selling protocol

Seastoke

Seastoke

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so a guy wants to sea trial first , then survey with the boat out the water for two days he will pay for lift if sea trial goes well ,is this normal
 
Jimmy means what is the definition of a good sea trail.

Not that he does not like it and wants a free trip out.

So all kit must be working , the boat achieves WOT for 10 min and does not overheat, no unexpected vibration, no smoke etc

Something objective.

I can see no issue with trial and then survey. If it were to fail the sea trial he would rather find that out first than pay for the survey.
 
Surely the sea trial and survey are the basis on which the buyer will make his offer.
Buyer pays for sea trial and survey. Then negotiate a price.
 
jfm said:
At what point is the contract signed and deposit paid? You don't mention that so it's hard to comment.
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hi jfm it is low end budget so if we give him a sea trial which he likes then he pays for lift in and out and survey can we not do contract then ,we welcome advice ps the guy is 6 hours away wont be coming just for a free trip
 
I would let broker take care of all the trials, contracts etc, would give me peace of mind that the transaction was completed legally without cause for any comeback later on
 
Don't see a problem with giving a sea trial if only cost of fuel to worry about. Agree a price with him prior to this though and a deposit prior to lift and survey.
Just run it to check all okay before trial.
 
East Cardinal said:
Surely the sea trial and survey are the basis on which the buyer will make his offer.
Buyer pays for sea trial and survey. Then negotiate a price.
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Wrong way round. Buyer makes an offer subject to survey and sea trial. A deposit may be requested at this stage. Trial and survey then determine any rectification or reduction in price.
 
How does the buyer know what to bid if he hasn't sea trialled or surveyed the boat?
Just has to agree a price with seller then renegotiate when he has the information from trial/survey........
 
seastoke said:
hi jfm it is low end budget so if we give him a sea trial which he likes then he pays for lift in and out and survey can we not do contract then ,we welcome advice ps the guy is 6 hours away wont be coming just for a free trip
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So does this mean that in reality there is no contract involved - the buyer wants a sea trial, with no conditions attached, and if he still likes the boat after that, he'll pay for lift and survey?

Have you agreed the price with him yet?

Regardless of the fact that (a) it's a lower-value transaction and (b) he's travelling 6 hours to come and have a look, you're still taking a bit of a risk by taking him out for a joy ride to see if he likes the boat or not. Has he been on boats before? Has he owned one before? Is he specifically looking for the make/model that you are selling? You might want to qualify him a bit before deciding what to do. If you have doubts, then send him the RYA contract and have him sign it before he travels.

I sold a £6k speedboat in the way that you're describing - took the guy out for a ride, he liked it, he bought it. He still tried to chip me after the sea trial though. I subsequently sold a £28k speedboat - and for that I used a contract. You can argue it either way.
 
Of the few boats that I’ve sold, I’ve treated each one as I would were I selling a car or house; each time the first to see has bought. If you qualify the buyer, (and it seems that you’ve done so already), then focus on the presentation of the boat, builiding a rapport and making sure that the buyer has a great experience on the boat when he views it. Have the paperwork on view in a folder, service records, bill of sale and SSR.

The ‘sea trial’ is just as important to you as it is him - take him out, let him helm the boat, (away from close quarters), and enjoy the process. At worse you’ll get a good idea of how to spot a time waster or of what needs to be rectified on the boat to sell it; but more likely, he’ll start to feel that it’s his next boat, (talk to him in those terms, where’s he going to keep it, what’s he going to call it, will his kids love it and so on).
So my advice, if you are happy that the guy is serious then focus on making things interesting and enjoyable, agree what will happen on the day and what your/his expectations are but don’t worry about charging him for the pleasure or taking a deposit - he’ll only try to claw it back in before the hand shake....worst thing that can happen is that you have a couple of hours on your boat.
 
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Agreed. Yes there are protocols offer subject to survey etc but at the end of the day you want to sell and make the process as comfortable for the buyer as reasonable. It costs you little to set the hook with a sea trial and you may learn a few things for the next punter if this one flops. However I would take a deposit and complete a contract before he lifts the boat out. If he bails he might leave you with the bill.
 
I have seen both ways, unless it's dealt with by brokers who basically just keen to get the deal done, it's all about how willing you are to sell...Put yourself in buyer's position; if he has no idea of how well the boat handles he probably doesn't want to pay for surveys etc. first - in many cases after a seatrial they may ask the surveyor to look in more detail some some specific things...

It's however fully acceptable to ask for fuel cost and even you could hire a skipper (at buyer's cost).
 
Whereas I understand the need not to give free rides, the boats we all enjoy cost us a huge amount and yet we happily sign up to purchase without a test drive, and expect this to be the norm. IMHO screening genuine boat buyers should be an integral part of the broker's task, after all they are being paid handsomely for their services.

