter is an early model, flat bottomed, light blue and white in color.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

He offers up a 16' Starcraft Jupiter

EZ, you'll need to take action on your earlier move.

Man RF, I'd say you made out like a bandit on that deal!!! Well, both those deals really!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

He's not back in till there's pictures

 

[reelfishin]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

Never got a chance to post pics, the Jupiter is sold, it didn't last the week sitting in my driveway. I traded the hull for a tractor and an outboard. I kept the motor, trailer, and controls. I set the boat on an old painted trailer the buyer had. Its probably on it's way to PA as I type this. Its the 3rd Jupiter I've had, and the 3rd to be sold before completion. All three came from the Pittsburgh, PA area and were super clean hulls. Those I find around here are always salt eaten and banged up from being run in shallow water.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

Jupiter is sold

Never mind EZ

 

[reelfishin]

Re: To sell or not to sell?

I have to say I was glad in a way to see the Jupiter go as it would mean I didn't gain anything by selling the Starchief. The bottom line is that I need to lessen the overall size of the fleet here.
Oddly enough the Starcraft that I like the best is the Capri 17, I've owned several of the Starcraft trihulls and they don't ride that bad for a trihull, their super light, and very stable to fish from.
I have the Capri listed but only because it's a bit much to tow with a small truck or car.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Well, Its back!
At around 8PM tonight I hear a commotion in the driveway and I look out to see some crazy woman backing a boat down my driveway.
It's the wife of the guy that bought the Starcraft. She's screaming at me for selling her husband a boat that don't run and causing him to spend their mortgage payment on boat parts. She apparently tossed him out and now is trying to return the boat for the cash he spent. It's now on another roller trailer, with all new LED lights and a new power winch, and there's about $500 worth of marine paint and supplies, a new Power Winch windlass, Bimini top, and two new seats in the boat. She wants the money back that he spent, apparently she kicked him to the curb and is now flying off the handle.
Keep in mind these two live nearby too, so I've not yet told her to take a flying leap, but the boat is again in my driveway. She tossed the untransferred title to the boat and trailer title in the boat and told me she'd be back tomorrow for her money.
I'm debating whether to just tell her to pound sand or to take the boat back and keep the newer trailer and all the supplies. The kicker is that she's only asking for part of what he actually paid me for the boat. I don't think he told her how much he really paid. I have no idea where he got the trailer, its almost identical to the one it was on, but maybe a bit lighter. She only asked for $600. There's almost that much in paint supplies plus the windlass, new seats, and some other odds and ends. Plus he hung a new Power Winch 315 on the trailer. The woman is insane, she screamed at me for 20 minutes about how I rooked her husband into buying an 'ugly' boat that don't run and how I took advantage of a poor old man.
First off, I wouldn't call a Starcraft ugly, second, he came to me and offered to buy the boat, and later came back and bought the other parts, and I wouldn't call a guy in his late 50's an 'old' man. The woman is nuts, plain and simple, I really don't feel it's my problem where or what money he spent on the boat, or that she tossed him out and now wants the money back.
I've never met this woman before, and really don't know that guy that bought the boat all that well, he just lives up the road a bit somewhere. I'd also hate to be the guy that loses his boat in such a situation but she does have the titles in hand, (she left them in the boat), so I assume what she says is true as far as her being his wife and all but the way I see it, even if I were to give her the money, she really isn't the one that bought the boat from me. I have no idea where he is, I never had any contact info other than his home phone, which I'd assume would now get me the crazy woman rather than the buyer of the boat if I called.

I really don't want the boat back, but I suppose I could sell the new parts for more than the amount she wants back. The windlass alone looks like is sells for around $450, there's no price on the box but its marked for boats up to 31'. The seats are basic padded fold down seats, in white from West Marine, probably about $30 each, along with two 6" aluminum pedestals. The original Bimini top is gone but it wasn't new, but there's a brand new blue top with side curtains and a windshield riser in the boat too. It's not new and I'm not sure if that fits or not.
He never actually touched the boat, he just piled it full of parts.
If she came back and was half civil and wanted to talk about things, I'd feel different, but she barreled on in dropped the trailer in the driveway and pounded on my door screaming at the top of her lungs.
She's a big woman too, I feel almost feel sorry for the guy.

