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New Boat Listings

Watch for upcoming announcements of complete kits for our "Miranda" sailing life dinghy, and our "Coin Collection" live aboard voyaging yachts.

Our Current Used Boat Listings & Recommended Designs

Yawl Rigged Version	23' length on deck Blue Moon design by Thomas Gillmer.  This cutter rigged version was built by Bent Jespersen in British Columbia in the 1980s of glued seam wood and epoxy.  Owned, lived aboard, and maintained for the last decade by Heather MacNaughton, daughter of the well known liveaboards and design firm operators Tom and Nannette MacNaughton.  We believe this vessel to have been maintained to high standards.  She has been converted to gaff cutter rig and can therefore be easily fitted with a wind vane steerer.  The cockpit on the original design was open.  On this boat the cockpit has been replaced, to better suit her for living aboard and voyaging purposes, with a flush aft deck which allows easy lounging, increased safety, and vastly increases the room inside.  This precisely exemplifies the vision of the perfect little yacht.  It is not the size of a vessel which impresses the long time sailor but the degree to which the vessel is a solid, seaworthy type in which every detail is lovingly worked out.  This modest liveaboard yacht comes very close to the ideal in this regard.  She is laid out for living aboard for two and has two settee berths, a head area behind a bulkhead, presently without a fitted head, and a modest galley.  She has all dark burgundy or "tanbark" sails.  She does not have the topsail as she has been sailed mostly in high wind areas.  For light wind use we would recommending having a topsail made.  On a boat this size that is not much of an expense.  She has a single cylinder Yanmar engine, a small lapstrake dinghy which stows aboard on the cabin top, and all the normal equipment you would want with the exception that she does not have a good stove.  She is an ideal liveaboard voyaging yacht for two needing very little additional equipment to do world voyaging, yet you can buy her today for less than many people pay for a quite ordinary new car.  Yet no car can ever bring you the happiness that this boat will.  Heather is selling this boat to move back to the East Coast, where her parents have two liveaboard yachts she can use depending on the type of cruising she wants to do at any particular moment. We have added an equipment list, and will add an interior drawing and a large number of photographs of her while underway, at the dock, and hauled out.  All particulars are believed to be correct but not guaranteed.  Built today to these standards we would expect this boat to cost approximately $105,000.  Located in the state of Washington.  The asking price is $36,000.
	This 25' Amphibicon keel/centerboarder with trailer was designed by Cyrus Hamlin and the late E. Farnham Butler and is to this day one of the finest all around trailerable cruising boats ever built.  She was built of glued strip planked construction on frames and bulkheads, which remains one of the finest methods of construction available short of sheathed strip construction using epoxy.  This type of construction is very easy to work on and maintain.  Fastenings are bronze except for the keel bolts to the iron ballast keel which are galvanized.  She has quite generous accommodations for 4 with an unusually comfortable forward cabin.  Your broker does his coastal cruising in a 22' boat of almost identical layout quite comfortably and can testify that the 3' longer Amphibicon is unusually roomy feeling, and is light and airy.  This particular vessel "Arapaho" was owned for some time by John Butler, son of one of the designers, and in recent years has been owned by a dedicated fan of the design who lives in the middle of the country and has trailed "Arapaho" to where ever he wishes to sail.  A number of people have made long coastwise journeys in these boats.  While they are not offshore boats, they would make a fine liveaboard home for a couple or young family who wished to explore the coasts in one area and then perhaps ship her to another continent to explore there.  She would be wonderful for cruising the East Coast of the US and the Bahamas or from Washington to Alaska on the West Coast.  Then you might ship her to Europe to cruise Britain and the European canals.  Arapaho is on her trailer in Kansas at the moment and can be trailed anywhere behind, say, a pickup truck. While we haven't seen her in a few years her pictures and equipment list look good.  The asking price is $8,500 in Kansas.  Delivery to the East Coast is negotiable.
Wanted to List:	We are especially interested in listings for: "Fisher Motorsailers", J.Laurent Giles designed "Vertue Class", "Wanderer Class" and "Salar 40s" and other Giles designs, "Westsail 32s", "Westsail 42s & 43s", and of course especially designs by our own design firm.  Although not true cruising boats we are also interested in Luder's 16s, for which we have buyers.

Co-Brokered Listings
Email us for more information on particular boats, which will be provided via a private on line link to the material.

More Listings: We will be loading more listings as fast as we can. Don't hesitate to call or email for more information. Remember we are happy to search for boats to meet your particular needs.

Buying a Boat Through Us

Because we are third-generation boat aficionados with a deep interest and professional experience in Naval Architecture, Surveying and Boat Building, we have acquired a broad knowledge of many specific boats, designs, boat building shops, boat building technologies, etc., including the plusses and minuses of each. Because of this we believe we can help you buy or sell a quality boat, at an appropriate price.

Unlike many brokers, we take an active interest in your search for a boat. When we send you listings, many of which will have been selected by us from our co-brokerage network, we are usually able to add a good deal of relevant information. This is usually in the form of a frank, honest, and well-developed letter referring to each listing in as much detail as we have available. If you decide to look at a boat, we will usually accompany you, unless you prefer to go alone. We will actively seek out the boat's weaknesses as well as her strengths, and will explain them to you in as much detail as you require. This amounts to a "pre-survey", to help you to screen boats and determine the relative values of boats you may be considering. This is not a substitute for an objective survey by an uninvolved party. However, by taking this approach we can help ensure that the independent survey you do order turns out to be a positive one, on a boat you will want to buy.

