Selling a boat

[reelfishin]

After having one of my nicer boats listed now for several months I've arrived at a few conclusions when it comes to selling a boat:

For one, the majority of people that answer a boat for sale ad have no idea or what it takes to own a boat and have no mechanical ability whatsoever, second, the only way to get any money out of a nice boat is to part it out and junk what ever is left.

I have had one of my boats listed now for several months both on CR and several local papers, the only replies I get are offers of I'll tow it away if its free, or those that want a 5 year warranty.

I think I am now at the point where being as I needed the space for winter storage of another boat, I had no other choice but to part it out.

The boat was a turn key trihull, no trailer, which was in fantastic condition both mechanically and cosmetically. The only reason I was selling it is that I had found a boat I like better and have down sized my tow vehicle since buying it.

I am in shock that it wouldn't sell as a running boat, yet I was able to sell just a few components of it for more than double what I was asking.

I actually hated to part it out but I can't keep them all. The boat was a near mint trihull in which the last owner had sunk over $10K of parts. The hull and interior were just as clean. The motor was mint and ran great, the only original part was the dash and steering wheel. I sold the engine, manifold, riser, lower unit, hydraulics, cables, seats, fuel tank, bimini top, windshield, and engine accessories all separate. All that remains is pretty much a bare hull that sadly will end up being crushed.
It's a shame and sort of hurts to cut up a good running boat, but there was just no way I was going to give it away. I had people come out, look, listen, and offer $50. One guy even tried to tell me that trihulls were banned from use and that I'd have to pay him to dispose of it. I guess that one thought I was born yesterday.

I am sure that these are the same people that if ownership was in reverse, the story and value would change.

To my benefit, when all was said and done, I came out more than $3500 ahead of what I was asking for the boat to begin with. One of the parts buyers, (lower unit and manifold), was one of the people that came out to look at the whole boat, that person paid more for the parts than he would have for the whole boat.

The only drawback of course is getting rid of the hull, but a backhoe will make short work of that. My guess is that it will fit a few trash cans when I'm done.

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Selling a boat

I am still assuming that this friend I am trying to help with selling his boat hasn't sold his yet. He has had a few people come and look at it but they really didn't show much interest at all in the boat, trailer and 70hp motor, they basically left him (the owner) without even saying let me think about it or offering him less for the boat. And this is a boat I wouldn't mind having, I have it posted on craigs list for the man. And it's the newer style hull. I'm about ready to tell him take the motor off and strip the wrest of the boat down, just my opinion.

You really can come out ahead parting it out. Not to jump off the subject of boats but I have been selling ATV parts, if I went to sell the whole machine for parts I would sell it for just a hair over what it is worth if I was to scrap it out for say $7 per hundred. Another thing I do when trying to sell something big is try to look it up on the internet and get an idea of what the owners of the same product are asking for theirs.

Some times it helps in not posting the price of the item you are trying to sell. Sometimes it helps putting OBO (or best offer). It always helps to have a picture posted on the add. You are right these people want something for nothing for real. My father bought older model honda civics and other used cars to fix up and sell or part out. He would price a part a little under what the salvage yard would sell it for and still not get any bites on the part, and some parts he would garentee. It doesn't make any sense, he decided to strip the cars down and scrap the bodies so he ended up coming up with about what he paid for all the cars if not just a hair less.

Allot of people don't want those tri hulls anymore, but they don't know what they are missing out on. As I said earlier in the post, you are better parting it out allot of the times then trying to sell the whole boat.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Selling a boat

