Would anyone care to share their thoughts on the pros and cons of purchasing a Seahorse DD 462 direct vs through a broker?

Thanks in advance,

The primary benefit of buying direct is cost, plus if you want to be more actively involved in the construction as you will need to visit the yard multiple times, which I enjoyed.

The primary benefit of a broker is that somebody with more pull and experience than most buyers will supervise construction and completion of the boat to the buyer’s standards. It removes a lot of the hassles in communication, planning and travel. Plus with a full US based warranty you will have fewer concerns on having the boat delivered to the US without extensive sea trials in Asia.

For buyers that don't want to be too extensively involved, can't be or don't feel comfortable doing it, and want a US delivery, using a broker can be a smart move.

The price difference isn't as large as it looks of course as shipping and warranty are included (plus you won't have the expense of trips to the yard). I'll post my shipping cost to the West Coast once it is finalized.

I don't know if the broker boats include more standard equipment or not.


Hugh

Hugh has covered the obvious points but something to remember if you buy direct, is that SHM will build a very good boat and back it with a very good warrantee in China,Hong Kong and the Philipines...but even the very best boats from anywhere in the world can have problems at anytime.....and if you end up latter with your Duck in America,Australia,Europe etc. with a warranty problem, it is totally unfair to expect SHM to pay AUD$ 75 or US$ 70 an hour for labour to fix problems.....thats not the deal and commonsense must prevail....that is why you get a fair price when you purchase direct....if you want the full warranty in America....go the Broker for sure and enjoy the ride....I say this with due respect to SHM as I know they try to do the right thing on warranty, but when we leave the area and sail away we appreciate the reality of buying direct....which for us is perfect as we are hands on.

Don that is a good point. The buyers that do best direct with SHM have kept their boats for a long time in local waters to allow any issues, normal or otherwise, to be discovered while still close enough to have work done at SHM. This is probably even more important than the experience level of a given buyer.

I have been very happy buying direct and know that by not keeping the boat for a longer period of time in local waters I'm putting a little more risk on myself. That is my choice. These are very complicated pieces of equipment with an evolving design. Something is going to pop up.

This was one of the reasons that I felt it was necessary to use an outside inspector to help me in tracking issues early on and to aid SHM in delivering a boat with as few post delivery issues as possible.

Purchasing direct is really for experienced folks who plan to cruise from Hong Kong and will be in the South China Sea area for some time. The funds they would have used for shipping, shipping insurance and off loading, custom's brokers, duty, sales tax, commissioning, general hand-holding including operating instructions, help finding a berth, etc can be added to their cruising funds.

Purchasing through our Maryland dealer, Ed and Sue Maynard Martin and Associates or our Seattle dealer, Alan and Cindy Powell Capital City Yachts is best for stateside delivery. And, if you add up all costs for the above services - plus full warranty, it costs about the same.

Seahorse also has a commissioning/warranty service in Southern California.

Direct is better for me as I live in Thailand, and will keep the boat here for a couple of years. It is really cheap for me to visit the yard, and I have retained Ray Wolfe to supervise the construction as my representative. The initial run is to Manila where Seahorse has a warranty depot and I imagine that there will be some servicing done at that time. Once I leave Manila, it is really not practical to return to get little things fixed and I am OK doing it myself. Seahorse are good people and Bill will provide special parts as part of the warranty.

I wonder if the Deere (now Iveco) and NL warranties are worldwide?
Presumably the manufacturers warranty their hardware, and I know this is the case with the Victron and Raymarine kit I bought.

Tax and duty is a large component of the landed cost. By taking delivery at the yard there is no tax or duty. By the time it arrives in your home country it is used, and attracts a lower duty value. In my case I see no need to land it in Canada and can happily float around tax free, with Cdn registration.

Freight is another large copmponent of the landed cost. Ducks are tough boats and while a Pacific passage is not to be undertaken lightly, going back on its own bottom is part of what it is all about. If a voyage is part of the plan, why not start in HK?

Having said all this, if I lived still in Canada, I would consider using a broker as one can rack up some hefty travel expenses, and labour is not cheap when things need fixing. If a bank is involved in the deal, then buying onshore may be a requirement.

In the end I would agree with Bill that the bottom line is about the same

YMMV

Thanks so much for all of your responses. They were very helpful! I think we will go the broker route. Monique and I are far from ready to cross oceans, although we will get there someday, so we will need to ship to the US. And, although I plan to be very "hands on," I would like the local warrantee support. (That could be a valuable part of our education process.) Our family is located on the east coast so I have contacted Ed Maynard at Martin and Associates. This is all very exciting. The pieces are starting to fall into place! My oldest daughter got married last Saturday and the younger one will graduate high school June '08. Time to sell the soon to be empty nest. After that I can liquidate my business and focus fully on life, love, and boating.

Woohoo

Congrats Jim!

You are going to love the boat that SHM builds.


Hugh