subject: Getting That First Trawler [print this page] Now that the Lauderdale boat show has come and gone some of you might be considering either upgrading or maybe even buying that first new Great Loop cruiser.
After many years of selling yachts, I have a piece of guidance that may prove invaluable to you. This is a piece of guidance that you're probably not going to want to hear and may be hard to take. This is counsel which for some of you will go against everything you have ever lived by: not to worry about the money!I frequently have customers coming to me asking for my counsel in assisting them in selecting and buying a suitable cruising yacht. Most of them have a little experience with boats, but often not behind the wheel of a large boat.We have a process that we go through to determine what features the customers thinks he needs. One of the questions we ask is what are you going to do with the yacht; coastal cruising will take a different boat than one designed to cross the Atlantic.Price is mentioned on our worksheet only to get an idea of what kind of money the buyer is willing to spend; no point in evaluating $400,000.00 boats if $250,000.00 is all the money he has to spend.And we caution buyers not to buy a boat based solely upon the price either; do so and you'll be selling her within 6 months. "Why did I buy that darn boat, I didn't like it to begin with" you will be saying. I always tell my customers, you must like the boat to start; it must talk to you.That is not to say that price is not important, I would rather you pay 15% more for the best boat for what you intend on doing with it and enjoy yourself every time you are on the water rather than saving 10% and having many regrets each time you take her out. And I have seen that happen, and have seen it cost buyers a lot in the long run.We caution buyers that a good boat always comes with a higher price. You can evaluate the market and will find the same model year boats that are $50,000.00 different in price. Why? Maintenance and upgrades can make all the difference. For example, you find a 40' trawler boat that has a paint job, new canvas, and a new generator; those upgrades cost her current owner about $24,000.00.But some buyers tell me, I have found some real cheap boats out there, there are some deals to be had; not so fast. We typically find that "cheap" boats usually will require another 20% - 30% of the purchase price to bring them up to cruising standards. So that deal you found on that $60,000.00 trawler will likely set you back about $90,000.00 before you sail away.So here is my guidance for all you boat shoppers, do not make the purchase price the most important aspect of your new boat's purchase. Granted it is significant, but if you end up with the wrong boat you paid too much no matter how inexpensive it was!See y'all out on the water!by: Marianne B. Conway
