Buyin My First Boat Checklist

I have just bought my first boat, I bought through a broker. I understand some of concerns over the costs and deposit before you know what you are agreeing to.
in my case I was sure of my decision when I agreed my offer, the risk of having to pull out would be the worst case for me as well as the seller. we found a couple of material defects and the seller was very amenable to negotiation on the overall price. the broker arranged for a marine engineer to quote on the defects and the seller and I agreed to split the cost 70 / 30 and I got a service for my 30%.
since I have bought the boat I have had to spend about £1,000 on bits and bobs, I budgeted this into my calculations when I made my initial offer. I am a very happy camper, but I went into the process with my eyes open and an assessment of the risk in the forefront of my mind. the worst case scenario of the engine blowing up or sinking were my prime worries.

my advice is to make sure you really want that particular boat before you make the offer, I saw several similar to mine and knew it was the right vessel for me. also have a reasonable contingency budget for things the surveyor doesn't find, include the cost of a service on the engines into this.

good luck, I wish you well with your purchase, I hope things go as well as they did for me
 
Boatbuying advice

I have read this thread with interest and wouldnt normally comment as it is always a little difficult as a broker on these forums. I think you need to be really sure of What you want to do and generally I would say that the feedback on here is good, there is always a very different perspective on how things should be done depending on whether you are buying or selling!

I would always recommend that you use a well qualified broker that is a member of relevant Proffesional associations who is properly insured and has a dedicated client account which is a Proper client account with a letter from their bank stating that it is independent from their other business accounts, if you are not dealing with a broker then I would recommend using a decent marine lawyer and make sure it is a marine lawyer and not your conveyancing lawyer, I have had this before where the lawyer almost lost a deal for the client as he didn't properly understand marine law!!! If you want any recommendations PM me and I'll pass them...

I will try and keep I short and to the point and recommend the following:

1. Always have a survey regardless of age and perceived condition.
2. Make sure that the boat has at least 5 years clear title (minimum required for registration or finance) preferably full tittle paperwork if possible.
3. If keeping in Europe consider VAT. Boat should be properly VAT PAID and not been reclaimed. Beware of funny cross boarder leasing schemes or VAT that has been paid on a VAT deferment scheme. Also be aware of VAT paid on stupidly low valuations!
4. Make sure boat is free of encumbrances and that there are no liens against it.
5. If buying a British ship that is on the uk or channel islands part I registration, get a transcript of registry done to make sure that it is owned by the correct people and that there is no mortgage or debts registered against the vessel.
6. Make sure that the boat complies with CE & RCD regulations (dependant on the age of the boat.
7. Make sure bill of sale is signed over correctly and is signed by all owners as per the registration document and agreement.

There is plenty more that needs doing and working through but that is the job of the broker who should be able to guide through the whole process.....

Make sure that the agreement used is the latest version (ABYA one was revised earlier in the year with input from highly respected marine professionals).

If you want some further tips ABYA have just launched their new website which has some great advice on buying a boat, this can be found at www.abya.co.uk
and has literally only just gone live in its new format....

A good list of well qualified surveyors can be found on THE YDSA website at www.ydsa.co.uk.

I hope this helps for the moment and please feel free to get in touch should you have any questions? I must point out at this stage that I am a broker and I also sit on the ABYA and BRBA commitees. I must also apologise for any mistakes as I have tried to write this on my iPhone whilst very tired..?
 
This buying my first boat saga is very frustrating

I have found a surveyor and a lawyer/documentation agent to handle my paperwork but now find myself waiting for the owner to show the boat to an alleged rival buyer before he informs me of a suitable date for a sea trial and lifting of the boat out of the water so that a complete survey of the boat and its condition can be made

Whether this rival is real or not or the owner mesing me about I do not know but one thing I have learned so far is that there seem to be a lot of very frustraing pitfalls and stages regarding buying any boat and to such an extent that I sometimes feel like walking away:-(

I have since learned that mooring fees are ridiculously exPensive all over The Med and that soem countries insist on you having licences to operate boats of certain sizes and whilst I am more than happy to sit for exams and take training courses there seem to be a lot of discrepencies between various countries regarding what paperwork you need.