But he who pays the piper calls the tune, and perhaps sea trial before survey and indeed any commitment is the way boats should be transacted. Indeed this could actually mean two sea trials, the first almost a joy ride to see if the boat suits, and the second as part of the survey process.
 
Nigelpickin said:
Of the few boats that I’ve sold, I’ve treated each one as I would were I selling a car or house; each time the first to see has bought. If you qualify the buyer, (and it seems that you’ve done so already), then focus on the presentation of the boat, builiding a rapport and making sure that the buyer has a great experience on the boat when he views it. Have the paperwork on view in a folder, service records, bill of sale and SSR.

The ‘sea trial’ is just as important to you as it is him - take him out, let him helm the boat, (away from close quarters), and enjoy the process. At worse you’ll get a good idea of how to spot a time waster or of what needs to be rectified on the boat to sell it; but more likely, he’ll start to feel that it’s his next boat, (talk to him in those terms, where’s he going to keep it, what’s he going to call it, will his kids love it and so on).
So my advice, if you are happy that the guy is serious then focus on making things interesting and enjoyable, agree what will happen on the day and what your/his expectations are but don’t worry about charging him for the pleasure or taking a deposit - he’ll only try to claw it back in before the hand shake....worst thing that can happen is that you have a couple of hours on your boat.
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+1
I think this offer - contract - depo - lift - survey - stuff is past it now for liesure boats .

Perhaps in the 1700 ,s if you where a merchant ( not using the vessel personally) and buying say a tea clipper or a coal ship whereby you staff it and put it to work earning £ then sure the trad method is best as it’s a business transaction.
After all the offer subject to survey is important cos it’s a gotta be put to work and not sink carrying the cargo .

Some how a few centuries later with the massive rise in pleasure boating this let’s call it trad method has been extrapolated down .To let’s face it a semi complex toy ,whereby a sinking these days with loss of life is rare and has no consequence to the cargo or client - remember the technology out there to rescue you if you do become a cropper .

As Nigel says what’s wrong with treating it like any other biggish purchase ?
Just accept the odd time wasters as par for the coarse - but do a bit of due diligence re serious ness , to minimise potential “ time wasters “
Peeps need to test drive it or if properties have a 2 nd viewing or bring other family members etc to see if it’s ( house or boat is fit for what they want ) .
Why not ?

The question is the point of seatrial with no obligation,or house viewing etc .

It’s not about the legal s / paperwork- or the offer - that stuff comes later inc any chipping after surveys .

I my view it’s a case of “ bums on seats “ - within reason of semi vetting them for serious ness .

I think they have to try it if they have not actually had one to see if they like it etc .
I once turned up In January on a wet lousy weather day at a Ferrari garage in the early 90,s in a 911 .The car I was interested was @ the back of the showroom.
348 GTS @ £50K — They had to move outside in the sleet / snow / rain @ 4pm getting dark a Lambo Countach , a Aston V8. A Lotus Espirt , some other F cars to get this out .
Trade plates on - off I went - within 10Meters ( never mind 10 miles ) I knew it’s was slower than my 911 .
Just not sharp enough.
So after blathering it up on filthy roads we returned to the garage ,all those other cars now outside piss wet .
I just said nope it’s not for me prefer my 911 - thanks .

Back to boats I Again I was “informed “ re Performance let’s call it seaworthy ness about Itama coming from a Sunseeker .
I was looking for a step improvement of “ seaworthiness “

How do I know without a go in one ?

So over the phone and e- mail i offered to fund the diesel for a seatrial , broker refused and said ( like Nigel,d inference ^^^ - come and see how your wife will like the ride ) - He said you will not be disappointed with its “ seaworthy “ - come and have a ride there’s no need to pay for the fuel -

So I did - I accepted the invitation- that’s the way I saw it

Naples is a long way - can you arrange airport pic up / drop off - sure broker said .
We did tentatively agree a price before I booked flights - which was less than asking .
So I had a no abligation “ joy ride “ to Capri and back , asked if I could WOT it etc - it exceeded my expectations- unlike the F348 in the 90,s
So I bought it there n then shook hands on the deal .
The other stuff came later .

I don’t think I would be happy sending a depo to Naples before meeting the guy or seeing or testing the brand new to me , or being mixed up with IT paperwork before setting foot on the boat .

With Liesure boats I think peeps has a dream / image / aspersion in there head of certain criteria ans expectations.
Firstly a test drive is needed to see if the boat meets them .

As I said as a Merchant in the 1700,s you just wanna know if the vessel will transport the cargo for x number of years of payload carrying when you do your maths .

You see both potential transactions above - car or boat have one thing in common—— seller(s) invited me to have a go in them .

That’s different to a liesure boat purchase criteria, which is a lot more subjective.
 
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