rate my for sale ad/price please

I've been shopping and I "think" the price is reasonable.... please give me constructive criticism on the ad content or price.
thanks.

https://houston.craigslist.org/boa/d/houston-37-cl-double-cabin-twin-diesel/6822807890.html

Looks like a good buy to me. Obviously you need to do your due dilligence to determine what you are getting into. At first galnce it looks like a nice boat for a good price.

Baker said:

Looks like a good buy to me. Obviously you need to do your due dilligence to determine what you are getting into. At first galnce it looks like a nice boat for a good price.

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That's MY boat/ad, just wanted to know if yall think the ad is decent/priced fairly.

Overall a good ad. Seems to be enough information to spur buyers to come and look. Good pictures although seeing close up's of random pieces of equipment is not ideal. Pictures that give the buyers a better idea of the lay out would be better.
Good luck with your sale.

Russell Clifton said:

Overall a good ad. Seems to be enough information to spur buyers to come and look. Good pictures although seeing close up's of random pieces of equipment is not ideal. Pictures that give the buyers a better idea of the lay out would be better.
Good luck with your sale.

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Good point, I made that ad while away from that boat and those pictures are of various ages and not ideal. I'll clean it up and take more soon.
I need to get good ER pics as well.

Nopistn said:

Good point, I made that ad while away from that boat and those pictures are of various ages and not ideal. I'll clean it up and take more soon.
I need to get good ER pics as well.

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What do yall think about the price?

Nopistn said:

That's MY boat/ad, just wanted to know if yall think the ad is decent/priced fairly.

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Looks good to me! If I were in the market for an older trawler, the price would entice me to take a closer look. Twin engines too!

They got “Full Displacement” wrong.
Wouldn’t a single be more valuable? And a twin less.

Nomad Willy said:

They got “Full Displacement” wrong.
Wouldn’t a single be more valuable? And a twin less.

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I agree with Eric on the FD v SD. That is certainly an SD hull, though with those twin Lehmans it will only go FD speeds. Twins are definitely worth more in that hull than a single.

Are there logs to support 960 hours?

It has 2 cabins and 2 electric macerator heads, and a galley up and that has been updated.....expand on what you did to update the galley.

It's still not perfect (it's survived many hurricanes and boat parties over the decades) but it's mechanically and structurally sound and functional. ...I would rewrite this sentence. The boat is mechanically and structurally sound with all hardware functioning. (or something along this line).

If the engines has been rebuilt, you might want to state this.

Does it have a holding tank? Important to include along with the size.

Can the new owner assume the lease on the slip or will they have to get a new one?

The bad: some stained interior wood from previous window/port/door leaks. ...If the leaks that caused the staining have been fixed, I would spell this out in plain language.

Include a picture of the bedrooms, head, engine room, fore deck, bridge deck.

Anyone anchor or fenders?

I would say the price looks good.

Hope you sell fast.

Peace.

Previous posts have pretty well covered my thoughts. Pictures to tie together spaces and text. Example: show the helm and kitchen together better. A better hull picture. I'm sure the guy standing in front of the boat is a wonderful individual but I have no interest in looking at his backside.


Show new tanks and space for more tanks.

A mention of C&L would be good. Seems I saw something about the yard but don't recall.

I really like all of the brightwork.

soin2la said:

Are there logs to support 960 hours?

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Nope, 7xx were reported when I bought it and the engine hour meters look original and are working. Also this boat has been in the Texas gulf coast it's whole life so it seems believable

Looks like a reasonable price to me. I would add more pics. The berths, the head (put the lid down unless the bowl is SPOTLESSLY clean!), etc. If you have a diagram of the layout, that would be even better

Plus 1 on more photos. Especially the engine room. Also get better lighting in the photos. You want the boat to appear brighter and less like a dungeon. Most trawlers of that vintage are dark, mine included, due to the amount of teak. You need to have more lighting in order to make it more inviting. It looks like you have already decluttered the boat which is great.

Additional photos showing main cabin (queen or double? Center line bed?), cabin storage, any area for wife to do makeup, lab, pictures of both lav’s, , engine room, engine access, close up of windlass, fly bridge, electronics, seating area.

I normally would not chime in on post but your looking for constructive criticism on your ad. My many years in the biz tells me, more pictures. I would agree with everybody’s post up to this point. You have it uncluttered and looking spacious as you can.
Remember when you were looking to buy a boat? Pretend the same. Look at it as if you were the buyer. Be ready for some of those same questions you asked. Are you trading up or getting out of boating? The right answer is trading up.
Don’t mention the bad. ie windows. Let them figure it out. One persons bad may not be the same as yours or the next guy in line. More pictures, more pictures.
As for price , do your due diligence in your area. Yours could sell for 35K but only get 25K in another area. Look at reasonable boats in your area and then go out say 2000 miles and see what those are going for. Know your competition. Then you know what they have looked at or getting ready to look at. You want yours to be the last one to look at.
Features and benefits. 2 engines are better then one. Yours is a rare twin engine. The guy that ordered this boat new with twins knew what he was doing. Features and benefits.
Good luck, she looks pretty clean

Aceman

Agree with earlier posts about adding more light. You might want to try to adjust the photos using photo editing software to lighten and sharpen them up.

