Glenn's Blog: A New Flying Scot? Part 4 - Making Room

This blog post is part of a series describing our experience in ordering a new Flying Scot.  The previous installment discussed the unconventional choices I made.

So now that our new Scot has been ordered, what do I do with our current boat?

Having more than one Flying Scot will not work for us.  We don't have the time to sail at 2 places or have storage capacity to have one in reserve.  It's better to use the boat's value to defray the cost of the new Scot.  So despite all the work and money I have invested in our Scot she would have to go.

FS #3834I first looked into trading-in our current boat, Flying Scot #3834.  Harry Carpenter at Flying Scot Inc. offered a fair price.  This is the simplest route.  I would not have to go through all the hassle of selling the boat.  The trade-in price would reduce the net price thereby lowering the sales tax to be paid.  So I decided to take the easy path and do a trade-in.

And then a post appeared on the Flying Scot forums looking for a used Scot in the New Jersey area. And being an active forum participant Phil, our Fleet Measurer, mentioned #3834 as being for sale.  Almost immediately there were several inquiries asking for more information.

Hmmm.... Should I actually sell the boat on the open market?

Doing so could help build the local Flying Scot population, save Harry some inventory and net me a few more $.  These pluses were only slightly offset by the work of the sales process and the unknowns (I have not previously sold a boat) now that the process had already begun.  So I decided to give selling her a try.

How do I decide on a fair price?  Being a technical guy I came up with an equation:

Price = Trade-in price + Sales tax reduction + Value of sales hassle + Negotiating room

So the asking price would be what Harry knocked off the price of the new Scot plus the amount of tax I would have saved with the trade-in.  I also added in some profit to compensate for my time and effort in accomplishing the sale.  In the end the hassle was less than I expected.

Then it was time provide details to prospective buyers.  There were a couple of ways I could to this.  I could send each direct inquiry an email.  I could post on the FSSA forum, but the "for sale" posts there tend to be short on detail.  In the end I decided to post to our web site "For Sale" section.

There were 2 reasons for using NSC.ORG instead of the FSSA site for the #3834 details.  First, there was no limit as to the size of the advertisement.  I could also post photos.  Second, the FSSA site has no provision for removing the post once the item has sold.  So I posted on the FSSA site only a link to my post on NSC.ORG (The post is now removed).

After trading emails with several buyers two who were serious emerged.  The first was local.  He ended up buying Bob Saks' boat (#3551).

The second, from Connecticut, requested some more photos.  Also, a friend of his was going to be in the area so he came by and did an inspection.  We agreed on a final price and made arrangements to complete the transaction.

Okay.  We have a deal.  What is needed to complete it?  After consulting with Mike Noone and doing some research on the web, here is what we ended up doing:

• Payment would be in the form of a cashiers check
• We would both sign a bill-of-sale for both the trailer and boat, explicitly stating the sale is "As-is".
• He would need a temporary license plate.  My old one would stay with me.

The Bill-of-Sale is put together from snippets found on the web. It is attached to this post.  It is important for the sale to be "as is".  While everything I know about #3834 indicates she is in fine shape and ready to sail, I am in no position to provide any guarantees or warranty service.

We went to a local agency, Yurconic, to obtain a temporary license plate.  If you're in the Allentown area they do a great job.  BTW, Pennsylvania charged $50 just so he could drive back to Connecticut!

Here is what I learned about selling a Flying Scot:

1. You must post on the FSSA Forums.  There are many eager buyers there.
2. Use your NSC membership. Post your advertisement on this site.
3. The sales process is actually kind of fun.  You get to talk about your Flying Scot.  Those in the Flying Scot community and those drawn to it are very friendly.
4. The actual sales transaction is not difficult but you must have all the paperwork ready.

In the end it was hard to see #3834 drive away.  We have had great times and did a lot of work on her.  She has taught us the basics of Flying Scot sailing and delivered us back to dry land without fail.  Now it is time for her to do the same for her 3rd owner.

Glenn

FS #???? - DJ

The next installment, The Pick-up is HERE.