reelfishin
Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 3,050
Re: Are there any non-sucky previous owners?
The boats I buy are almost always project boats, so I see all sort of rigs.
The one's that bother me the most are those that could have been either completely avoided or done correctly for either less or the same amount as the junk repair.
I bought a center console the other day on which the last owner sawed two control boxes in half, mounted one on the right and one on the left side of the console, giving him separate shift and throttle controls on opposite sides of the console. He didn't stop there, instead of buying factory cables, he used straight cable, (the type used for PTO controls on trucks), and drilled the inside of the control arms to attach these plain cables too. He had wood clamps or blocks which held the cable housings in place to the side of the fiberglass console. The helm was new, but the cable must have been too short, so he moved the console back 14", leaving an exposed hole in the deck, which he covered with a custom built wood box and bass boat seat, and he rotated the helm to allow the cable to exit straight down. The cable was seized when I got it, it was full of water from the angle and location it was mounted in. The motor was fine, just overhauled by a reputable dealer, and the trailer was like new.
I am sure someone spent a good day or two making that mess, when for a few dollars could have done it right.
Keep in mind that most people don't sell a boat or car unless it's either giving them problems, is costing them too much money, or they just don't care about it anymore. Not many people sell a boat or car that they really like and trust.
Anytime I go to look at a boat, I try to figure out why it's for sale. "I bought a new boat", "I'm looking to buy something bigger", or "I bought it but decided not to use it" are all suspect lines to me. The last time I bought a new or another boat, I liked my old boat and kept it, always have. I found that most real boat fanatics have multiple boat syndrome, selling a well liked, good running boat just doesn't happen very often. The best case scenario is usually an inherited boat, one that is found sitting just as it was last used, and not too long after if you lucky. Figuring out why they want to dump is often the most important part of deciding on whether to buy a particular boat. (Finding a perfect running boat with no leaks and a mint trailer for cheap, from a guy who obviously knows boats would make me very suspicious of the boat or the transaction).
I have sold projects that I deemed not worth my while, or those boats I decided just weren't what I really wanted, but those all got sold as projects.
I rarely sell a complete boat. The reasons or what the boat needed were obvious.
The boats I buy are almost always project boats, so I see all sort of rigs.
The one's that bother me the most are those that could have been either completely avoided or done correctly for either less or the same amount as the junk repair.
I bought a center console the other day on which the last owner sawed two control boxes in half, mounted one on the right and one on the left side of the console, giving him separate shift and throttle controls on opposite sides of the console. He didn't stop there, instead of buying factory cables, he used straight cable, (the type used for PTO controls on trucks), and drilled the inside of the control arms to attach these plain cables too. He had wood clamps or blocks which held the cable housings in place to the side of the fiberglass console. The helm was new, but the cable must have been too short, so he moved the console back 14", leaving an exposed hole in the deck, which he covered with a custom built wood box and bass boat seat, and he rotated the helm to allow the cable to exit straight down. The cable was seized when I got it, it was full of water from the angle and location it was mounted in. The motor was fine, just overhauled by a reputable dealer, and the trailer was like new.
I am sure someone spent a good day or two making that mess, when for a few dollars could have done it right.
Keep in mind that most people don't sell a boat or car unless it's either giving them problems, is costing them too much money, or they just don't care about it anymore. Not many people sell a boat or car that they really like and trust.
Anytime I go to look at a boat, I try to figure out why it's for sale. "I bought a new boat", "I'm looking to buy something bigger", or "I bought it but decided not to use it" are all suspect lines to me. The last time I bought a new or another boat, I liked my old boat and kept it, always have. I found that most real boat fanatics have multiple boat syndrome, selling a well liked, good running boat just doesn't happen very often. The best case scenario is usually an inherited boat, one that is found sitting just as it was last used, and not too long after if you lucky. Figuring out why they want to dump is often the most important part of deciding on whether to buy a particular boat. (Finding a perfect running boat with no leaks and a mint trailer for cheap, from a guy who obviously knows boats would make me very suspicious of the boat or the transaction).
I have sold projects that I deemed not worth my while, or those boats I decided just weren't what I really wanted, but those all got sold as projects.
I rarely sell a complete boat. The reasons or what the boat needed were obvious.