Have you considered making a video....this is what sold my old 1967 boat:

https://youtu.be/mqgReTGxL2s

Cheers and best of luck

I would find a way to get ad exposure further away. In the cold north, I look at craigslist boat ads to pass the time- but haven't seen yours. Regional viewing limits? You may get some nibbles from others dreaming about boats and warmer climates if you can find a way for your ad to show up in results elsewhere.
Otherwise, you have a nice looking boat. Good luck!

Price is sure right.... you always can negotiate when a buyer comes by. Heck, the stuff you added lately ..... AC, radios, fuel tanks, pumps, ice maker, etc ..... probably cost a large percentage of your asking price.

However, clarify exactly what you did. What garmin plotters by size and model, what ice maker (big difference between a $100 home one and a marine ULine. And, of course, pictures.

As mentioned, don't emphasize the negatives. I could argue to fix all your projects and raise the price to $50, even if you have to hire it done. Now you have a cream puff and needs practically nothing. There's a lot of folks that want a turn key (or one that seems to be turn key.... as there's really no such thing as turn key, always something to do).

Overall, you boat has a lot of nice things about it. Make it shine and raise the price.

looks good . but from the pics it's had to tell the layout in the bow .it looks like i have the same hull with a totally different layout (galley down single).
i bet those water marks in rear of the aft cabin are from the laz hatch i see why it is so big looks like it's maybe usable on yours.(i have more overhang to hit my head on)
anyway yours look much better than mine on the outside and mine was listed for 40k .
good luck with the sale there should be a lot of interest.

did you have the fuel tanks custom made or are they off the shelf?

A couple of comments, almost the opposite of what you have gotten. The purpose of an advert is to draw people in as I know you are well aware. I have had quite a bit of training in advertising and I'm a big fan of "sell the sizzle, not the steak." If you list all the details everyone has suggested, you are selling the steak.

Think of going to a boat show and looking at boats. You find one you like, drawn in by the visuals then you ask for a brochure with all the specs. So in your listing start with something like "boat is is great shape, you need to see this boat in person to appreciate all the extras." That sentence would get my attention. I would then list all the basics, but at the end say that a spec sheet will be handed out on "your first visit." Also if you have had a recent survey, include that in the spec sheet.

So under electronics, don't include all the model numbers etc, but do include that in your spec sheet. So I'd say something like, "electronics recently upgraded, includes radar and blue tooth radio." Include some pics in your do it yourself brochure spec sheet.

The one thing that would seriously hold me back from purchasing your boat would be the dark interior, what I don't like about many sailboats as well - too dark inside. So if you are going to spend extra bucks, I'd just add new vinyl plank flooring (but I wouldn't use a wood colour, don't want a competing wood look) over top of what you have, I'd use something in a very light grey. This addition would brighten up the cabins, reflecting more light around inside.

Here is one sample of vinyl planking, but obviously there are many choices: https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ17Lck9rgAhVT654KHd4oDnoQrhIIIQ

Only spend money on items that will visually improve your boat (the "sizzle") and leave the rest to the new owner. Take out the bit about the price might go up if you do improvements. And advertise in the highly populated northern states, Illinois and New York.

Move it to San Diego and I would be interested in it.

timb said:

looks good . but from the pics it's had to tell the layout in the bow .it looks like i have the same hull with a totally different layout (galley down single).
i bet those water marks in rear of the aft cabin are from the laz hatch i see why it is so big looks like it's maybe usable on yours.(i have more overhang to hit my head on)
anyway yours look much better than mine on the outside and mine was listed for 40k .
good luck with the sale there should be a lot of interest.

did you have the fuel tanks custom made or are they off the shelf?

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they are 2 moeller 50 gallon off the shelf tanks

And I added aft cabin and engine room and fuel tank pictures. CL only allows 24 pictures and I'm at that limit now

I give it an 8 and a half.

You indicated the pictures are from various times. If they don't show the boat exactly as it looks today, then I find that very objectionable. Photos should be current.

BandB said:

You indicated the pictures are from various times. If they don't show the boat exactly as it looks today, then I find that very objectionable. Photos should be current.

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Yes I was out of the country when I first made the ad.
All pictures that I have added recently are either from today or yesterday though.
And I just included one picture of the boat out of the water so that people can see the bottom from the previous owner
Also the Bimini is not currently up but I wanted to show what it looks like with the Bimini up because I think it looks good I have the Bimini down for winter right now but it is included

I'm also going to try to list this on yachtworld or maybe BoatTrader soon.
Last week I was only half serious about selling the boat now I'm actually going to do a survey on another boat and if I buy it I'd rather not own two at once.
The price may come down as I have less and less time and money to work on this boat

Armor All will do wonders for the black backing of the instrument panel,it will be black again. Possibly useful elsewhere too.