Warning On Larry Smith Team Scarab 9 Meter
 

i won this boat on ebay and drove from dallas tx. to san rafael ca. to pick it up. after many phone conversions i was assured that the boat was stored in AZ. and keep dry over the years it was down for resto, it was also said it was currently in dry storage, and the trailer would make the trip altho the auction stated it was in bad shape. i was hesitant to paypal the deposet but again assured if there was a problem i would be refunded the money in full.

after a 24 hour drive i arrive at the boat to find out the seller lives about 350 miles away from the storage, its going to be a third party transaction and i wont be meeting the seller at all. i walk in the storage to find the boat on the trailer with a badly torn cover and the trailer tongue on the ground (bow down). just as the nightmare becomes real time play by play i get on the trailer fender look in and its FULL not alittle BUT FULL of water. well over 1000 gal. i find the guy that run the storage tell him that im here to pick up this boat and the first thing out of his mouth is "OH YOUR HERE TO PAY ME MY BACK STORAGE" i start to look at the trailer and it has 6 inch holes rusted through it.

i go to a near by pub and call the seller make an offer for $3800 what i think its worth. we strike a deal including the storage so it can be removed. i get back and the gates are locked. i wait 5 hours before i start back to dallas. i call the seller the next day to inform him of the situation. he again tells me no prob ill get you your money back.

i have called him countless times from more then one number with no answer. i have waited to the last day before i had to open a dispute with paypal. i did some research to find out the guy is a used car dealer, uses more than one name, and has tried to sell this boat again with $11k buy it now on ebay!!!!!

maybe i will get a return call now!!!!

is this it??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Larry...item1c0fb95183

Intresting how much was the over due storage bill.

Ldd?

Thats funny......:lolhit:

thats the boat....

Thats what I was thinking also but did not want to say it :party-smiley-004:

I was going to say the same thing! :D

That sucks that you drove all that way to get the boat for a no show seller and to have to deal with the yard like that. I drove all the way to Virginia to look at a Donzi that was pristine according to the seller just to find out that when I got there I would not even take the boat if the guy gave it to me!

:eek: I thought something sounded fishy about that listing.. I read the listing & looked at the pics. My wife & I got a weird feeling about it too, but just couldn't put our finger on it..

After he said this in his listing.. (ebay #120522887555)
" The ONLY reason I'm selling this famous Larry Smith Team Scarab boat is that my wife and I have settled in Los Angeles area after my wife's serious back surgery and there is not likely that we will be able to boat together in a high performance boat of this caliber in the foreseeable future. My wish is that the future owner runs her in charitable Poker Run events etc."

What an azz hat that guy is...

Jamie

.

File a complaint with paypal ( which they will give you your money back also with your credit card company if you used a card thru paypal ) and also with ebay for grossly misrepresenting the item ebay should kick him off for that one and that way no one else will get burnt by this clown ans alos make sure to leave him bad feedback so other people know what kind of a seller he is

"And now on the flip side..."
 

To make it easier for anybody that wants to learn from an event like this, I paste the full original description of my ad on eBay as an intro;

To much happiness I found Jeff Brown's, ( of Hawthorne, CA), 1976 Team Scarab 9 Meter "Pure Insanity" P-38 (I). She was the overall Production Class race winner at the 1978 Bushmill G.P. in Newport Beach, CA and became Western region Production Class Champion. During the 1979 season Jeff Brown had Larry Smith build him an identical Team Scarab 9 Meter, but a light weight Kevlar 49 built "Pure Insanity" P-38 (II) and after racing the two boats managed to become The National Overall Production Class Champion of 1979. This 1976 "Pure Insanity" I, was used for the races when seas were unusually rough. Team Scarab's lay-up of this boat is unbelievably well made and is basically indestructible. Legendary offshore racer, multiple World and National Champion Al "Popeyes" Copeland leased this boat of mine, that is here for sale, from Jeff Brown for his first offshore powerboat races. Mr. Copeland got so impressed that he became a offshore racing fanatic and would go on the be a living legend in the sport and also racing among other boats a very successful Team Scarab 38.
My "Pure Insanity" (I) was later raced in the early and mid 1980's with great success by Don Noble ( of Costa Mesa, CA), then only with hull saying P-38 and was then set up with these current bullet-proof Kaama drives. She was among other things 1984 MBRA World Record Holder Pro IIIA before being sold to retired aviator LT. Craig Dugan of Fallon, Nevada. Mr. Dugan pulled the engines, awl-grip painted the hull, disassembled the dash, re-wired and restored dash and gages, powder-coated lots of hardware black, (including special motor-mounts), re-chromed many other hardware parts, re-built Kaama drives and had them re-packed. Had boat sitting with his planes in air-craft hangar during restoration and storage, (12 years). After a couple of years of illness he sold boat without re-powering it. It is now sold complete, velvet drive transmissions are included (need to be re-built), BUT WITHOUT ENGINES. The trailer goes with the boat, but is not registered or of any use or value due to severe rust issues. I pulled the boat on this trailer 120 miles a year ago to it's current storage in San Rafael, California, but buyer is recommended to use trailer only for re-load on a better trailer. The boat needs; new engines, all interior recommended re-done, transmissions total rebuild, rebuilt dash to be installed. Apart from these things, the boat is in structural and cosmetic fantastic condition as seen by photos. A secondary fuel tank for additional range comes with her and could be installed. Several Scarab logo trim pieces and a whole box full with magazines, articles and service receipts going back to Don Noble's ownership is included in this sale. The ONLY reason I'm selling this famous Larry Smith Team Scarab boat is that my wife and I have settled in Los Angeles area after my wife's serious back surgery and there is not likely that we will be able to boat together in a high performance boat of this caliber in the foreseeable future. My wish is that the future owner runs her in charitable Poker Run events etc.
Boat is to be PAID IN FULL WITHIN 7 DAYS of auction ending to complete the sale. ONLY money order or CERTIFIED U.S. or Canadian Bank check accepted as payment method. I have title for this boat free and clear. ONLY PAYPAL is accepted as payment method for the required $500 down payment and is due within 48 HOURS of auction ending. Buyer will have to pick up boat within a week of completion of sale.
P.S. 1976 Team Scarab by Larry Smith, P-38 "Pure Insanity" I, is the first famous racing Scarab made and is of great historical value to all true offshore racing fans. May the future owner enjoy her for many years to come. D.S.