Its almost like there is a comnsipracy to try and stop me from ever buying anything but I am determined and even if I fail to get this spevific boat I am going to spend another nine+ months finding an alternative one as all I want is a boat wthout any major faults in it and my mind is made up but I refuse to pull the trigger unless I egt the opportunity to have any boat thoroughly checked.

Why is buyinga boat such hard work and so frustrating?????
 
As a rule of thumb a boat {break out another thousand} will cost you 10% on average of the purchase price to run per annum.

have you put in a offer yet if so then has this been accepted so the vessel is no longer on th emarket. I assume you have not put a deposit down so the boat is still technically for sale to the first and highest bidder whose monies hit the sellers bank account first.

Buying and selling is easy if you use good surveyors etc as many people have stated on this forum.

You should take exams asap - I am berthed in Portsmouth and 3 idiots hit various boats moored today - no wind and slack tide - The marina's should only allow boats in who have a skipper helming with at least day skipper qualifications.

One guy said it is ok I only hit the guys anchor.

I told him that a Princess P42 had his windlass guide rail bent and stanchions = minimum £2k repair bill - so any damage needs to be looked at very carefuly no matter how minor it may seem initially.

Marinas need more surveylance cameras to keep the berth holders valuable boats monitored 24/7 when they are away.
 
Koumari said:
This buying my first boat saga is very frustrating

I have found a surveyor and a lawyer/documentation agent to handle my paperwork but now find myself waiting for the owner to show the boat to an alleged rival buyer before he informs me of a suitable date for a sea trial and lifting of the boat out of the water so that a complete survey of the boat and its condition can be made

Whether this rival is real or not or the owner mesing me about I do not know but one thing I have learned so far is that there seem to be a lot of very frustraing pitfalls and stages regarding buying any boat and to such an extent that I sometimes feel like walking away:-(

I have since learned that mooring fees are ridiculously exPensive all over The Med and that soem countries insist on you having licences to operate boats of certain sizes and whilst I am more than happy to sit for exams and take training courses there seem to be a lot of discrepencies between various countries regarding what paperwork you need.

Its almost like there is a comnsipracy to try and stop me from ever buying anything but I am determined and even if I fail to get this spevific boat I am going to spend another nine+ months finding an alternative one as all I want is a boat wthout any major faults in it and my mind is made up but I refuse to pull the trigger unless I egt the opportunity to have any boat thoroughly checked.

Why is buyinga boat such hard work and so frustrating?????
Click to expand...

hi koumari, i am pretty much going through the same thing, i am trying not to let it put me off . reading your post it seems that you have not done any training yet? why dont you do that first , i am just about to book mine for sept in the med , if i havent found a boat by then i will use it as an extended holiday to look arround as i also feel prices are much cheaper in the med . the other point is , why a catamaran , marina prices are +50% more because of the beam . have you considered a flybridge boat, marina fees will be much cheaper if you are concerened about the cost? having spoken to some people it appears that for an 18m berth annual fees are anywhere between 7k euro to 20k euro, so if you are happy not to berth in the really expensive places then its not that expensive , compared to the price of the boat anyway. good luck.

david
 
I am currently at the stage where I have a surveyor (JP) waiting to fly out and test/tral the boat but am waiting for the owner to get back to me so we can set a day for the trial and the haul out.

Along with this I expect the owner to ask me to lodge a deposit as we have already agreed the price subject to no major faults being discovered.


However instead of a date and bank details I got a response that someone else is looking at the boat and I will be uodated Wed/Thursday of this week of whena nd if a test date is available.

As for some training I have a friend who is extremely well trained and qualified prepared to spend a month+ with me taking the boat around the Med and show me how to use all the equipment and read charts etc etc

I was planning on usng that to give me a through practical grounding in how to use my own boat which would be followed up on arrival at my final destination with attendance of a training vourse and the taking of internationally recognized exams.