I really don't have room to keep the boat, I'm trying to lower the boat count here. If I tell her he spent double, and clue her into what the value is of all the stuff in the boat, who knows how she may react. I don't doubt he told her its all really cheap and he got it for a song, she probably has no idea what he spent on boat goodies, let alone the $1400 for the boat and tanks, and who knows what for the trailer. The trailer has a PA title, and it's as clean or cleaner as the one it had before. The boat is not damaged or changed other than he put the tanks back in place.

I'm seriously thinking of just taking the new parts and reselling the boat, I'll no doubt make some money here, or at the very least have some nice parts in my inventory to use on other boats. The paint would work great on my other boat, as would the two new seats. The Bimini top and enclosure could also be made to work on another boat.
The way I see it there's far more than $2,000 in new parts and supplies, plus the trailer.
When I sold this thing, there was no hand written bill of sale, I just signed the title and handed it to him. I now have that back in hand. If I take it back, I'm still ahead the money I made on the trailer, and boat is on basically the same trailer, the only thing I'd be short is the two new tires I had on it's old trailer. The boat is in the same condition, and I still have the motor and controls in the garage I took off it.

Should I tell her to pound sand and get lost or give her the $600 and deal with trying to sell this thing again?
Or should I tell her what he really spent, maybe get the poor guy killed, and still most likely get stuck with the boat.
The way I see it is I have no legal reason to refund her anything, the boat is theirs, but there's no proof of any transaction other than a signed title, which I now have. If I knew for a fact he was out of the picture, I'd just give her the $600 and resell the boat and supplies, but what if he shows up next week wanting the boat again? (If he does, maybe I could just sell it back to him and tack on some interest?)

 

[jasoutside]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

No way. Man, you get them all rf!!! Wackos!

I wouldn't take it back. You have a whole bunch of new gear there that may have been stolen for all you know. Trailer is the biggie.

You made a deal with the guy, he can come back and deal with you. And, if there is a deal to be made it's a new deal. Not a return. You are now buying his boat from him. Are you in the market for a new/old boat?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

I really think you should consult with law enforcement at this point.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

What a debacle...sorry you have this hassle to deal with RF.

I agree, if I were you I'd at least take photos of the stuff and go inform local police of the scenario.

Chances are the guy will see the boat at your place and stop by to talk soon. I'd wait to see what he has to say before doing anything. Hopefully he can keep the boat and gear, sounds like he has a good resto planned out.

That lady sounds really mean, poor guy might be better off with just himself and the boat.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Good guy Bad guy Scam. I do not think I would deal with them any further. Lady comes back, ask her to remove the boat from your place or start paying storage (that would add up ). Don't want to get involved with a family dispute esp, If they are even close neighbors. And keep the gate locked . You never know about people.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

She showed up here today with some kid with her, she sort of apologized about yesterday's ordeal at first and she started showing me all the credit card bills her husband ran up on boat parts. He basically went to West Marine and dumped about $4k in parts. I don't think she realizes that the parts are in the boat. There's far more than I realized after taking a closer look and inventory. The trailer has a title, signed and dated last monday and not transferred to anyone.
I don't get the impression anything is stolen, she's just crazy and is trying to make a fool out of her husband.
I told her that any dealings need to be with her husband but she insists that he's gone, and NOT coming back. A call to a buddy in law enforcement tells me she's got a restraining order on him and that their house is in default. No matter what she does it's being foreclosed on. Again, not my problem.
When I insisted that I need to deal with her husband, (her driver's license says they both have the same last name and address), she got crazy again. I called a buddy with the police, who came right over. He said take the boat, he said if I didn't give the crazy woman the $600 he would just to get the parts for his boat.

