OK, Slip Away couldn't keep his lips together....the secret is out.
We have (allegedly) bought a boat, and it's all SA's fault. Y'all have noted that DH's list was becoming increasingly restricted and picky...some might even say (OK, I think I did say) difficult and OCD...
We were in serious discussions with an owner in Central CA, one in Phoenix, AZ and another in Havasu (the infamous boat physically in AZ and registered in Idaho). The Phoenix one looked perfect, but there was someone scheduled to see it that weekend. The seller agreed to let us know how that went, either way. The Havasu guy (via texts and emails through his wife in ID) said that he didn't have the HID readily available for an escrow account setup (after she'd allegedly re-registered the boat in their name and sent him the papers). The Central CA boat had a few negatives, mainly it had been stored outside and all the canvas was shot.
SA saved him from myself. SA sent me a PM that a local dealer had some new-old stock in the warehouse, and perhaps there was a boat that fit our criteria. I called, expecting failure based on our extremely specific (and ever-evolving) decision preferences. Instead, I went through the spreadsheet, and Chris' new-old boat met EVERY criteria in it.
1) 19-21 feet. (Check. 19'7" without extended swim platform).
2) Monterey, Chaparral, Four Winns or Glastron. (Check. Monterey).
3) 260-270 hp, V8
4) Volvo Penta or Mercruiser (VP preferred). Check - VP SX drive.
5) Fuel Injected.
6) Dual axle trailer.
7) Walk through transom
8) Extended swim platform, if at all feasible.
9) Under 150 hours.
10) Prefer 2005 or newer.
11) Bimini top, no ski tower.
12) Canvas for bimini, cockpit, bow.
Other preferences: stainless steel accents and rubrail, CD/iPod input, bow ladder, depth finder and compass, snap out carpet.
So I called DH immediately, sent him some pics, and then called Chris back and bought the boat over the phone. We put down a 10% deposit, and he's now getting the trailer built. The only bummer: timing was originally 2-3 weeks, then 3-4. It's 4 weeks today, and the trailer was JUST getting finished yesterday. For various reasons, we can't go to SoCal this weekend, but we will be going down next weekend to get it.
It's a 2010 Monterey 194 FS - white and black, with a subdued color scheme. It's 5k more than I planned on originally, but we ultimately decided that it was worth $5K to us to have a boat that is perfect from Day 1, and we can take care of it from the start. Best of all (for my little accountant's heart), the depreciation has already been taken. The 194 FS is now called the 204 FS - and current MSRP for the options on ours would bring the price to $51K + TTL. Ours ran about 60% of that price, so we're feeling good about the whole thing.
Keep your fingers crossed that the pickup goes well next week! I hope to have happy Sandi_k pics in the water soon.
We have (allegedly) bought a boat, and it's all SA's fault. Y'all have noted that DH's list was becoming increasingly restricted and picky...some might even say (OK, I think I did say) difficult and OCD...
We were in serious discussions with an owner in Central CA, one in Phoenix, AZ and another in Havasu (the infamous boat physically in AZ and registered in Idaho). The Phoenix one looked perfect, but there was someone scheduled to see it that weekend. The seller agreed to let us know how that went, either way. The Havasu guy (via texts and emails through his wife in ID) said that he didn't have the HID readily available for an escrow account setup (after she'd allegedly re-registered the boat in their name and sent him the papers). The Central CA boat had a few negatives, mainly it had been stored outside and all the canvas was shot.
SA saved him from myself. SA sent me a PM that a local dealer had some new-old stock in the warehouse, and perhaps there was a boat that fit our criteria. I called, expecting failure based on our extremely specific (and ever-evolving) decision preferences. Instead, I went through the spreadsheet, and Chris' new-old boat met EVERY criteria in it.
1) 19-21 feet. (Check. 19'7" without extended swim platform).
2) Monterey, Chaparral, Four Winns or Glastron. (Check. Monterey).
3) 260-270 hp, V8
4) Volvo Penta or Mercruiser (VP preferred). Check - VP SX drive.
5) Fuel Injected.
6) Dual axle trailer.
7) Walk through transom
8) Extended swim platform, if at all feasible.
9) Under 150 hours.
10) Prefer 2005 or newer.
11) Bimini top, no ski tower.
12) Canvas for bimini, cockpit, bow.
Other preferences: stainless steel accents and rubrail, CD/iPod input, bow ladder, depth finder and compass, snap out carpet.
So I called DH immediately, sent him some pics, and then called Chris back and bought the boat over the phone. We put down a 10% deposit, and he's now getting the trailer built. The only bummer: timing was originally 2-3 weeks, then 3-4. It's 4 weeks today, and the trailer was JUST getting finished yesterday. For various reasons, we can't go to SoCal this weekend, but we will be going down next weekend to get it.
It's a 2010 Monterey 194 FS - white and black, with a subdued color scheme. It's 5k more than I planned on originally, but we ultimately decided that it was worth $5K to us to have a boat that is perfect from Day 1, and we can take care of it from the start. Best of all (for my little accountant's heart), the depreciation has already been taken. The 194 FS is now called the 204 FS - and current MSRP for the options on ours would bring the price to $51K + TTL. Ours ran about 60% of that price, so we're feeling good about the whole thing.
Keep your fingers crossed that the pickup goes well next week! I hope to have happy Sandi_k pics in the water soon.