Hammer
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2010
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I have wanted a Hallett 300 for years. The last year and a half the wife and I have been weighing our options and what made the most sense for our family. We off-road in the winter and just recently sold our motorhome which we have had nothing but problems with. The thought of buying another one didn’t sit well with me and I honestly just needed a break. I figured, we could just rent one to go camping, we really only go 3 or 4 times a year anyways.
The other option was a house in Havasu. But then we’d be married to the current boat which I wanted to upgrade eventually, sooner than later. Bottom line was I wasn’t going to pay 600+k for a place there. We would need at least a 3/2 with RV garage and a pool. We just spent the last 4 years remodeling our house(pool,addition etc..) and I don’t care to get into a fixer upper or build a house right now. Managing it would be a nightmare, everyone is booked solid. My kids will be out of day care in a year or two which will free up a ton of cash. MAYBE prices will settle and we can decide if we want to invest all of our free time in Havasu.
The 3rd option was to buy a new to us boat even though the market was high. I was confident I can find the right deal or hold out for exactly what would fit our needs. We looked at pontoons and even a performance cat, but my kids still love to tube and do water sports, my son learned to water ski this summer. So a Daytona or similar was out. I couldn’t do the pontoon, they are cool but I’d have to get one with twins and spend more than I was willing to on something I wouldn’t love.
Now it’s not a secret that I am a Hallett fanboy. Even my wife says it would be sacrilegious to own another brand. Fair enough. I love Halletts and know them pretty well. The 270 wasn’t a big enough upgrade in size and a 340 was just too big for me. They are massive. Which takes us to new 290, 275 or a 300 which Hallett doesn’t make anymore. I kicked around going to a new 336 as well but i can’t afford to build it with the power I’d want. It’s also a BIG ASS boat!
Which brings us full circle to my dream boat, a Hallett 300! They are insanely hard to find and sell within days if not hours for full asking. You had to be ready immediately. So we started our hunt. We looked at 4 this summer, none of them gave me goose bumps of excitement. You know that feeling you get when you land that smoking hot chick that you thought was out of your league but your persistence pays off? Some get that feeling when they meet their wife. It’s a great feeling and I wasn’t feeling it.
The wife and I were on our way back from a test drive of a 300 that checked ALMOST all the boxes. I was going to settle, but I told myself I’d give it a few days to think about it. During all the searching I kept circling back to the most beautiful, stunning 300 that I screened shotted a picture of like 5 years ago. I had that tingling feeling. I knew this was the one… but it wasn’t for sale.
I decided to scour the HALLETT FB page because I remember seeing it posted about a year ago. Sure enough I found the post and he had his number on it. I decided, what the hell, I’ll call him and see if he wants to sell it. He answered, on call from some random number no less. I couldn’t believe it! Bob turned out to be the nicest guy in the world. He was 50/50 on selling it, I had to wait until august after he got back from Lake Powell. I was nervous, excited, maybe even nauseous at times. I decide I was going all in holding out for THIS boat and letting the other ones left be sold. Every few days I’d look at my phone remembering the day he was headed home. We had been talking off and on for weeks at this point. Was he going to sell it? Did I blow it on the others I could have settled on?
I was a wreck over a stupid boat I thought. I don’t need this thing, it’s too much money. Our current boat is fine. In the middle of all this one of my best boating friends who I admired and thought the world of passed away. We talked all the time about life and family, and of course boats.. I will miss his advice and knowledge. Brian Fetheroff. His services were recent. His son in law told this story during the service how he was always money conscious and was a responsible spender, and how Brian would buy things because, well, “it’s fucking bad ass!!”. Even if it wasn’t the best financial decision at the time. He did things to make memories with his kids and grandkids no matter what and figured the rest out later. I felt like Brian was telling me not to be a pussy and buy it for the kids and the memories it will bring. Fuck it, right? YOLO.
Bob called, literally a few hours into flagstaff as I’m looking at the Weather report wondering if the boat is getting hammered by the rain. Trying to ease my excitement and be calm, I answered. After some small talk about enjoying his trip he decided to sell it. I couldn’t believe it! Now comes the tough part, is it mechanically sound, am I inheriting a basket case that I didn’t know about? Bob had Maintenance scheduled at Hallett that week and practically let me choose what I wanted done. I also opted for a compression check and engine scan. Which I happily paid for. Got the call from Hallett on a Wednesday at like 9 or 10. I was nervous, Jeff the service manager gave me the great news that it was flawless and also told me the previous owners have had it serviced at Hallett every 25-30 hours regardless of if it needed it or not. Turns out the boat had been babied it’s entire life and 85% of the hours on it were spent between 0-1,999 RPMS! [emoji41][emoji106]
This week everything fell into place and as of this morning I am the new proud owner of my dream boat…. At 2006 Hallett MCOB 300.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The other option was a house in Havasu. But then we’d be married to the current boat which I wanted to upgrade eventually, sooner than later. Bottom line was I wasn’t going to pay 600+k for a place there. We would need at least a 3/2 with RV garage and a pool. We just spent the last 4 years remodeling our house(pool,addition etc..) and I don’t care to get into a fixer upper or build a house right now. Managing it would be a nightmare, everyone is booked solid. My kids will be out of day care in a year or two which will free up a ton of cash. MAYBE prices will settle and we can decide if we want to invest all of our free time in Havasu.