The only differens to this description and the current one is that now the ad also states, "velvet drive transmissions are included, need to be re-built". Theres a reason for this and I'll get to that shortly.
The "buyer" nopostduce, (Spencer), contacted me after he won the boat an eBay for $5,800. (Two weeks earlier I had the boat up for sale first time around and it went up to $6,700 on a no sale and I turned down an approach after the auction from the high-bidder, since I felt that he didn't seem very serious about keeping the boat as a KAAMA or at least twin I/O, but liked to stick twin OB on a bracket). Due to the historical value of the boat and it's current good condition I felt it was the right thing to do. Got a short lecture by my wife and decided to put her up for auction again and hope for a caring buyer, even though I decided to lower the reserve. Also sent a PM to late Al Copeland's racing partner Stan Ware, who had wanted to be reconnected with this their first race-boat and use it for charity events, raising money for Al's skin-cancer research foundation, since I felt I was giving the boat away for a fraction of it's true value in the first place I might as well give it to him. Due to the upcoming holidays maybe? Stan didn't get back to me on the OSO forum unfortunately.
Back to "the buyer" Spencer's phone call. He called to tell me that even though he had won the boat he didn't like to pay the required posted downpayment of $500 since he couldn't pick up the boat right away. He also said that he had found another Scarab 30' KAAMA that was turnkey for $12,000 in Kansas. He also mentioned that he had talked to that fellow and had just realized that since my boat didn't even have transmissions it would cost him 2 x $3,500 to cover that and his budget to get a boat turn-key was not more than $12K-$15K, so he wasn't to excited about his auction won boat anymore. After I told him that my boat had Velvet transmissions included, but they needed to be totally re-built, I had only decided to mentioned that the KAAMA drives and that their drive shafts were rebuilt in the ad since that was something I thought was of the most concern and left out the minor selling point that the (rebuildable)transmissions were actually present/included too. Spencer then talked to me for an hour about transmissions, (he's a very knowledgeable, current transmission mechanic), and his plans to put two Corvette LS1 engines (that he said he could get for $800 a piece and easily rebuild in no time for next to nothing. After We compared notes on Our above, (mentioned in a different manner by Spencer in his post), experience in the automotive business I felt really good about this "buyer" of my dear boat. I told him that I would make sure that one of my really good boating Buddies, (who's been friends with the fellow who runs the storage yard for 35 years and has a 1975 Team Scarab 9 Meter himself), would meet Spencer when he'd get to the bay area on New Years Eve, (since my wife is still recovering from a bad back surgery) and make sure that he'd get the pallet with the transmissions, exhoust manifolds, carborators etc, etc..that also was included with the boat and the titles, a full box with service history, photos, old magazines where the boat is featured, all going back to the early 80's and help with loading everything if needed. Spencer after all this insisted that he still didn't feel comfortable giving me the $500 downpayment since he'd have to spend $400 in diesel on his truck, coming & going. I then couldn't help explaining that if he still didn't feel good about this, I wish he would have thought about it before he bid twice on my boat, but I rather let him pass on it now, than go there, still not pay me and go and buy the Scarab in Kansas or something else. Spencer then said; "I'll bring a friend, drive the 1,300 miles, if I like it, I'll then shop for a decent trailer which I know I can find for a thousand dollars and then complete the transaction with Your Buddie Steve". He then asked me to guarantee that I'll give him the $500 downpayment back if he didn't like the boat. I told him that I'd be happy to and then explained that it could be hard to find a trailer during New Years. He said that they had some time and would just get a cheap hotel room and hang out for a few days. I gave Spencer my friend Steve's number and they talked at length several times. In between Spencer would call me and talk about his plans for the boat and also about his knowledge regarding high performance diesel truck engines and used cars. I enjoyed the conversations and felt like this guy seemed very sincere about putting engines in the boat and get it running in, his words, "3-4 months and I'll be running her".

"On the flip side...", continued.
 

