Might soon be an owner: A few questions

[Laurie]

For relatively low cost boats (the value to an owner is priceless!) you may wish to consider Basic Boat Liability Insurance (3rd party only) therefore no survey required........? (Google Basic Boat etc...)

A lot cheaper to boot................

 

[jontifosi]

Buy a boat with a recent insurance survey already in place, they last 5 years normally and then allow you to get fully comp.
But to be honest under £10k you're probably buying a boat that needs fengreal maintenance and diy so may as well give it a go going over and expect to keep on top of things save the survey money and go 3rd party.

 

[LittleSister]

I may be wrong, but I suspect if the original poster is having to ask the questions he/she does (and there's nothing wrong with that, we all have to start somewhere), s/he is unlikely to be sufficiently knowledgeable to confidently satisfy himself as to the condition of the boat, and the presence or absence of imprtant items. I would therefore recommend that s/he does commission a condition survey.

If s/he was in a position to write off the purchase price if it turned out to be a lemon, s/he would be unlikely to be looking at a boat of that value. Any boat at that price (and I've seen and owned quite a few) is going to be well used and quite probably abused. A professional survey, though not providing absolute certainty, is very likely (and much more likely than an inexperienced would-be purchaser) to pick up any serious problems, and probaly quite a few minor ones.

The actual cost of a basic survey of small-ish boat is unlikely to be very expensive (unless it is in a remote location), and may well be outweighed by any reduction in price negotiated in the light of any issues the surveyor picks up. If the survey identifies the boat is not worth buying, then the money is lost, but well spent. If it is not a smallish boat, and hence more expensive to survey, then at that price it is likely to be in pretty poor condition, and so a survey is all the more important.

Where surveys do cost money is in the surveyor making recommendations to replace/repair this that or other (to cover themselves) that you might otherwise have lived with for a while. (An insurance company will usually demand the surveyor's recommendations are caarried out.) I've found that if you discuss it with the surveyor they may well be willing to reword their recommendation to say something like 'X is worn and should be monitored with a view to replacing at some point'. If they won't it is probably something you would need to replace/attend to soon anyway, so the money is not lost (and may add value to the boat if you re-sell it). A survey will also help sell the boat if, as is likely (whatever you think now), you want to sell it gain in the not distant future.

So, unless I've been mistaken in my assumptions about the original posters knowledge and experience, I'd strongly recommend going and taking plenty of time having a good look over the boat, including all the nooks and crannies; and I'd strongly recommend taking someone along who is familiar with older boats if possible. If you're still confident that it's the boat for you, then get a surveyor with a decent reputation (e.g. ask on here) to do a basic condition survey.

If the boat has an inboard engine, then also get someone knowledgeable (pay if necessaary) to fire this up and give it a basic check over , too, as the cost of a new engine is such a large part of the value of a boat in this price range.

 

[wytco0]

I may be wrong, but I suspect if the original poster is having to ask the questions he/she does (and there's nothing wrong with that, we all have to start somewhere), s/he is unlikely to be sufficiently knowledgeable to confidently satisfy himself as to the condition of the boat, and the presence or absence of imprtant items. I would therefore recommend that s/he does commission a condition survey. .

Well I freely admit I don't know much about boats, but I do not a fair bit about engines and engineering in general, but your right however I regard the sort of boat that I am taking about as pretty simple and I do have access to a friend who is a experienced sailor to help me out.

If s/he was in a position to write off the purchase price if it turned out to be a lemon, s/he would be unlikely to be looking at a boat of that value. Any boat at that price (and I've seen and owned quite a few) is going to be well used and quite probably abused. A professional survey, though not providing absolute certainty, is very likely (and much more likely than an inexperienced would-be purchaser) to pick up any serious problems, and probaly quite a few minor ones. .

He, well this is interesting, I would not want to have to write off 100% of the price I paid but I think that's unlikely, I am prepared to take a risk and I am prepared to take a loss if I get it wrong. I think my main point is that for a fairly simple boat and systems I think my general knowledge is enough to notice anything that would make the boat a total loss and If I find that I will walk away.

... Where surveys do cost money is in the surveyor making recommendations to replace/repair this that or other (to cover themselves) that you might otherwise have lived with for a while. I've found that if you discuss it with the surveyor they may well be willing to reword their recommendation to say something like 'X is worn and should be monitored with a view to replacing at some point. If they won't it is probably something you would need to replace/attend to soon anyway, so the money is not lost (and may add value to the boat if you re-sell it). A survey will also help sell the boat if, as is likely (whatever you think now), you want to sell it gain in the not distant future.

... I'd strongly recommend going and taking plenty of time having a good look over the boat, including all the nooks and crannies; and I'd strongly recommend taking someone along who is familiar with older boats if possible. If you're still confident that it's the boat for you, then get a surveyor with a decent reputation (e.g. ask on here) to do a basic condition survey.

If the boat has an inboard engine, then also get someone knowledgeable (pay if necessaary) to fire this up and give it a basic check over , too, as the cost of a new engine is such a large part of the value of a boat in this price range.

Thanks for you advice its much appreciated.