Pics on Yachtworld are misleading!

It's amazing how the pictures you see on yachtworld of a boats interior and exterior are misleading. Have you ever view a boat on Yachtworld and then gone to view the boat in person? I have done this quite a few times lately and the boats I have seen are a lot different in "quality" in person. The pictures you see online are not a good representation of the boat.

My suggestion before you travel a long distance to view a boat, is to ask the broker a lot of questions and your expectations of what condition a boat you are in the market for before going.

Anybody else had this experience?

The pictures are just the tip of the iceberg - then you have to deal with the Brokers opinion of your delusions.....

It is all part of buying a boat. It is imperative though, if the boat is at some distance, you try to find a "disinterested" party (like from here) to first look and give you an honest opinion.

Query whether it is an attempt to mislead. Selling a boat myself (no broker) I moved the mess out of the way for each pic, and used a good SLR. The pics looked a little better than the boat really was, I would tell serious inquirers who remarked how good it looked the pics were a little kind to the boat.
Sometimes sellers/brokers use old pics from when the boat looked a lot better, even if that was when the boat first went on the market, quite a while back.

Great idea to have someone local check it out first, but what if that's not possible. I guess I need a list of questions to ask first. In phone conversations and emails they really talk these boats up. The last one I looked at, the broker was out of town and had a colleague meet me. I expressed my concerns and he said that he wouldn't even had listed this boat and everybody that has viewed it has made the same commments.

There was rot under one window that I could put my hand through to the outside it I pushed hard. The list goes on.

BruceK said:

Query whether it is an attempt to mislead. Selling a boat myself (no broker) I moved the mess out of the way for each pic, and used a good SLR. The pics looked a little better than the boat really was, I would tell serious inquirers who remarked how good it looked the pics were a little kind to the boat.
Sometimes sellers/brokers use old pics from when the boat looked a lot better, even if that was when the boat first went on the market, quite a while back.

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I wasn't suggesting they were trying to mislead, but they are not a good representation of the actual condition of the boat. I have found they leave out certain views. This last boat I looked at had the teak handrails painted (very badly too) but you could not tell from the pictures.

Maybe I should have named the title of this thread "Pics on Yachtworld can be misleading!"

Although, I am now learning what questions I need to ask! Any suggstions would greatly appreciated.

Pictures can be very misleading....I have even seen a case or two of where horribly water stained/damaged teak on the interior was "airbrushed" to hide it in the pictures.

But more than anything...I learned that when the first claim out of someone's mouth is: The boat is "bristol" and ready to cruise......LOL!! That is the first lie. And it seems to go downhill from there.

To add a little more:

I realize it is not often possible to have someone preview the boat first, but it was quite helpful and a big time saver $$ to me. Pr-arrange it with the Broker. If they resist, that is a red flag.
In addition, I forgot to mention, get this helpful person to take some (clear) pictures of the worst conditions. Just pictures of the deck, canvas, engine room (oil in bilge) can tell you how the boat was generally maintained without having to dig into crevices. Again, if the Broker resists, it is a bad sign going in - are they intentionally trying to snow you?

An idea by Tucker Fallon on another thread suggested having the broker email you pictures with that days newspaper in them. I thought that was a great idea.

If you have to hop a plane(lodging, rental cars, etc.) to see the boat, consider hiring a surveyor to pre-view the boat for you?

No way around it though, I've been stung by crap boats with nice photo's too. My favorite was beautiful in the water pics of a boat that was on the hard for over 2 years. Use your imagination and double it to envision what I found.

Good luck shopping.

I can sympathize completely with the OP. We walked on some boats that didn't even vaguely resemble their glorious presence on Yachtworld. On the most egregious example Marilyn opened the fridge and a colony of fruit flies flew up her nose. That one actually had a sherriff's seizure notice nailed to it when we arrived so we were somewhat prepared but of course none of that was disclosed in the listing.