There are several issues that need to be considered when selling a boat, car, truck etc. Here are a few tips:
1) Timing is everything. Fall and winter months are not good months to sell a boat in colder climates. People that are looking are looking to steal what you have. Early season is always best and prices are highest.
2) OBO is a very misleading and misused term as it means "or best offer". If you really are willing to accept a best offer, then you better be prepared to take $1.00. "Negotiable" is a reasonable term. If you will take no less than $xxxx.xx for your product state it as "firm". That lets people know how you feel about the sale.
3) How you write the ad must paint a very vivid picture of the product. Be specific about make, year, model, power plant, outdrive, outboard, options, etc. And check your grammar. Poorly worded ads will be passed over.
4) Post pictures if you can.
5) Post a price. Contrary to popular belief, most people pass over ads that don't have a price listed. But that also depends to a degree on how well the ad is written.
6) Clean sells. Clean up the product.
7) Have the title available as well as any receipts. Make it appear to a buyer that you actually prepared for this event.
8) If it's not registered in your name people think it's stolen, and it probably is. This creates a nasty paperwork problem for a buyer so get your ducks in a row before you place the ad.
9) Don't leave an ad placed for more than a couple of weeks. It gets passed over because people think it's over priced.
10) Do research to make sure you have not over priced (or underpriced) the product. Underpricing implies the product is defective.
11) As for useless phone calls, get used to it as its part of the deal. If you play the game correctly you can be polite and even convince a "newby" or a "know it all" that this is the product for them. Yet -- there are some jerks out there that simply have nothing better to do than call on classifieds with no intention of buying anything. The quickest way to get to these people is to get in their face and point blank ask them if they are serious or just taking up your time.
12) "For Sale By Owner" is a rediculous sign. Use one that says "For Sale". Obviously someone other than the owner will not be selling your stuff (unless its stolen).

 

[Caveman Charlie]

Re: Selling a boat

I never call or go to look at any item that does not have a price listed. I think in this case your big problem was trying to sell a boat without a trailer. I would never even consider buying a boat without a trailer. I like my old tri hull. It does what I need it to do. But, it came with a trailer and I pulled it home. Heck, how after the purchase would you even get a boat home without a trailer. You don't come across a trailer for a boat everyday. And, you can't afford to order a new one for a used boat. Besides it would take a long time to even get one. I'm sorry this happened to a classic old boat.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Selling a boat

silvertip, excellent post.
I think the "no trailer" might been the problem. I have tried to sell a few things in craigslist. Plenty of calls, all no shows. Next time, I am not posting a phone. If you have internet access you must have an email.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Selling a boat

I bought every boat I have either with no trailer or with trailers that I wouldn't consider either road worthy or fixable. If I bought a trailer for it, I'd have to up the price another $500 to $1000. I tried listing it with the trailer I had it with, but it's not likely that I would get the $1500 I paid for the trailer plus anything for the boat.
I had tried to sell it last spring, but got only one reply and that was from a guy that drove two hours to look at it, then said he didn't realize it was so big. The ad stated it as a 17' trihull and had pictures. He showed up driving a VW bug with a trailer hitch.
The biggest complaint I heard is that it's an I/O boat or that the motor was too small. To me it sounded more like excuses to either get the price down or just a way to back away from buying it.
What bothered me most is that it was a turn key boat that looked like new, it was like a time machine back to 1971. The motor was mint, the interior all new and done by a pro shop, the hull and floors were solid as a rock, it was stored indoors all it's life. The bimini top and side curtains were new, and the lower unit, gimble brgs, shaft, u joint, and all cables were new. All of the normal wear items for an older I/O were all done. Even the the manifold and riser were brand new. I ran the boat several times myself, but since it weighed in at almost 1400 lbs, I had trouble launching it on the local ramp with a small 2 wheel drive truck.
The ad was well written, describing the boat and all work done to it well. Most of the people that replied had no idea what type of boat it was or what was needed to run a boat. I had one guy ask me where the hitch was and would it fit his car. One guy showed up driving a 4 cylinder Mustang, no hitch and seriously asked if I thought he could tow it back to Texas from NJ. When I asked him what he planned to do for a hitch, he looked at me like I was crazy.

The bad part is that I have a second boat to sell soon, it's another trihull in just as nice a shape, but I think I'll go right to the part by part with this one. this one has a trailer, but it's a bit light for the boat. Its got as many new parts as the last one, maybe more. This one needs only a battery and if I were to run it, a better trailer.

I was asking less than what the powertrain would scrap for on the last one, and got no serious takers. After parting it out, it brought over $4500 not counting a few items I kept for my other boat.
The next one I have to sell is a super clean Duo trihull that came from an estate sale in PA. A clean freshwater boat with so many new parts it's easier to list what hasn't been replaced than what has. With so many new parts, it should do well. I can see now that there's no way I'd get even close to it's value by selling it whole.

