Buyers Services

BUYER SERVICES

Let Barb Hansen assist in the purchase or sale of your sailboat or power boat. She will walk you through the process from the search to making an offer and from the survey to closing.  

 With decades of experience in managing and maintaining a fleet of vessels, Barb will search far and wide for the sail or powerboat that best meets your needs. There are many things to consider when purchasing a boat in addition to the price - maintenance costs,  insurance, ease of handling, and more.  Barb will discuss your experience and ability to operate and maintain such a vessel.  Boat ownership should be fun.  Too many times people purchase the wrong boat for the plans they have for using it.  For example, if you only want a boat to go to your favorite dockside restaurants then you don't need a large, complex cruising vessel.  However, if you plan to do The Loop there are a variety of very important points to consider.  

Barb now has the Curtis Stokes Yacht Sales network behind her.  In April, 2020 she and Curtis formed a partnership for boat sales, charters, training and maintenance.  We look forward to helping you with all of your boat-buying needs.  Please give Barb a call at 239.257.2788.

BOAT BUYING TIPS

1. Before you start looking at boats take some time to consider how you plan to use the boat. Will it be day trips, weekends short trips, long passages, live-aboard, The Great Circle adventure……?

 2. Size does matter! Too large or too small will negatively influence the number of times you use the boat. Consider the number of people on board that can be of assistance to the skipper. The cost in time and money increases with size. Can we, as a couple, handle the boat in rough conditions?

 3. New or used boats are a source of much discussion and worth considering when you start the process of finding a boat. Both new and used boats have benefits but do they fit your wants and needs?

 4. What is my budget to purchase the boat? Remember the monthly (fuel, mooring or slip rentals, insurance, maintenance) and annual expenses (haulout, bottom paint, zinc replacements) of ownership.

 5. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance! It’s one thing to be able to afford to purchase the boat of your dreams, but it’s often quite another thing to be able to afford the maintenance. Remember, the larger and more complex the vessel, the higher the maintenance costs are likely to be.

 6. Try one before you buy one! If possible, it is a good idea to charter a boat comparable to the one you are considering purchasing. While a charter can cost several thousand dollars; it is much cheaper than buying a boat and finding out it’s not the right one for you!

 7. Do you want any assistance in the boat buying process? Consider the use of a trained, professional, licensed and bonded Yacht Broker.

HEAR FROM A CLIENT 

In 2017, Harvey and Nadine began planning their “floating retirement!” They enrolled in our Trawler Training program at our Florida Sailing & Cruising School and completed the Basic Powerboat Handling (P101) and the Inland Cruising (P102) courses aboard our Grand Banks 32, “Patience.” That experience confirmed to them that they wanted to pursue their dream of cruising after they retired. About six months prior to their planned retirement in June, 2019 they engaged the services of Barb Hansen to help them find a boat to do the Great Loop. They are now the proud owners of “Vagabonde,” a Mainship 40 trawler and are enjoying the cruising life! 
Barb,

Yes indeed retiring for us was to move in a new direction and go back to school to make it possible. We were lucky in finding you and your school to get the process started. With captain Charlie the learning was hands on with the "Patience". After this 5 day class, and two additional days on our own, we were able to assess if cruising was really what we wanted to pursue. We loved it, and started thinking when could we make this happen. Family and finance played a big role and we set for retiring in 2019 (two years after first setting foot on Patience). We had spoken earlier about various boats, size and models, and you recommended that we looked into used Mainship given our budget. We went to Annapolis Trawler Fest, and walked through many marinas. We kept coming back to the Mainship, and really had our eyes set on the 400, although we were open to get a 34 as well. 

We really like “Vagabonde” and are finding living on board comfortable. By acting as our agent you made her purchase a reality, thank you again. The 2017 class gave us some good bases, but as with all things learned, practice makes perfect (including making mistakes). 

Retiring on the boat means also studious time preparing the route, checking the tide, and the weather, it is all worth it as I am now writing this after discovering Jekyll Island and viewing a beautiful crimson sunset!

- Nadine & Harvey
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