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Old 04-19-2012, 10:23 AM   #43
Tony B
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City: Joe Wheeler State Park, Al
Vessel Name: Serenity
Vessel Model: Mainship 36 Dual Cabin -1986
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,251
This reminds me of when I bought my current boat.
I was loking a certain models in my size and price range. I came across a really well maintained sailboat. It was about 30 years old at the time. The owner was an old guy, about 75 at the time and wanted to seel his boat and move up to Minnisota (or someplace like that) to be with friends and family. Anyway, the boat was in like new condition. All of the book values and the value I got from the broker put that age boat in the range of 35 to $45,000. he wanted $58K and the broker told me he wasn't going to budge an inch. Anyway, I made a written offer of $46K with $15K down so he would know I was serious. In the offer, i made a note quoting the various sources of valuation and my offer was a little higher than the top value.
As expected, he was insulted by my offer.
Bottom line.......he is now 80 years old and still owns the boat. Never did move and the boat is for still sale, but this time "For sale by owner".

As much as people think they would pay a lot more for a boat because of condition, when confronted with a situation like living in hurricane territory, and insuring your boat for much less than you paid, makes you think a little harder. BTW, he didnt have central heat and air, just a window unit.
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Cruising the Eastern U.S. Inland Waterways and Gulf Coast. Presently on the ICW in Louisiana and heading Back to Texas.
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