Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Ever wonder what happened to a boat you sold years ago?


EchelonMike

Recommended Posts

Hey Everyone:

I received a really neat email earlier this week from the guy I sold my first boat to, back in 2002. We were living in Dallas, but moving to Cincinnati, my wife was prego with our 3rd (who is now 10), and so we decided to take a break from boating and sell our "baby". It had been a great starter boat, and it was hard for me to sell her - 1995 Celebrity bowrider, V8, 20 footer, red/white, tandem trailer, etc.

Anyway, I listed the boat for sale on eBay in January 2002, and a nice family from Memphis, TN won the bid and took her home a week or so later. We moved shortly thereafter and I lost track of the boat and the new owner. I always wondered what happened to my first boat - was she still on the water? Was she healthy, and happy, and well taken care of like she was when in our family?

Earlier this week, I got my answer when I received this email:

-------------

Mike, I just wanted to send you a note and give you an update on the Celebrity boat I purchased from you in January of 2002. We used the boat for the past 12 seasons and made a lot of great memories but it was time to move up to a bigger boat. We just traded it in on a new Crownline here in Memphis. The Celebrity still looks as good as the day I bought it. We made a few small changes but it never gave us a bit of trouble. We spent very little for repairs over the years. It was a very dependable boat. It may be listed on the dealers website soon. (Counce Marine) The dealer is a friend and he was very impressed with how good of shape it was in for a 17 year old boat. We received many compliments over the years. The baby we brought to Texas is now 11 and enjoys driving the boat. Anyways if you ever regretted selling it now is your chance to buy it back. I hope all is well with your family.

---------------

Pretty awesome! He sent me a pic and it really does look as perfect as it did the day I sold it!

Any of you keep track of boats you used to own many years previously? I would love to track down our old Chris Craft that we had when I was a kid - that boat taught me to love the water, how to be a good boat owner, connected me with many, many great friends in the boating and watersports community, etc.

-- Mike

Edited by EchelonMike
  • Like 2
Link to comment

Our 1991 Ski Sanger is still owned here locally and we see her on the lake from time to time. A girl of 19 years old bought it and she has many many girl friends from what we see.

great Story on you old boat!

Link to comment

I sold a '01 Sunsetter LXI in '03, that I had bought new, to a member on the old site. I was in Texas and he was in Virginia. I drove up and met him in Memphis late one night and we exchanged the boat for the cash. We kept in touch for a few years even though he wasn't very active on the site. Lost track of him after that. Then a few years ago out of the blue a guy from Rhode Island, IIRC, PM'd me and said he had the boat and had bought it from the guy I sold it to. I can't recall what his user name was now. Always wonder if he still has it.

Link to comment

I haven't really wondered as I never really bonded with any of my previous boats. But the current Bryant that I am selling in the Spring will be much different. My son grew up on that boat over the past 8 years, learned to ski on it, and we've had a lot of good times on that boat. I will miss it. I feel like taking applications for it and not just sell it to anyone.

Other vehicles though, I sold my Aprilia that I had for a bout 4 years to some young kid. Knew it was a mistake taking his money, and had extreme seller's remorse for letting that bike go. I kept the bike in pristine condition, wonderful machine. A month after selling it the kid trashed it with all kinds of aluminum dress up crap and then he wrecked it a few weeks after that. It was kind of like seeing an ex-girlfriend being worked on the corner.

Link to comment

Yep I do. I know where some are but I'm most interested in knowing where our first Malibu is. Was a 1999 response LX, white hull, tan main, with dark blue and black accents with an "extreme" tower. sold in 2000 somewhere in Alabama as I recall. Anyone seen her? haha

Link to comment

Slight hijack, I sometimes wonder where my 73 Firebird (first car) is resting or rusting.

My first boat was an early 70s model Glastron Tri-hull with an Evinrude which is probably in a barnyard somewhere with chickens living in it.