Figuring that I'd be regretting losing out on the value of the parts I gave the insane woman $600, made her sign a receipt for the cash, and had a witness sign it as well. (I already had the title and all the stuff including the boat and trailer behind my fence). She left happy with the $600, and I have two neighbors and a cop as a witness. Keep in mind that the title is still in my name, they never transferred it. I sold my trailer, got a better one back for free, plus a power winch, and a ton of new goodies. The boat is back up for sale now, but I'm keeping all the new parts. I sold the windlass already, I'll use the seats in my other boat, and for the right amount I'd let the enclosure go with the boat. It's medium blue in color. The fuel tanks are back in the boat.
I'll probably relist the boat at $1500 again for the boat and trailer. If anyone wanted the boat alone I'd let it go for $1,000. I'll use the paint on my other boat.
I did get an offer of a partial trade for a 16' SS, but it's a way newer boat, new enough not to have the lapstrake hull. Everyone of those I've seen has had corrosion issues.

Also, if the original buyer comes back, he's more than welcome to buy it back for $1500, keep in mind that I have the title and it's still in my name. There's no record of him ever being involved on any paperwork.
What it amounts to is that although I didn't want it back, if I didn't take it, someone else would only have ended up with all the new parts. At this point I could junk it and still come out way ahead of the game just by keeping the new parts.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Spent a few years in Law inforcment and they may call keeping the parts unknown to the lady CONVERSION. Be carefull and do not let them on the property if you can avoid it. They Might be trying to set you up .

 

[jasoutside]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

My Spidy Senses tell me something isn't right here....

Traded the Jup to a guy for a tractor and an OB.

Took the boat back as a "return" at $600.

Made the "return" deal with the guy's loonie wife who now has the $600.

The original owner is "gone" and "not coming back"!
(I sure hope not because if he crawls out of that shallow grave that his wife put him in out back, and finds out she gave his boat away for $600 that he just a traded a tractor and OB, and spent $4K on, he is going to be really mad.)

"Returned" along with the Jup is a new trailer (new trailers are super expensive) and additional parts valued as high as $4,000. All of which is now on your property.

Jup is up for sale again at $1500.

I think that is how the story reads to me anyway.

Danger Will Robinson! Danger!!!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

I didn't get the Jupiter back, I got the Starchief back. The Jupiter was a partial trade for the trailer that was originally under the Starchief which the Starchief's buyer didn't want.
The Jupiter then got sold to a guy from PA, none of that has any relation to the the deal with the Starchief which I sold without a trailer under it.

In a nut shell, I sold the Starchief and it's previously removed fuel tanks to a distant neighbor down the road for $1400, he got the boat and fuel tanks over the course of three days.
- A week and a half later his crazy wife wants his money back and returns the boat, now on a different, much nicer trailer than he had put it on when he took it, plus a ton of parts mostly all from West Marine.
She had all the receipts for the parts, or at least the one's that she had found.
My guess was that he told his old lady he got the boat for $600 and not the actual $1400 he paid me. She also probably didn't know the cabin was full of new parts since she towed the boat down here with the blue tarp still tied on the boat.

