SeaHorse II is Gone

Well, after a frenzied 4 weeks of lookie lews, tire kickers, bottom feeders, etc, we have a signed offer on SeaHorse II. Knowledgeable buyers, fair price, keeps her in San Diego, etc. After selling 7 boats since 1995, I can't remember seeing this kind of action. I haven't met the buyers yet but am planning on it in a couple of weeks. Now it's SeaHorse's turn to pass survey & the owner's inspection.

For those of you that followed my "Losing My Mojo" thread a few years ago, I said then, that I would either keep her, sell her or give her to someone. It turned out that to sell her, gave me enough funds (without robbing my portfolio) to buy what I really wanted...."Sandpiper".

Good luck with the sale.

Alright Walt! Sad but life moves on. You are happy with your new boat and I'm positive the new owners of Seahorse II will be too. Knowing Seahorse, there should be no survey issues at all, at all.

Congrats on the quick sale, Walt. Seahorse II will pass with flying colors. Glad she went to a knowledgable owner.

dwhatty said:

Knowing Seahorse, there should be no survey issues at all, at all.

Click to expand...

Thanks, David....Since you have been aboard her, I'll hold you responsible for her survey.

Seriously, I just can't imagine anything negative about her that a surveyor would bring up! Not to mention the toys I've added to her over the years. ER camera, FloScan, Fuel Polisher, custom innerspring mattress, 5 bladed bow thruster prop, polished SS anchor, etc. New AM/FM-CD player, TV, teak swim step........Geez! What have I done?

I'm afraid to tell Harvey!

Moonstruck said:

Congrats on the quick sale, Walt. Seahorse II will pass with flying colors. Glad she went to a knowledgable owner.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Don. She's going to a hell of a nice yacht club to boot! She'll be the only "Gourmet Cruiser" there.

Now, tomorrow I have to get all my "stuff" off. I'm not sad however, as the OA waits patiently in her slip for her add ons. blush

Congrats on the sale Walt, and on locating your mojo

Congratulations, I sense the tinge of sadness, but the new boat looks great. And you won`t be a fleet owner for long, which is good. A sale in a month sounds fast.
Side issue, why were late 32s branded "Gourmet Cruiser"? I recently saw a much older Halvo being advertised with the same moniker, probably chasing kudos by association.

Geeze, Walt. It will be a while for me to adjust to you having a boat with more space than mine. Love those Gormet Cruisers.

Congratulations on the sale... Though I must say, I am a huge fan of your OA! Careful - I might even organize a boarding party if I see you out on the bay!

BruceK said:

Side issue, why were late 32s branded "Gourmet Cruiser"?

Click to expand...

The story Harvey tells is that he wanted to get into the "Picnic Boat" business, & while he was in a Chinese eatery in Hong Kong, he sketched out the boat, using an existing Island Gypsy hull. The sketch was done on a knapkin & when he finished, he thought he would have some fun with the Hinkley Picnic boats so he called his the "Gourmet Cruiser." Harvey is quite a guy and I enjoy our too infrequent lunches very much.

Walt, Does HarveyH live in Australia. On occasions I wanted Halvo/IG information I could ask MarkH, who certainly helped best he could. Mark is quite "brokerish", his knowledge is limited, he reminded me he was still at school when my boat was built.

Walt

With your having gone through a successful buy and now a near sell, how do you read the market in SoCal? Or is it the case that good boats seem to move?

Seahorse was so pristine when we visited her; Walt is an ultimate host (picked us up at the port, showed us around, bought us lunch) when we came through San Diego not so long ago. No wonder she sold so quick.

Codger2 said:

The story Harvey tells is that he wanted to get into the "Picnic Boat" business, & while he was in a Chinese eatery in Hong Kong, he sketched out the boat, using an existing Island Gypsy hull. The sketch was done on a knapkin & when he finished, he thought he would have some fun with the Hinkley Picnic boats so he called his the "Gourmet Cruiser." Harvey is quite a guy and I enjoy our too infrequent lunches very much.

Click to expand...

I would be grateful if you give me your overall impressions of the Gourmet cruiser? The reason I ask is I'm interested in either MS 34 and IG gorm, and there several for sale here in Europe.

what sort of speed do they do on 2 gals/hr?

Thanks in advance.

BruceK said:

Walt, Does HarveyH live in Australia. On occasions I wanted Halvo/IG information I could ask MarkH, who certainly helped best he could. Mark is quite "brokerish", his knowledge is limited, he reminded me he was still at school when my boat was built.

Click to expand...

Yes, Harvey lives in Australia but he & his wife, Nancy, also have a home in Newport Beach, CA. Your read on Mark is right on the money. (IMO) I tried to contact him in the past (e-mail) but never got an answer. I would rather not give out Harvey's contact info without his permission. He always tells me that he retired from the business quite a few years ago and is really not up to date with the latest info on Halvorsen boats.

sunchaser said:

Walt

With your having gone through a successful buy and now a near sell, how do you read the market in SoCal? Or is it the case that good boats seem to move?

