We have sold our 2006 Beneteau Swift Trawler 42, Kissed Some Frogs. We have over 27,000 miles and about 2,878 hours. We’ve done a ton of upgrades, rebuilt the engines, and had endless hours of enjoyment cruising on two Great Loop trips, The Triangle Loop, and many shorter trips up and down the East Coast and around Florida.
Brenda and I have been talking about upgrading to a slightly larger boat for a while. We’ve looked at a lot of boats. While every boat is a compromise, each one we’ve looked at has had at least one major downside that made us stick with our Swift Trawler. Last year in February, we saw an Outback Yachts 50 at the Trawler Fest boat show. The boat we saw had two berths and one head, which was again a no-go for us, as we wanted two heads. But, they had one under construction, which was the two-head, three-berth model. We decided to think about it while we were on our Triangle Loop trip.
In May, we decided the Outback 50 might be for us. We contacted the company and reached an agreement on a boat under construction at the shipyard in Taiwan. The main hull and superstructure were complete, but the interior had not been started, so we could customize it to our needs. The delivery date on the boat is March 2026. We’ll introduce the Outback in a future post.
Preparing To List
So, we can’t have two boats, which means we have to sell our Swift Trawler 42. We were traveling on the Triangle Loop and ended up cruising down the Champlain Canal with Michael Martin of Great Loop Yacht Sales. We chatted with Michael and made arrangements to list The Frog with him when we got home in November.
When we got home, we had the huge task of emptying the boat. We had 9 years’ worth of “stuff” to take off the boat. It’s like moving out of a house; you realize how much you’ve accumulated over the years. We carted load after load down the dock and pretty much filled the garage.
Next was preparing the boat for sale. There are always boat projects to be done, and where we would be selling the boat, I wanted to make sure that everything was as near to perfect for the new owners as possible. We spent the next month getting the boat ready, giving it a good cleaning inside and out. Changing all of the filters. Fixing a few pumps. Cleaning up some of the “quick fixes” we’ve done over the years.
(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)
Selling Our Boat
In early December, when the boat was ready, we contacted Michael, who came aboard and took pictures and videos for the listing, which went live on December 15th. Within hours of the listing going live, we got a phone call from Michael about a couple who wanted to view the boat. They came and looked at the boat on the morning of the 16th. The showing went very well! When they left, we headed out to the grocery store to do some shopping. We had just left when our phone rang, and Michael said another couple wanted to see the boat and could be there in 30 minutes. We turned around and went back home.
The couple arrived around 3:00 and spent about two hours on the boat. They were VERY interested. It was just what they were looking for. When they left, we had a good feeling that they would make an offer on the boat.
That evening, Michael told us that there were several more showing requests. We had one more maintenance task left to do. During our trip, we developed a small oil drip on the starboard engine. The mechanics were scheduled to come to the boat on December 17th to fix the issue, which involved removing the transmission and replacing the rear main engine seal. Because the mechanics would be on the boat, we couldn’t show it for two days.
It turns out that we didn’t need to show it again. The second couple who viewed the boat submitted an offer the next day, close to our asking price. We countered with a slightly higher amount, and they accepted! All we had to do was have a survey (similar to a home inspection).
The Survey
The buyers wanted to move quickly and scheduled a survey for December 23rd (Christmas Eve, eve). At 7:00 am on the 23rd, the buyers, Michael, two boat surveyors, and an engine surveyor (who happened to be the same mechanic who fixed our engine seal) arrived at the boat. They gave the boat a full inspection. Every cover was opened, every switch switched, every valve turned, every light lit! The engines and generator were given full inspections, including taking oil and fluid samples for analysis. A boat blood test!
Once the work at the dock was done, the “sea trial” began. This involved running the boat to Daytona Beach, where it would be pulled out of the water so that the hull and running gear could be inspected. During the trip to Daytona, we ran the boat at various speeds, and the surveyors took temperature, oil pressure, and performance measurements to ensure the boat was operating to specification. It was a beautiful day, and the boat ran perfectly! We arrived at Daytona Beach Boat Works for the haulout at 11:00, right on schedule.
The boat was lifted out of the water, and the surveyors inspected the hull, tapping it with a small hammer to listen for hollow spots and checking it with a moisture meter. Everything looked great on the bottom. The paint was in perfect condition, as were the propellers and running gear.
When the boat was dropped back in the water at the end of the inspection, everyone was happy! We’ve maintained the boat well since we purchased it, and it showed during the Survey. On the way back to Palm Coast, it was just the buyers with me. I let Pat drive the boat for some of the way. We got back home and docked around 4:00.
We had a great Christmas, and the next week, we heard that the Survey Report had come back clean, and the deal was done! We signed the paperwork, and the boat was sold!
The new owners are from Canada, so special paperwork was required because the boat was registered with the US Coast Guard and needed to be deregistered before it could be registered as a Canadian vessel. We agreed to let them keep it in our slip until the paperwork was done and their new slip was available. They are going to keep the boat about 10 miles up the ICW at Marineland until they leave for the Bahamas, so it won’t go far for now.
Pat and Celine, the new owners, arrived on the boat on January 10th, and we spent most of the day going over all the boat’s systems. I showed them where all the valves were, pointed out tips and tricks for maintaining the boat, and explained how to run the various electronics. On Friday the 16th, they arrived to take the boat to their marina. We spent an hour doing engine checks and going over the engine room systems, then helped them untie and, with mixed emotions, watched The Frog sail away.
They say the two happiest days in a boat owner’s life are the day they buy the boat and the day they sell it. We’ve had a lot of great adventures on our Swift Trawler. We’ve had some challenges, but that’s part of the joys of boating! Overall, the boat has been very good to us. I think that if we didn’t have our next boat already in the works, it would have been much more emotional.
(Click gallery images to enlarge. Touch/Mouse over for captions.)
What’s Next?
When we sold the boat, one of our requirements was that it be renamed. We wanted to keep the name “Kissed Some Frogs” for our new boat. Michael, our salesperson, didn’t think that would be a deal breaker for anyone (grin). The new owners will call the boat “Compass Rose”.
Our new boat is currently being built in Taiwan, and is scheduled to ship on a “Ship Shipping Ship” around the 29th of January. It will take about a month to travel from Taiwan to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, crossing the Pacific Ocean and going through the Panama Canal. The current delivery estimate is March 9th. When it arrives, it will have a few weeks of commissioning, then the manufacturer will take it to the Palm Beach Boat Show March, 25-29th. After the show, we will add a few more things, like a bimini and some additional electronics, before we bring it home!
Thanks For Visiting! – Tom & Brenda