4 P.M. on Wednesday December the 30th I get a phone call from Spencer. He's an hour away from the boat and heading to the yard. It's raining and this is the beginning of the second rainstorm. There was a severe one a little more than a week before. My Buddie Steve and I had been trying to get the storage yard owner to call Us back the last couple of days since Steve's appointment with Spencer was around lunch time Dec. 31st, but he was all of a sudden not responding. Since Steve lives an hour and a half drive away from his Buddie that has the yard I called Spencer and suggest that since it was raining and getting dark by 5 P.M. it probably would be better if Steve met them at the yard in the morning on the 31st, since he knows how to open it up and also could go by his friend the yard-owner on the way. Spencer then says he just want to see if he can get a peek of the boat somehow. I tell him he could try and asked him to call me back. I called Steve and told him what was going on. At 6 P.M. I got a phone call back from Steve and he said that his Buddie the yard-owner had just called him and sounded intoxicated. He was complaining that some guys were trying to get into the yard in the dark, woke him and the dog up in the office, (though in the reverse order most likely). He had told them that they could forget about getting the boat out without Steve present and that he had also told the two fellows that the storage contract had to be signed off/closed and Januari payment paid. He finished by telling them that he was open for business under normal hours 8-5 tomorrow, New Years Eve, as a favor to Steve. While Steve and I were talking Spencer called and I took his call. He said that he had managed to get to the boat, while he his friend was keeping the yard-owner occupied talking and he said several boats were out from under the storage roof on their trailers and the Scarab was one of them. He described that he had found her with the storage cover half blown off, torn, trailer as mentioned on the tongue and the bow with several inches of water, "more than a hundred gallons of water"(Spencer's post "well over a 1,000 gal.") ??. Now I'm shocked! I last saw her 5 months earlier in great shape, when I started contemplating selling her, pulled her out, uncovered her, took the photos displayed in the ad and had her put back. I ask Spencer if he could document the whole thing with photos. He tells me he'll go back in the morning 'cause he thinks it's not that bad of a situation and that he'll take both photos and video even if he decides at that point to pass on her. I'm still fumeing long after We finish Our phone call and then slowly I calm down,but instead start wanting to throw-up. I love this boat!!! It was painful enough to decide to basically give her away and now this. My only thought is: I hope she's O.K.? I feel to weak to even call Steve for empathy.

"And now on the flip side...", last of it all.
 

Next morning Steve calls me instead and said that he had talked to Spencer already. Spencer had said that he'd got the yard-owner's help with getting the water out, it's not bad and that things look OK. It's still raining, but Spencer and his Buddie is checking all the parts out and evaluating the situation. I call Spencer and he said he got plenty of photos and that even though the trailer probably could make it to Texas he's going to go and take a look at a couple of trailers though, maybe he could "find a deal?" After talking to him I feel a little better but not much. I call the yard-owner. After listening to a story about construction at the yard and moving a few boats out of the way I still can't swallow what had happened. I ask him how he'd feel if I left his boat tongue down for a couple of weeks during a major rainstorm out on the lot. He said he didn't have much choice and also tried to make me feel better by saying that the immaculate, classic Cigarette 28SS that he knows I always admired also spent these last few weeks on the lot next to mine. I asked him why the cover is blown/torn and if the Cigarette is full of water too? He answers that it was extremely windy and that due to the construction on the lot he couldn't move anything back and that he's had his hands too full to make sure all stored boats were perfectly covered. While I'm trying not to loose it I ask him to kindly help Spencer. He answers that he doesn't appreciate the guy's pushy attitude, but will help me load the stuff for him. He confesses to me that he probably overreacted the evening before and when I hit him up about "the back storage", he says that he probably got the money for December, but wanted to make sure "this Texan understands that he can't keep the boat here for a week or something without paying or sign a contract". I tell him that I know for a fact that he cashed the rent for December and that I have never paid my rent late. I end it by reminding him that for $200/month I had hoped that my boat would be well protected. He appologizes and said that it was a lot of unfortunate circumstances that caused this to happen. I'm at that point still amazed that I kept semi calm and end the call.
At 2 P.M. Spencer calls me and says that they're on the way back to Texas, he continues, " I don't think I can find a trailer for less than $1,500 and then I'm into this close to $8,000. For a few thousand more I can get this KAAMA Scarab I mentioned that is turn key". I tell him I already know, "but do You realize Spencer that it's not a Larry Smith Team Scarab, rigged by John Conner and Larry Smith while they where trying to optimize the efficiency of the KAAMA drives. It's probably the boat they spent the most time in together according to Larry and they perfected it over a time-period of over a year?" I hear myself sounding like the used car salesman I am, but why am I trying to explain myself so hard? Is it because I really want this guy to have her? Spencer goes: "well i I didn't tell You that I knew it's a Wellcraft in Kansas, but it's all about the money". I hear myself reply, "are You telling me You still want my boat You bought?", Spencer, "well I give You $3,000!". I go, "You mean $3,000 plus the $500 You paid me down?", he goes, "no I give You $3,000, that's it". In disbelief I hear myself say, "You know what Spencer, give me $2,800 for a total of $3,300, but she's only Yours if You promise to do Your absolutely best to get her going this season coming and if You don't do it, You should call me back so I can get her in somebodies hands that will get her going. Bill on the Donzi.net forum is in Texas, he followed the eBay auction and he already told me he wants to buy her from You, if You decide to eventually sell her and he's a very solid guy". Spencer answers, "we're turning around, You got a deal, thank's for working with me, I'll call Steve and go and get the paperwork done, talk to You later". A few minutes goes buy during which I try to figure out why I totally just gave my boat away and then my phone rings, "it's Steve, I talked to Spencer and We're hooking up at around 4:30P.M. and get things squared away, why the hell did You give her away pal? I might go back more than 30 years with my Buddie, but You should have kept the boat and taken the inconsiderate bum to court for not storing Your boat right. I'm convinced she's O.K., but sh.t what could have happened if he'd kept her out there on the lot for another couple of weeks/months, while he's collecting Your money every month for nothing? Sue the b....rd, it's about time he wakes up, I don't ever wanna see him again, anyways it is what it is now! I call You when the nightmare is over", I quietly utter, "thanks Steve".
Sometime around 6 P.M. Steve calls, "the guy is flaking, they left for Reno, only God knows why, sorry Bud, but I think it's better this way, something weired about this whole thing". 8 P.M., "ay Bud it's Steve, this Spencer caracter called and said they left their toolbox at the boatyard and wanted me to see if I could arrange something, he said it's hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of tools. Why would unload a full toolbox? There's nothing to wrench on? He also said they already were in Reno? Go figure? Please call the guy and talk to him".
Three phone messages, three weeks later and several email attempts I out of the blue miss a call at 07:35 A.M. on a weekend morning with a voicemail message, Spencer says, "thanks I finally got Your phone messages, I lost my phone two times and had to get new ones, but if You could send my downpayment back like You mentioned in Your phone messages that would be great. You can reach me on my email which is [email protected] , paypal might be best even though it takes a while to clear into the account, contact me and We can decide".
Well Spencer it's now a week and a half later. I can't get through to You on Your new the phone and Your email You asked me to contact You on is not correct. Most of Your facts in regards to this whole story are twisted and I think any member on this and the OSO forum who cares to read my original eBay ad can see that it's a lot that doesn't ad up in Your claimed facts; AZ storage, claimed to have a decent trailer, $3,800, waited 5 hours to be able to get into the storage yard, called ME back, I use more than one name, by RESEARCH You found out about me selling used cars, (what about our several hour long chats about selling used cars, performance diesel engines and You telling me about the multimillion dollar tax evading transmission-shop owners You've been working for and how disgusting You find them), do You recall any of these things Spencer? I could go on and and on and on, where did You get these so called stated facts from me from?... I even offered to put the $500 down payment cash straight into Your account so You could get the money instantly. Not a word back. My Buddie Steve really tried to figure out the story about Your tools 'cause he wanted to help You, what really took place? Did You ever bother calling him back either, or had You already lost the phone first time around at that point? Why would You not bother driving 2 1/2 hours for claimed $400 worth of personal tools left behind, but otherwise in general be pretty money-concious? I won't ask myself any more questions at this point. I'd like to finish this by asking You Spencer, why have You failed to complete several boat purchases on eBay before, (did You try to re-negotiate Your buying price?), and they said NO, why don't You inspect a boat before You bid to buy, will You please check Your paypal the next 5 days or so? Are You happy for me now, when the pin-type moisture meter and the fellow that used it assures me that the bulk head and everything else in the bow is definitely still O.K.?
I guess I owe You for letting me know what was going on with my boat during those rainy two weeks. I'm glad she's still mine and when she goes off eBay today I hope that nobody "bought her". This was the first and probably last time I tried selling something of real personal value on eBay. It's always been a pleasure buying things and that I will keep doing. I welcome You on this forum Spencer and I'll see You on the OSO forum too since You've just got started there too, maybe even donzi.net, but before You think about giving me an appology, please Spencer spend some time on these forums and see if: Brownie, Ritchie Powers, John Crouse, Charlie McCarthy, Jeff Camire, Al Stoker, Lee Spindler, Jim 'Buizilla" Haas and last but not least Larry Smith thinks I'm a stand up guy? If one of them says NO, I promise to rest my case. 'Till that day I'd like to continue my pleasure boating on the water and on-line 'cause I think I've earned it over the years.

