[Rhodes22-list] bob mellor - some information

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Bob,
 
First, welcome to the Rhodes board.  One of the pluses of being a  Rhodes 
owner, sailor, or wannabe is this hyperactive board.  My experience  is that if 
you’ve got a question, on virtually anything, many Rhodes  owners/sailors out 
there will have answers and/or opinions.  This  board offers a wealth of 
information and great comradery.  I think  you’ve already figured that out.
 
Your questions regarding the refurbishment process and pricing resonate  with 
me, we are trying to get delivery of a refurb boat now.  Elton (Stan’s  
brother and the guy who does the deliveries) is suffering through his second  
burned out boat trailer bearing somewhere in Ala.  As soon as he gets his  trailer 
fixed and can get back to Edenton to get our boat, we’re next.   From the 
beginning of the buying process I’ve had questions as to how this  process works, 
but I’ve pressed ahead given the very high regard people on this  board  have 
for Stan - the unanimous consensus is “trust him, he’ll do the  right thing”. 
  Here's what I think I understand.
 
WRT the refurb deal, it starts when Stan buys a boat.   Sometimes he may buy 
a boat because he thinks he can refurb it and resell it  (i.e. no specific 
customer), other times he may know he’s got one or more  prospective customers 
waiting in the wings.  You’ve got to believe that if  anyone in this world can 
spot a good used boat at a good price, it’s Stan.   I’m sure price he pays is 
a function of the year, condition, and equipment on  the boat, and that price, 
and his markup is a baseline for all that  follows.
 
I think Stan also has used boats that he doesn’t refurb - perhaps the right  
client didn’t appear after he'd bought it, or perhaps there's a problem with  
it.  You can buy one of those boats cheaper than a refurb, but with no  
warranty.
 
Additionally, he may know of used boats available somewhere in the  country.  
He may be entitled to a commission for this “brokerage” but he  doesn’t own 
those boats.  Perhaps the owners wanted more $ than he was  willing to pay, or 
perhaps he just didn’t have the clients, etc.  Again,  these boats aren’t 
refubed - you’re really dealing with the owner, not  Stan.  You can also see 
boats for sale mentioned on this board.
 
Regarding the refurbishment process, I’m not quite sure what the GBI  refurb 
process is.  I know that if there is a working system on the boat,  it is not 
replaced.  For example, our boat came with a set of sails that  were judged to 
be OK, and an older GBI roller furler which was  working.  We could improve 
those systems (i.e. new sails) but at a  cost - they amounted to mods.  I don't 
think you automatically get new  sails, or new anything else, unless what’s 
there is judged inadequate or  defective.  
 
It’s not clear to me that there is a xx-point check list of things that  
happen when a boat is refurbed, but from my perspective what we’re buying is the  
piece of mind that comes from presuming the boat has been thoroughly inspected 
 and repaired as necessary and that it has the same warranty as a new boat.   
If our refurb’d boat breaks, I am going to be one ticked off owner - it’s 
cost a  lot more money to get a refurb than a used boat - but nothing I’ve seen 
or read  has suggested it’s going to break, or that I will be in the least  
disappointed.  From my perspective going the refurb route buys peace of  mind.  
It's the next best thing to a brand new boat.
 
WRT refurb mods: You decide what mods you want and Stan will coordinate  with 
you as to how feasible they are and what they mean.  As examples: 
 
- We’re getting an 89 hull and have asked for capt seats.  Stan  pointed out 
that getting seats could be done, but to mount them on the gunwales  it would 
be necessary to put on a new wider stern pulpit in addition to buying  and 
putting in the seat post mounts - and that would affect the cost.  If  we had a 
later model hull as a baseline, that larger stern pulpit might have  been 
standard, and we'd only have to pay for the seat installation.   Alternatively, it’
s possible to mount the post holders for the seats on blocks  that intrude 
into the cockpit and disrupt cockpit seating (it’s an option, but  we didn't 
pursue it and I don't think Stan recommends it).  Stan and his  colleagues were 
very forthright in outlining the consequences of any mod you  request.  
 
- We’re getting a 2 battery layout, we didn’t particularly want one, it  
turned out that way.  If you check the options list for a new boat you’ll  see 
there is a cost for that, but it comes at no additional cost to us because  the 
basic boat that Stan had bought already had 2 batteries.  Of course the  basic 
price Stan paid for that hull notionally included  the depreciated  costs for 
the 2nd battery layout, but this is an example where it would likely  cost us 
$ to cut back to 1 batt.  The basic used boat Stan buys is really  your 
baseline for any mods - you mod from that.  You may not have to mod at  all.
 
-  Stan gave us a price for new cushions, we visited Edenton and  decided 
that some of the existing cushions that came with the boat would be fine  - but a 
few should be added.  So the cushions didn’t cost as much  as they could have 
- but they weren’t free because Stan had to buy a  few.
 
My point is, getting the refurb boat modified with the options you want is  
an iterative process.  It starts with the used/refurb boat you’re getting  as 
the baseline, not a blank sheet of paper.  You can’t just look down the  new 
boat options list and say a specific option is going to cost $xx - it  depends 
on the used boat hull and what’s there.  It’s an iterative process,  but Stan 
and his staff will work with you.

Dave