BST: 43' Marine Trader Sundeck

Mon May 12 18:17:55 EDT 2008

A LESSON IN THE ART OF SELLING A BOAT

You have posed a very good question. Whether it is smarter to buy now - 
while prices are continuing to slowly fall, or wait and see what happens 
after the election, kids are on their own, house is paid off, I get that 
promotion I deserve if I don't get downsized ETC. There are always lots of 
good reasons to wait to buy or sell. It all depends on your threshold for 
pain and how much we REALLY want to go cruising.

I have some very good friends who asked my wife and me to inspect several 
boats on their behalf. They will only buy a single engine, diesel, trawler, 
42' to 50', prefer fiberglass will consider steel, NOT a project boat, 
fairly priced considering the "buyer's market", walk-around queen bed, no 
teak decks, etc.. So far we have seen 5 boats owned by "motivated sellers" 
and suggested they make an offer on one of them. They came, they saw and 
they made the offer. FULL PRICE! The boat failed the survey and sunk 3 
months later with the new owner on board who failed to hire a good surveyor. 
(He and his crew all survived with no injuries.) The surveyor I suggested is 
good and saw a couple of serious problems when it was pulled out of the 
water that were not readily available to me. They still have confidence in 
me even after all that.

They are not interested in "stealing" a boat. They are happy to pay a fair 
price given the current market and the condition of the boat. If the boat 
needs soft goods, appliances, generator and electronics up dated, or 
painted, neither they (nor anyone else) will pay a price as if all that work 
and expense is already done. In this ultra soft market, in order to sell, a 
boat must be spotlessly clean in every nook and cranny as well as the BEST 
buy out there or your boat is only one of many. Soap and water are cheap!

When we sold our last boat, a well-respected American made trawler, we 
invested time in looking at all other boats similar in construction 
regardless of where it was built and the over all condition, then we 
compared the prices. We learned there were 4 other similar boats in similar 
shape and features on the market at that time. There were a total of 11 
other boats in our size and price range, but only 4 were truly comparable to 
ours. 3 of those were listed so we contacted the brokers and learned the 
owners were "ready to deal". Our price had to drop $40K in order to be far 
below the asking prices of the comparable boats. We sold the boat in 2 weeks 
while all 4 of the other similar boats are still on the market 2 years 2 
months later! 2 of those boats have dropped their asking prices to $10K LESS 
than we got for our boat over 2 years ago....and still no takers. (Your 
threshold for pain?)

For sellers, you must consider how much fun you will have when you finally 
get rid of the boat. Money isn't everything. Just be glad you have a real 
buyer with the money. They are much more rare than a good deal on a 
boat...these days.

For buyers, know exactly what you want to use your boat for, the features 
you require and the price you are willing to pay. Don't waste sellers' time 
looking at a boat that cruises at 20 knots if all you want is a floating 
condo so you can live at the local marina. If what you truly want to do with 
your boat is cruise the coast and the islands, then don't waste a seller's 
time that is hoping to sell a sport fish, for instance. A true cruising boat 
must be comfortable for you and your full time crew.  If you are really 
going cruising, fiberglass, semi to full displacement with as little outside 
maintenance as possible and affordable to operate are keys to your long term 
satisfaction with your boat selection. If you have never lived and cruised 
on a boat for long periods of time (5 years or so), believe me, you can grow 
to curse the day you bought the boat.

Talk, email and read everything you can before you write that check! You do 
NOT want to have a boat FOR SALE in this market.

Our friends, for example, lived aboard their boat for 3-1/2 years and 
cruised the East Coast from Maine to Key West continuously. At that time 
they had a sail boat that was economical to own and operate. These days, 
with fuel expected to hit $6.50 per gallon by 2010, if you can believe the 
talking heads on TV, power boats are about to take a huge nose dive in 
value.