Edited by Bozboat
Link to comment

I sold my 2002 vlx to a dude in Australia. He sent me a couple pics when he got it and was super stoked. The alternator went out on him, but I told him it would need to be replaced. I. Was wondering if he would join this site. Hopefully the boat has ran well for him and he's enjoying it as much as I did. I was always a little upset that my old boat made it to Australia before I did :)

Link to comment

I sold my 1985 Ski Supreme to a local guy and every time we go to Brookville Lake I see him and he is having problems with it. They tried to do some aftermarket things to the engine and ended up ruining the motor. I wish they would just take it somewhere and get it fixed rather than trying to do it themselves.

Mike I'm sure you have seen it there. It's Orange and Cream with a black Joystick Tower on it. She was my first personal boat (family always had them). I was very excited to move up to my bu, but I will always love that little thing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I just ran across this a couple of weeks ago... http://capecod.craig...3227721746.html

This was my '87 Skier that I ordered in October of '86, and took delivery on January 10th, 1987 near Pittsburgh, PA, and trailered it back to Mass in a blizzard... My heart kind-of sunk when I saw that tower on it. I was in the process of restoring it a few years back, then I bought the 'Vette, then my kids bought an '06 VLX, so something had to go... (I never saw it again as it went through a broker). It was like selling one on my children.

When I saw the picture on CL, it sickened me as the guy tried to make this into something it wasn't intended to be...

BTW, it's overpriced.

Edited by DWhynot
Link to comment

My first boat was a '93 Euro F3 that I bought from my inlaws shortly after we got married. Spent 5 wonderful seasons on her before upgrading a few summers ago. I sold her to a somewhat local guy that was buying his first ever boat. He never really seemed 100% about the purchase even though he brought along 5 friends, all of which skied behind her, that cosigned his decision to buy. Sure enough about 4 weeks later I saw my baby being resold on CL. Buyers remorse I guess. Oh well, I think he managed a small profit off the resale.

Link to comment

As a general rule I never regretted selling as I was always trading up in size and or quality and I had the experiences on pictures. What really bothers me is selling to friends or locally. I am probably one of the most maintenance OCD/clean freak types on here, but as soon as you sell to friends or locally something out of left field happens mechanically and you end up looking like you sold them a broken boat. Plus they let the boat go to hell which is kind of heart breaking as everyone knew the boat as "your old boat" and we constantly get reminded about how nice it used to be! Fortunately it has been limited to a 7 year old water pump and some $3.00 ballast bag elbows.

Link to comment

I sold my Four Winns in the summer of '09 to buy my Bu. She was a beauty that never let me down. All 3 kids had their first rides and 2 of them learned to wakeboard behind it.

Anyone in Brighton, MI see a white/blue Four Winns with "Mistress" on the transom?

Link to comment

I sold 3 of our previous boats (1996 Tantrum, 2000 VLX, and 2005 Response Lxi) through our local dealer and have never seen any of them again. I always thought that I would have seen at least one of them on our local lakes, down on Norris, or at least at the dealer. I also have always wondered what happened to them and it doesn't seem like any of the buyers were/are active members of this site. Hopefully, they have been taken care of as well as I took care of them.

Link to comment

Not my boat, but one I always kept track of for nostalgia.

I grew up visiting my Uncles summer place in Canada (lake of the woods, near Kenora). The had a small wooden boat (redwood) with a small outboard motor, just enough to get someone up skiing on two skis. They also had the coolest on-water boat house, it was like a boat garage... I loved that thing. I would have purchased/taken that boat in a heartbeat if it was offered.

In any case, the boat stayed in the family (my cousing.. Uncles son). He took the boat to have it refurbished here in the states. He left it with the guy to work on. A couple months later he inquires about the boat and gets no answer. Swings by to take a look and everything on the boat is gutted and the wooden hull is destroyed.

I never got the full story, but from what I gather the guy went bankrupt and just got away with whatever he could.

