Tips for Selling Your Boat Yourself!

Pictured here are Tom & Gordon. Tom is the new owner of SV San San.

 If you are a reader of Latitude's & Attitudes Magazine then check out pages 64 & 65!! There you will see this article, published Woohoo in the June 2012 issue! The feeling I get from being published never gets old!

Listen I am no salesman, no yacht broker and I’m definitely no expert but several readers have emailed with questions on how we sold our boat so fast. She sold in 3 months. This is not the first time we sold a boat “By Owner”. Our last boat, a 424 Pearson, was sold using our same method.  It sold really fast, we were still sailing her home from Bahamas while the buyer was emailing us his flight reservations before we hit the dock in Miami. What is the method you ask? Well, get out your pens and pencils boys and girls, here are 5 tips for selling your boat yourself.

Creating Your Own Boat For Sale Ad

• First, gather up all your materials. This means get the specs, write up a blurb about the boat and take photos. You may even be able to locate a line drawing on-line which makes for a better ad. The more information the better, this will weed out any unnecessary emails with questions like, “What’s her draft, Captain?” If the draft and other specs are clearly shown you can essentially sell the boat in a one time visit to your ad. Give contact information and list the price.

• Taking photos. Take your time with photos. Set a whole day aside just to take pictures. Remove everything from the area to be photographed. Make your boat as clean as possible. For instance, if you are taking a photo of the salon clear the area of books, clothes and any other items that hinder the view of the boat itself. I cannot stress the importance of this step enough. There is nothing worse than shopping for a boat and trying to decipher what you are looking at. “Is that the galley, or a workshop?” Show some photos of the boat under sail. Give the impression that the boat is not just one that sits at the dock. Really show them what she can do! Taking quality photos is like allowing potential buyers a visit to your boat without the hassle travel expenses on either party.

• Create an online presence. If you haven’t noticed by now the way to reach people is on the World Wide Web. With all the free blog hosting sites you can take your pick and create a smashing presentation using the latest technology. You no longer have to be a computer whizz to do this stuff, it’s basically Cut & Paste with a little bit of know-how. The main thing you want is to be able to track your stats. Get a stat counter or a blog that has stats built in. This will help you figure out where your audience is coming from. Once you have picked out a host (site) began uploading your photos and creating a bit of verbiage (some words to describe) to the reader/potential buyer what in fact they are seeing, what’s it like upon entering the companionway, etc.

• Give contact information. Give an email address or a phone number or both.  Answer your leads quickly and thoroughly answering all their questions. I really have to say this too, be polite. I can’t tell you how many times we have emailed about a boat and gotten short one or two word responses. All I have to say about that is, “You catch more flies with honey.” Allow your reader to see the boat in action, if you have a current blog give the web address. This shows the potential buyer that the boat is being used. It’s not just sitting, being neglected; it’s being run and maintained.

• Once you have an ad you can be proud of bring it to the people! There are so many free outlets to show off your ad it’s laughable. Go to any forum and there is a Free Classified Ad section. Give a little bit of information, just a taste and then direct them to your site by putting your link in it. A lot of people don’t want to Cut & Paste, the want to just click on a link.Craigslist.com, Searfaring.com, & CruisersForum.com are just some of the sites that worked for us.

Selling your boat can be one of the biggest pains of boat ownership; which is why some people like the professional service a yacht broker can provide.  Using these tips, check out the listings of the yacht broker you might select and see if all your questions are answered. How do the pictures look? What is the first impression you get? Is it one you would want people to get when they look at your boat? Be careful and be wise. Hopefully, these tips will help you in your search for a new boat, and in the sale of your old boat.

If it's meant to be...

One week has past and the dust has settled down allowing us acclimate to our new surroundings. 

As I reflect back on the events of the week, I see how all my anxieties about the move have been wiped away. I am flabbergasted at the complete happiness we are feeling right now. We go through this life (cruising) with so many uncertainties, but today we are content. We worry about the future sometimes and forget to be present. We have to learn to take life as it comes, take the good with the bad and be happy while it all happens! While we plan for the unexpected we need to remember this little mantra.

If it is meant to be, it will be.

Travel Day

So some friends of ours call up last night and say, "Hey, you want to have a bonfire?" My immediate thought is, "Heck yes!" But then I remember, we are leaving in the morning! There are so many little things we need to do to be prepared and the last thing we want to do is stay up too late, drink too much and forget all those important little things in the mayhem!

The weather is not exactly perfect and we have no other choice but to go today. It wouldn't be the first time we went out without a favorable weather report. Seriously though, it's not a problem. What's a little rain from inside the cushy pilothouse with the windshield wipers going back and forth? What's a little wind when I'm completely closed off and protected in our own little haven? One of my favorite benfits of a day like today and the difference between a sailboat and a powerboat is that we will arrive in less than half the time it would have taken us to go on the inside, even with all the bridges. NOAA calls for 1-2 ft seas building to 5 and winds 10 - 15 gusting to 23mph, so we've decided to go up the ditch (intra-coastal waterway). This means we will have to go slower but it also means no getting tossed around.

