Rant on boats for sale

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Robfoster

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Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
17
Location
USA
I'm new here and just wondering has anyone else noticed that people need to clean their boats before listing? I've been searching far and wide to buy a boat. I get turned off immediately when I see how filthy the pictures show the boat. I know some would say it shows the true condition of the boat but I would rather not see someone's dirt while looking at pictures.

While I'm at it, is it too much to ask for current pictures of the boat for sale? I'm not interested in how it looked in 2011.

Another thing is no one cares about the artwork or trinkets onboard. Also throw the beer cans away.

One more, brokers please be honest with your sellers. Some of these boats for sale are priced way over market. If brokers are just looking for listings and not sales then tell them whatever.

Wow I guess a lot of things bother me. Anyone else feel the same way.

Rob
 
Rob, next time you ask a broker to email you pictures make sure and tell him to have today's copy of the WSJ or whatever other periodical you may enjoy prominently displayed in at least 5 of the pictures.
 
My point is that if they can't keep it clean then what is the maintenance like on systems? Also household appliances don't belong on boats. There is a reason for marine appliances.
 
My pet peeve is CRT TVs. They belong in the previous century.
 
Robfoster said:
I'm new here and just wondering has anyone else noticed that people need to clean their boats before listing? I've been searching far and wide to buy a boat. I get turned off immediately when I see how filthy the pictures show the boat. I know some would say it shows the true condition of the boat but I would rather not see someone's dirt while looking at pictures.

While I'm at it, is it too much to ask for current pictures of the boat for sale? I'm not interested in how it looked in 2011.

Another thing is no one cares about the artwork or trinkets onboard. Also throw the beer cans away.

One more, brokers please be honest with your sellers. Some of these boats for sale are priced way over market. If brokers are just looking for listings and not sales then tell them whatever.

Wow I guess a lot of things bother me. Anyone else feel the same way.

Rob
Click to expand...

Interesting list... Pretty accurate too. There is at least one other thread here about the same subject and an EPIC thread at our sister site, Cruisers Forum, with TONS of pictures of dopey Yachtworld pics and Craigslist ads.

My big peeve to add to your list is cell phone pictures. Real cameras are not too expensive and make a world of difference.

Oh... and listing with only a few pictures... and none of the engine space.
 
Hey! You must be looking at the same boats I am :facepalm:

Nice thing about junk boats is it helps weed out the ones you really want to go see. . .

And the first thing I ask for from a broker is a couple engine room pics. If they don't or none is posted, pretty sure I know why :nonono:

Hell, the engine "room" in my sailboat is the nicest thing it has going! It's going to be the first picture in the ad :thumb:
 
Pics attributed to "sister ship". Doesn`t the broker have access to the boat!
 
Pics with a fisheye or wide angle lens that attempt to make the rooms look bigger but really only distort them.
 
These pics may not add much to the sales appeal of this "liveaboard".
 

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Broker lies are to be expected...

Junk and dirt clean ouy/off pretty easily compared to systems overhauls.

I see right past it to the important stuff.
 
I'm new here and just wondering has anyone else noticed that people need to clean their boats before listing? I've been searching far and wide to buy a boat. I get turned off immediately when I see how filthy the pictures show the boat. I know some would say it shows the true condition of the boat but I would rather not see someone's dirt while looking at pictures.

Apparently you haven't looked at houses for sale lately. Dirty dishes in the sink, unmade beds dirty clothes on the floor...nd you wouldn't believe the mold and dirt in the bathrooms. And you really expect their boats to look any better???
 
Robfoster said:
I'm new here and just wondering has anyone else noticed that people need to clean their boats before listing? I've been searching far and wide to buy a boat. I get turned off immediately when I see how filthy the pictures show the boat. I know some would say it shows the true condition of the boat but I would rather not see someone's dirt while looking at pictures.

While I'm at it, is it too much to ask for current pictures of the boat for sale? I'm not interested in how it looked in 2011.

Another thing is no one cares about the artwork or trinkets onboard. Also throw the beer cans away.

One more, brokers please be honest with your sellers. Some of these boats for sale are priced way over market. If brokers are just looking for listings and not sales then tell them whatever.

Wow I guess a lot of things bother me. Anyone else feel the same way.

Rob
Click to expand...

Last year we was looking for our "new" trawler, toke a year to looking for the dream fit in our budget.

You can't imagine 2/3 hours by day looking every where online and preparing tripe to saw some boats.

This is unbelievable what people try to sale at stupide price and when you see pictures you can't imagine own this mess.:mad:

Any way some brokers are really not correct, I made long tripe to visit boat and discover the broker never saw the boat and was only 15 minutes from his office.
I was mad when I discovered that, boat was in terrible bad condition !!!:banghead:

But I need to tell I meet some very professional broker too and at the end the broker who solde our Trawler became a friend and spend 10 days with his wife onboard, it was a great pleasure for us.;)

Hugues
 
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Happened to me too.

