Formula 330SS

The list of available Formula 280SS boats was getting a bit thin at this point.  I continued to scour the advertisement sources for new listings coming on the market.  It was getting to be mid-late August, and I knew that some Fall market boats would be arriving on the scene.

A 1996 Formula 330SS located in Lake Winnipesaukee NH came on the market during the 3rd week of August.  So, we made a trip to NH on a Sunday afternoon.  This boat was a private party listing, and the seller offered to take us out for a ride to get a good feel for the boat.  Overall the boat was in good condition, probably one of the best boats that we had seen.  The boat had been on Lake Winnipesaukee for its entire life of 16 years and had 740 hours on the engines.  I was a little concerned about the age and the hours, but fresh water hours are kinder on engines than salt water hours. . . so, it looked like we had found a boat.

I made an offer on the spot and we finalized things that evening.  Below are a few pictures of the boat.

COMMENTARY

I have a theory that in used boats, the one in the best condition AND the lowest price generally sells, while the others remain on the market.  It seemed to be the case for the purchase of my previous boat and held true for this purchase.

We ‘salt water’ guys like to buy used boats from a fresh water market.  Quite a few of the boats that I looked at were used in fresh water.  The engines on this boat are in far better condition than my previous boat because of the fresh water use versus salt water.

BOAT STANDS

I made arrangements to have the boat surveyed, and was thinking about how to transport and store the boat.  This seemed to be a bigger challenge with the 33 foot boat versus a 28 foot boat.  I had considered a trailer purchase, but it would have also required a tow vehicle purchase.  So, I opted to have the boat professionally hauled and set on blocks & stands for the winter.

I purchased a set of boat stands locally, and got some 6x6 Pressure Treated blocks for some dunnage.

Here are a few more pictures of the boat and components . . .

How Used Boats Sell - UPDATE:

I did my boat searching during the summer months of 2012 and purchased my F-330SS in August/September of 2012.  I had about 20 boats on my ‘Short List’; 10-12 F-280SS models and 8-10 F-330SS models.  I happened to check the status of those boats in February 2013.  Presumably, the boats that I had been looking at during the summer would have been on the market for 8-12 months, if they were still available.

Well, about 70% of the boats that were on the market during the summer of 2012 were still on the market in February 2013.  The boats that had sold were all in the lower price range of the 20 boats that I had on my list.  It looked like the F-280SS boats were going in the mid-to-high $20K’s and the F-330SS were going in the high $20K to low $30K range.  The boats that were listed above these ranges were still for sale.  Not one had sold, . . . and I noticed only a few minor price reductions.

So, again, this supports my theory that used boats generally sell at the bottom of the price range of available boats, and the ones in better condition sell in that price range.  This is something to keep in mind as a boat owner, because at some point you will want to sell your boat.  For those who are selling  . . . If your boat is priced higher than similar/same boats or it is in poorer condition than competitive boats, it will most likely not sell.

The folks who hang out at the higher price ranges for months and months seem to defy logic, as those boats do not sell; so why bother listing it (?).  Anyway, that is my take on how the used boat market works, in a general sense.