On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 11:29:27 GMT, in message

"Roger Long" wrote:

I'm always very interested in the human factors. What small insight I've
gained from your posts makes me absolutely fascinated to see if you
ever actually get a boat and start cruising in it. I hope you will
continue to keep us informed of your progress and post some pictures
somewhere when you close the sale.

I too am interested to see where others get into personal difficulties
in buying boats. My own experience is limited (three cruising boats,
one private, one brokered, one via eBay) but entirely positive. The
only time I felt a little screwed over was a private sale that fell
through because, after we agreed on a price, the owner wouldn't commit
to closing until he made a deal on his next boat.

I'm not very good at the bargaining process face to face, so I would
rather work through a broker for comfort, but a private deal can work
out better financially -- certainly did for my current boat.

Ryk