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Buying a secondhand Enterprise
Step 1. Prices of secondhand Enterprise’s vary quite a lot from as little as £100 - £5,000. Always phone the boat builders to see how much a brand new Ent is so you don’t pay more than a brand new Ent. Step 2. Stick to your budget. Most people will have an (ONO) on their advert so you can haggle on price. Step 3. Places to look for a secondhand Enterprise. Ebay is a good starting point. You can view many Ents and see 10 or more from different ages and prices. Photos are usually provided. Be careful on Ebay as many boats don’t have the correct sail number, the correct number for the boat and many boats seem to be GRP, which will haved gained considerable weight through out the years. They are great if you like to pleasure cruise. They are certainly not Racers! The other thing to be careful on Ebay if an Ent is for sale and it looks to good to be true. It probably is! Here are some other sites to look for Enterprises, www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/ and www.apolloduck.com/ The best website for secondhand boats is The Enterprise Association. The reason, all boats will come with a certificate, they are all members of the Ent Association and people will be very helpful even if you just enquire about the boat. http://www.sailenterprise.org.uk/ Step 4. Try and make sure you buy your Ent at the right end of the season, most people will varnish & paint Ents through the winter months ready to sell before the start of the sailing season. Try not to buy at the end of the season, as some repairs may not be done. Ents are at the most competitive price before the sailing season begins. Step 5. What can you receive for your money? Well anything from £100 - £1,000 will get you an Ent some may need repairs and others may be in good order. They will be an old boat, GRP or just a little tired. This is great if you have plenty of time for a restoration project. You might even find a bargain. Ent from £1,000 to £3,000, This is really good price range. You will find Ents with good racing history. Usually good sails and extra’s like a spare rudder or centreboards. Usually the boats will be in good to excellent condition. Ents from £3,000 - £5,000, Usually the boats are fairly new, well looked after and have great racing histories. Many extras will come with the boat, Trailing covers, and Carbon jibsticks, good foils and galvanized combination trailers. Look out for boats, which are professionally built, like Bacon, Lufkin, Ovington, Don Marine, Prior, Speed Sails, Rondar, James Jarvey and so on. Step 6. Once you have decided on a price range, compare the boats by ringing or emailing the buyers and asking for photos to be sent. Compare the boat by the age, if she has been garaged, spares, sails and so on. If you can, try and buy a boat with a galvanized combination trailer. This will keep the price up on your boat if you re-sell. If the boat doesn’t have a galvanized trailer, I would seriously haggle. Some trailers are so bad you may not make it home after your purchase. Step 7. Things they like to write. I always see the words ‘garaged’ it’s a buzzword. It is better to get a boat which, is garaged but for how long has it been garaged. Another buzzword is ‘good racing history’ try an enquire to see if its all cracked up to be. I remember looking at a boat which had finished 1st at the Nationals. I found out it hadn’t even won a race at the nationals. Step 8. Thing to look out for, Repairs on boats. Make sure the have been repaired by a professional boat builder or to the same standard by others. Look out for areas, which are not usually painted. Take great care look in and around the boat before purchase. To find any information about Enterprises is the contact the Enterprise Association. http://www.sailenterprise.org.uk/ Steve Blackburn 21333 and 21350 |
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