For Sale: Catamaran: Cautionary Tale for Wannabe Cruisers

[Jane.Joy]

Originally Posted by cheoah

How bout a big damn pat on the back, really, and lets step up the attitude and get that boat to the next skipper without losing a bunch of cash.

Damn straight!!!! Thanks for the pep talk, cheoah, and we always appreciate hearing when people enjoy the blog.

[Jane.Joy]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Humor aside, you might want to get a little more serious on your listing page. Make it look like a good example of a Yachtworld page.

Just for clarity's sake... The link that I posted to start this thread was NOT a "listing page" - it was a blog post. In the post, we broke the news to our readers - friends and family, mostly - that we were getting off the merry-go-round. The post mentioned a few highlights about the boat and invited potential buyers to email us for a detailed spec sheet. It was, like, "Hey! We got a boat! You wanna boat? Email us!" Our thinking was, why would we bore our loved ones with four pages of boat specifications....?

Of course, the spec sheet is not top secret material - anyone is welcome to take a look. We updated the blog post, and instead of offering to send interested parties a PDF through email, we added a link to the specs: JOY details; and a link to more pictures: Pictures of JOY, Part 1 (More pictures are coming soon! Part 1 only includes the salon, galley and nav. station.)

Alas, Paul, I fear that you will approve of neither the spec sheet nor the pictures, since we did not, after all, leave "humor aside." The spec sheet doesn't, actually, "look like a good example of a Yachtworld page." But - here's the thing, Paul: we're okay with that.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Jane.Joy

.....

Alas, Paul, I fear that you will approve of neither the spec sheet nor the pictures, since we did not, after all, leave "humor aside." The spec sheet doesn't, actually, "look like a good example of a Yachtworld page." But - here's the thing, Paul: we're okay with that.

Naw, the humor is great. It will be even more hilarious if you get your asking price for a 20 year old cat fully equipped with courtesy flags.

[Jane.Joy]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Naw, the humor is great. It will be even more hilarious if you get your asking price for a 20 year old cat fully equipped with courtesy flags.

Some people laugh at themselves, some people think it's funny to belittle others. What-evah. Why don't you go play nasty on someone else's thread, Paul? Or you could create your own. Why don't you call it, "I've noticed that everyone else is stupider than me!" Or you could start one called, "Get your unsolicited advice here, on any subject!"

[Capt Rottnest]

Originally Posted by Jane.Joy

True dat!

There's a Venezia in Australia listed on yachtworld for $330K US. We were thinking that our ask should be "$275K if you're from Australia or NZ; $210K for everyone else." Ha Ha Just Kidding.

Yeah, well.. we have 10% GST on top of import duty for luxury goods (a boat is considered that) which makes up the difference. Then we'd have to get a Whore of the Seas.. er.. delivery captain.. but the word is this end of the puddle you don't have to pay them ;o)

Read your blogg btw, good writing, quite enjoyed it.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Jane.Joy

Some people laugh at themselves, some people think it's funny to belittle others. What-evah. Why don't you go play nasty on someone else's thread, Paul? Or you could create your own. Why don't you call it, "I've noticed that everyone else is stupider than me!" Or you could start one called, "Get your unsolicited advice here, on any subject!"

Now, now, now - lets play nice.
In the past year I've moved my boat from Panama to the East Coast to sell and so she didn't languish in Panama like most of the FSBO owners boats do. Then bought a boat from a remote location with the negotiations done sight unseen - so I have feel for what info a buyer needs to feel comfortable dealing with a remote location sale.
Enjoy pizza night in Amador

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Jane.Joy

Or you could start one called, "Get your unsolicited advice here, on any subject!"

Too late! I own that:

www.Getyourunsolicitedadvicehereonanysubject.com

[Jane.Joy]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Too late! I own that:

www.Getyourunsolicitedadvicehereonanysubject.com

HA!

A lot of "experts" on Cruisers Forum, and a few experts, too, so ya always gotta brace yourself for a bit of unsolicited advice when you post here. But here's my unsolicited advice for unsolicited-advice-givers: At LEAST. Use whatever limited social skills you can muster and try to be polite.

One of the "community rules" is: We take the "be nice" rule VERY seriously! We do not tolerate ANY rudeness. In red, even, so it must be serious. But, indeed, a lot of rudeness is tolerated on Cruisers Forum, is it not?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Jane.Joy

HA!

A lot of "experts" on Cruisers Forum, and a few experts, too, so ya always gotta brace yourself for a bit of unsolicited advice when you post here. But here's my unsolicited advice for unsolicited-advice-givers: At LEAST. Use whatever limited social skills you can muster and try to be polite.

One of the "community rules" is: We take the "be nice" rule VERY seriously! We do not tolerate ANY rudeness. In red, even, so it must be serious. But, indeed, a lot of rudeness is tolerated on Cruisers Forum, is it not?

Rudeness? I never see any ......but some do have thinner skins than others. It's the internet.......can't turn the advice on and off, only the PC.

But back to your boat sale blog / advert thing and the giving of unsolicited advice - I think the advice from Paul is not only well meant (albeit a tad bluntly expressed ) but also sound...........You may of course luck onto someone quickly who can see past your humour (I like it! - being able to laugh at self is not a skill shared by everyone, including on CF. No names ) but nonetheless with boat sales (or anything) it's simply a numbers game, the more folks you get interested the quicker the sale / the less it costs you (in time and cash).....and to achieve that yer don't want to put folks off unnecessarily (boat being away from a mainstream market will do that enough already).

From my take on folks with Catamarans (albeit mostly that from the CF sub forum) they share a common sense of humour. By that I mean they each have only a little bit of one . Add in that your target market (couple of hundred K) does seem to be dream buying as much as boat buying.....that all fine and dandy if sitting "in paradise" for a while works well, but not so much if it don't.

