Long distance boat shopping/buying!?

[nor'easter]

I am curious to hear the good and bad about this. I have read Pascoe's take on the whole evolution when I read his book before buying my current boat.
I am in So Cal, and the inventory hear for Hatts and Berts 50-54 ft is smaller by a wide margin than the SE inventory, and pricier in general. Many of them haven't had the upgrading that E coast boats have had...I am not exactly sure why. It makes sense to me that it may be advantageous to buy in FLA and ship it through the canal to Ensenada which is only 1.5 - 2 hrs from me. I know that I may end up wasting time and money to travel and see boats that are not worth the trip. I am more curious about the in limbo storage and insurance, and the shipping part of the equation. Has anyone here had experience with this? Thanks.

[Passages]

For what it's worth, I'm just begining my search and thinking long & hard about traveling to a boat more than a few hours drive. That said, I have recruited a few "eyes" to be on the lookout from Chicago to Destin FL. If I get a heads up on a creampuff, I'll hire a local surveyer for a couple hours to check it out. Lots cheaper than airlines, rental cars & hotels.

Once that passes muster, I will then fly in with check in hand.

Trying to do it all for a 1000 mile radius just does not make sense.

[Liquid Asset]

The recomendation I would have, is to figure out exactly which model boat you want first and narrow your search as much as possible beyond that without seeing the boats. Once you do that, you can find yourself a broker to check out the remainder of the vessels you are interested in and once he gives you a description, then go see the ones you have narrowed it down to. Shipping is not a big deal, you just have to accept that it will be expensive. It is fairly easy to arange and make happen, and depending on where the boat is located that you buy, it may be even easier than you think.

[nor'easter]

Thanks for the input.
One thing that has me worried a bit is insurance before the boat is moved. If I were to buy during hurricane season, I would obviously be an absentee owner until the boat was moved. Seeing the threads on insurance issues in FLA makes me wonder if I could get a vintage boat covered as an absentee owner until it is shipped.

[Genesis]

If you find something around here (Destin/Panama City/Pensacola area) just holler - I'll drive over and check it out.

You'll get a very unbiased opinion - the seller will either appreciate or not, depending on whether he told you the truth in the listing or not

[StratPlan61]

A couple of key things will save you lots of $$ and headaches. As previously stated, target your specific make/model after exhaustive research. Look at a lot of digital pictures, as a sorting process for 'potentials'. Once you locate a 'possible target' - if a Hatteras - contact someone on this forum who lives the closest. I believe most of us would go check out a boat for a fellow forum-buddy. Then contact your professional Yacht Broker (a broker you have been working with to help you find the right boat). He should be willing to fly down to your target and provide a multiple-pg set of objective notes and photos. Then after your review, fly down and give her a look-see.
I used this approach with good results. My broker and I looked at several targets prior to my purchase. I even surveyed and sea-trialed a 58 Hatt CMY I didn't buy, prior to finding the 'right boat'.

[Marquesa]

I have been doing pretty much the same thing for about a year now, only from Europe. I think the best way is to find a broker to work for you (not the listing broker) in the area you are interested in and have him get details from the listing broker, let him look at the boat and take it from there as to whether or not you want to make an offer and survey. Generally, the game is you make an offer, then a survey which is pretty stupid if you are a long-distance shopper.
I have pretty much targeted vintage 60C's and I have quite the opposite take as you as to where the best Hatts are; in my mind, the best cared for and updated ones of this model are on the West coast and I toyed with the idea of taking the boat to the East coast either on its own bottom or via Dockwise. Both are expensive alternatives.
It's pretty tough to make a decision in a soft market, so good luck

[SeaEric]

In regard to the rest of your question: I have just sold a 50 Chris to a guy who's taking her to Mexico via Yacht Path. She will be shipping from Ft Lauderdale to Manzanillo in Oct or Nov. The fare is around $29,000. In the meantine, the boat is being stored in a slip at Marina Bay for $1200/mo. That marina is 6 miles inland, which made a big difference with the insurance during hurricane season. Like others have suggested, I did the legwork for the buyer on finding the right boat and the right deal.

[thoward]

Insurance for a Florida boat is tough but I would bet you could get it contengent that it is removed from Fla within x # of days. Otherwise, plan on 5K and up. We bought our boat sight unseen but I had an option to back out if the boat had any major undisclosed issues. I went up and checked it out for 2 days after the purchase and after I could find nothing major wrong we had it surveyed. I would do as Pat said and get a qualified broker to do the looking. If it meets the brokers ok then go ahead and take a look. You will have to have a survey no matter what so I would have that scheduled while I was down. You can always cancel if it does not meet your expectations.......

[Angela]

Plan on a LOT more than $5K for insurance in Florida for a Hatt in the 50ish foot range, and that's for an ex-wind policy. If I could find a policy in the $5K range in Florida, I wouldn't be able to write that check fast enough!