Selling my boat ---- Looking for some inputs

[Sail IC]

In about a month I'm going to sell my catamaran, a Fountaine Pajot Orana, 43 feet, 2008. I have some different alternatives how to go about this and it would be great to get some inputs.

A search for catamarans on yachtworld, year 2000-2012, 41-45 feet, in the US results in only 18 boats for sale, just 6 of them being either FP/Lagoon/Leopard, the most obvious alternatives to my boat. So I might first to try it sell it myself, save the 10% broker fee, which could be good for me and a potential buyer. Two questions.
- Has anybody sold/bought their boat this way and was in a good/bad experience?
- What would be the best 'for sale by owner' sites to advertise.

The boat is currently on land at Chesapeake where I'm working on it. One idea is to try to sell it here which has personal benefits for me. But I'm concerned that I will soon have to winterize the engines, put the sails inside, etc. So doing a seatrail has some issues, especially if the sale doesn't go through. Any thoughts on this? Also, I don't think a boat shows that well on land vs in the water.
My other alternative is to put the boat in the water when its ready mid November and sail south down the east coast. I really don't want to so that, but I also like to sell the boat and move on.

Would very much appreciate and advice and inputs.

Cheers

[Chotu]

Prove it well so it moves and sell it where it is, unless your time isn’t worth much and you want to do all that work.

Sailboatlistings.com and sailingtexas.com will get your boat sold fast if you price near the bottom or below the bottom of the range for your boat.

[Junglebike]

Catamaransite is also worth a look.

The market is really tight right now, so I'd recommend getting it listed ASAP on some of the sites listed - no reason to pay a broker 10% IMHO. You never know, it may sell very quickly at a decent price. Sounds like you want it gone. Worth spending a day getting it looking good & taking some good pics. and writing up a detailed listing - all stuff you'd have to do regardless.

Sounds like you really don't want to move her. I agree it's more convenient to sell a boat in the water, but it sounds like a huge hassle and I think a serious buyer will not make their decision based on that - it's a good time to be selling a boat.

[FatBear]

When I walk down the dock towards a boat I feel good. When I walk into a yard full of project boats I do not. Having owned a very successful small retail business for 24 years I can tell you this: you want your buyers to feel good when they step onto your boat.

As an extension of this, the initial boarding process sets a first impression. Make it good. Good, safe boarding steps on the dock if you need them. Painted nice, not some pallet wood looking thing, and sturdy. The step across should be uneventful. Keep that positive attitude as long as you can. The quarter deck or whatever you want to call the area where you step onto the boat should be clean and polished and if there's room it should have a nice mat to step onto. Sure, you'll have to stow the mat for the sea trial and the buyers will probably never use it until they are ready to sell, but once they are aboard it has done its job, anyway. A lot of macho guys sneer at this kind of fru fru stuff, but theirs are probably the boats that take six months or a year to sell. Because most boats are bought by couples and usually at least one member does consider aesthetics and other intangibles. And if you make the boarding shipshape and nautical you will likely impress the macho types, too.

Boats do not sell nearly as quickly in winter as they do in the spring. So if you finish it up right now and put it in the water and sail it to where you can keep it in the water, you are likely to end up with it sitting there in an expensive slip until spring. Of course there are exceptions, but you'll probably have to lower your price to make your boat the exception. Either way it will likely cost you more money that storing the boat on land through the winter and selling it in the spring.

In addition, storing it through the winter - provided you have access - will allow you to continue the cleaning and polishing and varnishing and whatever other improvements you can make so it will be ready to earn you top dollar in the spring. Leaving it sit in a slip far from home through the winter will likely reduce the value of the boat as it gains that patina of disuse.

Don't get sucked into the ridiculous "my time is worth too much to spend it on this or that project" approach? It's bogus. As an example, a lawyer might be able to bill $400 an hour to his clients. And so while lawyering his time is worth $400. But only when lawyering. The rest of his time is worth no more or less than anyone else's. If that lawyer spends his off hours idling, that idle time is worth zero dollars. If he spends his time maintaining his engine, his time is probably worth $50/hr (or whatever mechanics make). If cleaning his boat, his time is worth what any boat cleaner gets. If a boat cleaner can make $12/hr, then the lawyer's time is worth $12/hr while he is cleaning his boat, not $400/hr.

So if the time you spend increases the value of the boat, that's what your time is worth and that will be a lot more than sitting around watching TV. (Or these stupid computers...)

These are obviously my own opinions and not endorsed by any lawyer or wife. Now I need to go work on some home remodeling (thus making my time worth something) before said wife bonks my idle head with that pry bar she is carrying.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Sail IC

In about a month I'm going to sell my catamaran, a Fountaine Pajot Orana, 43 feet, 2008. I have some different alternatives how to go about this and it would be great to get some inputs.

