Looking for help selling 1987 32' aft cabin

[halmueller]

Greetings from Seattle! I'm a new member, and not a Carver owner, but I'm helping out a friend. She's responsible for selling her late brother's 1987 32 foot aft cabin Carver. I'm a sailboat guy, but I got tagged because I'm the "boat guy".

The boat is in New Bern, NC (my friend is managing this from Seattle, and arrives in NC this week). From what I understand, the boat is probably in pretty rough shape, both interior and system. I have the HIN and USCG ON, and I've bounced the HIN against a couple of databases which confirm 32 foot 1987.

I'm looking for a referral to a nearby broker, preferably one who specializes in or knows Carvers.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hal

[km1125]

Welcome aboard! Might also post up some preliminary info in the "for sale" forum in case there are members that are considering a boat in that area.

[plittle2005]

If it is truly rough, a rough gas boat is not going to sell fast, especially with current fuel prices. While waiting, yard storage fees accumulate, and without an expensive cover, it just deteriorates faster.

Repairing to sell would be very expensive for an old rough boat, and would not be recovered.

To dispose of it, she might be better off donating it to Boat Angel or similar. If they accept it, they will assume responsibility for ongoing storage, and when sold, the proceeds will be a charitable tax deduction for her. Doing this asap would save storage fees from the get-go.

I disposed of my 33 year old boat that way, it got too expensive to repair. Walked away from a big responsibility! Could not have sold it for the yard bill, and the hassle was not worth it.

Worked for me. Good luck!

Phil Little

[tomschauer]

Unfortunately, as mentioned above if you are trying to sell an older boat in rough condition from 3000 miles away, you may be best to donate it.
Three years ago, it may have been worth 9-15k in good condition. The market has raised during covid, not so much for boats in bad shape.

Best of luck to you.

[halmueller]

Thanks folks! That confirms what I expected, although I didn’t know it was a gas boat (I had assumed diesel). I don’t think she had considered the donation option, and having a recent “max value if in good shape” is very helpful. I’ve passed your suggestions along.

[plittle2005]

Update on my previous post: I found this ad for a similar boat: https://boats-from-usa.com/carver/carver-3207-260475

Price $1500, if seller gets it, would probably not pay the storage costs while advertising to sell.

Phil Little

[halmueller]

To bookend this thread:

My friend just returned from North Carolina, after several days of hard work cleaning heads and galley, and removing her late brother's personal effects.

Boat was not quite as bad as I had thought, still pretty bad though. Engines were last run 6-8 months ago, there was no running water (maybe because there was no water in the tanks but no troubleshooting was done), shore power worked, genset not evaluated. A large forest was growing from the bottom,

She was able to sell the boat for $4500 as-is, including a whole bunch of tools stored onboard. The harbormaster knew the boat, and knew a marina tenant who was looking for a project boat for tenant's friend or brother. My friend was happy to get something for the boat without having to stay another week or 6, the new owner is happy and understands what they're getting into, and the harbormaster is happy to have a local owner.

Thanks again for the help and the comps!

[Viper]

Glad it all worked out and that someone will bring this girl back to life and in the water where she belongs.

[km1125]

Thanks for posting the update! Looks like good news for all involved!