So I sold my boat and.............

[macojoe]

Here's the story

Guy calls and says he saw the boat on the Crigslist, He has a friend with a V20 and they (wife) have used it a few times and they like the boat.

I said thats great and they planed to come look next Sunday.

I So i head for the boat as they are to be there 10 am, I get there at 9:30 to make sure the battery is up to starting the boat and to clean any thing that might have fallen in it.
I noticed that I had left the plug in the boat and we had a ton of rain, I looked below and saw ton's of water, so I pulled the plug and drained all the water.

The guy called to say he was going to be late as he was coming from 80 miles away. and he be there at 11am instead.
No problem I will wait.

The guy gets lost and shows at 11:20 He gets in the boat looks all over andsays that the floors and stuff are solid just like I had said, I said of coarse!!
He says he has looked at a few boats and everyone lies about something!!

I agree!! and tell him I know he is coming to look so there is no reason to lie!

Any way he checks out the boat well ask to start the motor and we do, everything is fine I give him the grand tour and explain how everything works, Lights, were the plug is kept, how to start the motor, storage and so on......

Now the boat is priced to sell!! I wanted $5000, but getting to be fall people are looking for deals and the price was not atracting any one?
I had a friend that needed a new trailer and I had one, so I sold him the old trailer for $1000 and took his old trailer in trade.
I lower the price of the boat to $4000, got a lot of calls and thats all, so I again lowered the price to $3900
The calls started and we are off!!
So he offeres me $3000, I said for that I will let it rot in the yard first!! That $3500 is the lowest I can go.
He looked at the wife and got the go ahead.

So I get the title out and sign it along with the bill of sale. At which point he hands me a personal check
Well I never take checks and told him he should have let me no before hand!!
But they were a 50 something couple and it just felt right, the banks are closed cause it is Sunday and he wants to come back another time with a bank check. I say no I will take the ck, I didn't want him to go home and think about it and change his mind!!

I already bought another boat and the landloard is having a heart attack cause I now have a 20" boat, 23' boat, 30' camper, my truck, and my daughters car!!

So we get him all hooked up and off my baby of 9 years and many adventures down the road!! Kind of sad.

Well I get a call 5 hours later from the guy, he says Joe I have taken the boat out with a friend and they are taking on water and wanted to know were it might be coming from??

I said the boat is fine and it never takes on water?? I said did you forget the plug??

He says no he put it in but finger tight.

I say maybe it fell out??

He says how about up front were the toliet use to be, one of the ball vaules are lose??

I said Nope, its been lose for 9 years, and I stuffed them holes with puddy years ago and it isn't going to leak even if you open them all the way!

He says ok I will call you from the dock and hangs up.

1 hour later he calls to say they just about made it to a slip at the mariner, and they had the boat tied with ropes going under the boat from one side to the other in a attempt to keep the now full of water boat from going to the bottom!

Again trying to figure out why it has sunk? I said unless you hit something the only thing is the plug and it must have fallen out!

I said I can not come there now as I have to go to works soon but will come there tomorrow and if there is something wrong with the boat I will buy it back from him.

So the Harbore Master comes and pumps the boat out so it is floating enough to get to the ramp and on the trailer.

He calls again says Joe I must have missed understood you, He says I tighten the plug but it was in the holder not in the bottom!!

I told him when we looking the boat over that the plug stays in the holder and that he needs a 9/16 wrench to put in the botton.

Well he thinks that I said thats the plug hole and he needs a 9/16 wrench to get the plug out!!

I said that holder is not even under the water why would it stay there?? Its not like he has never had a boat before, he has a sail boat and has been on others!

So I informed him that he bought the boat as is and no warrantee, But that if it was my fault I would have taken care of him as I wasn't out to screw him!

But now that he has sunk the boat he is on his own!! That he better get it to a repair shop and get all flushed and oiled before the motor rusts up!! and that all the wire connections have now been salt water soaked that he better get that all stright now, or he might make it thur the rest of the season, but come spring that thing is going to be a mess!

Wished him luck, said good bye and the ck cleared the bank. That was the last I have heard from him.

So there it is, My boat for 9 years and 32 years old in countless huge seas and 1000's of pounds of fish, 10 foot waves Crash the glass and she still got me home!!

And this guy sinks her 5 hours after he bought it, So much for a easy retirement

[BigFish]

Stupid people! Hope you don't hear from him Joe! Some people should not own boats....was this his first?? Any experience with one before??

[macojoe]

He has a Sail boat and has been on a V20 before?? But they are always moored not trailered.

Well I told him if he needed to know how something worked he can call, but if there is anything wrong with the wires or motor he is on his own now that he sunk it.

I am pretty sure I will not hear from him again

[MAC]

I hope his check cleared.

[gf2020]

Good story! I got a chuckle out of it! Be happy you got the $3500 and run!

[Al in Westport]

Best you be at the door of your bank when it opens in the morning and hope for the best.

Al

[macojoe]

Check cleared no problem!!

[moosh]

What Dumb ass !!

[macojoe]

You said it moosh!! See you should have bought it! She still be dry now.

I have not heard or think I will hear from the guy again now. But the boat is up on thre North Shore now.
I expect to see it for sale again this spring cause of all the issues he will have with all the wires corroding from the Salt it just took.

[Hooper]

Yikes, close call. Can't say I have never forgotten a drain plug though, almost sunk at the ramp on Memorial Day weekend once, and that was the LAST time I ever forgot!

[macojoe]

I think we have all forgot at one time or another, But I have never come close to sinking the boat over it!
Always new right away that I forgot something at the first sign of water!!

This guy just kept driving around trying to figure out was leaking before heading back, he was lucky!