When I go looking for parts, I normally look for a good parts boat first, getting rid of the hull is cheap and easy, normally only a few dollars at the dump or just smash it up and put it out for the trash. I've gotten some real buys buying whole boats just for either the motor or misc. parts, there's always extra parts to sell and I've nearly always ended up getting what I really needed for free after it was all done.

I did price around to see what other boats were selling for, but I couldn't find anything the same age or condition to compare to in my area. Being in a coastal state, boats tend to get pretty well salt eaten rather quickly. To me, finding a boat that's not salt damaged is a real find. I rarely look locally when looking for a boat or motor, I normally look inland a few hundred miles to avoid the concern of saltwater damage. I think part of the concern with it being an I/O may have been since this is NJ. I've seen many I/O engines with major salt damage from that era.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Selling a boat

I guess you shoudl be happy considering that you got more money that what you wanted by selling it in parts if you just look at the bottom line.

 

[Caveman Charlie]

Re: Selling a boat

I bought my 73 tri hull with a trailer for 1500 dollars. Looks good needed a little mechanical work. That's about what a old boat will bring. I agree that if you have the time you can probably part them out for more. Still to bad though. If you were closer I could find a home for it .

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Selling a boat

I'm kind of in the same BOAT with a 1981 boat and motor. I'm fixing it up, adding some instrumentation, replacing the carpet and so on, with the realization that I'll never get back what I'm putting into the project. I'm just going to be happy with the fact that my boat will be to my liking. Instead of paying a premium price for a 20 or 30 year old boat that's in pristine condition they'll put their money into a newer boat. Spend a bit of time looking at the NADA guide for used boat values and it'll be obvious that boats are a horrible "investment".

 

[Weldor]

Re: Selling a boat

I'm kind of in the same BOAT with a 1981 boat and motor. I'm fixing it up, adding some instrumentation, replacing the carpet and so on, with the realization that I'll never get back what I'm putting into the project. I'm just going to be happy with the fact that my boat will be to my liking. Instead of paying a premium price for a 20 or 30 year old boat that's in pristine condition they'll put their money into a newer boat. Spend a bit of time looking at the NADA guide for used boat values and it'll be obvious that boats are horrible "investment".

Spend a bit of time looking at the NADA guide for used boat values and it'll be obvious that boats are horrible "investment".

Never thought of it like that I just always thought of it as "renting". As in renting a house, apatment,condo or that sorta thing. And whatever I get for it when I sell it is kinda like getting my deposit back. I try to keep all my stuff in great mechanical condition and as easy on the eyes as possible that seams to help in the amont of the deposit that I get back.lol

 

[Caveman Charlie]

Re: Selling a boat

Spend a bit of time looking at the NADA guide for used boat values and it'll be obvious that boats are horrible "investment".

Never thought of it like that I just always thought of it as "renting". As in renting a house, apatment,condo or that sorta thing. And whatever I get for it when I sell it is kinda like getting my deposit back. I try to keep all my stuff in great mechanical condition and as easy on the eyes as possible that seams to help in the amont of the deposit that I get back.lol

See now for me it's different. I always buy everything. Boats, cars, campers, whatever. I wait for them to deprecate to the place where they have very little value any more then I pick them up kinda cheap. I then fix on them a little to get them to the point where I can use them. Sometimes they have certain idiosyncrasies that only I understand. But, they work for me. When I'm done with them they have no value anymore and go to the junk. I get by quite well, and cheaply, this way. But, I'm often criticized by people that believe you should only have new, big ,fancy, stuff. They see everything older and cheaper as junk. These same people spend so many hours a week working long hours that they don't have the time to use there new fancy stuff. Meanwhile, I have a full time job but, also have enough free time to relax.

 

[Weldor]

Re: Selling a boat

See now for me it's different. I always buy everything. Boats, cars, campers, whatever. I wait for them to deprecate to the place where they have very little value any more then I pick them up kinda cheap. I then fix on them a little to get them to the point where I can use them. Sometimes they have certain idiosyncrasies that only I understand. But, they work for me. When I'm done with them they have no value anymore and go to the junk. I get by quite well, and cheaply, this way. But, I'm often criticized by people that believe you should only have new, big ,fancy, stuff. They see everything older and cheaper as junk. These same people spend so many hours a week working long hours that they don't have the time to use there new fancy stuff. Meanwhile, I have a full time job but, also have enough free time to relax.