I drove by that house, there's a for sale sign out front that wasn't there a week ago, and the house is empty. As are several other newer houses in that area. They lived there for years, but I just never knew them beyond seeing them drive or walk by. From what I was told he wasn't the same 'husband' she bought the house with. He paid me cash, never transferred the title, and all the parts were bought at a store on his or her credit card, not stolen. It was the cost of the parts that she was upset about. I do know he didn't drive and had lost his license or something, but he drove anyway, I do remember seeing him go by towing a small boat with the same truck she brought the boat back with. He picked the boat up with that truck, and it was towing the trailer I set the Starchief on when he bought it. If she had come by driving a different vehicle, or if I had never seen the two together before, I'd be suspicious but I have little doubt she just kicked him to the curb when the money got tight, or else he left when her money ran out, which ever was the case, that's not my concern.
Making a fight of it would have most certainly ended up in civil court and someone else getting one hell of a deal on a boat. I'm sure she would have sold it and the lot of parts inside it for the same $600 to anyone that came along.
If he were to come back, keep in mind I have the title, for both the boat and new trailer. If he wants to buy it back If the boat was returned by his wife without his say so, that's his problem. She did have the title, which must I say again, is still in MY name. Its also not my problem if he told his wife he paid less than he did. She never asked what he paid, she just demanded $600 back.
I guess I could well have told her he paid more than double that and told her to pound sand but I'd sooner or later be in court, even though I'd win, I'd still be out a lot of time and hassle, and I'd be less a load of good parts that would no doubt already be in someone else's hand by now.
Plus, after finding out she filed a restraining order against him I certainly didn't think any of what she said was a scam of any sort. She's just trying to recoup some of the cash he spent. From what I see, he had no income, he was spending her money without her knowing it. Although that's not my problem, she was only asking for $600.
Also keep in mind that she returned the boat, with the title, leaving it here without receiving any cash in hand the first day, I could also have told her to take a hike since the boat was in my name and I also had the title to the new trailer signed by the last owner.
If the boat wasn't on a suitable trailer I probably wouldn't have been as willing to take it back as I'd be left with a boat that was either without a trailer or on a less than desirable trailer like the one he put it on when he took it. I have no idea what happened to the trailer he brought me that day to put the boat on. At least now, even if I junk the boat, I still have a nice roller trailer to sell which will fetch at least $1000 here this time of year. I've already had two offers on the trailer alone but I won't sell that till the boat sells or is gone.

Either way, I sold the windlass today for $520, and I sold the set of stainless rod holders, and the Power Winch for the trailer for $300. The stuff didn't last 5 hours on CL. So at this point I'm $220 to the plus and still have the boat and trailer to resell, plus a ton of other parts to use on my other boat. I still have the boat, I still have the cash it originally sold for, plus what I made off the parts it was returned with, its on a slightly nicer trailer now, and got to sell the original trailer and the Jupiter I took in trade for the old trailer.
The only problem I see is that I again had to deal with a crazy person. This is the fifth nut job that I've dealt with over a boat or motor sale, but it's the first that didn't actually come from Craigslist.

The worst part is this is a nice boat, its one of those old man type boats that really don't need much and would make a great fishing boat. I can't believe it took so long to sell and now it's back after all this mess.
If I could find a way to lower it's total weight so I could launch it with a smaller truck, I'd keep it but it's just not the type of boat I need or want these days. Besides, if I kept it, I'd have to sell one of my other boats which I'm not sure I'd want to do.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

It sounds like you almost got in the middle of a domestic dispute there.
That's a decent boat, I can't believe its still available. Let alone available again!

I've had all sorts of crazy buyers lately off of CL. I've had several items sold, had people pay cash, and not return to pick them up. One was a boat, another an outboard, and one tractor.
One guy came out and looked at a motor I had listed, liked it but was a few hundred short on cash. I'm sure he thought I'd drop my price but I wouldn't lower my price. He left me a 90% deposit and said he would be back the next day. He called the next day saying he couldn't make it, but would be here the following weekend. He never called again, never showed up. That was three months ago now. The cell phone he called from is dead and the cash he left was real. I had a similar deal with a boat, I sold the boat via a CL ad, the guy came out and didn't have all the money, so he asked if I'd sell the boat minus the motor and trailer for less money, we agreed on a price, he left and went to an ATM around the corner, but came back $100 short on cash, but since he didn't have a truck or trailer with him, he had to come back anyhow. He paid me what he had, never asked for any receipt or anything and left. That was the last I heard from him. He left me $400 and said he'd call. He never left me a number to call and the number he called from originally don't work. That was a year ago, I since sold the boat to another buyer after waiting for four months.
I had another boat listed for cheap, just to get rid of an old hull, a guy with his wife or girlfriend showed up to look and the two fought the whole time they were here. She told him she'd burn the boat if he bought it, he bought the boat anyway. She came back a day later to make it known that she wasn't pleased that I would dare sell a boat to her husband without her approval. I just felt sorry for the guy that bought that boat. We just figured he was buying the boat to get away from his wife.
As far as the parts, their yours, its not your problem what or how they obtained them, stolen or not there's no proof, and the boat is still in your name. You have witnesses as to where you got them and if she incurred credit card debt because of him, that's not your problem. You probably did the right thing by just taking it back, and the load of parts didn't hurt either. I'd have done the same. Chances are the guy moved on to another source of income. If he comes back, sell it to him again. Cash is cash, this time the price to him should be higher since it's got a newer trailer under it now. (The one that was under it when I was there wasn't all that old either). I can't imagine ever selling my Starchief, but if your not using it, I suppose it's your only option. I just find it so hard to believe no one would pay for that boat. I wouldn't consider selling mine for less than $3000 and it's not in any better shape. Yours has a much nicer custom layout in it. Those seat boxes and hidden fuel tanks sure beat my portable tanks and seat pedestals. Your hull is also far nicer, even if it needs new paint. Who ever owned your boat knew how to drive and dock a boat. Its rare to find one that's not all dinged up.

