Question about selling a Mac

[MadMacX]

Hi Guys,

Well the admiral has lost her enthusiasm for sailing, so I guess it's time to sell the Mac. I don't have anyone else that wants to sail and sailing alone the last 6-7 months hasn't been much fun, so time to part with her. The boat.....not the admiral.

I have a question about the selling process that has me stumped. I pulled my boat out of the marina where I had it and it is now at my house, cleaned, sails folded and packed, ready for a new owner. My problem is, what would you do if someone wanted to sea trial the boat in this condition? I had one guy call me, and I agreed to let him sea trial it, at a local lake. We set up a time and on the day we agreed, he confirmed the time and location. I arrived with the boat and waited, and waited, so I called him and he said he was running late. So I waited some more and he never showed. Now, I can't get a hold of him. I really don't want to play this game. It's not a priority that I sell my boat.

I have purchased four boats and never put the seller through the ringer. if the boat looked good, the price was right and it was in good condition, I paid them cash, hooked up the boat and went home. Done deal. If I found problems after the sale, tough, it was my decision.

Is a sea trial really necessary for a boat in this price range? I hate to drag the boat out to the lake, pay the ramp fee, set up the boat, sail, knock it down and haul it home only to be told that they are not interested, or they can't come up with the money. I guess what I am saying is I don't want to spend my time giving people a boat ride. As much as I like to sail, I would prefer it to be for my pleasure.

What would you guys do?

Thanks,
Pat

[March]

I know what you mean. You might want to be upfront with the next customer and lay it on the line like you did above. Let him come and check out the boat at your place. Show her inside and out and point out all the weak spots, if any (I was in your position when I bought my boat and discovered a plethora of problems that the seller did not deign to point out--but swallowed the bitter pill, cuz I was too happy to have her). Ask for a downpayment. Explain that if the buyer is serious, you will have to turn down other potential buyers--but you need a warrant of his seriousness. The go do the lake.

If the guy is serious and has paid up, he will show up. If you fairly display all the weaker aspects that he might object to, right off the bat, there will be no reason to haggle and bring the price down. The trip to the lake will be a courtesy call. If he wants to go to the sea, a special appointment that is not included in the price of the boat--but he might compensate you for your troubles.

That would sound fair to me an, hopefully, to all parties involved

[Sumner]

First sorry to hear you are selling.

Hopefully the last experience with the buyer is a one time situation, but people seem pretty irresponsible to me now.

(I was typing while March posted, so some of this is along the same lines as his post and I think he made the main points, but since I typed this I'm going to post it )

One option I could see is that the person at least come to the house and take an initial look at the boat. Then setup a time to take it out and if the ramp fee is much then I would say "how about we spit that and if you take the boat I'll refund it". That might at least get rid of the casual looker and have them give you the money at your house when they first look at it.

Option 2 is don't take it off the trailer until they actually show. I can see the negative here being you don't want to turn someone off with the setup procedure. I can see where some people would take the setup in a positive way being included and others might say maybe this isn't for me.

Option 3 and what I would do would be to bite the bullet and do what you did the last time. Unless they lived at a great distance I would like them to at least come by the house for visit #1. Then if they were coming from some distance have them call on the way to you so you at least knew they were headed your way.

Whatever good luck and hope you can return to sailing if the opportunity strikes. I am so happy that Ruth has been in this with me. It has been some great times together for us, planning, taking the trip and sailing,

Sum

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[Wetsocks]

When I sold my powerboat, I was dreading that the buyer would want a test drive, not because the boat was bad, but because of the time involved in trailering, unloading, the ride, etc, etc...

The buyer did ask for a test drive, but we settled for starting up the motor in the driveway and letting her run a bit. (I had a flush muffler, which was great for keeping the engine noise down!) He bought it.

It was only a $6000 boat though. If I was buying something for much more, I'd want to test her out. A small deposit would be fair imho, and weed out any time-wasters. Also, consider the time spent on the ones that walk aways as good practice for when you land the buyer.

Damn, now I miss that boat.

[tonymi]

I don't think you'd be out of line asking for a fee for an on-the-water demo. Some dealers now do it because they were getting too many people just looking for a free sailboat ride. I'd ask for $50 or $100 and deduct it from the price of the boat if he ends up buying it.