Regards, Lars "The Swedish Viking" Lindroth. That's been my

one and only name. Please don't call call me anything else!

P.S. Always respected Your great resto work Jamie and have enjoyed being on the donzi.net for many years. No hard feelings with regards to my beloved wife. Feel free to contact me any time. All the best, Lars Lindroth. D.S.

Storage facility
 

Just my opinion, The dude that owns the storage yard should not be dissed here or anywhere else! I have had personal experience with Anthony and i find him to be very much a stand up guy! So please refrain from any negativity toward him! Rich

more poop!!!
 

:bsflag: i found his myspace, facebook, twittre, ect, ect, through research and he claims to be single in all of them. has a PO box addy, and claims to be car sales men, software tech, import export specialist, business management, webb designer something different in each one.... sometimes more then one acc at the same place with different stats. i talked to him many times on the phone and he acted as if he knew nothing about the boat. EX. what all parts are there to complete this thing? " im not sure two pallets of parts." (witch were outside on the ground uncovered and junk. its a dam shame because it was all bagged and tagged and full of water. tones of new parts still in packages full of water) are the motors there? not sure what they look like." but he is a car sales men..... i

its to bad, the boat was ultra cool!!! its twin V drive with velvets on borg warners ,and shafts under the motors. but he didnt know that untill i told him. the drives are real close togather and real low. im sure its ridged right and would have been a fast boat with little power!

it really pisses me off because i have two 6.0L lq9 late model GM LS type motors i was going to turbo to repower it with...

you could tell it was in real good shape before it was left in the weather. the guy at the yard said it had been there for over two years.

MY QUESTION TO larslindroth.

If this boat was your pride and joy like your claiming, and you are so worried about it being put back original. And also the fact that you did not know it was sitting outside. Then comes a crap load of rain and the boat gets bucket loads of water in it.