Arrived at the boat with the broker, took a moment to look at the details, and began to see the dust-bunnies along the edges, and the killer was the lazerette... pulled up the hatch and it was so stuffed I could walk across the open hole.

I made an offer on the boat and one of the contingencies was that the buyer empty the vessel such that a surveyor could see all extremities of each hold.

My offer was not accepted.
 
I see the deplorable living conditions everyday. I'm in the water damage / mold remediation business. I understand everyone has different standards but, clean and tidy is a safety issue on a boat. I leaned early in my time serving in the US Navy that everything has a place and if it needs cleaning you better do it.
 
CarlinLA said:
Happened to me too.

Arrived at the boat with the broker, took a moment to look at the details, and began to see the dust-bunnies along the edges
Click to expand...


Damn. Really? Dust bullies ran you off? ?

I try to keep my boat clean but there is always dust gathering somewhere.
 
Robfoster said:
I'm new here and just wondering has anyone else noticed that people need to clean their boats before listing? I've been searching far and wide to buy a boat. I get turned off immediately when I see how filthy the pictures show the boat. I know some would say it shows the true condition of the boat but I would rather not see someone's dirt while looking at pictures.

While I'm at it, is it too much to ask for current pictures of the boat for sale? I'm not interested in how it looked in 2011.

Another thing is no one cares about the artwork or trinkets onboard. Also throw the beer cans away.

One more, brokers please be honest with your sellers. Some of these boats for sale are priced way over market. If brokers are just looking for listings and not sales then tell them whatever.

Wow I guess a lot of things bother me. Anyone else feel the same way.

Rob
Click to expand...


you must be looking at boats that are at the low end of the typical asking price for the type of boat..
you get what you pay for.. especially in boats

HOLLYWOOD
 
hollywood8118 said:
you must be looking at boats that are at the low end of the typical asking price for the type of boat..
you get what you pay for.. especially in boats

HOLLYWOOD
Click to expand...

Thats my thought as well.
 
Robfoster said:
My point is that if they can't keep it clean then what is the maintenance like on systems? Also household appliances don't belong on boats. There is a reason for marine appliances.
Click to expand...

I regard all of that as valuable information. Not dispositive, but certainly predictive. If the sellers about whom you complain were more cunning, they would behave as the proverbial car salesman and spray paint everything to cover up the rust, put a little sawdust in the tranny and be good to go. Personally, it is only when everything looks perfect that I start to worry about what I am missing.
 
It`s a question of degree, but if a boat owner can`t be persuaded to keep the boat neat tidy and clean when it is on the market I doubt it gets much love anytime, and I suspect the non obvious areas will probably turn out similar. And if the owner doesn`t like his boat, it gets me wondering. Of course the owner could be ill or something, but generally I see it as a heads up.
 
It is kind of ironic to me that so many boats, even pretty high priced ones look so bad when up for sale. The irony is that those same people, when they put their house up for sale, will have their broker pay someone to "stage" their house. Have a friend whose wife makes a good bit doing this. She goes in, moves all the furniture around, gets rid of the lousy looking stuff, brings in her own (she has a huge storage unit with all kinds of stuff), hangs art work, and then has a ready made fake bread thing for the oven that makes the house smell like fresh baked read! And people won't even bother to pick stuff up or vacuum their boat? And a broker won't tell them they really need to or maybe get someone to do it and charge for it? Hmmmm, maybe my friend's wife could have a new line of business!
 
When looking to purchase a boat...

Via picts I require to get by email attachments and phone discussion too... I can usually weed out the "schlubs" before going any further. But - I have made a few mistakes and been drawn into going to look at completely crap boats... left em quick as I came. Anyway, and I hate to say this, brokers are who mostly have led me into crapper boats. And, that's really too damn bad! Some brokers (not all) are too much of a commission hungry SOB. :nonono:
 
BUT of course the most fun is the buyers with Zero knowledge of the market that want to offer 1/2 the boats for sale price ,,,

"because that's what is fair"..
 
Robfoster said:
I see the deplorable living conditions everyday. I'm in the water damage / mold remediation business. I understand everyone has different standards but, clean and tidy is a safety issue on a boat. I leaned early in my time serving in the US Navy that everything has a place and if it needs cleaning you better do it.
Click to expand...
The difference is out of sight out of mind, no time for the boat, no patience for the boat, lower standards, etc, etc.

Your dream isn't the same as all, and for many that boat is a past dream, even a shattered dream.

Serving in the USCG taught me all thst.
 
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