Skip Gundlach wrote:

....offering a
lowball on a Gulfstar 44 which looked like it could work. That deal never
panned out, as it wasn't countered other than verbally to the effect of
'when you're serious, come back and we'll talk about it.'.

Just as well. The times we tried to open negotiations with owner/sellers that
wanted too much money, it turned out for the best.

...... Sort of an
interesting story on that boat that we learned about in talking with the
owner of the canal house behind which it's tied while the owners have been
off it for 3 years, and it's shown at fortydays.org, for those interested in
it. This boat is a backup at this point, as Lydia's high on curb appeal,
and this needs a bit of polish.

You pay extra for 'curb appeal' and if all the boat needs is clean & polish,
then it ould be a better deal. Hard to tell about it's condition & equipment
from th web page though.


..... It's now owned by an
attorney who somehow had connections with the family or the deceased. We
don't now know the relationship, or if there's some partnership or other
financial personal interest in play here, but it's *not* in an estate, if it
ever was.

AA-OO-GA warning warning
This sounds like a burn deal in the making. Prudence would suggest putting this
boat at the bottom of the priority list, unless it's significantly cheaper *and*
you get your own big-gun lawyer to deal with the selling lawyer. Unless you want
him to pocket a lot of your money and then take you to lunch after your court
appearance....




It's been a long trip, and I'm blessed to have been able to do the research
and travel I've done. Short of having a boat already in mind that you know
will work for you, and is everything you want it to be (accepting that my
height added inconceivably to the challenge), I can't imagine how anyone
who's employed could do this in less than half a lifetime.

Easy- most people pick a boat far more casually with a lot less data & logic
input. Which makes sense, because the more logicallly you look at it, the less
reason to buy a boat in the first place. However it sounds like you have covered
all the bases and are going to have a great boat (whichever one it ends up
being).

Fresh Breezes-
Doug King