WHY DID YOU NOT DRIVE DOWN TO WHERE THE BOAT WAS AND MEET THE BUYER AND SETTLE THIS PROBLEM WITH THE BUYER AND STORAGE YARD.

:bsflag::bsflag::bsflag::bsflag::bsflag::bsflag::b sflag::bsflag::bsflag:

LMAO..... in my presents at the yard you were not there, it never rained, and it was never dark, i arrived during business hours, the gates were open, the dude was wasted and obnoxious. i extended my hand for a handshake and he said "you f..king woke me up (as he lived in a shack at this trash can yard that i wouldnt store a dingy at) then said oh so your here to give me my money, OH and PS im CLOSED for the for the new year" the mangy mutt was running lose and barking at us. i have called countless times with no answer, my phone# has been the same for 10 years, and we corresponded through email prier to the trasation going south. i have talked to steve and he said he called you with no answer. he also again said you were a cool guy and i would get my money back. there was no construction taking place at the yard, the boat was full to the cockpit floor bow down. do the math, surprised it wasent seeping from under the cleats on the nose.

as for the rest of the :bsflag: i did not want to give the down payment and i told you i had been burned in the past. I NEVER OFFERED IT. but did to as you said to "LOCK IT IN"

copy and past from your post above from the auction i won.......

Boat is to be PAID IN FULL WITHIN 7 DAYS of auction ending to complete the sale. ONLY money order or CERTIFIED U.S. or Canadian Bank check accepted as payment method. I have title for this boat free and clear. ONLY PAYPAL is accepted as payment method for the required $500 down payment and is due within 48 HOURS of auction ending. Buyer will have to pick up boat within a week of completion of sale.

the auction was over on dec 24@10:00 pm my time. i was at the yard on dec30@4:30pm 1890 miles from my home on new years eve. i did as stated in your auction to the T. i have 100% feed back on ebay. the only other boat i have ever bid on using ebay was a wicknes flattie and the deal went down with out a hitch.

Steve is a real nice guy, as you (Larz) seemed to be as well.

but had i let this go, i have no doubt i would have handed you (Lars) $500 for my troubles. i am no high roller as you made clear in your post, just a young man trying to get it to power boating on a budget.

i was in Reno by the time i got steve on the phone. (on my way to the kaama scarab i did buy in Illinois that was as described) this after i waited for 5hours as the yard was CLOSED on new years and this clown was at the bar getting trashed. poor steve had to go to a cardioligist after his near stroke from all this and was on hold to come down after his appt. if the clown showed up.

i see you have a few more boats listed in your sig. WHERE ARE THEY STORED?

for a final note i watched the thread on donzi.net during the auction just to see your bud bill shill the bid a bit and call it a Xmass present to you!!!!!!! who later thanked you in the same thread for withholding his info from me as i might pester him during the build... NICE...

explain ..Ldd,,,????

not sure but must be Learning Difficulties and Disabilities, you would think i would learn.

This will explain LDD :drink:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...duck-dong.html

And please tell how much the storage bill owed was. Here is a pic of the boat larslindroth posted a good while back. It looks like its sitting outside to me.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/o...kmate/SCAB.jpg

Wow just read the majority of that post. I saw that LS on ebay too. What a dooooosh!

I hope you get your $$ back.. That whole ordeal was nutz & outta line..

My wife & I wont usually buy a larger ticket item without going to look at it first.. Too many liars & cheats.. I found it better to leave a small deposit to hold it & then go look.. It is better to loose a little than a lot..

Actually we almost had a similar experience this past fall.. My wife & I were looking for another hummer H2 & saw some listed. I called the guy who was selling it in the Hampton NY area. The pics looked really good, reasonable mileage, said he had records, said pics were current, blah, blah blah.. I had to go out there for biz anyway, so I said hold it & I will be out to look & buy if it was legit..

WELL..

I got there & it was in the woods, not the nice lot in the pics. It also was beat up, had ants in it, no records, smelled bad in it, the tires & service that he claimed were not done, it was missing lug nuts and the interior was trashed!..

I told him no thanks & then he said "what you aint gonna buy it because of a few ants?? "!!!!!

I told him F off & rip someone else.. Then he asked me if maybe I would be interested in another H2 that he had on another lot for more $$... WTF, I said are you kidding me?? ! .. Some people you just cant deal with or trust..

Jamie :)

.

:eek: HOLY ****!!!!!!!!

its a pic of the airplane hanger it was stored in for 15 years in AZ.(he said it had a transparent roof and walls thats why the vinly was so dry) this must be where the "aviator" that owned it before him did all the extra clean rebuilding of the dashes, drives and slick paint work before he broke his back in that plane crash!!!!! what a joke!!!! (this would answer the sandy finish in some spots and that crunchy sound and feel when i turned the prop shafts.......J/K)

larslindroth has a 'friend' named Steve
LDD's name is Steve

Both stories involve boating deals gone bad.
Both stories involve car salesman.


Moral of this post.... don't buy a boat from a car salesman where a guy with the name of Steve is involved. :)

i was reading the LDD thread. WOW some pice of work. makes me not feel so bad. i could brush off $500(if i had to) but 14K of inhairitance. we do things differently in texas...... we would find a way to make him a midget....

i will say that i have had a fare share of good dealings within the boating community in general. the dude i bought the kaama scarab from i ended up with, let me drive off with his boat and paper work only having received half the money. i showed up over the weekend, banks were closed. i only had half the cash and the guy let me roll out of town on my word i would send the balance via bank wire!

my 1966 all wood wickens whirlwind vdrive flat i bought on ebay, picked up in CA. built/restored played with sold on ebay and delivered to OH. to one of the coolest guys i have ever met. the dude had 25+ wood boats most flats, a few hydros, most having hemis and a few other cool toys. all under one roof with heat and air..... sweet set up!!!

my 1981 condor jet same thing. bought, built, played with, sold.

this is the first problem i have had playing with boats and dealing with fellow boaters.

