THE BORN AGAIN BOAT OWNER
NICK BURNHAM: With an empty berth lying in wait and long summer days crying out to be spent afloat, a new boat was a no-brainer… But finding the one is a heart-wrenching business
‘This shit just got real!’ It’s a line from the movie Bad Boys II, and it’s precisely what went though my head when Matt from Norfolk Yacht Agency called me up to tell me that an offer I’d made on a boat had been accepted.
I’d been quietly seeking a new boat for a while, hence the decision to put the Skibby up for sale. Many hours had been wasted looking for the right boat for me on the internet, and I was genuinely staggered by how little was for sale. A couple of boats that I phoned about were long sold, the brokers admitting that they’d left them listed because their brokerage listings were so thin. “It’s a seller’s market,” I was told repeatedly. No wonder the Skibsplast sold so fast. Firstly, 2006 was the point where we were rattling swiftly toward the financial crisis so there’s a dearth of late boats. Then a weakening of the pound saw a huge number snapped up by canny overseas buyers, seriously depleting UK stocks.
The boat I really liked was the Jeanneau 805 Leader. I found a couple, but was put off by rusty-looking engines and messy, oily bilges. It got so bad that I even started considering an interim boat like a Sea Ray 240 Sundancer if I could find a diesel one. It was after an odd tangent to look at a partly restored 1963 Bertram 25 that I received a call from Matt. He knew I was hunting for an 805 Leader and had just listed one. I’d seen it before with another broker, but while checking his website I noticed a newer more expensive one with a D4-260 engine and the huge benefit of a bow thruster and central heating – fantastic! But expensive. I arranged to see it, and for once it looked as good in reality as it did in the photos. Better, actually. An offer was made and rejected, the dance began and eventually we settled on a figure.
A concern that I had was a lack of service history, the one thing I swore I’d insist on. However, a check with Volvo Penta confirmed that all the service updates for this engine had been carried out. In fact, this boat had been taken in part exchange by Sunseeker a couple of years previously. NYA had bought it from them and sold it to the current owner (and had serviced it themselves at the time), so it seemed likely that the paperwork had gone missing rather than the work never having been done.
Nonetheless, I commissioned an independent Volvo Penta engine and drive purchase inspection, including an oil sample analysis just to be sure, as well as the boat survey – expensive, but it would offer peace of mind. Broom Marine Services carried it out and gave the engine and drive a clean bill of health. A few (resolvable) issues with the outdrive and a couple of unexpected findings on the survey stood between me and the purchase. It was time to renegotiate. The owner offered a small reduction, but it was less than I wanted. Things were looking sticky and I had another scan of the internet. The other 805 that NYA had was under offer but a brand new 805 listing cropped up on the Thames. It was older, didn’t have the later D4 engine and there was no heating, but it was cheaper. Time for Plan B? I called the broker – it had sold almost immediately!
We were about £1,000 from where I wanted to be, my boat was sold, summer was fast approaching, my £2,000 marina berth stood empty and there was nothing to touch this boat on the market. Was I really going to walk away for the sake of a grand (that I’d have to spend anyway surveying the next one)? No. Sold to Mr Burnham.
I really wanted a Jeanneau 805 Leader but couldn’t find one in decent nick. At one point it got so bad that I even started considering an interim boat like a Sea Ray 240 Sundancer