Actually Caveman we're more a like than you might think I've never bought a new boat only fixer uppers. And that is why I look at is as renting it's money I may never see again and can live without. I also only buy used vehicles as I just can't justify the price of new vs good used. Check this out my trucks are : a 1971 F-250 with nearly 500K on it and a 1987 Ranger with 150K on it. Latest boat is a 92 Sylvan Pontoon with a 48 Evinrude that I didn't even check to see if it would start when I bought it because the price was so good. So yes we may be more alike than you first thought.lol

This is not to say I wouldn't like one of those big ole fancy shiny new boats they're just out of my budget. Some folks are happy with an inner tube in the river (me for one) and some folks need a little more.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Selling a boat

.... Spend a bit of time looking at the NADA guide for used boat values and it'll be obvious that boats are a horrible "investment".

We can't put much weight on NADA values these days, take a look at what they value a used outboard at, then try to find one for that price. They value my mid 80's 90 hp Evinrude at about $300. There's no way I'd ever sell a perfect running motor for that amount, the tilt and trim or lower unit would nearly bring that amount individually. I sold a motor which I advertised as 'well used' last summer for $900, it was a camouflaged 85 hp V4 with unknown hours on it and only sufficient compression. I had 5 people fighting over it in my driveway.
When I was looking for a good used tilt & trim V4 last year, the best price I could find was $1200 for a running motor without controls. I ended up buying a parts boat for $300 with a motor that had a factory reman powerhead on it and new lower unit. That also came from an estate auction. The key there was to look for a boat where a boat normally wouldn't be. I think I was the only one that showed up that day looking for a boat.

That boat sold fast, even without the motor, I wasn't really trying to sell it and had people knocking on my door and leaving notes to buy it. It had no trailer, no motor, no interior, nothing, just a bare hull and bad floor. The boat was an early 80's Renken 18' closed bow runabout, nothing fancy and a bit rough. When one guy finally offered me $1500, I sold it. I was actually planning on cutting it up. It wasn't a bad boat in design, but I didn't see it being worth a new floor, and then a complete re-power and interior. It was your typical "Sat too long and got waterlogged with rain water" boat. It just happened to have a really nice motor on it.
It was even an ugly mustard yellow color with red primer spots all over.
(I even told a few of them that I had a super clean boat for sale for the same money but they had no interest).

When I look at a boat, especially in the under $1000 range, I expect it to need some work of some sort. I haven't seen many cheap boats that didn't.
It wouldn't ever even cross my mind to ask a guy selling a $1000 boat what sort of warranty does it have", or "If I buy this will you do all the work".
I had one guy ask if he bought the boat, would I help him build it into what he wanted it to be, he wanted new seats, an enclosure top, a modern sound system, and new GPS, on top of all of this, he wanted to store it where it sat.
He couldn't understand why I wouldn't go for that deal. My goal wasn't so much to make a buck as it was to make some room, if I had room to store them all, I'd probably would have kept that one, and this last one as well, but I just don't have the space, I have four project boats as it is, I just don't have room for another.

I've even tried listing "for sale or trade" hoping that someone might come up with something I could use that don't take up so much space, but all I got was a lot of offers but no one that followed through. I got all sorts of offers, everything from cars to other boats to electronics.

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Selling a boat

Here is an over priced boat, but very pretty and like in new condition for it's age somebody put allot of work into this. "http://www.anglerschoicemarine.com/boatdetails.php?Boat_ID=1292"
I agree with SilverTip, I have also used negotiable but really failed to mention that. I really don't see how OBO is deceiving though people with common sense would know that you are not going to go to far below what you are asking in the original selling price.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Selling a boat

... I really don't see how OBO is deceiving though people with common sense would know that you are not going to go to far below what you are asking in the original selling price.