[BNG]

I just bought a 2002 26x. I took the boat as is. I would have liked to start the engine but the boat was shrinked wrapped and the motor was winterized. The temp was 26F. I guess I just trusted the seller. If not I would have walked. The person who is looking for your boat most likely has done all the research and knows what he or she wants. Dont give people free boat rides, its not worth the hassle or effort.

[Indulgence]

I cannot imagine buying a boat without a sea trial.

We accompanied the P.O. to his lake and helped set
up the rig, sail, and tear down. It was a learning
experience that helped me decide whether to buy
or not. The P.O. made me take the mast down and
put everything away!

I think your experience was a one time thing, boaty
people are generally on the up and up!

Set up a time for sea trials and take three potential
buyers out at once. Get a bidding war going.

Best of luck,
Laurie

[delevi]

Just a guess, but I think most folks would want to sail the boat, see the enigne run, etc before buying. Not easy to accommodate if you're not in a slip. You may consider a yacht broker. I think most charge around 10%. For some, this would be out of the question. For others, perhaps well worth it to save the time & hassle.

Leon

[markh1f]

Pat,

I think it is pretty standard practice in the boat industry not to provide a sea-trial without a signed contract and a deposit in hand. The contract should have a provision that allows the buyer out with a full refund if the sea-trial is not satisfactory. That way your not wasting your time and the buyer has already committed to buying the boat before you do a sea-trial but also has an out if there are problems with the boat.

Best of Luck selling,
Mark

[DaveB]

I wouldn't buy a MacX without a sea trial for the simple reason of testing the outboard.
Also with full sail you have a good look at sails condition and stay's.
If the buyer doesn't know the Mac.Xor M I would demand a say $100 for a sea trial.
That will shake off the boat wanna bees.
Dave

Hi Guys,

Well the admiral has lost her enthusiasm for sailing, so I guess it's time to sell the Mac. I don't have anyone else that wants to sail and sailing alone the last 6-7 months hasn't been much fun, so time to part with her. The boat.....not the admiral.

I have a question about the selling process that has me stumped. I pulled my boat out of the marina where I had it and it is now at my house, cleaned, sails folded and packed, ready for a new owner. My problem is, what would you do if someone wanted to sea trial the boat in this condition? I had one guy call me, and I agreed to let him sea trial it, at a local lake. We set up a time and on the day we agreed, he confirmed the time and location. I arrived with the boat and waited, and waited, so I called him and he said he was running late. So I waited some more and he never showed. Now, I can't get a hold of him. I really don't want to play this game. It's not a priority that I sell my boat.

I have purchased four boats and never put the seller through the ringer. if the boat looked good, the price was right and it was in good condition, I paid them cash, hooked up the boat and went home. Done deal. If I found problems after the sale, tough, it was my decision.

Is a sea trial really necessary for a boat in this price range? I hate to drag the boat out to the lake, pay the ramp fee, set up the boat, sail, knock it down and haul it home only to be told that they are not interested, or they can't come up with the money. I guess what I am saying is I don't want to spend my time giving people a boat ride. As much as I like to sail, I would prefer it to be for my pleasure.

What would you guys do?

Thanks,
Pat

[sailwalsh]

Pat
I am about 60 miles from Hartwell. I usually leave my boat at Bigwater marina on the trailer, mast up near the ramp for a month in the spring and a month in
the fall. I missed last year due to low water conditions. It was $40.00 a month charge for mast up parking. you could be ready for any potential buyer and if
you find someone who would like to go for a sail with ya(like me for instance) then your boat would be ready , just back it down the ramp. I haven,t used my boat alot lately but in a couple of years my grandsons will be old enough to crew and I will be old enough to retire, and trailer to the keys in the winter and
New England for a summer vacation.
Paul in Graycourt SC 96 26x 50hp merc bf

[Highlander]