Guess we just cant trust anyone named Steve..... Or used car salesmen.....Or the double whammy is a used car saleman names Steve....But thats why we have a court system.

:eek: What a fool that seller was letting somebody drag his boat away without full payment.

All these boat problems always start the same.

1.Sending money with out looking at it.
2.Buying a boat only going by what a surveyor says without personal inspection
3. Making payments to the seller.
4. Trusting the seller

Not all of the time the seller is untruthful but I say 95 percent of the time he is not going to offer information. Its always up to the buyer to inspect his boat before purchase.

holy chit... was that a reply by Lars or was that a posting of his masters thesis???? that went on and on and on and on and......

Last comment I hope?
 

I appologize to all for my looooong reply yesterday. Guess it's a modern approach by Vikings to avoid going berserk?
There will be a column in Performance Boat Magazine about this and similar situations by Kevin Spaise in a coming issue for all who like to read and learn from something like this. I won't mention names, but I already have been accused of not being married and IF? that my beloved wife has not even had a serious, very painful back injury with following operations and my constant attention. That the previous owner of this boat is a decorated U.S. Navy pilot who broke his neck for all Our safety has also been ridiculed and of course questioned. I could go on and on, but for You who also questioned how/or even if, the boat was stored in an air-craft hangar in Fallon, Nevada for 12 years. I include copies of a few photos. I posted a couple of low quality cell-phone photos of her, (on boating forums), outside the storage out of excitement, when I picked her up 16 months ago. The boat arrived at the storage in San Rafael, CA in August 2008. I got a storage contract to prove it.

P.S. My currently disabled wife also agreed to a photo so the ones who in my opinion also owe Us an appology remember her innocent face. Anybody like to see me, shoot me a PM and let's get together under friendlier circumstances.
Boat is no longer for sale at ANY price, this was not about money, I have more than enough. Send me Your convincing game plan on how You plan to restore this classic boat in still very good condition and it is Yours for FREE. However Mr Stan Ware, who was in contact with me right after I bought her, has first choice since this boat has sentimental value to him and I know what he'd like to use her for; Late, Great Al Copeland may You rest in peace! One day a cure for skin cancer will be found. http://www.alcopelandfoundation.org/
I estimate it to be worth a conservative $10,000 or more, but that will of course also be questioned except by the person who I will give it to. It will take another $10,000 to run her and if to be restored to concourse I think $50,000 is more like it. Enough about this whole emotional subject for me. D.S.

Sorry....but Lars just don't sound quite right...and that's coming from a guy who was recent'y screwed outta 15k on repairs...so I oughta know...or..then again...maybe I AIN'T the guy to listen to. lol....either way...just a damn shame if someone let that boat turn into a bathtub. :picard1:

TO larslindroth

Sorry maybe I am just a A-hole but what does your wife's illness haft to do with anything here. Or anybody else's illness or the fact somebody passed away. I am sorry for any health issues you have or the death of anybody. Do you want to here about my wife's surgeries in the last year or about the last 3 funerals I went to in the last 4 weeks. I did not think so. But we are talking about a boat you are selling or " WAS SELLING AND NOW ITS FREE TO THE GUY WITH THE BEST BS STORY"

Somebody is a liar here and the questions I asked were a way for me to feel on both sides of the story. Being nether party would answer I feel both or full of BS.

Besides what I have read on your back post that boat gets no response from anybody after you told them what you have. Maybe the scrap pile is not worth anything only in your dreams. And if you did have craps loads of cash you would pay somebody to fix it and keep it in a decent place out of the rain.

Sentimental value is only priceless to one person and worthless to anybody else.:kiss:

sorry for being so redudent.... butt
 

not to be redudent but still a little PO after getting worked up writing the post below on donzi.net. i also want to clear up me leaving my tools behind. witch gets the fire burnin! i have been in the auto repair industry for 15 years. maybe you get out your whole $400 tool box to do some wrenching. i left more like a grad+ sitting there on the ground.... industry standard tools not crapsman! thank god my bore scope, breaker bar and 4rails of sockets would not fit in the bag. im sure a few of you understand bring tools on a 3800 mile road trip 1/2 of witch towing 5tons on a trailer stated to have "issues" but told on the phone "i think its fine". i had been between this yard and the hotel 35miles out of the bay area (nothing but b&bs close by) the pub ect,ect in a 24 hour time frame! i was in reno its was dark and i was not going back!!! at that point i sacrificed my tools to get the h*ll out of CA.


The item was substantially not as described - full of water, parts uncovered in the weather, had not even been seen by the seller in how ever long ect,ect,ect,ect....

countless phone call were made, messages were left, we had prior correspondence through email. I guess it slipped your mind how paypal works, my email addy and phone # are listed there.

copy and past from your post above from the auction i won.......

