Apologies in advance for the long post....
So here is the end of the story on this $18k Craigslist boat. While my wife and I were driving back from a camping trip in Kentucky, I saw the original post for the Craigslist ad listed above on the CBrats site. I was very suspicious, so I looked up Kipsap Marina, saw their online ratings, and decided to call them based on my Google search, not the Craigslist ad. Dave (the sales guy) picked up the phone and told me they just listed this on consignment for a guy that they have known for over 12 years. He explained the boat was in immaculate condition, and that they sold the motor 2009 Suzuki DF 90 to the owner new back in 2010. They serviced the motor twice a year every year since then (208 engine hours). He said they already had multiple calls, but no deposit yet. With the understanding of a full refund if I didn't like the inspection, I immediately gave him a credit card deposit on this initial phone call. I told him I would be extremely pissed after buying airline, hotel, and auto rentals for the trip if the boat was not in the said immaculate condition. He reassured me I would love the condition.... He took my information, and wrote up a contract that he emailed me later that night. I setup a flight from Kentucky to Seattle for Monday morning returning Wednesday. Three days later I was at Kipsap Marina. The boat was already in the water as they have one tide a day and are about 6 to 8 foot tides. As I walked down the dock, I could not believe the condition of the boat! Gelcoat was pristine, interior was pristine, upholstery in fantastic condition. We took the boat out, and at 4100rpm was a tad sluggish. He called the Suzuki on staff mechanic on the way back to the dock. The mechanic came out, and opened the clean engine cowling. Throughout the engine there were small labels with service and dates of service by this mechanic over the past 10 years. He quickly saw plugs were changed in 2016 with 64 engine hours. He said, bet that's it. Put in all new plugs, and we took the boat out again. Flawless this time. I was sold.
In the meantime, I placed an ad on UShip for the 2500 mile delivery. Bids started to come in between $2,200 and $4,000. Then magically a shipper who lives about 60 miles south of my Kentucky home bid $1,680 as he was looking to fill a return trip so he wouldn't be empty. He was fully licensed and insured, and had 100% of his past 300 clients say they would use him again. I accepted his bid and paid my UShip bill.
Yesterday, was the day the shipper arrived with my new to me 22' C-Dory Cruiser Craigslist find. Thanks to CBrats, I found my boat. You can see the arrival video on the C-Dory Facebook page.
Sorry for the long post, but although somewhat risky, you have to take a calculated risk to find the right boat at the right price!
