The purchase of a sailboat on the Internet – pitfalls and dangers
The Internet is a great and wonderful thing where you can find information on almost any thing you want to see and buy anything you want.
However, when it comes to investing in their dream yacht, it pays handsomely to be very cautious and thorough before proceeding with the purchase. And, remember, that the boats as cars often look much better in a photographic image than in reality!
The following is an excerpt from my book 'The boat trip Tere the "Moana" and is largely a cautionary tale of real life found myself in Papeete French Polynesia.
……..' It is at this point in our team are joined by Australian sailor slowly working his way back to New South Wales. First I met him at the Balboa Yacht Club in Panama. Theirs is a very painful account worth repeating here as a warning story.
Some eighteen months before he bought a sloop, for private sale on the Internet. It was 'laying Up' in Mystic River, Connecticut, USA. He arrived to discover that the boat was in much worse conditions than they had been led to believe. He spent the winter working and living conditions on board freezing their preparation for the trip.
Imagine waking up every morning with ice hanging from his mustache and
having to crawl out of bed, climb stairs, trudging through a foot of snow in the ablution block, back up the stairs, and start working on the fingers that barely moves, and the brain dormant in the lethargy of cold. For an Australian raised in the warmth of NSW must have been soul destroying.
During that time the boat was more than originally paid for it. This was not part of the plan!
Finally put to sea, his journey so far had been a disaster after another – too repeat here, and too depressing to contemplate. The latest news that our team had of him was here in Papeete. He had come to sail, the engine he was completely paralyzed for several days in Tahiti, and he was told it would be mandatory parts five weeks to arrive. He was fast running out of funds and even three thousand miles from home nautical.
Visit him on board his ship the next day, our captain and crew of the brothers could not believe the terrible conditions that existed. The ship was dark, damp, cold and quiet, despite the sun's heat Tahiti. The smell of mold and dry rot was almost unbearable and after a brief conversation, and looking at its many problems, our management team Winkle him ashore to a warm and cafeteria sunny for obligatory Hinano. Here, the lights dim view some amber fluid effect.
Some time later respectable make their exits, waving cheerfully as he disappears again for the dock to the boat, no doubt, to look once more in the vast majority of things to be fixed before he embarks again.
As at the time of our little ship left Tahiti, and parts had not arrived and never heard of he – he had a VHF radio on board, but was ineffective at best.
From time to time his name came up in conversation about their potential progress and whereabouts, but they have no means of contact, our team could only guess what and where.
There have been reported sinking ships or disappeared during the next six months or so, they could only assume that he finally managed to back to Australia – the prayers that went to "a we did, "the safety of fishermen at sea, hereinafter have your name on the list."
Excerpt from my book 'Tere's Journey the boat "Moana"
The moral of this story never part with money on the internet for any ship before an inspection by yourself and preferably also an inspector authorized by the sea. If you are cruising at sea for long periods you want to know that it meets your criteria and will be able to cope with the often difficult conditions that will meet on the road.
The best practice is to use the Internet only as a search tool to locate the vessel that suits your needs and then sets up a strict and detailed procedure to follow rigidly.
This will ensure that when are completely satisfied and get to a point to negotiate a price that is comfortable with his position. Ideally, you will agree a price with the seller pay a deposit, the balance payable on delivery.
Following this rigorous procedure is completed with a ship and found that will give you many years of Happy sailing and it will take a lot of wonderful cruising grounds of this land of ours.
About the Author
Vincent Bossley is a sailor and publisher living on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. He has his own www.sailboat2adventure.com website for cruising sailors, sailors planning their lifetime adventure, armchair sailors, virtual sailors and indeed anyone who has ever dreamt about sailing off into the oceans of this beautiful planet of ours. He offers an extremely useful package of ’101 Dollar Saving Tips for Sailors’ gleaned from his experiences that could save the voyager many hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars during their voyage. Included is his 135 page download illustrated ebook ‘Voyage of the Little Ship ‘Tere Moana’ of his own four year sailing adventure to many of these tropical paradises. Also FREE is the ‘Ten Top Tips’ to look for when purchasing your dream sailboat by internationally renowned marine surveyor Mark Clarke. Vincent is passionate about getting budding sailors started on planning their own odyssey. You can visit him anytime on his www.sailboat2adventure.com website
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