"Boat is to be PAID IN FULL WITHIN 7 DAYS of auction ending to complete the sale. ONLY money order or CERTIFIED U.S. or Canadian Bank check accepted as payment method. I have title for this boat free and clear. ONLY PAYPAL is accepted as payment method for the required $500 down payment and is due within 48 HOURS of auction ending. Buyer will have to pick up boat within a week of completion of sale."

the auction was over on dec 24@10:00 pm my time. i was at the yard on dec30@4:30pm 1890 miles from my home on new years eve. i did as instructed in your auction to the T. its now feb 2@ 10:30 pm no money has hit may paypal.....

ITS APPARENT THIS IS WHAT IT TOOK TO RECOUP MY FUNDS!!!!

SURE I COULD HAVE LET PAYPAL HANDLE IT AND I WOULD HAVE. BUT I SAW YOU HAD RELISTED NOT ONCE - BUT TWICE! JUST TRYING TO SAVE THE NEXT POOR SOB FROM GOING THROUGH WHAT I DID.

SO SAVE FACE... IM SURE YOU HAVE FRIENDS IN THE POWER BOATING BUSINESS AND ON THESE BOARDS THAT HAVE YOUR BACK.

I HAVE PICS AND VID TOO AND BET ILL POST THEM...
WHILE IM BETTIN, ILL BET THE $500 (if i ever see it) THAT BI**H IS STILL FULL WATER TO THE CUSHIONS IN THE V BIRTH. I DONT BET UNLESS IM SURE. no drain holes in the bulkheads, or under any of the structures from the cockpit floor forward. not even one in the transom speedos there. you told me there was another owner between you and the "avatior". so how long has it been in the weather? looks like weeds grown up and around the trailer in the pics that surfaced on OSO. only place that got pumped out in my presents was the floor. unless its "rained a time or two" again. if so through some fish in it and start a hatchery, they will be happy with the amount of algae up there... oh thats right its been so dry it smells like the desert, i forgot!!!!

ILL BASH YOUR A** ON EVERY BOATING FORUM IN EXSISTENCE UNTIL I GET MY MONEY!!!

IM NOT SURE HOW YOU GOT YOUR "PLENTY" OF MONEY MR. BIG BALLIN VIKING!!! BUT I WORKED FOR MINE IN THE TEXAS HEAT!!! YOU MAY BE IN THE BUSINESS OF GIVING AWAY SALVAGED BOATS, BUT IM NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF GIVING AWAY MY HARD EARNED MONEY!!! $5 OR $5K I DONT GIVE HAND OUTS TO STAND UP CLOWNS LIKE YOU!!!

to answer your question, when asked $$ amount owed the yard guy said he would have to look at the books. seemed to me the rate was $200 a month for the buddy deal. when i told the viking, wait THE VIKING the yard dude said someone is paying back rent before this thing moves. he said it was up to date and the rent money was in the mail for the next month but go ahead and give him $200 cash if he give you any more poop. none of witch added up to me. it was also said there was a large down payment for DRY STORAGE and shop space for the pallets of parts to keep them out of the weather.

when i asked the yard guy about pallets of parts he walked around aimlessly for a bit, then made his way to one of the many pallets at this place and says thats it. then starts going through it making a keeper pile......:eek: is how i looked at my friend of 20years i just drug across 5 states, he looks back the same:eek: i ask where are the trannys..... looks around a bit....... points just a few feet a way among the many pallets/piles of parts. all the while telling us about how he strips the abandon boats cuts them up and hauls them off in a pickup. keeping/selling the parts and trailers. sells some whole with no titles because its a pain to get storage leins!!! i just nodded my head......

(no beef with this guy, he has none of my money and thats not my pond in his lot.. if you walked in the yard you could make your own observations. i asure you he is not shy and would tell you the same story, the later in the day the better it would get)

besides im sure he is thanking me for the tools.......

Nopost,
I could see your side if you had answered a classified ad but you didn't, you bid in an auction. When you have the high bid in an auction, YOU BOUGHT IT! The time to inspect it was before you bid. You could have hired a surveyor, but you didn't. You could have asked someone from OSO check it out for you, but you didn't. You could have flown out and looked for yourself, but you didn't. What you did do is promise to buy it if your bid was highest. Granted the storage fees are sellers problem, but if he had title ready you were obligated to purchase regardless of anything else.

I'm not saying that boat is worth one nickel, just that in an auction, it is up to you to figure out beforehand.

All I want to know is, "where can I get a high end set of tools for only $400??" My 10-19mm snap on wrench set was near $300, I must be getting ripped off...

That is impossible in most cases. If you list something on eBay you have to be accurate... that is the purpose of the feedback system and the fundamental core of eBay... that people need to be honest with each other. If you buy a GPS, ipod, or any other item off of ebay that is listed as "brand new" and it comes to you used and broken do you assume that you had your chance to inspect it before hand? NO. Same goes for boats and cars. If it was properly listed and the buyer backs out, now that is a different story.

+1

I understand your concern.
 

