It’s official—Bumfuzzle the Boat is sold, and we now have only Bumfuzzle the Bus to worry about. It took just two weeks, which our broker claims is the fastest sale he has ever made—and the guy has been around pretty much forever. I believe that warrants us a gold medal in the Boat Sale Olympics. I mean really, who sells a boat in two weeks? In Mexico?
I think our success in this comes down to three things. One, obviously, is price. We are not the type to squeeze for every last dollar (unless of course it is on rebuilding an engine). Our sanity is worth more than a few thousand dollars. Not to mention that when you’re selling a boat the worst thing you can do is try to get top dollar. While that boat sits there waiting for just the right uneducated buyer to come along you are busy writing checks every month for the marina, for maintenance, and for your time! Just price it right to begin with and stop jerking around. We ultimately got $75k after asking $79k. The survey showed a few things—surprise, surprise, a boat surveyor picking apart a thirty-year-old boat as if it is brand new—and we easily agreed to the $4,000 reduction. That’s $3,600 less money to us, which is just five months worth of marina fees, bottom scrapings, and boat washes.
Two seems so obvious to us—have decent pictures. Boat sale listings are horrendous. Clean up your stinking pig sty and take some pictures that don’t make the boat look like it is inhabited by a roving band of gypsy hoarders.
Three—and this one actually surprised me—is social media, and having a specific boat-for-sale website for people to link to and pass around the interwebs. Our buyer’s first e-mail to us started, “My wife sent me your link via Facebook.” Our Bum friends did an amazing job of helping us out. Within two days the broker was fielding calls from eight interested parties, all due to the boat website that we had created and shared—the Yachtworld listing hadn’t even gone up yet.
Anyway, that’s my two cents on selling a boat. I know we’ve got quite a few friends who have been sitting on boats for many months—and longer. Maybe this will help.
This is what the boat looked like six weeks ago. Two weeks ago we listed it for sale. Yesterday it sold.
I don’t anticipate missing boat ownership for at least three years, at which point I’ll probably start browsing boat listings for something along the lines of a 1940s wooden fishing vessel that—after having spent its entire life trawling the North Atlantic for cod—is about to be sold for scrap, or to whoever is stupid enough to buy such a thing. We’ll do it for no other reason than because it looks really cool, in a retro, shabby chic sort of way.
Stay tuned.
23 Comments on “Boat Free”
Congrats!! Though I am eagerly waiting to see your next floating Bumfuzzle some time in the future:)
Deborah (s/v Wrightaway)
lol……I look forward to the Cod boat!
Nothing personal, but I hate you. 😀 I’ve had a motorsailor on the market for a year in La Paz and it’s had only 3 lookers. Of course your web presence was a big help and I have nothing for best wishes for your new adventure. Jon
Patrick, thats incredible, 2 weeks, OMG, well done, you must be delighted! Good luck with your on land adventure!
When I look at that last picture it reminds me why you eventually sold the boat. If at some point in the future you get the “boat bug” all you have to do is look at that. Maybe frame it and hang it on the wall of Bumfuzzle the Bus.
Congratulations! Selling a boat has to be one of the best feelings ever, and to no longer be a slave to a boat is priceless! Can’t wait to see the Bumfuzzle the Bus adventures.
Well done, Bums! Very, very well done! You knocked it out of the park with your sale page, Pat.
Is Ouest a little sad about having her boat sold, or is she amped up about the Travco? Lowe looks to me like he’s down with whatever happens. 🙂
Great job..fair price, great website..and so what the surveyor ding Bumfuzzle on..
You guys ROCK! Now I just wish my property would sell fast so I could begin MY adventures, *sigh* Congratulations!
Congratulations!!! You beat us by 3 days with your sale. 😉 Of course, ours wasn’t up to “yacht standards” but was priced accordingly. Not having to worry about monthly storage fees made up for the low price.
Awesome…. I cannot wait for the bus to be completed and your travels begin again.
How is Ouest doing without being in school?
Haha you guys are awesome!! Congrats on the boat sale & thanks for continuing to share your adventures with the world 🙂 Can’t wait to see what comes next for all of you!!
No, no! When you get interested in boats again, you can do this to the RV:
http://youtu.be/QcKSZZsG11I
No, No, No this is much more fun!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfOwSTXP-3o
Great job! This shows your prowess as a trader – you knew what it was worth and sold it for just that. Maybe even a little under market price to get the order filled.
Nicely done! Just goes to show how to really sell a boat. We do the same on our small boats. We sold the pontoon boat in a day and were overrun with buyer contacts. Good photos, clean boat and a very fair, realistic price. Robb and I had more than one look at your listing and several talks about it. We’re just a few years away and we still think we’ll go with a catamaran.
On to the Travco!
If you decide to get back into the boating world, don’t leave out the possibility of a Canal Barge. Crusing the canals and waterways of Europe has always had a certain appeal.
“Old fishing boat”? Maybe something like what we had out of San Francisco?
http://s641.photobucket.com/user/ptnt11085/media/Commercial%20Salmon%20Troller/TwoBrothers_zps5cba445f.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
Paul Thomas
It was a good boat at a great price with lots of word of mouth.
I’m sure I’m way out of line asking what was finally done with the engine?…but what was done with the engine?
I’ve always thought a retired tug boat would be a cool live aboard.
http://www.keywordpicture.com/keyword/tugboat%20for%20sale/
I had a friend who bought an old tug. when he got to check it out he found the tanks full of diesel..sold the fuel and more than paid for the boat!!
Congrats on the boat sale! I wholehearted agree with your recommendations, although I went the Craigslist route instead of social media (mental note for future reference!). I think another tip would be to list your boat like you would a real estate ad. Think of all the questions and visuals a buyer would have so you don’t lose them in the first 5 mins, otherwise they think you are hiding something! I think you also have to let your love shine through – ie posting a pic from the bow looking back at the helm with the captain catching big wind and her hair blowing around with a big smile on her face! I sold my boat in about a week on cloudy and cool Thanksgiving weekend! Even I was amazed. Like you I cleaned her up, had music playing, windows open, priced aggressively and let go of a couple of hundred dollars in lieu of upcoming dock fees. I can’t help but miss her terribly and plan to buy another when we have more cash on hand. Bittersweet but good to see you are off to another awesome adventure! I will be curious to see long it takes you to miss the ocean! Best of luck!
We all miss the ocean every day. Fortunately it is accessible from the road, so we shall see it again soon.