Scott wrote:

I would like to clarify something. I did not intend to say buying a boat sight unseen is a good idea. I wanted to share my experience missing out on boats that sold quickly. I found I was forced to choose between two risks. One option was to buy sight unseen and risk buying a boat that is so far gone that it would need to be scrapped. The other option was to wait for a boat I could inspect.The risk in this case is that it could take years for this to happen, if ever.

A good assessment of the risks involved. Probably in the case of a fiberglass hulled boat there is less risk that a wood construction boat which can hide all sorts of hidden horrors including rotten timber. The same would apply to a steel hulled boat. 

In thinking about this topic I now realise that I also bought my first trimaran almost sight unseen, so that is both trimarans fall into the same category. During the 1970s I really fell in love with the Searunner trimarans designed by Jim Brown. During the late 1980s I lived in the Bay of Island in New Zealand which was the area that most offshore cruising yachts arrived into NZ. One year a beautiful Searunner 37 sailed into port. Over a period of months I became good friends with the owners and really admired their boat which they had sailed across the Pacific from California to New Zealand. I also got invited out for a sail on the boat. The owners eventually sailed off to Australia but we corresponded from time to time, back in the days before email. One of their letters said that they had decided to sell the boat and go home. I had to have that boat! I knew she was in good condition, and very well equipped so somehow I managed to find the necessary money and so a couple of months later myself and wife, and two young children hopped on a plane and flew across to Brisbane, Australia to collect our new cruising boat. Thankfully it was in good condition and very useable, so after just a short month on the boat we headed off for 5 months of cruising around the islands of the south-west Pacific, and then eventually back to New Zealand. After a period of refitting in New Zealand we then headed off for another 18 months of cruising in the area Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and back in Australia. 

So for us quite a successful purchase, and one of those situations, like with Scott, where sometimes you need to take a calculated risk. I was also a lot younger than and so more inclined to take that type of risk. But I would not have bought that boat if I had not already spent some time on it even as it was 15 months previous.

I bought Weaverbird unseen. The factors associated with the decision were, as far as I remember:

• I was in Australia, on my way back to the UK after selling Tystie. I was only vaguely thinking about the next project and looking through the major boat sales sites for anything that held promise.
• I spotted Weaverbird in an extremely convenient location, just two easy day sails from home. She was ashore in a small boat club where I could easily antifoul and make her fit for the delivery trip, if necessary. 
• The design was just right for being a "little toy for my old age", and the designer was David Thomas, who had worked on the design of Tystie with me. I had full confidence that a good example of the class would suit me. There needn't be a major amount of emotional investment in the purchase, it was just to be something to keep me amused and occupied.
• The description and photos gave me a very good idea of what I was buying. The interior joinery was good enough to use as it was, and the upholstery had been professionally made. In any case, I was intending to upgrade the heads, outboard motor and electrics. 
• I was going to convert to JR, so the condition of the existing rig was immaterial, I was going to dispose of it as best I could.
• The price was no more than I could afford to lose if it turned out to be a dud. The owner was looking for a quick sale and would accept an offer. 

I dare say that if any of the above factors had given cause for concern, I'd have held onto my money until I'd got home and could inspect, but my hunch was that the deal was a good one, and I was unlikely to find something more suitable. 

If I had been looking at a boat already converted to JR, or a large and complex boat, or a one-off boat, I'd certainly have wanted to inspect the design and quality of the build and/or conversion; but as I was looking for something small to work on as a conversion project to keep me busy, that didn't apply. 

In comparison with other major purchases: If I'd been looking for a car, I'd have been happy to buy, say, a standard Ford or Toyota from a reputable source, unseen, but would have wanted to inspect a home-built kit car very closely. If I'd been looking for a house, though, that's an entirely different ball game, with a lot of legal and admin work to do. I wouldn't dream of buying without a full inspection and doing a lot of research beforehand. 

Scott seems to have had a very good experience buying his boat without first seeing it, but unless it was a very small boat such as a dinghy or kayak which did not cost much money, I would prefer to be able to give the boat a visual inspection myself. This is because on a larger more complex vessel there is so much about the condition of a boat which can be hidden, or not brought to light by photographs. Having said that I did once purchase a 9 meter trimaran which I had not personally inspected, but I did have a friend of mine who was an experienced boat builder check out the boat for me and do sea trials on the boat. He was a close friend and he and I had spent so much time working together professionally on boats that I knew we thought alike, and so I could trust his feedback. So it was not the same as buying sight unseen.

A few years ago I purchased a quad bike through an on-line auction without actually inspecting it. That was a mistake. The frame had a lot of rust which was not shown in the extensive photographs. The bike did run all right though and I got 6 years use out of it before I became too troublesome to bother repairing, so I sold it at a dollar reserve on a local auction site. When the purchasers came to pick the bike up I think they felt sorry for me and thought I had been taken advantage of so they insisted I take $50 for it, I think I got the better bargain out of that transaction! So based on that experience I would always want to personally inspect before I purchased.

I've recently lost out on the purchase of two boats that had grabbed my attention, because somebody else bought them sight-unseen.  I'm not writing to express sour grapes, nor to criticize those who beat me to the punch:  I just want to understand.  I can't imagine buying a boat, any more than I would buy a car, a house, or any large purchase, sigh unseen.  But, is this the new way to buy boats?  Do I need to be willing to do it this way, or else I will likely be handicapped in my quest for a boat?  Just looking for feedback from others who have been in the game!  Thanks in advance...