Sell Your Boat Newport Boat Show opens today April 18th, 2007

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Selling a yacht named "Bad Debt" might seem like a challenge in a season of escalating home foreclosures, subprime lender bankruptcies and near-record fuel prices.
But Bill Solt, a broker for Ardell Yacht and Ship Brokers in Newport Beach, seemed optimistic about finding someone to pay $495,000 for Bad Debt, a 50-foot Ronin cruiser on sale at the Newport Boat Show, which starts today on Lido Island.
"A boat's a toy," said Solt, a broker for 35 years. "We're selling fun. We're selling adventure."
The Newport show, now in its 34th year, is the West Coast's largest in-water exhibit of yachts with more than 320 boats – a show record – open to visitors through Sunday.
One "toy" on display is a 98-foot Horizon cruiser owned by Jim Baum of Pasadena. It has 2,200 square feet of living space, walk-in closets, beds for 10 and eight plasma TVs, the largest of which has a 63-inch screen. A similar boat sells for $5.3 million or charters for $39,500 a week.
"People are going to have their fun," said Baum, a retired airline pilot and investor. "People are going to find discretionary income to do what they want."
Fun or not, boat sales are expected to be flat in 2007 after a decline in volume in 2006, said James Petru, director of industry statistics and research for the National Marine Manufacturers Association. While total volume dipped, revenue rose in some categories as people paid more per boat for innovative navigation gear and all the comforts of home, Petru said.
In-board cruise boats, generally longer than 24 feet – the type of craft at the Newport show – illustrate the trend: Sales volume fell 24 percent last year to about 5,900 units nationally. But the average price jumped 11 percent to $444,900.

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Newport Beach and Southern California don't always track the nation. Duncan McIntosh, producer of the Newport Boat Show, has seen no signs of a slowdown in local boat sales, although he would not be surprised if the slumping real estate market could have a negative impact.
"We saw a wave of people use equity in their homes to purchase toys they like – vacation homes, RVs, boats, whatever," he said.
In 2005, the most recent figures available, spending on boats jumped 8 percent nationally but 6 percent in California. The state ranked second nationally in total sales at $1.3 billion, behind Florida, where sales exceeded $2.5 billion and rose 18 percent.
Jeff Helsing, sales manager for Crow's Nest Yacht Sales, the largest exhibitor at the show with 22 boats on display, agreed that now is as good a time as ever to sell yachts.
"Guys with big dollars are spending," he said. "Getting them to spend it with me is a different story."

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Riviera Translates Aussie Ruggedness Into Comfort & Performance. Sell A Boat Used Boat Sales

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The new Riviera 40 and 51 Flybridge Convertibles were designed to handle the rough seas of the Southern Ocean surrounding their Australian birthplace. Those conditions also inspired the Riviera designers to add new features making the boats easy to maintain as well as comfortable for cruising.

The sleek fiberglass hull with its flared bow allows easy maintenance from the bow roller to the swim platform. The cockpit is cleanly laid out with a recessed channel around the slightly crowned deck that allows water to run out through a large center scupper, essentially a self-bailing cockpit. The live bait well in the aft coaming gives the appearance of a lit aquarium complete with a circulating pump. A fish box is located in the sole. The refrigeration box has a rheostat that will take the temperature from chilling to freezing.
On the safety side, there are large walkarounds on deck and good handrails as well as nonskid surfaces. The bulkheads are solid and the bilges are compartmentalized to contain water in one section should there be a leak or a failure in the head system. The specially designed bow structure is almost impact resistant, assuring that a collision will not allow the hull to be compromised.

The boat is designed for easy access for maintenance and large access areas for inspection below decks, all the way to the rudder post. Most unique is the engine room access where the entire sink compartment to port of the cabin door swings open to reveal the mechanical operations. Also new are the flush mounted pop up cleats on the side coamings and the recessed cleats aft to reduce chafe on stern lines.The models being shown now are all fiberglass but a teak cockpit can be ordered. A boat can also be ordered with no swim platform and with regular windows forward instead of the closed, American style.

On the flybridge, the helm station has been ergonomically designed for easy access to all the controls. It leaves plenty of room for any electronics the owner wants to be installed. The two seats at the steering station are offset, a design feature crews find particularly attractive since you don’t have to clamber over another person to change helmsmen. Another attractive feature is the L-shaped seating area forward of the helm station, allowing the entire family, crew or guests to enjoy the ride together. Adding to the enjoyment is a sink and fridge/freezer station.
The functional aspects of the exterior don’t quite prepare you for the luxury of the interior. Both versions are finished in varnished Australian and Southeast Asian hardwoods along with soft fabrics and genuine leather. The main salon has a bar with storage and icemaker to starboard as you enter and an L-shaped dinette and seating area forward. To port is another L-shaped settee with a coffee table. A wide screen TV and stereo system can be installed forward of the dining area.

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A few steps down take you into the galley which is not what you typically expect, geared more to the cruising aspects of the boating lifestyle. A microwave is installed in the passageway to starboard in the step area as you go forward. The L-shaped galley contains a two-burner electric cooktop that is impractically flush with the counter while the storage underneath reveals a pull out dishwasher drawer. Storage is impressive, including a large space in the galley sole.
HMY broker Tim Gredick pointed out that Riviera supplies the boats complete with linens, glasses, silverware, and fenders. “All you need to do is provision and go.” Riviera also builds in storage areas for the glasses.
For accommodations, the Riviera 40 has a guest cabin to starboard with over and under single bunks along the hull and another bunk along the inside wall that can fold up, allowing access to a European-style combination washer/dryer. The master stateroom is in the bow with a full inner-spring mattress island bunk. Both cabins have good storage, including deep hanging and shelf lockers. There is one head with a VacuFlush toilet system and a “frameless screen” shower stall.

The Riviera 51 has the same main salon but has three staterooms, with the master cabin having an en suite head. The starboard guest cabin is a double bunk while the single bunk cabin is across the walkway to port. The two cabins share a separate head.
Actually, the storage throughout the boat is impressive, more like a sailboat where every nook and cranny is utilized, than in a typical sportfishing boat.
Both models will be shown at the SC In-Water Boat Show. The Riviera 51 comes standard with twin Caterpillar 700 HP engines for a base price of about $887,000. The boat in the show has Caterpillar 3406E engines with 800 HP, for a cruise speed of 26-27 knots. The Riviera 40 is standard with twin diesel Cummins C480E (480 HP) engines with a base price of about $485,000. The boat cruises at about 27 knots. Both models have numerous options that can be added.

Gerald Couturier, a broker for HMY, told The Boating News that “if a family loves to boat and cruise but likes to fish sometimes, this is the perfect boat.” Most buyers usually like to cruise 60-65% of the time. The Riviera “is a nice alternative to the American made boats that are higher priced,” he continued. “It fills a need in the marketplace.”

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