Frustrated Seller - Tartan 37

[MVNightWatch]

I would say you have a “niche” market boat here. This is not a boat that will appeal to any and everyone. I know many Tartan 37 and 40 owners, and they are an unforgiving breed when it comes to their love for the boats. However that’s not a universal thing. And they are designed as weekend club racers. Yes you can spend some time on them, but they’re not meant as a live aboard. Faster than a scalded cat, but still over 50 years old. And that old design doesn’t look right to a younger modern eye. The difference between old and classic is usually in the eye of the beholder.
The good old boat was a great idea that didn’t work. Doesn’t mean the idea is bad, just that it hasn’t worked yet. Look for that kind of outlet and you may have a little better response. Market it directly to the classic boat lover. Try wooden boat magazine too.
Join the owner’s club. Network. Best wishes in your proceedings.

[coz]

Nice boat! Broker? Along with the above tips on a buyers' perspective (especially good lighting/hull shots) remove all personal items including booze/binocs/books/art/towels. The toilet paper roll looks bigger than the head, the eyebrow would take an afternoon to sand and varnish. I have gone to a couple of boats in the last few years where the staging REALLY fooled me, it was so good. but it got me out there and talking to the owner. And, as above, if I knew I would pay at least 20, I would offer 16.

[Mr Fox]

As mentioned before- remove all personal belongings, stage the interior so someone can imagine themselves in there. You don’t want them imagining going through the boat and throwing away your old shoes. Most important around the head. One never wants to imagine someone else using it. Declutter declutter declutter. The carpet on the sole is a pause. What’s under that? Makes interior dark. Most models have wood sole, perhaps invest in one (try a lighter wood than teak). The 37 is lauded as having high quality construction in the cabin, so a buyer is looking for one that shows like that.

If motor has such low hours, make it shine. One would expect the engine to be in excellent condition visually.

The 37 is a loved boat, you should be able to sell it. Your price seems fair, but people who want a tartan also know these boat’s Achilles heels, and I do not see them mentioned- galvanic corrosion around hull deck joint (rare), and on all deck backing plates (not so rare).

Most have had their travelers moved forward of companionway, makes cockpit much nicer. Try looking at other 37s (most are a bit newer but priced much higher than yours) and see what they do differently.

[Joe Okros]

As mentioned above, sometimes you need to make decisions based on hard dollars and cents. Most importantly, your boat is competing in an extremely cluttered market to a spoiled for choice clientele. So at some stage, you have to either minimize or cut your losses. You might only get $15k for her right now but that's money in your pocket. 2 years down the line you may look back and wish you had taken the $15k. Unfortunately with boats we are all too emotionally invested to make rational decisions. I am in a similar position with my boat, but I have looked at is as my doomsday/zombie apocalypse/world famine/ economic collapse/Pandemic/epidemic port of last resort giving me a roof over my head I can sail away, so I have minimized my costs by having her on a mooring that costs me about $750 of your dollars a year. But then, I only have a dog to consider.

[taoist]

some good points. boat sat in a boatyard for 7 yrs. uncovered, so engine looks well used. Will clean it up. Thanks

[Lexi22]

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...et-245283.html

[PaulBartomioli]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

I've never purchased a yacht but I've been shopping for them for decades. I'm very experienced at being turned off by boats just from what I see on the internet.

I found a few cosmetic things about your listing that you could improve right away if you were trying to get me to stay a little longer.

In no particular order:

If you want to sell anything old, you have to go out of your way to make it so that I visualize myself sailing it and living on it. That means put in the extra hours of effort to clear out all your junk (sneakers? really?). You did all that work to upkeep the boat; you could remove or replace that ratty netting. See, if I'm thinking about the thoroughness of your repairs that are going to matter, I want to get a sense that you have keen attention to detail...and this listing doesn't convey that.

Which brings me to your choice of pictures. I guess on a 50-year-old vessel, I want to see the condition of the hull and keel and rudder. Otherwise, I just click away to the next listing.

As for your listing: Why, if you are trying to attract attention, do you post a link that sends me to a picture of some guy and other people's boats? I have to search to find yours. Again, if I'm clicking along the internet, that's two too many steps.

Also, call me a land-lubber WAFI, but how do you steer this thing? I didn't notice a wheel, but I did notice that the main traveler is really close to the helmsman's position. That's an advantage for shorthanded sailing, but I'd want a few more perspective shots to get an idea how I fit into this cockpit when I'm sailing.