It just seems logical to me to get as many practical hours in first on my own boat so that regardless of qualifications themselves I would at least have a reasonabe degree of confidence and competance in the handling of the boat so that I dont have these mishaps as highlighted above.
 
Koumari said:
I am currently at the stage where I have a surveyor (JP) waiting to fly out and test/tral the boat but am waiting for the owner to get back to me so we can set a day for the trial and the haul out.

Along with this I expect the owner to ask me to lodge a deposit as we have already agreed the price subject to no major faults being discovered.


However instead of a date and bank details I got a response that someone else is looking at the boat and I will be uodated Wed/Thursday of this week of whena nd if a test date is available.

As for some training I have a friend who is extremely well trained and qualified prepared to spend a month+ with me taking the boat around the Med and show me how to use all the equipment and read charts etc etc

I was planning on usng that to give me a through practical grounding in how to use my own boat which would be followed up on arrival at my final destination with attendance of a training vourse and the taking of internationally recognized exams.

It just seems logical to me to get as many practical hours in first on my own boat so that regardless of qualifications themselves I would at least have a reasonabe degree of confidence and competance in the handling of the boat so that I dont have these mishaps as highlighted above.
Click to expand...

sounds like all the hard work has paid off (hopefully)good luck with everything maybe i will see you in the med next year, (if i can ever find a broker willing to talk to me )

david
 
Stop Press: Now all of a sudden I am reading about Fountaine Pajot having osmosis and hydrolisis and blistering problems with their cat boats :-(

Am I being paranoid or is it just the odd isolated boat that uffers from this?

Not sure how big an issue this is in practical terms being ignorant on such matters but obviously I dont want something with this type of major fault which would not become evident until the boat gets hauled out of the water.

I dont even own a boat yet and the headaches seem to be piling up already and I am beginning to understand why people generally keep telling me that wanting to be a boat owner is a sickness and that the best days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

But I am definitely SICK AND CERTIFIED INSANEon this issue
 
I'm no expert by any means but I will say this...stick with it, go with the flow, take the stresses in your stride and above all just enjoy the whole process coz I can promise you this....even if this boat doesn't come to fruition, there always another and you will love it, stress and all!
Don't fret too much about the what ifs...all you can do is wait for the survey report and then hopefully all will be fine and dandy and she will be yours to enjoy!!
Good luck. I'm sure you won't regret it.
Lisa
:)
 
Are you buying through a broker or just dealing directly with the owner? I think you are probably dealing directly with the owner but just wanted to be clear.

Until a deposit is paid normally 10% the boat is still on the market, once it's paid a contract to purchase is issued to both parties subject to survey, sea trial etc etc.
 
Thanks for the clarification, Christian Moore gave great advice.

I am also a broker and I am saddened to hear you have had bad experience with brokers and don't like them.

There are exceptions.....
 
I am sure there must be decent agents/brokers out there but I just havent found them yet

In this case the owner isnt using one and I am happy to do this myself with a lawyer and surveyor of my choosing

My personal experiences to date have been that I had to constantly chase up any broker I contacted (probably becasue they thought I was a time waster but thats absolutely noe excuse) whilst thos that did follow through and get back to me constantly tried to push me towards boats that were out of my budget and by some way or towards monohulls

I was specific about my requirements in that I wanted a power catamaran with an approximate 1000 mile range in th 40-48ft range and which would cost me around 250k GBP including any bits i would have to have done to it minor repair wise.

Unfortunately they were either deaf or stupid or greedy and kept recommending boats in the 500k plus bracket ir larger boats or monohulls and even yachts so it kind of more than annoyed me and turned me right off them.

No doubt I will now get inundated with private emails but think that I am already damaged way too much by the numerous bad apples to trust a broker very readily.
 
Mate please remember that boats for sale outnumber buyers at least 3 to one in SoF at the moment so you are in the driving seat. I can give you the name of a great broker in cannes if you want
 
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