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Now that the Fort Lauderdale boat show is over several of you might be considering either purchasing a larger vessel or possibly even purchasing your first brand new Great Loop trawler. After a good number of years of selling vessels, I have a piece of information which may prove very valuable to you. It is a piece of guidance that you are probably not going to like and may be difficult to accept. It is information which for a few of you will go against every principle you have ever lived by: do not be anxious concerning the money! I often experience purchasers approaching me asking for my advice in helping them in selecting and buying a suitable vessel to cruise on. Many of them have a bit of skill with yachts, but normally not behind the wheel of a sizeable boat. We have a process that we go through to find out what perks the buyers believes he wishes. A question we always pose is what type of cruising are you going to do; coastal cruising will need a different yacht than one manufactured to go across the Atlantic. Cost is mentioned on our worksheet merely to get an appreciation of what kind of money the boat buyer is prepared to spend; no point in contemplating $400,000.00 yachts if $200,000.00 is all he is able to spend. And we warn boat buyers do not buy a yacht based only on the cost either; do so and you will be selling your boat within 6 months. "Why did I buy that darn boat, I didn't like it to begin with" you will be saying. I constantly inform my purchasers, you need to like the vessel to start with; it must speak to you. That is not to say that price is not vital, I would rather you give 15% more for the greatest vessel for your cruising intentions and enjoy yourself whenever you are on the waterway as opposed to saving ten to fifteen percent and regretting it each time you take her out. And I have witnessed that take place, and have witnessed it cost purchasers a lot of money in the long term. We advise purchasers that a first-class boat constantly comes with a premium price. You can evaluate the boat market and will come across the same model year boats which are $30,000.00 lower in price. Why? Constant maintenance and upgrades will make a big difference. Let's say, you come across a 40' motor yacht boat that has a paint job, new canvas, and a new genset; these improvements her current owner spent roughly $26,000.00. But some purchasers advise me, I have discovered a number of real low-priced boats in the market, there are several bargains to be had; not so fast. We usually find that "inexpensive" yachts typically will call for another 20% - 30% of the purchase price to raise the boat up to normal functioning standards. Therefore that bargain you found on that $60,000.00 trawler will most likely set you back roughly $90,000.00 prior to you leaving the dock. So this is my advice for all you boat purchasers, don't make the purchase price the primary aspect of your new boat's purchase. I agree that it is significant, but if you end up with the incorrect yacht you paid excessive money despite how inexpensive it was! See y'all traveling on the water! Mike Dickens, the author, is a live aboard boat owner and owner/Broker of Paradise Yachts in Florida USA. Paradise Yachts offers used quality yachts to customers worldwide. National and international sales. We ship Used Trawlers, Motor Yachts and Cruisers worldwide. Located in Florida, USA. 904/556-9431
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