As far as the trailer and weight, the trailer you had under it before probably came close to the weight of that hull alone. I figure that my hull is in the 900lb range, a steel roller trailer like yours is close to 600lbs. That boat could ride on a much lighter trailer with no problems but if you want the ease of loading you get with a roller trailer, your choices are limited. The combination you had there did make a nice looking rig but no doubt it's getting into the weight range of at least a full size truck or maybe a small 4x4. I tow mine with a Ranger like yours but I rarely use it to launch with. I borrow a truck when I take that boat out.
The Ranger would do it but being a stick shift it's a bit hairy on the ramp and it tends to spin the wheels and struggle a bit getting up the ramp. I keep looking for an old Bronco or Jeep Cherokee to tow with but haven't found anything cheap enough yet. (I miss my old International Scout).

Put that boat back on CL and keep trying, there's no way I'd let it go cheap though. Even at $1500 it sounds too cheap for any aluminum boat, let alone a cabin boat on a roller trailer.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Well, three days later and no sign of the guy that I originally sold it too, my guess is he's gone or moved on to find a woman with more money?

If she has the truck, he won't have much use for the boat either.

I did some fine tuning on the trailer fit today and cleaned all the new parts out of the boat. I did mess around with the enclosure a bit, I sort of like it with the enclosure up, but it leaves almost no room outside for fishing. It rises up off the windshield about 18" and connects to the front edge of the Bimini top, the side curtains attach to the sides of the windshield, the gunwales, and the Bimini top. There's a rear curtain made of clear vinyl that closes in the whole rear behind the seats down to the floor. It don't quite fit around the back of the seat boxes but I doubt I'd ever use the rear panel. It was most likely made for another boat and made to fit or is just that close. I think I'll give it a try on my MFG and see how it works there. It may be tall though. I also have an offer for just the top already, I mentioned it to a guy that runs a slightly newer Starchief not too far from me and he's drooling over the idea of a full enclosure.
It's not new but in super condition, I can't imagine how he found one so fast for it, unless having some of the parts is why he was so anxious to own this boat.

I put the two speed manual winch on the trailer and will most likely have to take a look at the wheel bearings on this trailer but it's got pretty clean looking bearing buddies and the bearings sound fine when spun. Besides, he apparently just towed the trailer from PA.

Where were these Highland trailers sold? This is the 10th one I've had and have never seen or known any place that sold them. Were they somehow related to Starcraft? They seem to show up under older Starcrafts a lot. I'm wondering if the one I have here now came from under another Starchief as well since nothing on the trailer really looked like its been moved to make it fit. I did add a bow support roller on the tongue but other than that its a dead fit.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Re: To sell or not to sell? AGAIN?

Reelfishing. What do you have thast gathers so many boats and things. Do you have a salvage yard.? Mabey just a life interest in Boats and things and braver than most to persue the things that interest you. I 'll bet you would be interesting to sid down with trade storys's with.