Our philosophy is not to simply make one sale. Rather we wish to develop a relationship wherein you will want to return to us for future sales and purchases. Hopefully you will also recommend us to friends as reliable and honest allies in your involvement with boats. Brokerage is one of many services we provide so we are not in the position of having to sell a boat "this month" to pay rent, etc.

An important aspect of this is our enthusiasm for small boats, restoration projects, and other "entry-level" sales, as well as higher-priced boats or the specialized requirements in the middle and top end of the market. We appreciate the wisdom of starting small, the important thing being that the buyer makes a good choice, and come back later on when his or her requirements advance or change.

We are also available as consultants when you are considering the purchase of boats which we are not brokering.

In Brokerage and Consulting, the only marketable qualities a firm can have are Integrity and Competence. Please contact us for references. Our customers are our best advertisements.

Selling a Boat Through Us

What you may expect of us: We will show your boat's listing to any person who contacts us, if the boat seems appropriate to their needs in our judgment. We will act as a go between in the negotiation of a possible sale, working on your behalf, while dealing openly and honestly with the prospective buyer. We will make the listing available to our co-brokerage associates, so they can present it to their contacts as well. If one of our co-brokers has a customer who is interested in your boat, we will make the initial contact with you to make the necessary arrangements. In many cases we may suggest that you have direct contact with a co-broker or their customer. You are under no obligation to do so, and we will be happy to be your only direct contact if you prefer. We may elect to advertise your boat, but due to our limited resources we cannot guarantee that we will do so.

If a customer provided by a co-broker purchases your boat there is no extra cost to you. We then split the commission with the co-broker, with the proportions of the split depending on our arrangements with the individual co-broker.

We will relay to you all offers, including those which we feel are too low, and we will not hold any offer back, even if negotiations are in progress.

We will present your listing in as fair and accurate a manner as possible, and we will not withhold information from a prospective buyer even if it reflects negatively on the boat. We recommend that all buyers obtain an objective survey before purchasing any boat. Our policy is to attempt to find and discuss with the prospective buyer any faults which a survey would reveal, prior to the survey. We believe that this policy actually increases buyer confidence and the likelihood of a sale, while reducing the possibility that a survey will halt a deal or needlessly increase negotiation time at the last minute.

We will provide the necessary paperwork to close the sale, when and if a sale is negotiated.

We try to be as flexible as possible. You may have a particular need which the material we send you does not cover. Our contract may seem to restrict you from something you may want to do. We would be happy to discuss your situation and where possible, tailor our service to suit.

Brokerage is a profession that demands a reputation for absolute honesty and integrity, and you may expect this from us at all times.

What we expect of you: We expect that, as much as possible, you will provide us with accurate information about your boat. It is important that you make us aware of your boat's defects, if any, as well as her good points. This allows us to present the boat fairly and accurately with a minimum of unpleasant surprises or extended negotiations as a result of problems found by a survey.

The Listing Agreement offers you a choice between two options. Option 1 states that you will sell the boat for the asking price if it is offered without additional conditions. This demonstrates that you are seriously interested in selling the boat. This mostly affects the willingness of our co-brokerage associates to put effort into selling your boat, an effective tool for obtaining as prompt a sale as possible.

In some cases it is important for a boat with historic or sentimental value to go to the right sort of person, so you will feel comfortable concerning her future. Option 2 allows you to specify any criteria a possible buyer must meet. While we fully support this idea, it does make it somewhat more difficult to market the boat, especially through a co-broker. Therefore we feel it is important that we know this is a criterion up front.

Neither option affects the nature of your decision making below the asking price. We do not characterize your willingness to accept offers below the asking price except as instructed by you. We do ask that if the asking price is firm you so indicate, as most buyers will assume there is some dickering room unless we actually state that there is not. The wisest policy seems to be to allow some dickering room. Most buyers seem to feel they have gotten a better deal if they "talk you down" somewhat. The words, "We encourage reasonable offers" after the price seems to increase interest. We recommend that you have your minimum price firmly in mind when you put your boat on the market. However there is no need to communicate this figure to us, unless you instruct us to reject offers below a certain figure without contacting you. Most people choose to keep this figure to themselves, and prefer to hear all offers.

We expect that you will treat us fairly and not compromise our position by making arrangements with other brokers of which we are unaware. We expect that you will not take any action to avoid a commission which we would be due under the terms of the listing agreement.

We expect that you will do everything you can reasonably do to make the boat available for showings consistent with any restrictions you have put upon this in the listing agreement. Restrictions might include a certain amount of notice, non-interruption of a cruise in progress, our being there to supervise the customer, etc. Restrictions of this type should be kept to the minimum with which you are comfortable.

In the event you are unhappy with our service, we ask that you notify us of the reasons why you are dissatisfied. We will do everything in our power to correct whatever problem has occurred. In the event that you no longer wish to sell the boat or if you no longer want us to act as your broker, we expect you to notify us of this fact, as provided for by the listing agreement.

In Brokerage, there is no substitute for repeat business and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

Advice on any boat related topic, by email, phone, mail, or fax, is always free. Please don't hesitate to contact us.