"jlrogers±³©" wrote in message
...
feet that wouldn't require re-fitting to leave the bay. I will be down
after the first of the year to begin looking seriously. There are
hundreds of boats available. Have you seen the line up in San Leon?

What do you think is the best approach to finding the best deal?
Auctions? brokers? Boat trader? re-po'+s? Hanging out in pubs?+++

My experience says that your first stop should be the internet, especially
if you have some sort of idea of what you want, as I did.
Then you can narrow the list down to boats that seem reasonable prospects
and start sending a few e-mail asking pertinent questions.
Check out who is selling-is it the owner? if so, expect some exaggeration of
the boats qualities.
If it is a broker, check if they have the boat at their location for sale
as this means that at least they will have seen it. Some brokers list boats
they have never seen and this is a waste of your time. Get the broker who
has the boat in his location as he should be able to answer questions.
You can weed out a lot of unsuitable boats and save yourself much trouble
without leaving home, always provided you know enough about boats to read
between the lines of some of the hype.