In the end we were very pleased with the honesty and integrity of the brokers who had Gray Hawk's listing and we have in fact returned to supply them with frozen spot prawns. But I believe they are the exception rather than the rule in that industry.

Some pix can be deceiving, but it works both ways - often a nice-looking boat is done no justice at all by the lousy photos. I read scores of Yachtworld listings every week in my work, and it surprises me how poorly presented a lot of boats are. Dressing up or hiding problems is one thing, but cleaning out the junk and making the boat more presentable shouldn't be that hard! I mean come on, if the boat is lived aboard, get the sellers to put the laundry away before you take the pictures! Sheesh.

Yacht World pics are supposed to be misleading. Ther'e ment to lead you into buying the boat.

Mis-representing the boat is another matter.

But I suppose it is really the same.

manyboats said:

Yacht World pics are supposed to be misleading. Ther'e ment to lead you into buying the boat.

Mis-representing the boat is another matter.

But I suppose it is really the same.

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I found that having a buyers broker is not 100% but it does save on some of the useless trips. The brokers know that they have a lot more to lose if they lie to another broker than to you.

The French gave us two very important sayings "MAYDAY" and "caveat emptor". Both can be applied to the yacht brockerage industry. Most of these guys failed at selling used cars and mutual funds. Given that aspect Yachtworld can only lead you to a potential vessel which is for sale. Failure to due due diligence prior to hiring a surveryor will lead you to the poor house. Pictures from manufacturers sales brouchers as well as pictures from the early days of ownership prevail.
We looked at over twenty boats before buying, only two came even close to being acceptable. One had a bilge full of oil, another a blown battery, another the stern was full of rot. Another the fridge was so dirty and full of frost that one wondered why it still ran. The broker commented that he had not seen the boats for a number of weeks, if ever in my view.
Use Yachtworld with caution. Also private sales are not much better. Everyone in this market wants to minimize the financial impact and get the best $ for the least work. Would anyone sell a home without at least ensuring that it was clean and orderly? Enought said. Bill

Umm. I don't believe that it was the French that gave us the phrase "caveat emptor".

"Caveat emptor" is Latin, while "mayday" is derived from the French expression "venez m'aider."

No,but both do address the the issue. Bill

I bet if you want to look over a boat, someone on this list probably lives close and would be happy to take a look for you, and take pix. I know I've done this for people before. I enjoy doing it and it saves the prospective buyer some time and $$.

I agree with Keith.

I am a newbie here, but have looked at enough ringers and put in enough blood and sweat on repairs to know whether the photos are giving any real representation of the boat.

The buyer certainly must be sincere and have a list of particular items they want verified and what general condition of the boat they are expecting. It is rare that you will find a boat that is 20+ years old that looks anything like the pictures from your imagination. One has to be honest about what they are willing to accept.

Greetings,
Don't forget "Zut alors", "Merde" and "Sacre vache"...

If you can, through face to face interviews and references, find a good buyers broker in each geography you are looking, they can be a god send. The good ones know what to look for, may well know some history of the boat, and know if they waste your time you will fire them and damage their reputation. We were living in Dallas when we bought this boat, and everything we were interested in was at least 1000 miles away. I had three guys in different areas, paid their expenses, bought them good meals when we met, and gave them good recs despite in two cases not buying through them. I was very upfront about the rules of engagement and what their territory was. Really worked out well. I am a leery of having someone I don't know previewing boats for me, who may be an amateur at worse or prone to imposing their own likes and dislikes on boats at best. A good broker will get to understand what you want, what your hot buttons are, as well as educate you as needed.

While we were pleasantly surprised with our boat, we looked for about seven months and almost always were disappointed with what we saw in the photos and the real thing. I would just assume it's not as nice as it looks and one of the first things I look for is discolored wood under the ports. Good luck and take your time

dwhatty said:

Umm. I don't believe that it was the French that gave us the phrase "caveat emptor".

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Those Latins! They have a different word for everything!!

Thankfully, we have a retired attorney here to keep us honest ad infinitum!

