"Helimech" wrote in message
news:zO8zb.401035$Tr4.1153600@attbi_s03...
What's the proper way to view boats that I see on internet sites. Do I
call
and make an appointment with the broker or is it customary to just go
there
and walk in to the office and announce that you want to look at several
boats. I'm very early in the process and just want to get a feel of the
size boat I'd be comfortable living in. I know its somewhere between 40
and
50 foot. Also what kind of response do you normally get when the broker
learns you aren't buying anytime soon? Sorry for the newbee questions.
JC

If you are very early in the process of deciding what'll suit you, go to a
big boat show. Then you can look over hundreds of vessels of all types to
narrow down your selection, and it'll be easier to eliminate many vessels
based on their paper specifications. I don't know which continent you live
on, but they all have grand shows one or two times a year attracting
thousands of gawpers and dreamers. For thirty years I was one such Gawper.
Since then I've lived on my dream.

Your typical broker gets between 6% and 10% of the selling price from the
vendor. He spends lots of time searching all sorts of sources to look for
boats to put on his lists. Once on his lists, he is *very* keen for as many
people as possible to view his boats. So, go for it. Go gawp at as many as
you can. A good broker will fire a list of questions at you to find out how
much effort he should put into selling to you, and what type of boat he
should point you at. He'll help you narrow down your choice, but he will be
biased to his current stock. Remember, he's *very keen* to get that %.

However, his boats may be scattered around the globe. So it's important for
you to get used to reading the specifications first - so you don't spend too
much time travelling on abortive missions. You'll see a thorough boat spec
for an ocean cruising vessel in my signature. If he can't provide that sort
of information, he's not doing his job very thoroughly.

Hope this helps. Go look. You can't lose. He can!

--
Jim B, Yacht RAPAZ,
Sadly, for sale:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jim.bae...cification.htm
jim[dot]baerselman[at]ntlworld[dot]com