Ditto with living quarters. I appreciate the shots of the salon and the galley, but I have no sense of the layout of the staterooms. You're up against some nicely outfitted and quartered boats; again, you should make an effort to tell me what I'm getting.

I'm always a little bummed out when I read a listing and pieces of information are left out. Bridge clearance, for example. That's an easy fix.

Finally, for a vessel I might want to use for long passages, given its build and size, your boat has remarkably light fuel and water tankage.

Sorry, you asked why, and I'm giving it to you straight.

A bit harsh, but honesty often is. I too noticed the items you listed, plus more. In the Real Estate industry, it is called "staging," showing the property to highlight its best. Nothing on the counters. EVERYTHING cleaned and polished. Make that varnish work shine. Take several angles of the same photo, ALL of them. It's a nice boat. This is a tough market for boats, and this offering does nothing to make me want to check it out further.

[dlj]

I've just spent about 2 years looking for the boat I just bought. Lots of time in Yachtworld looking at boats, going to visit boats etc. So I'm giving you my impression of what I would have thought when I look at your listing.

You post some ridiculously low number of hours on that engine. I look at the engine and the engine control panel and I say to myself - this seller is a liar. His engine hour meter has been broken for years, he's never fixed it - no way I can trust any work he's done. I'm gone. I won't even take a second look at it. I write this seller off as a ******** artist and I'm looking for another boat.

Sorry for the directness and it may not be anywhere close to the way it is. But, that's what I get from looking at that listing.

dj

[wildcat35]

Originally Posted by taoist

Would appreciate any advice from those who have sold boats. I have a Ted Hood designed 1969 Tartan 37 (Classic series) that I spent 10 yrs, refitting. This is a really nice looking boat with many new parts and a Westerbeke 35 with only 297 hrs. Decided 2 years ago to downsize and put it on the market with a reputable broker, listed at $24,900. I know that there is a limited market for older boats but I'm surprised and disappointed that it hasn't sold. It can be viewed at www.breweryacht.com/profile/dmckenney. Reverie Tartan 37.
Any ideas regarding change in game plan? Lower price, etc.

Yes do not post year but provide lots of pics and a list of upgrades and the fact that she is a solid fiberglass boat not a slit haul no core that’s a big plus remark that she has beautiful classic lines not seen in new boats a true sailing machine and what you like most about her good luck hope this helps.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by JBsurfin

First: Pricing was based off a Broker's expertise(I'll use that term lightly)
That's my point, he reduced the price until it met market levels/expectations. Of course, any one can give just about anything away at a bargain price..

I know a boat near us, that has been for sale for eleven years at the exact same price without a buyer. I keep up with it, just out of morbid interest. It came to our attention in 2009, when we were shopping for a new boat to cruise in. Six months later, when we bought our boat, it was still at the exact same price. I kept coming across it, without trying, because it's local, and seeing it was at the same price years later. I then started actively checking on it every so often, just for fun.

I can't fathom the reason why you would do that for eleven years if you really wanted to sell the boat. And, if you don't want to sell it, why would you put if for sale for eleven years. I drove by and looked at it a couple of days. It doesn't appear to be being used at all, although it is being kept up.

I can't figure that one out, other than to attribute it to the fact some people are strange and different. Either that or it's a husband who really doesn't want to sell it, but who can say, "I'm trying, honey."

[taoist]

I hope that you're not looking at my boat 11 yrs. from now. I think that you nailed it with your final comment. Same thing with a boat in my yard - guy was not excited about selling it so overpriced it with hopes that no one would make an offer. I just dropped mine to $20,900 so we'll see what happens. I know that we all think our boats are worth more than they are but at this price or something near someone is going to get a really nice boat at a very good price.

[rgleason]

Lets get real here. Try and buy a new 37' boat, or even a new fat 33' boat to make living space comparable. The cost will be 10×s +/-. New boats can have hidden problems too. You'll pay either way, and you should certainly pay for a good surveyor first new or old.

