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Finding the boat of your dreams for .50 cents on the Dollar
Flipping sailboats is a great way for sailors to afford a larger or more expensive yacht... without having to 'save up' for her. Starting off with one boat, the name of the game is to keep buying low and selling high, rolling the proceeds from each sale into the next vessel and so on, until we've got the one we want to keep. > info
How and Why a Pimple Faced 16-Year Old Kid Started Flipping Sailboats
IT WAS THE EARLY 1980's and as a teenager, all I'd ever wanted to do was own my own cruising boat and sail the world.
For me, sailing was life. I'd read every book on the subject, crewed for other people as much as I could, and put what seemed like thousands of miles under the keel of my 8' sailing dinghy. I was ready for something more serious and - with all the youthful optimism of most 16 year old kids, I believed anything was possible.
The only trouble with this idea was, of course, money. I'd been working at marinas part time after school, and only making about $7 an hour. As you can probably guess, the best cruising boats were far, far beyond my reach.
So I started flipping sailboats; buying, selling and trading... I couldn't afford to be picky at first, but I was willing to keep learning as I went along.
Here's what happened:
The first boat I bought was a 20' Ensenada sloop, which had been abandoned and left in a marina by her former owners. I paid $800 for little "Troubadour," sailed her for about a year, then traded her for a Coronado 25.
The seller wanted my Ensenada because it was trailerable. And I wanted the Coronado because it was a deeper, heavier boat. So it worked out well for both of us...
I too, kept and sailed this one for about a year, and then sold her for $6500.
Within days of flipping the Coronado, I bought a Tartan 27 for $3600. This was a great, seaworthy little yacht; and still one of my personal favorites to this day. Right after my 18th birthday, I moved aboard and took her on a 3,000 mile cruise down the East Coast to Florida and back. Upon my return, I sold her for $14,000.
With the proceeds of the Tartan in hand, I then purchased a Swan 36 for the amazing sum of $9000. I found her in the classified ads of a major East Coast newspaper... (Washington Times). It was a quick, cash sale involving some highly motivated sellers and the liquidation of an estate. So I bought her... and still had $5000 to spare (from the Tartan).
I was 19 years old at the time. Too young to vote, or even to buy a cocktail in the USA, but I was old enough to start cruising into the rest of the world. Within 6 months I took off on my first transatlantic to Europe, and 26 days later I was sitting in a French pub having my first beer.
That's how it all got started, and it was just the beginning -
I certainly didn't think of myself as an "investor" back in those days. And I didn't look like one, either! Like most of my friends at the time, I had long hair, sloppy clothes, and acne on my sunburned face... I was mostly thinking about girls, music, travel, and having as much fun as I could. But flipping sailboats was the ONLY way I could think to reach my goals in a reasonable amount of time.
So...
Our mission here is not to impress you, rather to encourage you - that if you're considering flipping sailboats as a hobby, investment or business venture, it really CAN be done. If you're passionate about your boats like I am, you can convert that passion into something that will pay you back many times over, both in terms of pleasure and financial benefits.
There are hidden patterns in the marketplace - and lots of opportunities - that anyone of us can learn to identify. In my case, I started from scratch, accumulating the knowledge on a case by case basis.
Did I make mistakes? You bet, and some of them were expensive too. Particularly in the beginning, as there were no books on the subject (yet)! But I learned from every one of those mistakes, and kept plenty of notes along the way.
I also began meeting other sailors who were flipping boats just like I was, and whose inspiration and experiences have been generously incorporated right into our publication.
Thank you.
What started off for me as a 'means to an end' became a lifelong business interest and career. Today I'm still at it, along with several like-minded partners and over 100 years of combined experience having gone into the Sailboat Sales Manual 101, How to Buy & Sell Sailboats for Profit
If you're buying and selling your own boats anyway, it just makes sense to do it as efficiently as possible. Most sailors take it as a 'given' that they're going to lose a little money with each boat they own, but it doesn't have to be that way. Not for you - not for anybody.
Thank you for spending time with us here on the site. As a member of the iBuySailboats.com crew, it brings me great satisfaction to give back to an industry which has treated me very kindly for all these years. I hope you'll contact us if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way.
Right click to open links in a new browser: East Coast - - New York Sailboats for Sale NY - Classified Ads
TIP #1: As much as possible, try to not overlook the 'smaller' newspaper publications. Lower advertising rates have a way of attracting the most motivated sellers who may be trying to save as much money as possible. Also, we find that some sellers will place an ad in the town where they live, versus in the town where the boat is actually located.
For example, there may be an upstate owner keeping their boat on Long Island Sound, but advertising in Syracuse or Albany. Unfortunately for them, it's not the best way to attract buyers... but this common scenario often leads to a frustrated seller and a lower price.
TIP #2: There's no reason to pay retail for a sailboat. Each boat is an investment and with the use of certain techniques, most vessels can be bought down at the wholesale level. > find out more
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