Our current boat is nearly 48' LOA, 15' beam, 4'8" draft, trawler speed (7-8 
Kt), no teak decks, and worth about 50% of what we paid for it 2 years ago. 
Our LRC is one of those "in high demand boats" that brokers like to sell. 
Our fellow owners get a great deal of joy at rendezvous telling sea stories 
and brag about how other boat owners envy them at the yacht club. The truth 
is everyone of us in the club paid about double of what the boats are really 
worth in today's market. The fact is, any Defever, most Marine Traders, and 
several other brand names are not only as good as our gold-plater, but in 
many ways exceed the value of our boat for accommodations and economy, 
safety, and comfort. If we were to put our boat on the market today, the 
brokers would most assuredly suggest an asking price of $195K to $250K. 
Based on my investigation for my friends mentioned above, I believe a 
comparable well found yacht by any other name could be purchased in the 
$100K range. It is my strong opinion that very same boat will be available 
for sale within the next 12 months for $75K-$80K, because fuel prices are 
expected to flood the market with power boats. Please forgive the pun. It is 
my opinion, even the highly rated, some say over-rated Nordhaven will be 
taking a beating in the months ahead.

In short, for Sellers - take that hit now and get rid of it. For Buyers - 
the best price is yet to come, but will you be able to afford to go anywhere 
once you bought it?

Capt. Seadog
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter North" <peter at northco.org>
To: <trawler-buy-sell-trade at lists.samurai.com>
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 11:18 AM
Subject: BST: 43' Marine Trader Sundeck

> It's been rather quiet on here with few sellers or buyers lately.  I 
> wonder
> if sellers are holding on because they think it's not the right time to 
> sell
> and serious buyers are holding off because they want to see if they can 
> get
> a better buy.  If you are a buyer when do you think it is the right time 
> to
> buy?
>
>
>
> Well the time has come as a serious seller I'm reducing the price another
> $10,000 to $89,000 for a solid glass semi-displacement hull with excellent
> low hour (1200 hr.) Volvo diesels.  If I needed a serious powerboat this
> would be it, just do not have the need anymore and want to move on.  Two
> homes, four cars, several smaller boats and two full time jobs leaves very
> little time for the big boat.
>
>
>
> For Sale By Owner - Located East Boothbay Maine
>
>
>
> 1984 Marine Trader Labelle - Covered Sundeck Model
>
>
>
> Design Information
>
> L.O.A                            43 ft.
>
> Beam                            14 ft. 2in.
>
> Draft                             3 ft.
>
> Speed                          9 kts cruise @2250, displacement speed 7.5
> kts
>
> Fuel consumption          6 GPH at cruise, 4 GPH at displacement speed
>
> Fuel                              350 gal
>
> Water                            200 gal
>
> Builder                           Built by Bestway for Marine Trader at
> Eagle Trawler Yard
>
> Designer                       John Simpson of British Columbia (have
> drawaings)
>
> Engines                        Twin Volvo TAMD40B Diesels 1200 hrs.
>
>                                    Onan 7.5 Diesel Generator 200 hrs.
>
>
>
> Upper and lower helm stations.  Large galley down with convertible dinette
> and full size refrigerator/freezer. Huge full beam Master stateroom in
> stern, with separate head with tub/shower. Salon with L shaped convertible
> sofa recently recovered. Forward stateroom with V-berth and head. New dual
> station Simrad autopilot, 2 VHF's, 2 new depthsounders.  Stainless 40 lb.
> CQR and windlass. Hot water baseboard and toe kick heaters, new Beckett 
> oil
> burner.  New Lectrasan treatment system.  Enclosed covered sundeck 12X12
> great for lounging and boat watching.
>
>
>
> More from recent refit:
>
> New fuel lines, 3 new racors, new electrical wiring in engine room, 3 
> recent
> AGM 8D batteries.  Starboard cutlass bearings replaced, new larger Bomon
> windows installed in Salon, new Bomon windows just installed in Master
> stateroom, 350' or new anchor rode.  Cabin floors refinished teak and 
> holly.
>
>
>
>
> This is a solid glass hull that is designed for semi-displacement speeds 
> for
> reduced rock and roll.  The hull is in excellent shape with great original
> gel coat and clean bottom.  We are selling due to a change in plans. 
> Asking
> $89,000 including launch in mid-coastal Maine.
>
>
>
> Link is to pics taken before new windows were installed.
>
> http://groups.msn.com/TrawlerMV/mvpolaris.msnw
>
>
>
>
>
> Peter A. North, CFPR
>
> North & Company, LLC (www.northco.org)
>
> Bath, Maine
>
> 207-319-7580
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