The 3rd option was to buy a new to us boat even though the market was high. I was confident I can find the right deal or hold out for exactly what would fit our needs. We looked at pontoons and even a performance cat, but my kids still love to tube and do water sports, my son learned to water ski this summer. So a Daytona or similar was out. I couldn’t do the pontoon, they are cool but I’d have to get one with twins and spend more than I was willing to on something I wouldn’t love.
Now it’s not a secret that I am a Hallett fanboy. Even my wife says it would be sacrilegious to own another brand. Fair enough. I love Halletts and know them pretty well. The 270 wasn’t a big enough upgrade in size and a 340 was just too big for me. They are massive. Which takes us to new 290, 275 or a 300 which Hallett doesn’t make anymore. I kicked around going to a new 336 as well but i can’t afford to build it with the power I’d want. It’s also a BIG ASS boat!
Which brings us full circle to my dream boat, a Hallett 300! They are insanely hard to find and sell within days if not hours for full asking. You had to be ready immediately. So we started our hunt. We looked at 4 this summer, none of them gave me goose bumps of excitement. You know that feeling you get when you land that smoking hot chick that you thought was out of your league but your persistence pays off? Some get that feeling when they meet their wife. It’s a great feeling and I wasn’t feeling it.
The wife and I were on our way back from a test drive of a 300 that checked ALMOST all the boxes. I was going to settle, but I told myself I’d give it a few days to think about it. During all the searching I kept circling back to the most beautiful, stunning 300 that I screened shotted a picture of like 5 years ago. I had that tingling feeling. I knew this was the one… but it wasn’t for sale.
I decided to scour the HALLETT FB page because I remember seeing it posted about a year ago. Sure enough I found the post and he had his number on it. I decided, what the hell, I’ll call him and see if he wants to sell it. He answered, on call from some random number no less. I couldn’t believe it! Bob turned out to be the nicest guy in the world. He was 50/50 on selling it, I had to wait until august after he got back from Lake Powell. I was nervous, excited, maybe even nauseous at times. I decide I was going all in holding out for THIS boat and letting the other ones left be sold. Every few days I’d look at my phone remembering the day he was headed home. We had been talking off and on for weeks at this point. Was he going to sell it? Did I blow it on the others I could have settled on?
I was a wreck over a stupid boat I thought. I don’t need this thing, it’s too much money. Our current boat is fine. In the middle of all this one of my best boating friends who I admired and thought the world of passed away. We talked all the time about life and family, and of course boats.. I will miss his advice and knowledge. Brian Fetheroff. His services were recent. His son in law told this story during the service how he was always money conscious and was a responsible spender, and how Brian would buy things because, well, “it’s fucking bad ass!!”. Even if it wasn’t the best financial decision at the time. He did things to make memories with his kids and grandkids no matter what and figured the rest out later. I felt like Brian was telling me not to be a pussy and buy it for the kids and the memories it will bring. Fuck it, right? YOLO.
Bob called, literally a few hours into flagstaff as I’m looking at the Weather report wondering if the boat is getting hammered by the rain. Trying to ease my excitement and be calm, I answered. After some small talk about enjoying his trip he decided to sell it. I couldn’t believe it! Now comes the tough part, is it mechanically sound, am I inheriting a basket case that I didn’t know about? Bob had Maintenance scheduled at Hallett that week and practically let me choose what I wanted done. I also opted for a compression check and engine scan. Which I happily paid for. Got the call from Hallett on a Wednesday at like 9 or 10. I was nervous, Jeff the service manager gave me the great news that it was flawless and also told me the previous owners have had it serviced at Hallett every 25-30 hours regardless of if it needed it or not. Turns out the boat had been babied it’s entire life and 85% of the hours on it were spent between 0-1,999 RPMS! [emoji41][emoji106]
This week everything fell into place and as of this morning I am the new proud owner of my dream boat…. At 2006 Hallett MCOB 300.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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