Dear fellow boaters.
I definitely would continue this thread on OSO, but this fellow, nopostduece (Spencer), is not really worth the effort anymore. He has decided to lie, fabricate stories, change past events etc. to whatever suits him at any given time.
Back to Your questions and comments, which are more important. The only reason I mentioned my wife's illness is because my friends asked me originally; why are You selling Your boat? I should have realized that potential buyers don't care or even want to hear why, but they almost always ask the question. I just shouldn't have volunteered the fact.
I bought her in August 2008 after I came back from Europe and the Round Britain 2008 race. The boat had actually been stored for 12 years in an air-craft hangar in Nevada. Since my friend Steve has the same Larry Smith 9 Meter model and he loves it, we decided to pick this unusual one up. All my other boats are now turn-key, so I thought it be fun to finish this easy project up since it was all there. We decided to take her to Steve's old friend who's got the yard mentioned. They hadn't socialized for a few years and I nowadays live in greater Los Angeles area, so this would be a good way to get together more often. Well my wife had her bad back injury a month later, Steve started having heart issues.
My wife has had to start learning how to walk and she's not comfortable with other people assisting her, so We do this together. The boat in the meantime was put away in Steve's "OLD FRIEND'S" place. I made sure she was tucked away right. Saw the boat, 6 months later, in spring of 2009. Decided I'll keep her, everything was still fine. Kept sending the $200 every month, which is very reasonable out here. In August 2009 my wife was still in really bad shape and with little prospect to do much better for quite some time I finally decided to put the boat up for sale. Jumped on a plane to San Francisco for the day, had the boat pulled out, took the photos for the ad and put her back again.
After coming home I got second thoughts about selling her and put it off since my wife insisted that I should stick to my boats and all the friends around it. She said, "by the time I eventually get better You have something to fall back on and We could maybe even get something a little more comfortable then so I can come along?", got to love her! Well my friend Steve started having more health issues and this boat was all about us eventually having some quality time together, so in December I just stuck it on eBay. Never dreaming that there was something not right up there in San Rafael. That the yard-owner had started moving several boats and other equipment around some time in Nov./Dec. without telling Us effected is maybe not that strange, but the way he left boats etc. laying around unprotected is a little hard to swallow. I feel sorry for him in a way, he was well respected and I liked him originally, but his old friend Steve has no pity for him at this point and has decided to never speak or see the guy again. Sure paid him for rent all these months and he almost managed to get the January rent too, since it was mailed early, because in the "sale of the boat ad" I mentioned that continued "storage" could most likely be arranged. No rent has therefor been paid for January and won't be 'till I get up there in a week time to see what really took place. Spencer (nopostdeuce) promised me he was going to take plenty of photos of the water in the cabin as a thank You to me for letting him have her for $3,300 instead of the original auction price, while he was there giving me the bad news on the phone those two days. Even though he decided that he was happy at that point I wanted the photos since I liked to have evidence that the yard-owner had costed me $2500 of the now re-negotiated auction selling price. What a nightmare for all involved! He never made good on that promise either. He took off and called my friend Steve three hours later and asked if Steve could arrange to retrieve his tools he left behind. Steve had a 1 1/2 hour drive each way to handle that. No tools were found left behind. I also personally think Spencer could have driven the 3 hours to pick up a claimed $400 worth of personal tools, but it must be something about that story none of Us will ever figure out either, only Spencer knows the truth. He was then incommunicado for almost a month. I left at least 3 phone messages for him and one for his girlfriend back home in Texas, nothing back. Then a month later he left me one phone message at about 7:30 AM on a Sunday in which he said he'd lost two of his phones! Why couldn't he check his messages? He still didn't leave his new phone number, but just a no good email address in his message. I sent him a message on eBay that should have reached his email for sure where I offered to either stick the $500 straight into a possible account off his if he could let me know with whom he banks, so he'd have the money faster than through pay-pal. I wish in hindsight that I at that point just not would have bothered to be extra helpful, but instead just pressed the paypal button and get it done. Somehow I thought he'd call me back? A week went by and then I was informed that somebody was hammering me all over the Internet. All of a sudden he's available everywhere, but not on the phone or by PM. My friends are now trying to tell me not to pay him the $500 I still wanted to hand back.
Still not convinced the boat is O.K., even after I arranged for a marine surveyor to sneak on the lot on a Sunday and use his moisture meter and vast experience to evaluate it. He was convinced it's solid and nothing to worry about, but I'm not sure of too many things around this any more. It is was it is. You're right about sentimental value though, it has some for me, but not much or to the extent that it clouds my judgment of what it was worth before this incident sometime at the end of 2009. I own and have owned enough boats to have a decent idea, but it's not relevant any more in this case. The boat has historical value, but who truly cares about that either these days, except old school freaks like myself. Put both sentimental and historical value aside and she's just a liability and not an asset at this point in time for me. The two sets of perfect props, cost 4 x $1,200 and the two large, brand new in boxes, classic Richie compasses a' $725 each are still usable for sure, but not of much good on this specific boat if she's now just a potential fish hatchery that Spencer was willing to pay $3,200 for after thoroughly checking things out those two days on-site.

Regards, Lars.

P.S. I continuously do upgrade, pamper and lovingly care for my boats and as You can see, most of them are not very large or pretentious $$$ either. D.S.

To avoid future problems:

1) If you want to sell something large like a boat or car you need to be there in person when the buyer comes to pick it up.
2) If you can't be there in person, refer to rule #1.


It looks to me that even after you heard there was water in the boat you re-listed it on eBay without mentioning the water and you still haven't seen the boat yet??????? The main problem with this transaction is there was water in the boat. All the other BS from both parties is moot. If there was water in the boat, which it seems both parties agree to, the initial eBay deal is over.

Listings after the water was discovered in the boat I would imagine would include at least a mention of possible water damage -OR- at least I'd expect that you had seen the boat by the time you re-listed it to check the problem out. I'm sorry but that makes you, Lars, out to look like the one that is pulling some crap here.