Hi Guys,

I have been reading the forum for a long time but not actively participating. I used to sail a compass 28 back in the day and have been looking to get back into sailing. I have been looking for a boat my budget is around 30-40k. One boat that has poked my interest is the Cavalier 32. I have found this one on Ebay, I had a look at it this morning and it looks like a decent boat, probably needs a couple of grand spent but all the nasty and expensive work seems to be done. Does anyone here have any experience on the Cavalier 32 how do they sail? Would they be a good boat for weekends up to Pitwater?

Here is the link to the boat:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Yacht-Cavalier-975-32-Cruiser-Sailboat-28hp-Diesel-New-Rigging-New-Antifoul-/201441299910?hash=item2ee6d64dc6

Thanks,

Jason

It looks ok, in fact a good buy. You would have to ask why it is being sold on ebay for a low price rather than seeking a better price. It might all be good but I note he has one very negative review which might be pertinent to this sale.
Cav 32s are good boats and very suitable for coastal and weekend trips.

Looks like a good buy, but still has some time to go, be interesting as to what it brings, also note that his negative report was for NOT going through with a sale because the winning bid was too low !!!

Hi .Jason
i am proud Cav 32 owner and have seen this boat advertised before
price is much below current market but looks a bargain if sound,as lots of work appears to have been done
worth a keen inspection
great boats,but I am obviously biased
no vices
not fast but ok
comfortable in seaway
happy to discuss if you will to email me
regards

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I spoke to the seller again this morning and made an offer. He was rather nice about it but politely declined saying he has had several other offers from people who have viewed the boat and they are going to put it down as a bid. All I can do now is wait out the auction and see if I win. I tend to agree with Ramona that a lot of good boats do get sold on eBay. I have sold a number of expensive items including cars and boats on eBay that have sold sight unseen. I do agree a lot of crap does end up on there but if you want to sell and are happy to accept what people are willing pay then it is often a quick easy way to sell. As a buyer it is good but you have to be smart, I always bid in the last 15 seconds the absolute maximum amount I am willing to pay, that way if I win I only pay what someone else was willing to pay due to the proxy system and if I loose it was more than I was willing to pay so no harm done.

Totally agree Fish Monkey. As a buyer it is rather frustrating I suppose it can be put down to the fact that most people don't really understand the proxy system advantages and disadvantages. I have lost count of the number of buyers that send me emails after an auction to say that some blocked their bid or that they didn't have a chance to respond to the final bid. The best system for sellers was in NZ when I lived there for a couple of years, they have a auction site called trade me and the auction automatically extends for a period of time from the last bid placed.

Are you certain you're not just the higgest bidder HG? I'm fairly certain that a higher auto bid within the eBay platform would come up trumps..

Here's one that you might consider, <a http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats/compass/innovator-33 </a> a nice 33 ft compass innovator in pretty good condition, located Gawley Bay on the Georges River.
I believe the owner is very motivated to sell
Cheers

HG02 said..

Toph said..
Are you certain you're not just the higgest bidder HG? I'm fairly certain that a higher auto bid within the eBay platform would come up trumps..

they work dont worry about that

there's no doubt that the snipers work, but your snipe amount still has to be higher than everybody else's maximum auto-bid to win.

the sniping software just automates the process of bidding in the last few seconds...

fishmonkey said..

HG02 said..

Toph said..
Are you certain you're not just the higgest bidder HG? I'm fairly certain that a higher auto bid within the eBay platform would come up trumps..

they work dont worry about that

there's no doubt that the snipers work, but your snipe amount still has to be higher than everybody else's maximum auto-bid to win.

the sniping software just automates the process of bidding in the last few seconds...

That's exactly right fish monkey if you maximum bid is higher you win if not you loose . its fast

E Bay is a good place to buy or sell many things but when it comes to yachts, I would only do it with "play" money, ie money I can afford to lose. It is a punt.

the Cav is up to $25,200 now, with 68 bids.

Since there's still 7 days to go, why would you bother bidding now?

twodogs1969 said..

UncleBob said...
Here's one that you might consider, <a http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats/compass/innovator-33 </a> a nice 33 ft compass innovator in pretty good condition, located Gawley Bay on the Georges River.
I believe the owner is very motivated to sell
Cheers

This has recently sold i think

Hi, the owner thought so too, however the buyer backed out at the last minute.
Although mabee it has sold again, who knows.

crustysailor said..
the Cav is up to $25,200 now, with 68 bids.

Since there's still 7 days to go, why would you bother bidding now?

So the seller can not legally withdraw the boat from sale. At least one bid anyway. With yachts it pays to have a history of bids on eBay. Very often the highest bidder turns out to be a waste of time and the next highest bidder has a chance.

What some times happens on E bay is a mate will put a early bid on in the first few days with a large maximum bid and it the prices rises and later he retracts the bid and the price stays high . Most of the time its in the last five or ten minuets
Ive seen it happen a few times

All valid points. I suppose at the worst the price gets driven up but it would still only sell for what someone is willing to pay. On the flip side I brought a car for 15 grand when my max bid was 20 so I suppose it goes both ways. From speaking to him I think he just wants out due to other commitments. Said he would allow an inspection but a deposit would
need to be paid and only refundable if major issue was there eg osmosis. assured me the bottom was in good condition and showed me some recent photos. I suppose while i would prefer just to make an offer and have it accepted it is still better than dealing with the never ending list of dreamers who act as if you murdered someone for making a reasonable offer.