You may have hit the nail on the head with that one, "People with common sense", some of the people I had come out and look at the first boat were clueless, and as far as offers, most didn't make any offer. I didn't use OBO in the ad, but stated that I was open to trades either in full or partial. My goal isn't the cash, but to gain some space. I guess I should also state that both of these boats were bought as part of a package deal with two others and a pair of motors. I had to buy the lot to get what I wanted. Each item had a set price, but were sold only as a complete lot at the sale. I didn't think that getting rid of the two nicest boats in the lot would be so much trouble. The lot came with on trailer, but it was old and rusted, it also was about half as heavy as it needed to be, which seems to be the norm for older boats and trailers.
I've sold boats before, mostly just small bass boats and never had so many people show up or email without a clue as to what they wanted, were looking at, or needed. I listed in the ads the weight, engine size, condition and as much of the specs as I could. Mainly what got me was that someone would show up with a small front wheel drive car and be seriously thinking that it could tow a boat that most likely will weight in with a trailer around 2500lbs or so cross country and then expect it to be able to safely launch it. I had one guy ask me if I was willing to let him take a test drive in the boat, I said no problem but he'd have to find a trailer to use since I didn't have one handy. He agreed, we set a day and time and he showed up with a farm truck with no hitch, and a flat bed landscape trailer with two saw horse looking rigs nailed to the deck. He got upset when I told him that the only way the boat was going on that rig was if I was paid in full. He was towing the trailer with a bolt through a drilled hole in the coupler and a hole drilled in a rear bar welded between the trucks rear frame rails. The worst part was that he had driven that rig over 50 miles to get here.

That old bass boat will find a home, it seems that some of those older bass boats are developing a following. I think it would be more appealing though with a period correct motor. I have an older bass boat thats been drawing plenty of attention in my back yard, I can't count how many notes I've found on my door asking if I would sell it. I had one guy offer me a trade for a newer boat, but his partner backed out of the deal.

On this other boat I have for sale, I think if it don't go as it is, Ill have to strip the interior and make it into more of a fishing boat and use it. I'll sell off one other boats. I just wish it were either a lot larger so as that it could stay in the water or a bit lighter so my truck could better handle it to launch it.

 

[azlakes]

Re: Selling a boat

reelfishin - do you have pics of these boats you speak of? just curious...

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Selling a boat

I hear ya reelfishin

On the 78 Thunder Craft I bought, I seen it advertised in a local trader (now I wished I knew the details). The motor was the only thing listed for sale for $600 OBO, it is a 78 model motor 85HP Evinrude. We called the advertiser up and come to find out it was the boat, trailer, and motor package deal. We made our way up to look at the boat a few towns away. I looked at the boat, the owner was a lady, I didn't really get to negotiate with her my father jumped in on that part even though I am a grown man. Anyhow the boat had a jungle in the hull. The trailer had a mobile home axle under it, the motor was original to the boat. I told the lady that I am basically getting the boat for the motor. She did actually explain what has and hasn't been done to the motor (wished I would of written it down), she even mentioned that it will need new fuel line etc etc ran through out the motor. I told her that I am taking a chance on this motor being that it hasn't been ran in so long. We tried to bottom her out to $400 and she said that she would take $450 at the least. So I slapped the cash on her. So I saved $150. I got a bill of sale even though I planned on junking the hull, I got the bill of sale to get home with. I ended up stripping the hull down and separating it out to get it ready for a new deck and transom. I will finish that project later.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Selling a boat