Anyway, I don't expect you to follow my "advice", am only writing this so that in 6 months time I can say "I told you so" ...........that and I recently (in the real world!) got some very good advice in person - telling me something patently obvious that I knew already - but the advice being given was actually useful. Annoyingly so .

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Jane.Joy

HA!

A lot of "experts" on Cruisers Forum, and a few experts, too, so ya always gotta brace yourself for a bit of unsolicited advice when you post here. But here's my unsolicited advice for unsolicited-advice-givers: At LEAST. Use whatever limited social skills you can muster and try to be polite.

One of the "community rules" is: We take the "be nice" rule VERY seriously! We do not tolerate ANY rudeness. In red, even, so it must be serious. But, indeed, a lot of rudeness is tolerated on Cruisers Forum, is it not?

I wouldn't agree that a lot of rudeness is tolerated on CF, Jane, but perhaps some rudeness goes undetected. Keep in mind that a small handful of moderators is tasked with trying to maintain the peace, but to expect them to read every single word of every post in every thread is simply unrealistic.

Because that is so, it's really the responsibility of the members who come across examples of rudeness to bring it to the mods' attention. That's what the Report Post icon is for . . . right there in the lower left of every post. The white triangle with the red border and the black exclamation mark is a member's flare gun, but instead of alerting a nearby vessel it alerts the site staff.

It provides a text edit box so a member can tell the staff why the reported post is a problem. Every reported post will be dealt with in some way, even if that way is not what the reporting member believes is the appropriate way. Allowances must be made for judgment and discretion by the staff.

TaoJones

[Capt Phil]

Enjoyed your blog and postings here alot, Jane... good on you for taking the dive into the cruising world even though it didn't work out for you. I'm sure you learned a lot and as time goes by, the bad parts will fade from memory and you will be left with the good parts and some really hilarious stories to tell at the bar!
It's kinda like marriages... from what I recall of the first two, they were great... I just remember the good times and have forgotten the crap and fights and that must have led to the breakups.
Keep your eye on the prize which is to enjoy life because it is the only one ya' got... FYI, I spent years in the delivery business, lived aboard in Mexico and San Diego and cruised heaps on the west coast from Alaska to Panama and wouldn't change a thing
about the way I spent my life.
You've got a talent for writing and humor so maybe that should be part of the next chapter in your life!
One of the happiest guys I know has a law degree, admitted to the bar, practiced law for 5 years and is now a liftie at a ski resort in winter and a bartender in the summer months at a fun summer location. He wouldn't change his life one bit, either... cheers, Phil

[Jane.Joy]

Originally Posted by TaoJones

I wouldn't agree that a lot of rudeness is tolerated on CF, Jane, but perhaps some rudeness goes undetected. Keep in mind that a small handful of moderators is tasked with trying to maintain the peace, but to expect them to read every single word of every post in every thread is simply unrealistic.

Because that is so, it's really the responsibility of the members who come across examples of rudeness to bring it to the mods' attention. That's what the Report Post icon is for . . . right there in the lower left of every post. The white triangle with the red border and the black exclamation mark is a member's flare gun, but instead of alerting a nearby vessel it alerts the site staff.

It provides a text edit box so a member can tell the staff why the reported post is a problem. Every reported post will be dealt with in some way, even if that way is not what the reporting member believes is the appropriate way. Allowances must be made for judgment and discretion by the staff.

TaoJones

Thanks TaoJones - to tell you the truth, I didn't know what that exclamation point was for.

[Jane.Joy]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Rudeness? I never see any ......but some do have thinner skins than others.

Thinner skins or higher standards? You say potayto, I say potahto....

...You say bluntly expressed unsolicited advice, I say ill-intended bad manners....

... but seriously, doesn't anyone want to buy my boat? Take a stand against the nay-sayers! BUY THIS BOAT, and help me prove that honesty and humor can triumph over salesmanship and spin!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Jane.Joy

Take a stand against the nay-sayers! BUY THIS BOAT, and help me prove that honesty and humor can triumph over salesmanship and spin!

I do genuinely hope you are proved right for those reasons

[Therapy]

Jane,

I found your blog when you first said something about maybe selling your boat.

I read the entire thing last week.

I love the way you write and really enjoy your honesty in all of it. I am a pretty handy person and have always felt I had to save money by doing the work myself, and did. But I seem to have it genetically since from an early age with toys etc I ended up taking them all apart. Most of them after they were broken. The older I got the more of them I got back together. Then the older I got the more of them actually worked when put back together.

I had a boat (Gemini) for a couple of years thinking I could keep up with it and still work and take call 7 days a week. Can't happen and didn't. Just fooled myself. I know if I get another I will have to live on it to keep up with things.

Too bad Ean and you are not "really handy" as that seems to be the major issue you have. It seems from my reading (an awful lot of it) and my limited cruising (a month here, a month there) that it is necessary to be able to fix it to keep going.

I am not in the market right now but if I were, for some reason I just cannot stand round sinks (just dumb, but pretty) or rounded salon setee (I need a square back to rest on with pillows) but since a lot of FPs are sold there are those that don't mind. I came "this" close to buying one of the first Mahe 36s.

While I think the location might hurt, the price for a lot of newer stuff is not too bad. When I sold my boat I was told that any items added were used and not worth anything. Only the boat had value and that it the way it is, I was told.

I hope it is not true for you.

I just looked at your pics of the boat 1 and loved it too. You are gem. Any one who has read your entire blog will know your boat is no different than any other out there. No worse, no better. But maybe better.

Best of luck with plan B.