A search for catamarans on yachtworld, year 2000-2012, 41-45 feet, in the US results in only 18 boats for sale, just 6 of them being either FP/Lagoon/Leopard, the most obvious alternatives to my boat. So I might first to try it sell it myself, save the 10% broker fee, which could be good for me and a potential buyer. Two questions.
- Has anybody sold/bought their boat this way and was in a good/bad experience?
- What would be the best 'for sale by owner' sites to advertise.

The boat is currently on land at Chesapeake where I'm working on it. One idea is to try to sell it here which has personal benefits for me. But I'm concerned that I will soon have to winterize the engines, put the sails inside, etc. So doing a seatrail has some issues, especially if the sale doesn't go through. Any thoughts on this? Also, I don't think a boat shows that well on land vs in the water.
My other alternative is to put the boat in the water when its ready mid November and sail south down the east coast. I really don't want to so that, but I also like to sell the boat and move on.

Would very much appreciate and advice and inputs.

Cheers

Sending you a PM.

[Dean Paul]

I sold my 47 year old one owner Islander sailboat thru a broker in May of this year. Our timing was great as the inventory of similar size boats was very low at the time. While we paid a brokers fee it was worth it. ]Boat sold in one week for the asking price without surveys, sea trials, etc. The boat was in mint condition for its age which expedited the sale. A competent broker can be very helpful to cut through "hull thumpers" etc. Just my opinion with real experience.

[Stewie12]

If you do not use a broker you would have to put up with a lot of tyre kickers. Draw up the sale contract. Put the deposit in an escrow account, before survey and sea trials. Probably it would cost you more in time , expenses and effort than the 10% you would pay a broker.

[Junglebike]

Originally Posted by Stewie12

If you do not use a broker you would have to put up with a lot of tyre kickers. Draw up the sale contract. Put the deposit in an escrow account, before survey and sea trials. Probably it would cost you more in time , expenses and effort than the 10% you would pay a broker.

I've used a documentation company for the escrow, sale contract, etc. Its a few hundred $$. We're talking about $30,000 here, and you end up spending time even with a broker involved. I've always gone on the sea trial when selling a boat, for example.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by Stewie12

If you do not use a broker you would have to put up with a lot of tyre kickers. Draw up the sale contract. Put the deposit in an escrow account, before survey and sea trials. Probably it would cost you more in time , expenses and effort than the 10% you would pay a broker.

Nope. That's the bogus thinking I mentioned. If you sell it yourself and save $30,000 by being your own broker, then your time is worth $30,000. Your time can only be worth more than that $30,000 if you were spending those same hours earning more than $30,000.

[Anchorage Frank]

I'll just say I bought my Catalina 30 nine years ago from a couple acting without a broker; they seemed nearly desperate to sell. They had the boat in great shape; provided tons of extras, took my calls (or emails, after they left town) when I had issues. I sold her this year with a broker; I did virtually nothing, and got just as much as I paid for her nine years earlier. No one calls me. I'm a little sad about losing touch, but financially it was great.

[old pirate]

In this market I would sell her yourself. Be prepared for inconvenience if you have to travel distance to show it. You also have to find a way to wheedle out the tyre kickers of which there are many. Don’t be greedy, price the boat fairly according to the current market. Clean it of everything, it should sparkle as a bare boat, maybe a few colourful cushions.
If I were buying right now, I’d expect to pay slightly less than in the spring. But if I was getting exactly what I wanted I’d bite the bullet at a fair price.

[jim King]

I sold my boat last month on craigslist. I had several prospective tire kickers call and ganged them together for a group sea trial after which the serious ones were practically bidding against each other. I sold it for full price in one week.
cheers,
jim

[Sailor Sailor]

Splash it and keep it in the water until you have a signed contract. You can sail all winter on the Chesapeake. I bought my boat in late December and sailed it down over several warm days in February (President's Day weekend). Last December, I moved my boat 100 miles down the Bay over several days.

You might want to change the oil and drain the water lines to avoid damage.

[Junglebike]

Originally Posted by jim King

I sold my boat last month on craigslist. I had several prospective tire kickers call and ganged them together for a group sea trial after which the serious ones were practically bidding against each other. I sold it for full price in one week.
cheers,
jim

Nice! Never heard of that, a great tactic in today's market. Glad I am not buying a boat right now...

[flying saylor]

hello may be interested in buying your boat please send me info,condition,location ,price,time frame etc. you can call me if you like at 215-284-8094,My name is Rick