When I bought my mac19 about 5yrs ago maybe more I bought it during the month of feb still shink wrapped had a visual insp. & bought !
I have her up for sale since last yr & most buyer's are out to haggle you to death & or they say they can buy one alot cheaper in the USA I tell them then go ahead and ask them what their waiting for ! See Ya
since I live 1hr from the water I will not be giving any sea trails until the boat is sold. I have lots on vidoes posted of the boat powering & sailing they can study to death on the internet before even coming to look at the boat all the mods are posted in great detail on the net , So my point I make check out what I have posted &study it to see if its what you want then call me on the ph. if the guy starts to shyster me before even seeing the boat I tell him whats negoeable to a certain point & the more he drives the price down the more excess are coming off the boat you want to pay for a bare bones boat then thats what you will get , then they say why do you want to do that that stuff is no good to you without the boat I tell them most of that stuff is fairly new and what I can not use on my boat I can sell to other mac users . So the boat sits in inside storage at my shop at no cost to me bought & paid for long time ago but people seem to think he's bought a new boat so he will be needing the cash to pay for it , Sorry guys if ya want to steal a boat ya will have to go somewhere else , if ya want too buy a boat that is fully fitted for solo sailing with all the perks THEN WE CAN TALK ! . So be prepared for alot of haggling some people seem to think that a resession gives them the right to steal !& if your selling its because your hurting

J

[Hamin' X]

First off, I bought my '01 X without a sea trial. I thoroughly inspected the boat from stem to stern, including the bilges and the trailer as well. I was looking for any obvious repairs, or water ingress signs and rust and wear on the trailer. The previous owner had completely rebuilt the trailer and upgraded to SS disc brakes and 15" galvanized rims. The boat was well cared for and was in excellent condition. We then raised the mast and furler, hoisted the main and unfurled the genny, looking for signs of wear, or abuse. None found. Again, it was well cared for. We stared the Suz 50 with flush muffs on and removed the cowling for inspection. The PO went through all the systems with me and explained the dodger and full enclosure. He explained the exceptions, such as the cracked screen on the depth/speed/temp readout and the fact that the speed did not work. There were a few other minor things, but I was impressed with the 3 hr demo and the apparent honesty of the PO.

We then dickered price and he accepted a personal check from me, holding onto the boat and trailer titles after my inspection of same. I took the boat for the 350 mile trip home. and he certified mailed me the titles when the check cleared.

All in all, I think that we were both satisfied with the transaction. All that being said as to how we did it, I would not have objected to a small deposit for a sea trial, that would have been deducted from the price of the boat upon purchase, but in my case, with a 700 mile round trip, the way that we did it made the most sense. The PO did email me a bunch of pictures, before I decided to make the trip. These were very helpful.

I think that if you have a very presentable boat and are forthright about problems and take the time to do a dry land run, you will find a willing buyer. As with all thing that are more expensive though, you need to be willing to wait for the right buyer to come along and they will, if you are not too overpriced.

By the way, I bought the boat based upon an ad in the classifieds on this board. I think that they are well worth the price, as you will get responses from potential buyers that are already familiar with the Mac and all of it's positives and drawbacks.

Good luck on your sale and sorry to see you go.

~Rich

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

First off, I bought my '01 X without a sea trial. I thoroughly inspected the boat from stem to stern, including the bilges and the trailer as well. I was looking for any obvious repairs, or water ingress signs and rust and wear on the trailer.
~Rich

We purchased our 99-X the same as described by Rich. We made the offer, it was accepted, and dunno.
Our previous boat, a 92 Mac 26-S was purchased from a Dealer the same way, with no problems.

Test sailing a Mac wasnt necessary, especially after a thorough evaluation. We already knew about the sailing characteristics of the Mac-X.

Have you considered listing your Mac on this site's boat listings ? (thats how we found our Mac-X)

[moondancer]

Hi Pat
Sorry to hear about the sale of you Mac, but know you are going to make the next owner so happy. I did about a year of research before I contacted a broker about actually touching one, wanted to see if it would support my lard a**. He arranged for a sail with an owner out of Rhode Island. $100 for the owners time. It was a wonderful Saturday morning and everything went right and most importantly the wife enjoyed it greatly. Point being that if someone is serious about purchase a little up front money is not going to be a problem.
I wan't looking to buy a new boat just after some information. The broker called last September with a deal too good to pass up. Wife and I are proud owners of a 05M, faster blue hull as bonus. I do not regret the $100 but counted it as a learning experience. We go in the water next month here in New England, after getting our safe boating certs next Sunday. Can't wait to get it wet.
Good luck on the sale and take no guff you know what it is worth and so does a serious buyer.
Take care. Mike Moondancer