[taoist]

This will be my final reply. Many thanks to one and all for your advice, insights and taking the time to share your thoughts. You've offered some helpful ideas, some of which I'll be using. This boat had been sitting on the hard for a number of years, uncovered, when I acquired it. While it really needed a lot of work and $ to restore it I knew it had good bones and a low hours engine. So ten years of restoration, while also sailing, have ,like many of us been a labor of love. I thought that this would be my last boat and never expected to get back what I put into it. Two years ago I decided to downsize to a 30'. Questions about the engine are legitimate but it looks old because of it sitting out in that yard. It was the boat of a friend so I know that the low hours are for real and I didn't add much to them during my ownership. Yes, I should clean it up and add some paint but I can say that the engine, and any of you who know Westerbekes can attest to this, has run beautifully. The pic of the instrument panel was taken two years ago (again outside storage) before I replaced it last year (kept the old one to show original hours). I know that it is a great bluewater boat because I know people who have sailed this model around the world. My family (two adults two kids) and I have done 10 day cruises every summer and it has been very comfortable - definitely not just a day sailor (the dinette does convert to a two person berth). The addition of the electric head and fresh water supply was one of my best investments. Yes, limited fuel and water capacity but we have carried jugs on deck with no problem and they were seldom needed. Mostly sailing and when motoring 3/4 gal per hour. As noted, I have just dropped the price to $20,900 and hope to get something close to that. Whoever buys this is going to get a very nice boat for a great price. Will someone have to put some money into it over time? Of course - it is an old boat. But so many things that would have to be replaced on an old boat have been replaced. Will revise the photos and get some of the keel, now that it's on the hard, and yes, remove everything from down below. Get rid of my broker? First, I don't want, as someone suggested, to kiss a lot of frogs. He's a good guy, I'm giving him 15% rather than 10 and he has been good about promoting it. At that price no other broker is going to do a better job - I am realistic about that. I do have my St. Brendan's medal hanging in the boat now, so maybe divine intervention will help. Thanks again to everyone who responded. I tried to respond to every thread but with so many I may have missed a few, so please forgive me if I didn't respond to yours. As we all know, it just takes one person to fall in love, as I did with this boat. As someone noted long ago - if you walk away from your boat and don't look back, you have the wrong boat. I still look back.
Fair winds my fellow mariners

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Group9

I know a boat near us, that has been for sale for eleven years at the exact same price without a buyer. I keep up with it, just out of morbid interest. It came to our attention in 2009, when we were shopping for a new boat to cruise in. Six months later, when we bought our boat, it was still at the exact same price. I kept coming across it, without trying, because it's local, and seeing it was at the same price years later. I then started actively checking on it every so often, just for fun.

I can't fathom the reason why you would do that for eleven years if you really wanted to sell the boat. And, if you don't want to sell it, why would you put if for sale for eleven years. I drove by and looked at it a couple of days. It doesn't appear to be being used at all, although it is being kept up.

I can't figure that one out, other than to attribute it to the fact some people are strange and different. Either that or it's a husband who really doesn't want to sell it, but who can say, "I'm trying, honey."

We'll technically it is cheaper after 11yrs.. allowing $1896 for every 10K

[Darin Cape Cod]

Originally Posted by taoist

This boat had been sitting on the hard for a number of years, uncovered, when I acquired it. While it really needed a lot of work and $ to restore it I knew it had good bones and a low hours engine. So ten years of restoration, while also sailing, have ,like many of us been a labor of love. I thought that this would be my last boat and never expected to get back what I put into it. Two years ago I decided to downsize to a 30'. The engine looks old because of it sitting out in that yard. I can say that the engine, and any of you who know Westerbekes can attest to this, has run beautifully. I know that it is a great bluewater boat because I know people who have sailed this model around the world. My family (two adults two kids) and I have done 10 day cruises every summer and it has been very comfortable - definitely not just a day sailor (the dinette does convert to a two person berth). The addition of the electric head and fresh water supply was one of my best investments. Yes, limited fuel and water capacity but we have carried jugs on deck with no problem and they were seldom needed. Mostly sailing and when motoring 3/4 gal per hour. Whoever buys this is going to get a very nice boat for a great price. As someone noted long ago - if you walk away from your boat and don't look back, you have the wrong boat. I still look back.

I don’t know if you’ll see this but I’d take a version of what you just wrote (I cut and paste the parts I liked) and, this spring put that narrative and your best picture in an ad on Craigslist and fb. Add a link to your broker's ad for details and to drive the traffic to him. Your narrative really tells the boats story in a way that would catch my attention. It conveys the sense that this is a fine blue water vessel (with a good motor) but it was just time for you to downsize. A broker can’t write something like this. Best of luck