Buying Used 36’ Sailboat –first boat; purchase questions

[Cheechako]

Under most circumstances the seller provides the boat available for seatrial.
But ANYTHING can be negotiated. He knows that people want a seatrial.
But also, think of it this way:
-If the boat is in the water, the buyer pays for hauling the boat for survey and relaunch.
-If the boat is on the hard, and readied for launch by the seller, what's the difference if the buyer pays to launch and retrieve it vs haul and resplash it?

[drewm3i]

Why a Catalina? They aren't bad boats, but there is much better value in slightly better but older brands. We are buying an Ericson 38-200 for less than half of what you're considering paying for a boat that isn't as well built. Tartan 37's, Ericson 38's, Pearson 37's, and C&C's abound for around or under your price!

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by drewm3i

Why a Catalina? They aren't bad boats, but there is much better value in slightly better but older brands. We are buying an Ericson 38-200 for less than half of what you're considering paying for a boat that isn't as well built. Tartan 37's, Ericson 38's, Pearson 37's, and C&C's abound for around or under your price!

While the Catalina 36 is a boat built to a price (as are most production boats), it is also the most popular over 30 feet sailboat ever built. It sails well, and has a comfortable interior. And I'm not so sure where you will find a collection of comparable Tartans, Ericsons, Pearsons, and C&Cs built in 1999 or newer for less than the OP is considering paying. Ericson, for example, went out of business in 1990, and Pearson ceased operations in 1991.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by NevisDog

So, are we saying in summer the buyer is normally responsible for haul-out/relaunch costs to complete the survey, but in winter the seller is responsible for launch/re-haul-out costs for the sea trial? Sounds odd to me. What if 20 people want to sea-trial your boat this winter - the seller pays for 20 launches/haul-outs?

Every purchase is a risk, which is why the purchase price should reflect the degree of risk. Never assume that, because the survey turns up no faults, the boat is ready to cross an ocean. Even when the big-ticket items check out, I'd expect to pay maybe half the purchase price or more during the first refit anyway, and that'll give you some idea of the real costs involved in buying a boat. JMO.

Well, as Cheechako pointed out, everything is negotiable. However, when I was a yacht broker the standard procedure and starting point for any deal was the buyer pays all costs for a survey, the seller covers the costs for having the boat available for sea trial.

In my experience, 99% of the time if a boat was actively for sale then it was in the water so it wasn't an issue about who paid for hauling/launching. The buyer paid for a shorthaul for the survey and, unless otherwise agreed, the boat was back in the water and returned to the seller's dock until the deal was concluded. Not too many sea trials happening in the NE when boats are hauled for the winter but I'm sure it happens. I also sold a couple of boats that were on the hard either for long term storage or because they were incomplete project boats. The few times this happened with me the sea trial was waived so it wasn't an issue but in this situation the costs are more open to negotiation. However, the starting point is still the seller makes the boat ready for sea trial.

Regarding the risk of 20 sea trials. This was easily dealt with by first requiring price and terms of sale to be agreed between both parties, a deposit paid and a contract signed. That pretty much eliminated the risk of tire kickers going for a free joyride, especially when the buyer is spending hundreds for a survey.

[AKA-None]

To clarify for the op. A sea trial is not to determine if you like the boat. It’s to determine if there are any problems with a boat you are buying. It isn’t a test drive!
You do a sea trial on a boat you have already determined you are buying not to find out if you like how it handles.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by NevisDog

Every purchase is a risk, which is why the purchase price should reflect the degree of risk. Never assume that, because the survey turns up no faults, the boat is ready to cross an ocean. Even when the big-ticket items check out, I'd expect to pay maybe half the purchase price or more during the first refit anyway, and that'll give you some idea of the real costs involved in buying a boat. JMO.

This is an excellent statement, and very much to the point. It is why the purchase price of older boats drops fairly quickly - and why most are still overpriced. It does not take all that long before the likely/possible cost of a major refitting of an older boat will exceed the purchase price of the boat. Real "food for thought" for the boat buyer with a thin wallet, looking for a bargain.