Site Unseen
- Thread starter Happy
- Start date
We bought our boat just slightly used from a private individual sight unseen, except for pics on this website. It was a 2001 we bought in September of 2002. It sounded like it was in great shape and it was. The fellow we bought it from was very fastidious about all aspects of care and maintenance. We've never regretted our purchase and, in fact, frequently congratulate ourselves on having had the foresight to have bought it when we did.
Al
Al
Alyssa Jean
New member
I bought my 16 sight unseen. Only the pictures and description and several phone calls to the owner. I drove from north of Seattle to Sacramento and towed her home. He was very honest about the boat and even had new bearings and bearing buddies installed at his cost, just before I arrived to take care of my apprehension about pulling a 1989 trailer that far.
Normally a sight unseen CD is a safe bet. I am sure I ended up with the most banged up CD for its age (a 2000 model bought in spring of 2003) as anybody. The owner had just moved from South Florida to Buzzards Bay, Mass. Back in 2003 a used CD was very rare and they would sell almost immediately. The thing looked good in the photos. The photos ended up being taken on the first outing with the last owner as the boats name was different. The guy was the third owner in three years. First owner traded for bigger boat, second owner health issues. This guy was a sailor and wanted a sailboat. He was a salesman and gone allot.
The only damage admitted was a rub on the cabin roof from one of those aluminum windmills that keeps gulls from roosting. It fell down on the cabin roof and as it spun made a nice circular 4 foot chafe in the fiberglass roof. Not a big deal as I planned to carry stuff up there and it normally isn’t that visible.
Leary from the long drive and experiencing buyers delight I wasn’t too keen. I thought it was very odd that the guy had waxed the boat that was obviously dirty (why wax a dirty boat?) and then he did a very crappy job of removing the wax. White wax here and there. I later discovered it was a smoke screen. The un-removed wax was excellent at hiding all the dock damage in the glass and rub rail. The worst was poor gel coat repairs on the blue stripe caused from rubbing docks and pilings. After I washed (at home) the boat I could stand at an angle and look at the side of the cabin. You can see where it used to say “THREE RIVERS MARINE” In big letters. Translation: I just bought a boat that did time as a demo. Had I known that, I would have looked MUCH more closely and haggled more in the price or Drove the 2500 miles back home with out it…I had cash to buy, Banking hassles weren’t there, but again back then a used CD was rare.
The trailer had two extra tires and rims plus a spare. All used. The guy used the boat as a u-haul and overloaded the cockpit with household stuff moving up to MASS. This led to flat tires, which led to bent rims. Which tweaked the fender on the tandem trailer to get bent as the rubber peeled from the rims. Which made the trailer fender vibrate severely at 60 mph and greater. (discovered on the drive home) To the point of trying to break free from the trailer. The trailer was I beam aluminum but I was shocked at the amount of corrosion on the steel axle and brake parts for such a new trailer. I was assured that I would have no issues with the trailer for the long trip home.
A quick look inside the brake master cylinder revealed nothing but rust. No brake fluid. In true salesman fashion I was told that it evaporated. HHmmmm. I produced a bottle of brake fluid, put it in the reservoir, pumped the actuator and watched fluid run out the wheel cylinders. He was surprised when out came a floor jack, set of tools and the brakes where removed for inspection. The wheel cylinders where shot. There are several rather large hills and grades between Mass and South Alabama. I had to have brakes that worked on the trailer. I got the price down a bit for the brakes and stopped at a trailer supply in the area. I did the brake repairs in some parking lot. The other problem with the trailer is the frame is just too short for the CD. It leaves the stern hanging out in space. Even the bunks don’t extend to the back of the boat. Hard to believe that this trailer was set up by a dealer at one time.
The boat did have most of the high dollar extras of that time. I am sure you have read how electronics are dated. Well, shortly after dragging the boat home I found out that Garmin quit making the map chips for the GPS. I guess in all this rambling the point is that most CD’s are in fantastic shape. But I always wonder if I shouldn’t have drove away from this one….
P.S. Oh yea, What the guy said was "Shore Power" was only the built in battery charger. Another dissapointment. If the boat was closer to home the pressure would not be as great. But the loooong drive just to see it obscured my thoughts.... Good luck.
