Building An Authoritative Travel Blog

Authoritative blogs seem all the rage at the moment but what exactly is an " Authoritative Travel Blog ?" Well my understanding of the matter is it is a blog that is not only very informative to the readers but that the information comes from authoritative type people in connection with what they are writing about.

Hopefully my articles below will give an insight on travel and travel related experiences from all over the world from many authoritative writers as they have been there and done that.

Articles will be and are published often and this means current travel experiences and up to date places to visit. If you have also visited these places or wish to comment then please do so remembering this blog is intended to family orientated visitors so please be respectful.

I have seen many fears raised through my article site and feel that any traveller today that, for one reason or another, decides against travel insurance then they are possibly being a little short sighted. We do not want our boats to sink but are happy to carry life rafts. travel insurance is a similar idea. We do not wish to ever claim on it but if things go wrong as they sometimes do it is a benifit to have the insurance.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Boat Evaluation for Buyers and Sellers

By John Howard

Determining how much your vessel is worth a fundamental, but also one of the hardest elements of owning a hobby watercraft, especially when the boat is up for sale, but also for the buying counterpart, as well as for professional such as surveyors and insurance representatives.

If you are selling, the proceeds that you will get on your motorboat, sailing yacht or fishing pontoon will either determine how much you will have in your pocket if you are moving away from marine life, or if you are upgrading, it will settle on the size of your next vessel.

At first glance buyers may think that the subject is less crucial for them as there is a lot of choice of similar boats with clear prices, but make no mistake - don't become complacent and forget that not getting the best deal may mean losing tens of thousands of dollars.

This is, unfortunately, harder than it seems. Boat prices fluctuate a lot due to a series of sometimes obscure circumstances, such as the place you are in and the season of the year, and these are all things you need to be aware of. Otherwise you may strike what seems a great deal, but in hindsight you may then notice that the transaction left you worse off by thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

To do the evaluation right, there are two principal routes: One is to employ a professional appraiser, the other one is to do it yourself. Hiring a broker is the easier and quicker solution, but it is not automatically the best option.

In fact, as there is a lot of information available on the subject for those who are willing to spend some time educating themselves, you can do this yourself if you prefer not to be dependent on someone else's opinion.

To become your own appraiser for boat values, you need to look at as many resources as possible - and there are plenty of books and websites on the subject. Your aim should be to come up with realistic minimum and maximum process for the kind of boat you want or are about to sell.

For this, trade magazine classifieds (whether online or offline) are a fantastic place to start. Systematically collecting and comparing ads for similar boat classes over time will give you a very good idea of offer and demand, and therefore of current price levels.

Marine get-togethers such as boating festivals are also a great source. At your local marina, you could just meet the right experienced seaman who is willing to chat about boat values with you, giving you the insights you may have missed.

Another good place to spend some time at are boat and yacht shows, even if you are ultimately buying or selling second hand. Finding out by yourself what kind of features and accessories are in fashion helps in determining what is currently in demand and what isn't and this applies to used boats too.

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