Westerly Centaur - Ownership transfer (what documents?)

[Jemima Puddleduck]

Hi,
I'm about to purchase a 1976 Centaur in partnership with a friend. What documents should we be obtaining and what is the process of ownership tranfer to us?
We have organised a survey this week.

thanks
M

 

[Tranona]

The only thing you really need is a Bill of Sale from the seller transferring title to you and your co owner. Presumably you have checked that the seller has title to sell. You can get BoS forms from either the RYA or the MCA registry.

 

[wrr]

It might be useful to be provided with evidence of her location on 31 December 1992, so that she can be regared as "deemed VAT paid". I would also like to be given her previous bills of sale, so as to establish her history of ownership, receipts for major work, such as rigging and engine replacement, and previous surveys to identify any previous issues and their remediation. You also need to establish whether you are to be joint owners or co-owners, which affects what happens if one partner dies, and have the ownership reflected in the bill of sale.

 

[PabloPicasso]

Although all above is actually correct correct, an old low value boat like this may not have all those documents.

Not having provanence wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. As long as the person selling is the actual owner!!

 

[ashtead]

You might want to consider transfer of any radio call sign of the vessel. Joining the westerly owners association might be useful in advance of any sale as I guess they have info on vessels?

 

[Refueler]

Decent Bill of Sale and that's it ... unless of course its Pt1 registered which I assume it is not.

 

[Dellquay13]

Bill of Sale

Hopefully some receipts to point to a history of genuine ownership by the seller.

If the boat is in a marina, boatyard, harbour or a paid mooring check with their admin that there are no arrears due. Get any debts cleared before you buy.
This will also be another pointer to seller ID and ownership

 

[Refueler]

Bill of Sale

Hopefully some receipts to point to a history of genuine ownership by the seller.

If the boat is in a marina, boatyard, harbour or a paid mooring check with their admin that there are no arrears due. Get any debts cleared before you buy.
This will also be another pointer to seller ID and ownership

Any decent BoS will have a paragraph stating clearly that Seller declares no Lien, Arrears, etc remaining or current for the item sold. That Seller is responsible to ensure all cleared etc.

 

[Dellquay13]

Any decent BoS will have a paragraph stating clearly that Seller declares no Lien, Arrears, etc remaining or current for the item sold. That Seller is responsible to ensure all cleared etc.

Yes that is true, but quietly asking a 3rd party in advance is easier than trying to sort out legal wrangles later, especially if someone has been less than genuine up front when selling.
The yard/marina staff probably won’t give you details of any debts, the best you can hope is a positive all clear or being told there is an outstanding charge, but if they find out there is an imminent sale they will be chasing their money extra hard before the sale.
We are talking about a boat usually in the £4-8K range, unpaid yard bills for 6months could be half the boat value.

 

[Refueler]

Yes that is true, but quietly asking a 3rd party in advance is easier than trying to sort out legal wrangles later, especially if someone has been less than genuine up front when selling.
The yard/marina staff probably won’t give you details of any debts, the best you can hope is a positive all clear or being told there is an outstanding charge, but if they find out there is an imminent sale they will be chasing their money extra hard before the sale.
We are talking about a boat usually in the £4-8K range, unpaid yard bills for 6months could be half the boat value.

I don't disagree ...

Not unusual for an older boat to actually have yard bills !!

 

[Mark-1]

Hi,
I'm about to purchase a 1976 Centaur in partnership with a friend. What documents should we be obtaining and what is the process of ownership tranfer to us?
We have organised a survey this week.

thanks
M

I (as seller) got AI to write me a bill of sale (in fact two of them) so the new owner had proof of ownership and I had proof of sale in case it was fly tipped somewhere in future. I also got photos of him sailing away.

Obvs 'proof' is doing some really heavy lifting in this context.

Personally, I'd say the seller is taking on far more risk here than the buyer, the buyer's liability is limited to the value of a boat. The seller could end up having to prove the boat is no longer theirs to avoid "Aliunde" style cleanup costs.

 

[Jemima Puddleduck]

Decent Bill of Sale and that's it ... unless of course its Pt1 registered which I assume it is not.

Hi, what's a PT1 registration?

 

[Dellquay13]

Hi, what's a PT1 registration?

It’s the Maritime and Coastguard agency register, where UK leisure boats used for Charter, Sailing Schools or other commercial purposes must be registered.
It also has some bearing on marine mortgages, and is sometimes used by UK citizens no longer resident in the UK (not eligible for pt3 below). Pt1 can be relatively expensive and may require a marine survey of length etc.

Private UK leisure boats do not need any registration, although pt3 (Small Ships Register) is commonly adopted by UK residents taking their boat outside of UK waters.

 

[Dellquay13]

Hi,
I'm about to purchase a 1976 Centaur in partnership with a friend. What documents should we be obtaining and what is the process of ownership tranfer to us?
We have organised a survey this week.

thanks
M

If you are buying with a friend, decide and document what would happen to each persons share in case anything happens in the future?
You wouldn’t want to find that following someone’s Last Will you are part owner of a boat along with a donkey sanctuary.

My personal preference if entering a low value boat share would be to gift my share to the other owner on my demise, to save my relatives the expense and hassle of any ongoing costs and disposing of half an old boat.
There is suitable legal wording you can use on the BoS which shows you both as full and joint owners, rather than part owners, but I don’t know it to quote it.