The only damage admitted was a rub on the cabin roof from one of those aluminum windmills that keeps gulls from roosting. It fell down on the cabin roof and as it spun made a nice circular 4 foot chafe in the fiberglass roof. Not a big deal as I planned to carry stuff up there and it normally isn’t that visible.
Leary from the long drive and experiencing buyers delight I wasn’t too keen. I thought it was very odd that the guy had waxed the boat that was obviously dirty (why wax a dirty boat?) and then he did a very crappy job of removing the wax. White wax here and there. I later discovered it was a smoke screen. The un-removed wax was excellent at hiding all the dock damage in the glass and rub rail. The worst was poor gel coat repairs on the blue stripe caused from rubbing docks and pilings. After I washed (at home) the boat I could stand at an angle and look at the side of the cabin. You can see where it used to say “THREE RIVERS MARINE” In big letters. Translation: I just bought a boat that did time as a demo. Had I known that, I would have looked MUCH more closely and haggled more in the price or Drove the 2500 miles back home with out it…I had cash to buy, Banking hassles weren’t there, but again back then a used CD was rare.
The trailer had two extra tires and rims plus a spare. All used. The guy used the boat as a u-haul and overloaded the cockpit with household stuff moving up to MASS. This led to flat tires, which led to bent rims. Which tweaked the fender on the tandem trailer to get bent as the rubber peeled from the rims. Which made the trailer fender vibrate severely at 60 mph and greater. (discovered on the drive home) To the point of trying to break free from the trailer. The trailer was I beam aluminum but I was shocked at the amount of corrosion on the steel axle and brake parts for such a new trailer. I was assured that I would have no issues with the trailer for the long trip home.
A quick look inside the brake master cylinder revealed nothing but rust. No brake fluid. In true salesman fashion I was told that it evaporated. HHmmmm. I produced a bottle of brake fluid, put it in the reservoir, pumped the actuator and watched fluid run out the wheel cylinders. He was surprised when out came a floor jack, set of tools and the brakes where removed for inspection. The wheel cylinders where shot. There are several rather large hills and grades between Mass and South Alabama. I had to have brakes that worked on the trailer. I got the price down a bit for the brakes and stopped at a trailer supply in the area. I did the brake repairs in some parking lot. The other problem with the trailer is the frame is just too short for the CD. It leaves the stern hanging out in space. Even the bunks don’t extend to the back of the boat. Hard to believe that this trailer was set up by a dealer at one time.
The boat did have most of the high dollar extras of that time. I am sure you have read how electronics are dated. Well, shortly after dragging the boat home I found out that Garmin quit making the map chips for the GPS. I guess in all this rambling the point is that most CD’s are in fantastic shape. But I always wonder if I shouldn’t have drove away from this one….
P.S. Oh yea, What the guy said was "Shore Power" was only the built in battery charger. Another dissapointment. If the boat was closer to home the pressure would not be as great. But the loooong drive just to see it obscured my thoughts.... Good luck.
Ouch Chris! I guess I got lucky. So far I haven't found anything that the seller didn't tell me about up front. I did replace the control cables (today) but this was the seller's first (used) boat and likely didn't know that the controls were not supposed to be that stiff...he also had arms the size of my legs...so they might not have been stiff to him.
I took me over a week to get the hull to be as clean as the inside, but I'm still amazed at the shape this 13 year old boat is in. So far I've only found one small spot of spiderweb in the gelcoat....looks like something slid and bumped from inside the cockpit....no biggie. So we're tickled pink with the purchase price being nearly 8k below what seems to be the norm for this year model.
Twin 1994 Honda 45's with only 342 hours will require some carb cleaning, but it runs quite well as is.
I took me over a week to get the hull to be as clean as the inside, but I'm still amazed at the shape this 13 year old boat is in. So far I've only found one small spot of spiderweb in the gelcoat....looks like something slid and bumped from inside the cockpit....no biggie. So we're tickled pink with the purchase price being nearly 8k below what seems to be the norm for this year model.
Twin 1994 Honda 45's with only 342 hours will require some carb cleaning, but it runs quite well as is.