As if the weather wasn't enough of an issue we have the Lauderdale Air Show to compete with! I'd like to joke and say I planned it this way so we'd have a grand entrance to our new home, sadly though I did not. The "traffic" on the water should be crazy so our leaving as soon as possible is imperative. Check out the link to the show I imagine it's going to be incredible with Choppers, Blue Angels, and a mix of military and civilian performers we will be entertained! Should make for some great photos!

Thanks for following along, here we go!

The Right Tools

Oil change equipment! 

Having the right tools can make all the difference.

Here is West Marine's 6.9quart capacity Oil Extractor

This weekend GR did the oil change while I took notes. Next time, I want to do it. The set up we have made the whole process less messy and simple. West Marine's oil extractor is great! Using a powerful manual pump it creates a vacuum that pulls out the old oil from the engine. It's not necessary to keep pumping, the vacuum does all the hard work! One hose end goes into the engine's dipstick tube, the other tube hooks up to the unit. Give it about 15 pumps and just watch the cylinder fill up! We then dumped the cylinder into the oil 5 gallon bucket we had from the last oil change.

Ordering online is such an awesome way to get the tools we need, considering we work without a vehicle. GR found Northen Tools online and ordered this ZEE LINE hand pump for the fresh oil we'd be depositing back into Felicity's engines! It is designed to fit right over our 5 gallon oil barrels and it sucks the fresh fuel out and deposits it into the engine using the same method as the removal pump.

I was simply amazed at the simplified way we were able to stand up in the engine room and removal oil from inside the boat, taking it to the oil depo station here in the Dinner Key Marina, clean marina facility. Now we are prepping to top off the fuel tanks which we hope to do Saturday.

In Action

Do you know your level?

One of the things both power boaters and sail boaters can agree on is that the price of diesel these days is getting outrageous! Alas,every year during the Spring and Summer we see prices climb. It seems to happen just as we are about to start having some fun on our vacations! Knowing just how much fuel in your tank can mean extra money in your pocket for all those cold drinks! When we purchased Felicity we knew we would need to replace our fuel tank sensors and gauges. Coming down to Miami from North Carolina we would just fill her up every chance we got and monitored the tanks the old fashioned way, with a dowel. But not anymore...

Recently, we partnered up with WEMA USA Inc. We saw this company at The Miami International Boat Show and contacted them to begin the selection of products we would need. Their website explains in great detail just how to decide the right fit for you tanks, see here.  Dealing with the company was a breeze, we called and they answered the phone, big plus these days when most phone numbers are answered by a voice recording!

GR was able to do the entire job in about an hour! He removed the old gauge from our control panel and the two senders from the forward and aft tanks. The new WEMA reed type senders were the same bolt pattern so all he had to do was line them up. Reed type senders were a nice choice for our tanks because we have a lot of baffles (walls that keep the fuel from sloshing around too much) where the gauge is installed.

Overall we can say WEMA USA Inc. has exceeded our expectations by:

• Being just a phone call away. Knowing we could speak to a real, knowledgeable person.
• Having quality product. They were finished well, stainless steel welds all look nice.
• Giving us options. The gauge had an option for red or yellow light. (It's the little things!)
• Ease of operation, installation took all of an hour!

SPECIAL DEAL FOR YOU!!!

Because we love our readers so much, we are passing the savings on to YOU! When you place you order with WEMA, you will receive 20% off your online purchase! If you have been looking around and are ready to make the change your fuel tanks have been waiting for, now could be the best time!

All Good

We are completely exhausted. We sleep really well at night. We are running 8 hours a day, eating 3 meals, docking, anchoring, preparing to make way, provisioning and doing the general cruising thing only we are doing a whole lot less rose smelling. In 6 days we have gone 400 miles. It's only been 2 weeks since we were last in Guatemala. WOW! Did  I mention we are tired?

We still love this. It's exciting. It's adventure. It's the stuff of story books. Even on a tough day, we'd rather be on a boat than anywhere else. So even though it's tough we are still happy.

Culture Shock

I was just reminded the other day that it's only been 2 weeks since we left Guatemala. I think I may still be reeling from a bit of culture shock. I didn't realize how detached I've become from America. Sure I keep in touch through the web but living on the boat sure changes a lot about a person.

As I watched dozens of Mac & Peterbuilt semi-trucks drive past the car window as I rode along in the back seat of a friend's car I felt like a complete outsider. I thought about the consumption our homeland has become accustomed to.  Fuel prices are incredibly high. Every thing is disposable, including people; it's all very disheartening. With all the advertisements shoved in my face through the media, different accents from NC, SC, GA and FL, and hard core work on the boat I began to feel a bit woozy.

There was a time in Guate that I actually had a little breakdown. I cried because I just wanted to go to a Wal*Mart. I'm sure that really I just wanted something familiar. I just wanted to walk down the aisle of a store and pick up my favorite, Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I just wanted to have that comfortable feeling of "home". Why do I still long for that? I know deep down that is not going to satisfy me for the long term.

In order to stay me, to continue living the way I choose to live I have to be very conscious of my actions and choices every minute! I was ashamed at the check out counter because I hadn't been prepared for this trip to the market and was without my reusable canvas grocery bags. It pained me to use those plastic bags. In Guatemala we would have been charged 2 centavos per bag.  Regardless we re-use them for kitty litter but we still feel obligated to refuse plastics because we have seen first hand the damage they can do.

Do you get culture shock after your return from cruising? Do you bring your lessons onboard home to share with others?