What would you do differently? (if you were buying a £1M boat)

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burgundyben

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If you were buying a £1M boat, how would you approach the process of accepting the boat?

How would you deal with the people?

How would you be certain that at all times you had a common understanding on what would be delivered?

Is there somethings to be learnt?

(Just for the record now that a certain obnoxious idiot has been binned I've made a conscious decision to make more effort with the forums)
 
what is the significance of £1mio? Does that suggest a different approach? Perhaps there is a bigger profit margin on such a boat for the vendor, but I guess there is also alot more costs than a cheaper boat. I can think of someone you refer to as an idot buying a much cheaper boat that then nearly killed him and his family. I dont think you should need to spend £1mio to get a standard of service.
 
Is there really any difference between someone relatively rich buying a 1mil boat or someone lower down the scale buying a £50K boat. Surely we should all expect and indeed receive a decent usable product.
But I take your point.
Ian
 
The problems don't start at acceptance imho. They start at fitout. I'd hire a skipperish boaty project manager type person to be onsite and hence utterly kow the boat ands where every pipe and valve and switch was, or stay onsite at the yard meself.

Sadly this not always possible, so i'd probly buy a secondhand boat next time if there is a next time and get it altered if needed.
 
This really is hypothetical for me but if I had that type of money to spend on a boat then I would

1) Buy from a European builder - close enough for me to visit regularly and not depend on photo's and e-mails from the yard.

2) Appoint a Surveyor to project manage the build for me.

3) Make sure that all recognised "snagging" issues are not only identified but actually remedied before handover

4) Agree a % retention for a period of time to "encourage" the builder to rectify those faults that only become known once the boat is in the water. If the builder didn't agree to this I would look elsewhere no matter how desirable the boat.
 
I agree with you Barry, these forums are the poorer for those sort of comments, especially when the "certain obnoxious idiot" cannot defend himself. Geoff
 
I think that's why there's value in Burgundyben aiming his question at the upper end of the market.

Once you're at the 1M+ end, you can have far more input into the spec & actual build of the boat, rather than simply being allocated a number on a production line.

I can't see anyone employing a surveyor/ project manager to oversee the build of "their" 28' Sealine...
 
Looks a good list, but would you have done the same before the Gludy posts??

Personally I have learnt a great deal from the posts and would be alot more careful in future, which i thank him for and wish there was somrthing I could do to help.

PS Not that I would/could spend £1m+ on a boat
 
As I said, for me this is a hypothetical question so I've not really given it much thought before and certainly Gludy's experience has influenced my thinking.
 
The major difference between a 50k and a 1mil boat is that with the more expensive boat the cost to have a professional who isn't attached to the boat yard looking after your interests becomes a much smaller % of the overall cost and therefore more viable.

But no - I wouldn't have thought about this before the G posts .... but then I don't have a mil or so to spare at the moment ...
 
If it was a new build the first thing I would want to have is a project manager. I think that in any form of more or less bespoke construction you need someone between you and the builder, who is being paid by you to make sure the builder acts in your interests. "Being paid" is an important element too. I have seen too many projects go wrong where the PM is a friend, just checking everything is ok as a favour.
 
Exactly the same as I conduct all my business. Nail them down on prices. request weekly updates, make regular inspection visits, source my own extras & most importantly dont pay the full balance untill all the work has been completed to my satisfaction. This saves all arguements later.
Incidently I would never contemplate buying a new boat or car for that matter. Its the best way I know of shooting large wonga, as soon as you have taken delivery you lose a small fortune.
To go off the subject a little I have just had a load of work done on my boat ie storm & colision damage sustained in Ibiza. I supplied all parts & contacts for replacing the stainless rails ect, thrashed out prices for labour, sourced a set of stainless props ( compliments to a forum member) & various other parts. This enabled me to submit a firm estimate to the insurers who settled within seven days of recieving final invoice.
End result spot on.
I think whilst there are some good marine companys there are far more shoddy ones who could not fit nuts into a monkeys mouth. Unfortunatly a certain forum member has fallen foul of one of these. God help them if I was that forumite they would be regreting the day they met me. Having spent most of my life in the motor trade its not easy to fob me off or bullshit me, but I am still shocked by some of the storys I read on here........Nat
 
Would be intersting to compare the cost of Gludy's £1m Trader with an equivalent sized Marlow. I bet the price difference is substantial. Its like comparing a Hallberg-Rassy and a Bavaria they are different products aimed at different markets. Guy on next pontoon to me runs a Bav 40 as a business; its done the Fastnet Race several times. Its a well built solid boat but its mass produced and the fit out in places is crude. You pick your product and pay the money it takes. Don't believe its realistic to compare a Trader with a Marlow however its reasonable to expect a well constructed and fit for purpose product from both yards. Gludy's yacht is unfit for purpose and some defects could be close to criminal negligence. I hope he reaches a satisfactory outcome but money will never make up for the months of frustration and hassle involved.
 
The point I was making with the £1M tag is that its likely to have a great deal more customisation than a £50k production boat and hence a lot more opportunity for things to go wrong.

I'd order the boat in its most basic form, then when delivery and acceptance complete I'd employ specialists in their field to do their thing, like water maker fitted by watermaker company etc.
 
Fit out too late.

Specification is where it all goes wrong.

In early nineties I spent a few months back and forward to Plymouth watching over the build of a Prinny 55 for the owner, quite a big boat at the time.

Radar, nav aids, watermaker, SSB all fitted after delivery, with me living on board watching every wire, pipe and hole drilled and me watching every trial and test.

On £1M boat well worth paying someone for a year to oversee, what does reasonably competant boat bum skipper type person cost for a year? £30k? not a lot on the total cost.
 
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