not one broker should even be on this list. after being told I could change a double bed arrangement for a thousand dollars in a 53' Hatteras and then finding there were fuel tanks under them and it would cost thousands. Jim was told by a broker that a boat was a Cheribii and it was built in someone's backyard. there all great and no broker does anything but drive a few miles to earn thousands of dollars and there worse than car salesmen. at least car salesmen rip you off for hundreds of dollars. I had a broker tell me a 72' Viking cockpit motor yacht was in bristol condition and when I took my surveyor down to look at the boat in ft. Lauderdale it wasn't even a Viking it still had the Gulfstar logos in the engine room and the cockpit had been bolted onto the regular motoryacht. the boat broker was trying to sell it for $800,000 and it might have been worth $150,000 tops it even was leaking between the cockpit and the bolts. I had another broker who told me a tayana sailboat was completely rebuilt and when we went to seatrial it over heated the rain poured into the inside from all the leaks and the broker wouldn't even take the boat into the sea for the seatrial, wasting myself, my wife's and the price of the haul and the surveyors time. then didn't return my deposit for 60 days. there all scum and if we buyers don't protect ourselves with very honest surveyors were in for big trouble. I for got about the one in panama city who had a pristine sailboat and I drove from west palm beach to see it. the mast was wood and rotten, the mold down below was overwhelming, the pulpit was screwed on with screws from home depot and they were two inches to long and stuck out the two inches and hadn't even been hacked sawed off? then the lazy broker who put an incomplete listing on yachtworld, no mention of what engine how many hours, arrangement, or any description of the boat. I had to call to find out, because tayanas are all different layouts. I decided to put an offer on the boat and when my broker called them with the offer they refused to take the deal because they worked with me over the phone. they would not even present the offer to the buyer so they screw the buyer as well. They absolutely don't care how much they lie, cheat or steal and anyone who feels sorry for a broker should be examined. Then there was the one who was my best friend until I closed on my 50" motor and guess how many times I've hear from him? Ed Smith

And you took the broker's word for it without checking further! Wow! You had the money to buy (ostensibly) a Hatteras 52 (perhaps one of those really expensive, LRCs) and then have the nerve to tell us that you took a selling broker's word for what major changes would cost without getting a professional's estimate If someone never had owned a boat before, or had never bought a home, or attempted to get a custom piece of furniture made, I could understand it. But to criticize brokers because you, the buyer, accepted an unprofessional estimate of what some major renovation would cost. Give us a break! There are just too many people shopping for boats who "hope" to find a great deal and are willing to listen to anyone who will tell them that they've found it. I don't see buying a boat any differently than buying a home, or any major purchase, be it a car, a home, boat, or perhaps an airplane. We're all willing to hope for the best, and blame the other guy when it goes wrong. Brokers are caught in the middle - how far are they supposed to go to "prove" that the seller they represent isn't lying through his/her teeth, that the boat is in "Bristol" condition, etc. They "represent" the seller; they're not vouching for everything the seller tells them. Before looking for a boat, I'd suggest you go back to your college course in Business Law and dig out those notes about misrepresentation, agency, etc! Let's not bad-mouth brokers as a whole here. They normally represent sellers, not buyers. No different than a realtor that you've undoubtedly done business with on at least one occasion. And let's not forget those little concepts like "meeting of the minds (or lack thereof)" when we talk about the price that we/they are willing to pay to buy something that is totally unnecessary to everyday life but that we want and can afford so we try to wheel and deal to get it in the best possible condition at the least possible price! At 06:55 PM 2/8/2004, ED SMITH wrote: >not one broker should even be on this list. after being told I could change a >double bed arrangement for a thousand dollars in a 53' Hatteras and then >finding there were fuel tanks under them and it would cost thousands. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Bob McLeran and Judy Young Manatee Cove Marina M/V Sanderling Patrick Air Force Base Hampton 35 Trawler Melbourne, Florida