Link to comment

My first boat is likely sitting on the side of someones house rotting, just have that feeling. It was a 17' Dorado, which was made from a hull mold that many manufacturers used. It was a great ski boat for a first time boat, did get pulled around a bit though. I bought it from a family that lived on Lake Sammamish and it was a bit trashed, I think it had sunk once at their dock (I had heard). but mechanically ran good (115 Evenrude). We chrisened it the Ski Antique.

Second boat sold to a family wanting to get into boating, hope they enjoyed it, have not seen it anywhere. It was a 19' Reinell I/O with HO v6. All around was a good boat for our family for 14 or 15 years.

I am sort of more curious what happened to the Ski Antique than the I/O.

Link to comment

sold my old 19' Mariah to a freind for $2,000. I see him on the water accasionally and it's still running great. My Sunsetter went to Wisconson. The guy i bought my wakesetter from keeps track of it becouse I take him out riding once and a wyle.

Link to comment

I doubt these two boats are still around. Our families first boat and the boat I learned to ski behind. First pic is my Dad and me coming in on the wooden Yellow Jacket (I think it was a YJ), check out the "Life Belt" which I think is on backwards. I guess I didn't like wearing it so they made it where I couldn't get it off. I would love to have this boat back while my Dad is still alive.

The Fiberglass Lone Star was my High School boat. It had two Evinrudes on it, added the second after this pic. Thought we owned the lake with pyramids etc.

post-5-0-38058000-1351702181_thumb.jpg

post-5-0-44385600-1351702299_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment

If you take a lot of pride in your stuff, and maintain it well, it can be a bit depressing seeing what happens to your stuff (boats, cars, houses, etc.) after they're sold. Without exception, every boat, car, or house I have sold has gone down in appearance within a few years, some dramatically so. Here's one example: my father and I restored a 30' wooden sailboat together in the late 80's...she was absolutely beautiful when sold a few years later, perfect in every respect, and the price reflected that condition. The buyer was a local real estate developer who was always dressed like a million bucks. I saw her in a different marina some 10 years later and guess what? She looked like she was about to sink, in terrible condition, with that same guy living on board...looked like a total bum. Boats (and cars) rise and fall with the fortunes (or misfortunes) of the subsequent buyers, and it ain't always pretty.

I tend to hang onto all my cars and boats now.....because when I look to see what else is out there I can't imagine thinking much of it is an "upgrade" It sort of looks like I'm living in the 80's in my garage, but hell, who cares, maybe I am!

Edited by CliffB
  • Like 1
Link to comment

Maybe I am alone on this one. When I sold my 2002 vlx, and purchased my 2010, I was a bit disappointed. Sure it was a great upgrade, but after 8 years with the same boat, the new one just didn't feel right. The way the engine sounded, or the way it drove. The newer still doesn't feel the same, not saying I'm not happy, it's just different. I'll tell you though, I had less issues with my 2002 vs my 2010, but as boat get more complex, it's bound to happen

Link to comment

i know exactly what happened to my previous boat - it is wintered about 100 yards from my new one (we use the same dealer). Also, the new owners have a house on the lake in the same cove we usually boat in.

Link to comment

I sold my 2002 vlx to a dude in Australia. He sent me a couple pics when he got it and was super stoked. The alternator went out on him, but I told him it would need to be replaced. I. Was wondering if he would join this site. Hopefully the boat has ran well for him and he's enjoying it as much as I did. I was always a little upset that my old boat made it to Australia before I did :)

I'm sure if it came to Australia it will be enjoying a very good life!! I imported my Response from California two years ago, a private deal from one of the nicest guys you could meet. Wife and I spent 9 weeks in the States last year and we were able to drop in and see him. He'd even got a Chev cap for me in the same colours as the boat!! I still feel a little guilty buying the boat as I later found out he didn't really want to sell it, but circumstances dictated he had to.

Anyone wanting to come to Australia you've got a place to stay and a boat to ski behind here. Just make sure it's summer here (your winter).

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...