I attached a pic of the Duo, it's a 17' model with the Merc 120 I/O drive.
This is another boat that has too many new parts to list, the last owner replaced just about everything that moves and ever had the seats and all padding re-upholstered. The boat was rebuilt with some sort of composite flooring, I'm not sure of the name, but it's not Starboard. It looks more like a rigid foam or particle board. It's not as heavy weight wise as plywood would be.
The bimini top is cab height, or even with the top of the windshield and rises up slightly towards the rear. Its one of the only parts that isn't all new. They also did the floor in Nautilex, but I'm not too fond of that since it seems to have trouble staying glued up under the gunwales. I suppose it had carpet or vinyl when it was new. The seats are store bought back to back fold downs, both in good shape. The interior is blue with gray trim. The hull is more of a V hull than a trihull when you look at it from the front, the outer hulls are very minor and he main V is pretty deep and it continues as a v all the way to the stern. The motor is original, as far as I know, but the manifold, riser, and nearly all bolt ons are new. The boat was professionally rewired, has had two new tilt/trim rams and all new hoses installed and all new control cables.
It will need a trailer and a battery and to be un-winterized to put back into use, and I suppose a new pump impeller would be in order as well since it's been sitting for a season now. The tank is new, it has a new Perko switch and is dual battery capable, although it has only one battery box and cables now. There's a new horn, an Eagle fish finder, older stereo system, a rebuilt lower unit, new bellows, shaft, gimble bearing and u joint, and spare prop.
Maybe I should ask here what I should list this for?
If it was a bit lighter I'd consider keeping it for use here in the river, but it's not really a rough water boat, so it's sort of limited to the rivers here since NJ has a gas motor ban in most lakes and a 10 hp limit in others. It would be of more use for someone along a bigger river or lake that allows gas motors. I ran it last year in the river here, it did great, I left it in over that weekend and used if to do some catfishing. It ran all weekend on about 15 gallons of gas. My 14' aluminum boat with a 9.9hp outboard burns more than that in a day.
I like how stable a trihull is when fishing, but the bay here gets a bit rough for a trihull. Its ok on calm days but I just prefer a bigger boat out there.

I was thinking of listing it here on iBoats but I wasn't too sure how far someone would travel for a trihull. The boat is a 1971 but is super clean and in fantastic shape.

wildmaninal, I am in a similar situation here with one I just bought, I bought it for the motor but after a good going over found the hull to be in much better shape than I was told or had thought. I didn't need a boat and this was supposed to be just a motor for another boat, but I hate to cut up a good hull. It's an '80 Renken 900, with an Evinrude 90 HP VRO. The motor has had a recent factory recon powerhead put on and a new lower unit, (The lower came still in the crate from the dealer when I picked up the boat).
The boat was supposed to have major electrical issues and need a stator, but so far all I found was a bad battery cable end and a weak battery. I replaced both, installed the lower unit and it runs like new. The motor has perfect compression, runs like new and charges the battery just fine. The motor also came with a new starter, (I guess that was their next guess), a new stator, (I do need that for another motor), and 80 gallons of fuel, 5 1/2 gallons of OMC 2 stroke oil, new tires on the trailer, a new power winch, new tongue jack, and what looks to be a new axle, hubs and springs. The boat has a few soft spots in the floor. I did some digging and the lower hull is clean and dry, no signs of rot or water sitting, the seats are new and I think the floor got wet around all the old holes that were never filled in. The transom is rock solid and the stringers have passed a drill test at both ends. I had answered an ad for $800 firm for the boat, with no mention of the boat or motor. They had no pics. When i called I found out it was complete but not running. They had just spent over $2k trying to fix the starting problem at some gas station and had given up and bought a new boat. The old one just had to go. When I made like I wasn't going to buy it, the price dropped fast, when it hit $200, I had no choice but to take it. I think it was a matter of not being able to keep two boats in a fancy neighborhood.
It's another heavy boat but it measures a tad bit over 19' and has an enclosure for the bimini top, so I could leave it in the water if I wanted to. It also tows decent too for being as big as it is. Its just a bit lighter than the Duo, the Renken lists as being 1110 lbs, plus about 300 for the motor.
The Duo is listed at being 1450 lbs dry weight in the original brochure. I suppose with the new floor and add ons it's up near 1600 lbs or so. Then ad 20 gallons of fuel and 6 or so qts of oil plus a trailer and its closer to about 2600 lbs when going down the road.
The Renken weighs in at 2316 lbs with it's single axle trailer and two full tanks of fuel. I suppose if I decide to redo the floor on it, I will probably end up adding some weight as well. I would redo the floor like they did on the Duo using a non wood paneling of some sort.
My ranger is only comfortable with a trailer up to about 2300 lbs total and at that I don't think I would try to launch it on a steep or slick ramp.
I have to do some digging to see if I saved a pic of the first boat, when I tossed the ad text, I think I may have deleted the pics I took. The pic of the Duo was of when I first brought it home, the trailer it's on is gone, it was pretty rusted out. I think it was actually the trailer for the first boat, but I used it to get them both home.
It would have been ok if it wasn't for the rust.