boat ownership, impending, maybe...

[marco909]

Hi, my first post so please pardon the lack of knowledge, hopefully that's where you come in! I found for sale a fine boat, beautifully presented and clearly a labour of love for the owner. Refurbished and rebuilt to a very high standard and it is quite definitely the right sort of boat for me - small, safe and manageable. But, and it may be a big but, it comes without documentation. No original bill of sale, no builder's certificate with the builder long since out of business. The boat was rebuilt from a shell so I guess most of it is actually new (hardware, masts, sails, rigging you name it). I have noted that VAT can be assumed to have been paid if the boat was built before 1985 (it was) and if proof of being in the EU at the end of 1992 (who knows?). Am I right in thinking that the seller will need to add on VAT but how would that work, who would he pay it to, etc? I don't want to restrict myself to sailing around our coastline and selling on, if and when, any such restriction wouldn't be helpful to any future owner and I would need to apply for small ship registration at some point. I've seen the guidance and perhaps it's just me because I don't understand most of it. Any advice is welcome - assume that I know nothing and you won't be far wrong :-(

 

[pvb]

Welcome to the forums!

Are the boat's details listed online? If so, can you provide a link please.

 

[alahol2]

If the seller is a private individual then there will be no VAT chargeable (it's the same as if you were selling an old car).
In terms of documentation it is probably in the same state as the majority of elderly boats in this country.
If it's the boat for you then go ahead without worrying.

 

[marco909]

Welcome to the forums!

Are the boat's details listed online? If so, can you provide a link please.

Thanks for replying, listing on Apollo Duck removed today, just a private ad and not a broker, perhaps they just run for a set period?

 

[marco909]

If the seller is a private individual then there will be no VAT chargeable (it's the same as if you were selling an old car).
In terms of documentation it is probably in the same state as the majority of elderly boats in this country.
If it's the boat for you then go ahead without worrying.

Thanks, I do tend to worry as a kind of built-in self defence - just as well given that I've bought motorbikes, cars and houses on whims but usually it works out ok! Apart from VAT if I were to apply for SSR would a receipt from my purchase be enough or is any other evidence required?

 

[alahol2]

It's a while since I registered on SSR, but so far as I can recall there is only the need for a Bill of Sale to be produced.

 

[Biggles Wader]

It's a while since I registered on SSR, but so far as I can recall there is only the need for a Bill of Sale to be produced.

And £25 for the SSR. As for the purchase get as much background information as you can like where the boat has been kept and by whom with any bills for mooring or anything else. Get an extensive bill of sale with lots of detail on it. You can’t prove ownership but you can do enough to reasonably show any interested party you are legitimate

 

[Tranona]

Thanks, I do tend to worry as a kind of built-in self defence - just as well given that I've bought motorbikes, cars and houses on whims but usually it works out ok! Apart from VAT if I were to apply for SSR would a receipt from my purchase be enough or is any other evidence required?

Use the model Bill of Sale from either the RYA or the MCA (Registry) as that looks official and is evidence that the seller has passed clear title to you. You only need to register on the SSR if you are taking the boat abroad. It only proves the nationality of the boat and is not a register of title. Yes, they will accept a BoS as evidence that the boat is yours.

As suggested the lack of previous paperwork is probably the norm for older boats as they come from a time when nobody bothered except with maybe high value "yachts".

Much more important is satisfying yourself this is the boat for you and you are clear about what you are going to do with it and where you are going to keep.

Good luck with your purchase and enjoy.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

IIRC you don’t need any proof of ownership for SSR unless the boat is already registered. I registered my (unregistered) boat without any proof of ownership.

 

[Caraway]

IIRC you don’t need any proof of ownership for SSR unless the boat is already registered. I registered my (unregistered) boat without any proof of ownership.

So did I. I wasted my £25 as it was touted as an option to paying a Windermere registration fee, which South Lakes District Council then decided would not be sufficient, so I still had to pay a registration fee.

 

[Caraway]

Hi, my first post so please pardon the lack of knowledge, hopefully that's where you come in! I found for sale a fine boat, beautifully presented and clearly a labour of love for the owner. Refurbished and rebuilt to a very high standard and it is quite definitely the right sort of boat for me - small, safe and manageable. But, and it may be a big but, it comes without documentation. No original bill of sale, no builder's certificate with the builder long since out of business. The boat was rebuilt from a shell so I guess most of it is actually new (hardware, masts, sails, rigging you name it). I have noted that VAT can be assumed to have been paid if the boat was built before 1985 (it was) and if proof of being in the EU at the end of 1992 (who knows?). Am I right in thinking that the seller will need to add on VAT but how would that work, who would he pay it to, etc? I don't want to restrict myself to sailing around our coastline and selling on, if and when, any such restriction wouldn't be helpful to any future owner and I would need to apply for small ship registration at some point. I've seen the guidance and perhaps it's just me because I don't understand most of it. Any advice is welcome - assume that I know nothing and you won't be far wrong :-(

I take it you have read and digested this thread Boatyard won’t release boat

 

[Graham376]

Have you had a pre-purchase survey? If you are planning to comprehensively insure, insurers nearly always ask for a survey report and a pre-purchase one may show up problems you've not been made aware of.

 

[marco909]

Thanks all for your valuable advice, this seems such a friendly and helpful forum. Pre-purchase survey arranged, bill of sale downloaded, fingers crossed...?

 

[Dellquay13]

Thanks all for your valuable advice, this seems such a friendly and helpful forum.

Just don't ask about anchors, or the bloodshed will start again.

 

[Praxinoscope]

You don't mention the make/model of the boat you are looking at, if you put this on the forum you will almost certainly get some comments ( both good and bad) on the type of boat you are looking at.

 

[Stemar]

this seems such a friendly and helpful forum.

It is until you dare have an opinion about the best anchor

(It's the one you have. Different anchors hold differently in different bottoms, and if the one you've got works for you in most substrates, it's probably fine Yachtsmen have been anchoring for ages without Rocnas, and most of them didn't die

 

[marco909]

Impending no longer, Corribee bought so now the real work starts. Plenty of questions to ask and yes, I might ask about anchors....

 

[Jokani]

Plenty of questions to ask and yes, I might ask about anchors....

After that you will need some insight on the merits of 1-2-both switches ;-)