Grahambda
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2015
- Messages
- 84
- Location
- Cayman Islands
- Vessel Name
- Bom Dia
- Vessel Make
- DeFever 44 OC
Well after more than 4 years trying to find a DeFever that would fit our budget and needs, we finally closed on a 1990 DeFever 44. Currently named Fire Escape but to be renamed “Bom Dia” (loose translation from Portuguese - Good Day).
It’s certainly been a long journey, driving more than 3,200 miles across 11 states, circumnavigating Florida several times. and flying back and forth numerous. Our Lessons learned..
By and large brokers add very little value. In the end we transacted directly with the sellers and retained a marine documentation specialist to ensure the bill of sale and and registration docs were correctly produced, signed, notorized and filed correctly ( all for less than $300.00). Taking out the broker allowed us to have a comfortable conversation and negotiation, and of course the seller saved 10% in commission fees.
It was always going to be a compromise against our vision of the ideal boat, but we ended up with 80% of our needs met and given our budget that was fine. We set a hard number of $200k and that included the must have upgrades to make her Bahamas cruising ready , water maker, additional fridge, freezer, reasonable electronics package. But we knew that would not cover the TLC we would have to put into a 30+ year trawler. She had to be fundamentally sound , no blisters , soft decks, and we knew we wanted stabilizers and at least a bow thruster.
We learned so much investing the time and effort to go and see the vessels we had shortlisted, only then could we truly compare what we got for the money we spent. Many times, not all, what was listed in forums and web sites as features and conditions fell way short after seeing the boats in person. And, no surprise, many times the asking price was so inflated it was hard to understand how the seller arrived at that price.
To add to the challenge Fire Ecape was berthed up in Sheboygan Wi, and we had to get her to Tampa before the winter set in, unfortunately my wife and I couldn’t make the time to spend the 20 + days to cruise her down, so we hired a delivery Captain Randy and mate Jack, and the she is on the way down as I type. When she arrives she will sit on the hard till January, will start the upgrades and hopefully back in the water early next year so we can make our way over to the East coast-and eventually onto the Bahamas, where we plan to live aboard out of hurricane season.
Our thanks to the previous owners, Rick and Sue for putting up with our never ending questions and addressing many of the small issues that the survey revealed. Also to John Bickford, owner of Catalina Jack, extremely knowledgeable DF 44 owner, and a few other DF owners that helped us with our decision.
We are happy to be a part of the Trawler forum family, lots still to learn but hopefully we can become contributors and help others on their journey.
Graham & Tara.
PS you can check out Capt Randy Register Facebook page as he posts daily his trip from Sheboygan to Tarpon Springs delivering our DF 44
It’s certainly been a long journey, driving more than 3,200 miles across 11 states, circumnavigating Florida several times. and flying back and forth numerous. Our Lessons learned..
By and large brokers add very little value. In the end we transacted directly with the sellers and retained a marine documentation specialist to ensure the bill of sale and and registration docs were correctly produced, signed, notorized and filed correctly ( all for less than $300.00). Taking out the broker allowed us to have a comfortable conversation and negotiation, and of course the seller saved 10% in commission fees.
It was always going to be a compromise against our vision of the ideal boat, but we ended up with 80% of our needs met and given our budget that was fine. We set a hard number of $200k and that included the must have upgrades to make her Bahamas cruising ready , water maker, additional fridge, freezer, reasonable electronics package. But we knew that would not cover the TLC we would have to put into a 30+ year trawler. She had to be fundamentally sound , no blisters , soft decks, and we knew we wanted stabilizers and at least a bow thruster.
We learned so much investing the time and effort to go and see the vessels we had shortlisted, only then could we truly compare what we got for the money we spent. Many times, not all, what was listed in forums and web sites as features and conditions fell way short after seeing the boats in person. And, no surprise, many times the asking price was so inflated it was hard to understand how the seller arrived at that price.
To add to the challenge Fire Ecape was berthed up in Sheboygan Wi, and we had to get her to Tampa before the winter set in, unfortunately my wife and I couldn’t make the time to spend the 20 + days to cruise her down, so we hired a delivery Captain Randy and mate Jack, and the she is on the way down as I type. When she arrives she will sit on the hard till January, will start the upgrades and hopefully back in the water early next year so we can make our way over to the East coast-and eventually onto the Bahamas, where we plan to live aboard out of hurricane season.
Our thanks to the previous owners, Rick and Sue for putting up with our never ending questions and addressing many of the small issues that the survey revealed. Also to John Bickford, owner of Catalina Jack, extremely knowledgeable DF 44 owner, and a few other DF owners that helped us with our decision.
We are happy to be a part of the Trawler forum family, lots still to learn but hopefully we can become contributors and help others on their journey.
Graham & Tara.
PS you can check out Capt Randy Register Facebook page as he posts daily his trip from Sheboygan to Tarpon Springs delivering our DF 44