I have "bought" 4 boats "sight unseen"---but, first I had photos. I gave a deposit, refundable if the boat did not stand up to my or a professional survey. The fist of these, I did have a friend of mine who was a marine surveyor take a look at the boat. His description and photos showed me that the boat was not exactly what it was presented as--so I dropped the price. When I got there for a survey and my inspection we found more problems, and the price dropped even more. This boat was 700miles from "home" and brought back on her own bottom. The second one was a 3 month old express cruiser--it was exactly what the dealer represented it. I was not able to do a sea trial, because lake Michigan became frozen the first night I was there. I had plenty of time to do my own survey, and had the boat shipped to my home by a boat mover via truck. The third was C Pelican. A C Brat was accurate in his description and photos, we had a short Sea Trial, and towed the boat to Calif. The fourth was Frequent Sea--and the cockpit was worse than I thought, but the transom was better--other parts of the boat were far better than I thought. No sea trail, just trailered home.
It is hard to find a surveyor who will have the same impression of a boat you will have. I would at least get a good marine survey and engine check--or at least have the records and a mechanics statement about the engine.
I would not buy a boat just based on photos, unless I know the seller very well. I have gone to look at boats for other people in our area--both for sale and hurricane damaged. All of these I have discouraged the person from buying because they didn't meet my personal criteria of a good boat.
It is hard to find a surveyor who will have the same impression of a boat you will have. I would at least get a good marine survey and engine check--or at least have the records and a mechanics statement about the engine.
I would not buy a boat just based on photos, unless I know the seller very well. I have gone to look at boats for other people in our area--both for sale and hurricane damaged. All of these I have discouraged the person from buying because they didn't meet my personal criteria of a good boat.
I bought C-Dawg-E from Butch in Truth or Consequences NM sight unseen. I asked him what engine dealer he was, Mercury, that was fine with me as I had two of them at that time. Told him to hang a 90 on it and I'd be there in two weeks. Arrived, hooked it up to the motorhome, towed it back, made the modifications I'd read about here and dumped it in the water. It has been great!
Thanks to all, I have benefited greatly from all of your replies. Great deals on C-Dorys are few and far between in Alaska. I may end up having to buy one from outside and have it shipped up. I'm looking for that once in a lifetime deal on a 22' Cruiser but I may have to take what I can get, I not sure how much longer I can hold off. Heath 
We bought our CD sight unseen 61 minutes after it was posted for sale on this site. Ya gotta be ready to jump...
We were living in Kodiak, AK at the time...the boat was in Lake Tahoe, NV...the owner lived on a 40-some foot boat in San Diego...we were being transferred to Alabama...yes, dear, it was a bit complicated. :roll:
Actually, it was quite easy. The new listing was pointed out to Donna by fellow Brats Jeff & Julie...thanks! She called the seller immediately and he said we had first dibs. When I got home from work...of course I was flying that day :roll: we chatted on the phone...very nice guy...and made the deal after looking at a bunch of photos. The boat was better than described. He even replaced a trailer tire for us and threw in a bunch of extra stuff. He agreed to store it for us at no charge for over a month until we could pick it up. On top of all that, he put us up in his home when we picked it up on our way to our new duty station in AL
What made me feel pretty good was a comment from a fellow Brat that the seller was well known in the San Diego area as a stand up guy...heavily involved in the Make a Wish Foundation Tuna Challange charity. Jim and Carol are great folks...thanks again for your honesty and hospitality.
Don (Sneaks) offered his help if we wanted a first person look-see since we were thousands of miles away...thanks to you again!
We've had a blast...
Rick & Donna
We were living in Kodiak, AK at the time...the boat was in Lake Tahoe, NV...the owner lived on a 40-some foot boat in San Diego...we were being transferred to Alabama...yes, dear, it was a bit complicated. :roll:
Actually, it was quite easy. The new listing was pointed out to Donna by fellow Brats Jeff & Julie...thanks! She called the seller immediately and he said we had first dibs. When I got home from work...of course I was flying that day :roll: we chatted on the phone...very nice guy...and made the deal after looking at a bunch of photos. The boat was better than described. He even replaced a trailer tire for us and threw in a bunch of extra stuff. He agreed to store it for us at no charge for over a month until we could pick it up. On top of all that, he put us up in his home when we picked it up on our way to our new duty station in AL
What made me feel pretty good was a comment from a fellow Brat that the seller was well known in the San Diego area as a stand up guy...heavily involved in the Make a Wish Foundation Tuna Challange charity. Jim and Carol are great folks...thanks again for your honesty and hospitality.
Don (Sneaks) offered his help if we wanted a first person look-see since we were thousands of miles away...thanks to you again!
We've had a blast...
Rick & Donna