Click to expand...

That's a damn good question. In my case, I tracked the specific OA I bought through a very knowledgeable broker (Morrie Kirk) @ Orange Coast Yachts in Newport beach, CA. He had shown my wife and I the boat 3 years ago. Then 2 years ago and then 2 months ago, before it came on the market again. The listing broker was Bob Sherman and with Morrie & his help, I wound up with the boat before it actually hit Yachtworld.

In answering your question about the present market I can only say that "good Boats" that are priced right, sell. (and always will) I looked at all the OA 42s in the country that were for sale (and still are) either in person or by broker contact. (photos & phone conversations)
Most were of the desired model but didn't have a hard top, twin side x side guest births, or a dinette. (Deal breakers for my wife.) 2 were on the east coast and the cost to freight them out west by ocean transport was prohibitive. People who have seen my OA say "we sure were lucky." Luck had nothing to do with it. When the right boat was identified we pulled the trigger even when we were not completely ready. (We still had SeaHorse)

My working life was" Sales & Marketing" and the biggest lesson learned was "quality at the right price" always sells. That doesn't mean the lowest price but rather the price someone is willing to pay for a high quality product. In my case, I didn't buy "Sandpiper" at a low price but rather I bought it at a price that was worth it to me.

Congrats Walt, Love the new boat the extra space must be much appreciated!


JohnP

Rustybarge said:

what sort of speed do they do on 2 gals/hr?

Click to expand...

I think the Island Gypsies & their cousins (Gourmet Cruisers) are a lot of boat for the money. I would step way out on a limb and say that (IMO) they may be the best boats at their respective lengths that I'm aware of.

The 32's speed at 2 gals/hr? About 3.5 to 5 knots. These boats are not fuel miserly vessels. They are well built (heavy) sea going boats.

A gentleman from Pittsburgh, Pa's 32 Gourmet cruiser

markpierce said:

...... when we visited her; Walt is an ultimate host (picked us up at the port, showed us around, bought us lunch) when we came through San Diego not so long ago. .

Click to expand...

Well! I guess I fooled you! Seriously Mark, I really enjoyed your visit and meeting Perla. You are the ultimate gentleman and I really enjoyed showing you a little peak at our city.

JohnP said:

Congrats Walt, Love the new boat the extra space must be much appreciated! JohnP

Click to expand...

It certainly is. My brother & sister in law visit us every year and love to go boating and fish. They're in for a real treat on "Sandpiper" but are sad at "Seahorse's" sale.
We all loved our 8 years on" SeaHorse II."

Walt,
SeaHorse was almost like a friend as you can see from the sentiments in the above posts and a friend passing is never a good thing but really ... she's been sorta gone for some time now.

Does this mean I'll never see that beautiful polished SS Claw again? When you posted pics of cleats ect I was always amazed at how nice SeaHorse looked.

Gourmet Cruiser?
It could actually be said you may have had a gourmet Trawler then and now you have a gourmet cruiser. One could think perhaps nothing was "gained" but WOW ... look at that beautiful big white swan. Gourmet indeed!

Codger2 said:

I think the Island Gypsies & their cousins (Gourmet Cruisers) are a lot of boat for the money. I would step way out on a limb and say that (IMO) they may be the best boats at their respective lengths that I'm aware of.

The 32's speed at 2 gals/hr? About 3.5 to 5 knots. These boats are not fuel miserly vessels. They are well built (heavy) sea going boats.

A gentleman from Pittsburgh, Pa's 32 Gourmet cruiser

Click to expand...

Thanks very much, that puts some numbers on their economy. I did read comments on the forum that the hull was very good in difficult conditions, and used a quite bit a fuel at slow speeds; I think that's the price you have to pay for seaworthy design.

Compromises, compromises!

manyboats said:

Does this mean I'll never see that beautiful polished SS Claw again? When you posted pics of cleats ect I was always amazed at how nice SeaHorse looked.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, Eric and here's a few photos for you to hang in your den. :lol:

Hi Walt,
We just joined the trawler forum today. We saw SeaHorse II for sale on YachtWorld but I guess we are a day late. We are in Florida until tomorrow. We flew down here from Orange County to look at a Trawler, but it didn't work out.
I guess we should have stayed closer to home!
Brian & Karen

BeachBum said:

We saw SeaHorse II for sale on YachtWorld but I guess we are a day late.

Click to expand...

Keep me posted with a PM as you never know what could happen. Boats have fallen out of contract for many reasons.

Codger2 said:

Keep me posted with a PM as you never know what could happen. Boats have fallen out of contract for many reasons.

Click to expand...

Hey that's a N55 behind it!

Congratulations on the sale Walt... SeaHorse II is a beauty. I love her samson post -- tall and sleek. The new OA is a lovely girl. Enjoy....

Much happiness afloat to you and your bride.

Did the old tub sell?

FlyWright said:

Did the old tub sell?

Click to expand...

Not final yet! Trying to iron out a few issues but not sure if we can do it.
If we can't, there's another candidate waiting in the wings.