Fishing Boats Ireland. Buy or Sell Warning!!
There are many paragraphs written about how careful we all must be
when buying a product such as a boat , trailer, or engine.
The obvious things to watch out for are the quality of the
products.....is the boat as sound as it appears, has it been
repaired, does the steering work, do the remote cables work?
If buying a boat trailer...jack it up and spin the wheels, don't
just accept someone's word that the bearings have been replaced..
Check for yourself. The vendor won't be around if you break
down on the road or start to take in water while at sea.
Check the Boat
The best way to check a boat is to go out on the water in it.
If everything does not go as it should...walk away from the deal
and offer to come back if it is corrected. Don't take on the
work yourself without substantial reduction in price. Bring
someone with you for moral support and as another pair of eyes. If
buying a boat that is 'unsinkable' be careful. These
can be the most dangerous. Dory type boats are notorious for
having water-sodden foam in the bilges. What is supposed to
be the lifesaving buoyancy and the boat strengthener - the foam
pumped in under pressure - is very often compromised by the
interference of the previous owner. People drill holes for
seats, rod holders, etc., and don't realise that over time
the water saturates the foam. This can cause rotting of the
hull - gel coat protects the fibreglass from the water on the
outside. There is no gel coat in the bilges! You will
have less buoyancy than you thought - if any!! The boat will
have difficulty in getting up on plane and the water can cause
osmosis from the inside. Believe it or not water can rot GPR
(fibreglass). If buying a boat that has under-floor buoyancy...
does the boat feel heavier than it should be? How do you fancy
getting an angle grinder to your new purchase, chiseling away the
stinking wet foam and replacing it and glassing in a new
floor. Not a pleasant thought, is it? Be warned.
Remember too that you can be scammed when selling a boat.
Don't be too eager to do a deal. There are some
exceptionally good scammers out there ready to rip you off.
They watch reputable sites like Donedeal and Apolloduck and
BuyandSell etc. looking for prey. A favourite scam is to meet you
'after work' (this usually means in bad light) at a halfway point
( this means you are away from home). So there you are, many
miles from home in a car park at a filling station, poor light,
cold and anxious. The guy will usually be late. He
will then say that the boat isn't really what he is looking for
but starts to check it out anyway. By now you are really
anxious. Suddenly he decides to take the boat and ....in the
car or jeep he counts out the money in a most professional manner.
This is when you are being scammed. It has been demonstrated to me
by a Garda how the scammer can snatch at the money in one hand
while counting out loud but is not actually transferring the money
from one hand to the other. Because each hand has money, and
because the sound is right and the 'counting' is right, you will
take the money and be too polite to count it again yourself.
Hopefully you will not be as foolish as I was. COUNT THE
MONEY YOURSELF. I would also urge DON'T GO ALONE!! In
my own scamming I was even dumb enough to give a receipt when
asked for one. I ended up short of a few hundred euros.
I know this guy is still perusing the usual sites and will
probably be reading your ads and creating a few of his own. You'll
never get a proper name and because you accept the money the
Guards will take details but can do little for you except keep any
eye on the guy's activities. They are watching the guy who scammed
me and will get him eventually. When your phone rings....be
business-like. Be firm and polite and take no chances.
The buyer is not your new best friend. There are many scammers out
there whether you are buying or selling. And believe it or
not...you will not be able to spot them. Scammers are
ordinary people who get a kick out of ripping people off.
They are polite and personable. This is an essential part of
their makeup.
