Ah . . . Boat Brokers!

[Dean Abramson]

MFC,

I can see that it may not have been what you expected to find, but I do not in any way see this as something fishy, rude, or otherwise.

If someone has invested in such a cover (as I have), or any decent cover, it is because they care about their boat. And if my boat is not being used, it is going to stay covered.

I don't know what size boat you looked at, but we have a 31, and it takes me and one other strong guy just to get the Fairclough CANVAS up on to the boat, and about an hour to get it positioned right and tied down. This is after several hours spent by me and one or two helpers to erect the metal frame. The uncovering is just a mirror image of that. It is just not realistic to think that someone is going to go thru this routine for each "potential buyer."

I looked at several boats under covers before we bought our current one. This is a totally normal scenario. Not only is such a boat going to have better weathered the elements, it also means that a good cover is going to be part of the deal.

I have looked at boats that I knew I couldn't really afford, because I want to see a lot of boats before I buy. But I would have felt bad if that one broker had gone to the trouble of uncovering that Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34...

Don't let your first impression put you off of a potentially good boat, broker, or owner. I would also say this: don't offer to buy any boat that you have not crawled around in every orifice thereof. That means getting dirty, whether the boat is covered or not.

What I find much more surprising is the condition some owners are willing to let their boats be shown in. Two days ago I accompanied a buddy who was looking at a really cool 31-footer. But the owner had left every manner of crap lying around in and on the boat, and the boat was filthy. My friend and I could see that at the offered price, this boat might be a real gem. But my buddy wasn't even sure that he would take his wife to see the boat, because he was positive she would veto it immediately. This was a really decent boat, but it "showed" like a garbage dump. And that also made us wonder what corners the owner cut in parts of the boat which were not readily visible. (We were not in serious inspection mode. We did not do the serious crawl-around bit.)

If you think that boat has potential, you might want to go back and give it a good going-over. Dress for the occasion, bring a flashlight and some bandaids, and a mirror for looking at hard-to-see places.

On the face of it, the cover is a good thing.

Dean

[mahalocd36]

I agree with Dean. It would have been nice for the broker to warn you of the situation, but I would not remove a Fairclough cover for everyone that wanted to look at the boat (we have one, too). Crawl around the best you can. The only thing you are really missing is the side of the hull from the bootstripe to the deck. You can still inspect everything inside and crawl around the deck. From the ground, You could probably untie the strings underneath the boat and take a look to see if anything is obvious. Just tie it back up again.
If everything looks good simply add as a contingency that nothing new is discovered when the cover is removed, which I would expect it would be for the survey after your deposit is received.

Someone who put a Fairclough cover on their boat really cares about it......

[Sea Hunt]

Hello Dean and Melissa:

I would respectfully suggest you may be missing the point of Matt's posts and my comments. I do not know Matt. I have never met him.

However, I think what is being suggested is that while a Fairclough cover is a good thing (perhaps a very good thing), it is only fair to a prospective buyer for the seller to tell the prospective buyer that the sailboat he/she is going to look at has a Fairclough cover that is NOT going to be removed. Melissa's comment that "it would have been nice" to do so is being too kind. I would suggest it is the obligation of the broker/seller. Honesty is very important in my world. This is especially true if the buyer is making some significant effort (say a 5 hr drive each way) to look at a sailboat.

Dean, what the broker did to Matt (actually what he did not do) may not have been "fishy" but it was definitely "rude". A prospective buyer has a right to know what he is looking at. For example, how would you feel if you told a broker you will want to take a Cape Dory out for a test sail only to find out, after driving 4-5 hours to look at her, that she is on the hard Would you not be more than a little pissed off I know you are a kind, gentle, soft spoken and good man but I am confident even you would be upset.

Melissa, it is, respectfully, not a question of the seller being willing to remove or not remove a Fairclough cover. The seller has NO obligation to do this. The problem is not telling the buyer in advance that the sailboat he is going to look at has a Fairclough cover (or some other type of weather protection). Once the broker/seller does that, in advance, he has met what I believe is his good faith obligation. If the buyer then says "OK, I'll drive 5 hours anyway", no problem. But at least give the buyer the facts so he can make an informed decision.

Matt has/had every justification to be upset and disappointed at the broker's lack of candor.

I am guessing folks on this board can tell from my posts that I have "feelings" about the interaction between buyers, sellers and brokers.

[Dean Abramson]

I don't necessarily see this as a case of lack of candor.

Here in the northeast at least, the fact that a boat is covered is just not noteworthy. So maybe this broker just didn't think to mention it. When I looked at boats, I had no expectations one way or the other whether the boat would be covered. I was going to look at them either way.

People look at covered boats every day. I do not remember ever asking a broker if a boat was covered or not. Nor do I remember a broker bringing it up. To some of us, this is just a non-issue.

I don't think you can expect a broker to think up reasons why a person might not want to look at a boat.

Sure, there are shady brokers out there. But on the face of it, this seems like it could just be a case of expectations not matching reality. I would say that if the cover was listed as equipment in the listing, then, if the boat is on the hard, I would expect the cover to be on. And I would want it that way. And if it were not listed, and I got there and found it, I would think, wow, is this is an unexpected bonus?

If you are traveling a long way to look at a boat, and you don't like looking at covered boats, then by all means, ask before you go.

I have been at this a while, and from where I sit, this does not really rank very high in the annals of Rude Boating Surprises.

Dean

[GeorgeV]

A prospective buyer needs to ask a lot of questions before heading off to see a boat, just don't assume you know what your about to see unless you don't value your time.

Always ask if the boat is on the hard or in the water and then if on the hard the obvious follow-up question is if it is covered. If it is you should be prepared to crawl under the cover to investigate to boat.

I believe it is unreasonable and "rude" to require that the owner or broker to uncover the boat (unless it is a simple tarp) when it is in a "storage" mode unless your willing to put some money down in advance to compensate them for the many hours that uncovering and covering the boat would entail.

The owner and broker's time also need to be respected.

If your going to visit a boat you should ask more then what is the asking price before you get into your car.

[seajunkie]

Impressive covers, indeed. But the company insists on getting too much personal information without a secure contact f

I requested a quote twice through that web tool and never got a response. I'd be curious to know if you did.

As far as expecting a buyer to look under a cover goes, here is my 2 cents.

Some people want to fall in love with the boat. If you present a boat with no photo's and no details, or under a cover, sure someone will buy it some day.

If you present her it and show her off, you will definitely expand your market. I know too many people who had no intention of buying a boat, but experienced love at first sight after seeing it. Cape Dory’s are beautiful romantic boats that are visually pleasing to the eye. Their looks sell them.

[Dean Abramson]

I don't remember if I used the web form. There is a good chance I just called them up. They had done a CD31 before, so it was all very staightforward, and the service was good. One pair of pieces was a bit off, and they sent a replacements right away, and let me keep the funky ones. That tubing might come in handy for something. At least that is what I tell my wife about such things in my "collection."

They are good covers. But they do not shed snow as well as plastic does. Sometimes you have to snow-rake it. Probably not a big issue in San Diego.

Dean