(Is that a contradicto in adjecto??)

I spent 5 years looking for a boat. After reflection of all that research, I believe its not the pictures that are miss-leading. I would find boats in my price range and my optimisum would create my own visualization of a great boat. I would go to the boat location and find a tired worn out boat. The pictures are not close enough or defined enough to see the real detail.
Yatchworld isnt the problem, the lust for a fine boat scrambles the brain.

Dave

Twice I traveled at least a half day to boats that looked fine in pics and even the broker was STERNLY asked were they in need of cosmetics or were they project boats. Guess who lied too?

A 36 Albin had an engine room that had water to the dipstick...it was ultimately sold for around $6000 (for the engine only)...the hull was broken up and put in a dumpster.

The guy wanted something like $35K.

Another had 2 feet of water in her, plenty of leaks, everything moldy, the mast broken by rot/shrink wrap, terrible wiring...an almost $50L boat.

Even the one I bought was represented by over 2 year old pics where a REALLY BAD finish was slapped over the interior teak to hide stains, the now almost gone varnish looked great, etc...etc... even the owner said the engine was a new long block for a Lehman 135....it's actually just a 120 rebuild.

The surveyor missed so much...I think he missed the day of the survey (I did tell him to not be "insurance" picky...but writing up issues as "notes" would have alerted me without the insurance co. going to general quarters.

So to me...you are pretty much on your own out there unless you get a great buyer broker (pr a really honest selling broker)...who is familiar with your type vessels or are lucky enough to have another trawler guy around the boat that is generous enough to take some time to give you a decent report.

I am well aware that photos can make a boat look better than she really is; it can also make a boat look worse. As a yacht broker and having an account on Yachtworld that we use for our brokerage I offer the following.

1. Get yourself a buyers broker before you begin, I can find out more about a boat in 15 minutes than you can in a week.
2. If you call a broker, ask him how old are the photos
3. Ask the broker if the photos accurately represent the boat
4. Ask the broker how he rates the boats exterior, interior, mechanicals- fair, average, above average. Why?

Keep in mind that owners take a dim view of brokers listing deficiencies in writing; I had an owner once take away a listing I had because I told the prospective buyer what he needed to know .



A honest broker will give you the straight scoop.

marinetrader said:

I am well aware that photos can make a boat look better than she really is; it can also make a boat look worse. As a yacht broker and having an account on Yachtworld that we use for our brokerage I offer the following.

1. Get yourself a buyers broker before you begin, I can find out more about a boat in 15 minutes than you can in a week.
2. If you call a broker, ask him how old are the photos
3. Ask the broker if the photos accurately represent the boat
4. Ask the broker how he rates the boats exterior, interior, mechanicals- fair, average, above average. Why?

Keep in mind that owners take a dim view of brokers listing deficiencies in writing; I had an owner once take away a listing I had because I told the prospective buyer what he needed to know .



A honest broker will give you the straight scoop.

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fryedaze said:

I spent 5 years looking for a boat. After reflection of all that research, I believe its not the pictures that are miss-leading. I would find boats in my price range and my optimisum would create my own visualization of a great boat. I would go to the boat location and find a tired worn out boat. The pictures are not close enough or defined enough to see the real detail.
Yatchworld isnt the problem, the lust for a fine boat scrambles the brain.

Dave

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Well said. This was my experience too. I added 40% to my original cap and the boat shopping became a better experience.

Regarding photos, I am more handsome in them than in real life. So heed the OP's warning.

As a photographer, albeit of the wet darkroom large format fine art nature variety, I know photographs lie. It may not even be the content of that photograph of the engine compartment, but what horrors lay just outside the frame.

In the age of digital, photographs are to be trusted even less;

dove evolution - YouTube

mahal said:

Well said. This was my experience too. I added 40% to my original cap and the boat shopping became a better experience.

Regarding photos, I am more handsome in them than in real life. So heed the OP's warning.

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Would you say I could get a decent boat for $100,000?