Soooooooo Mama was right. You can't judge a book by it's cover.
Before heading down to Redline Marine, to check out the 53 Hat, we tried to find Anchor Yachts in Brick. They had a 55 ft Ocean that my buddy wanted to look at, with an asking price of $125,000, that hadn't been in the water for three years. I wasn't been able to reach anyone by phone, so I figured we'd just take a shot and find the marina.
My friend, a former coast guard vet, and an ex cop, reached Anchor Yachts on his cell phone, and asked someone for directions. The salesman went ballistic on the phone, and told him the owner of the boat needed a five hour window, and would have to be there.
When my friend asked him if we could get directions and maybe look at some other boats, the sales guy hung up on him. After redialing several times, it was obvious, this salesman was not picking up the phone. The ironic thing was that Anchor's adds, read how they care about helping you find the right boat, and their quality service. What a load of crap!!!!!!
I guess they are very independent and don't need our money, because the boating market is doing so well. Needless to say, we will never give them any business, and will repeat this story to all of our friends.
Next,, we started off for Redline Marine, to deal with that "lunatic."
Again, we were not able to reach his office, either, so we left a message. Then, we realized, he had a cell phone # listed, and we tried that. When the gruff voice on the end of the phone answered, I knew it had to be Charlie Abruzzo. I told him we were in the area, and could we see the 53 ft, Hat? He told me that he wasn't in the office today, and he would only meet with serious buyers. He asked me if I was ready to write a check at the meeting, if I liked the boat, and I told him absolutely not. I explained to him that I had an ex cop, and a New York Firemen, with me, and I apologized for the short notice, and would he please meet us at his marina. His whole attitude changed, and he actually met us on the road, so we wouldn't get lost. We all pulled into Redline together, and introduced each other.
Now, it became obvious that Charlie wasn't going to become, or probably never was a "Choir Boy". Fortunately, the ex cop, the fireman, and yours truly hit it off with Charlie Abruzzo very well. I found him to be DIRECT, NO NON SENSE, but Truthful, as he was explaining the 53 Hat story. He told me he was not given the hours on the engines, and he did not trust the hour meters, so he said he didn't know what they were. He told me if I bought the boat, not to put in any investment, other then essential engine, or wiring, because it was a 30 year old boat, and I wouldn't recoup the layout. He started the engines right up, and they sounded pretty good to the firemen, who works with Detroit diesels as the NY firetruck guy, and he knew all the people that Charlie knew.
Charlie told us he was supposed to meet a buyer for another boat pretty soon, and he gave us a quick grand tour. I again told him I appreciated the fact that he was meeting with us on such short notice. The cockpit had a fighting chair, but I noticed quite a few soft spots, which Charlie agreed with. The tower had been removed, and Charlie said he would reinstall it after purchase. He claimed it was a 65,000 dollar investment made by the previous owner. The electronics on the flybridge were old, but the bridge was reasonably clean for a 32 year old boat. There was evidence of chipped and cracked gel coat observed while on the side decks, but it wasn't terrible, and Charlie said there were no blisters to be found on her bottom, which I found amazing, considering Hatteras to be the mother of all blistering. As the boat was in the water, I couldn't confirm that. The salon was huge, as the two small staterooms were removed, with a companion way leading to the large galley, and then the one large stateroom, and head. I thought I would like the layout, but I actually found it awkward, and I feel that it's probably the reason that the boat hasn't sold. Unless, your on your own, with no plans to have others on board overnite, ever, it's impractical. When I mentioned this to Charlie, he shrugged his shoulders in minor agreement.
We never got a chance to see the engine room, but since we all agreed that we were not interested in the boat, we didn't want to be those "tire kickers" that Charlie hates. I told Charlie I would keep checking his site, and maybe we could do business down the road. Within 45 minutes, we had previewed the boat, said our goodbyes and pulled out of the marina lot.
Soooooooo, here's my take on Charlie Abruzzo from Redline Marine.
He's a course, very knowledgeable in what he does, hard working guy, who makes no bones about who he is. If you are looking for a patient, service first, super friendly, boat dealer, who will hold your hand, and pet your dog, Charlie is definitely not your guy. On the other hand, if you absolutely know what you are looking for, and have studied the specific boat pricing in your area, Red Line Marine could be the ticket to a good deal. I have tracked their pricing, and it looks to be a lower priced dealer than most. Of course if I was interested in this, or any other boat, it would be surveyed, pressure checked, and sea trialed, cause I only had one dad, and Charlie wasn't him. The funny part here is that the marina that touted their service, as Anchor Yachts did, was a joke, and the "demon" from Red Line turned out to be a prety good Joe.
Larry: Sorry we weren't able to hook up this time, but my weekends no longer belong to me, and getting out for a few hours this Saturday was a miracle.
regards
Steve
