See full version: Buying a Used Boat Checklist For Avoiding Surprises
Check all the documents to understand the boat. You will be able to know when the boat has undergone services and revisions. If any part is changed recently, or if any of them needs to be changed, real conditions of the boat parts and many more things will come out through the papers.
Tiny cracks in localized parts are mainly cosmetic. They mostly appear around the screws that are not fixed correctly around the wind-shields, handles, and gunwales.
Another important point to think about is the type of boat you want. Think before you go for your one.
Are there still judgment calls? Certainly. The standards can’t help evaluate the significance of elevated moisture readings in a deck, or the level of wear in belts or hoses. And the toughest calls arise when a surveyor is faced with a system on an older model boat that doesn’t meet standards for boats built today. Is it wrong? Is it inherently dangerous? The answers almost always seem to start with, “It all depends. ”
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The irony that I slipped in above is that older boats will likely cost more to have surveyed than new ones. A 2008 36’ sailboat being purchased for $200,000 is likely to be a much easier job for a surveyor than a similar boat from 1978 selling for a tenth of the price. When you call about the older boat, either the surveyors will give quotes that reflect this, or they’ll seem awfully busy and refer you to newer, younger surveyors in the area.
Fortunately for all, there is a clear path forward; every boat comes with a work list and it’s a surveyor’s job to define what’s on that list as objectively as possible. It’s not the surveyor’s role to tell the buyer whether or not to buy, and overemphasizing minor problems could mislead the buyer just as much as ignoring them would. Experienced brokers know, too, that they don’t want to sell a boat that has problems. They want the new owner to be happy with the purchase because a happy owner is more likely to become a repeat customer. And owners are rarely surprised by survey findings – generally, they know their boat better than anyone.
This is the toughest question of all. Some surveyors use a flat rate based on the length the boat, while others use an hourly rate. Either way, a pre-purchase survey will cost somewhere around $20 per foot, but it will be higher on large and complex (or older) boats. In some cases, it may be less. Remember, boats get large quickly—a boat that’s twice the length could have up to four times the surface area and eight times the volume.
When considering the cost of a survey, don't forget about expenses that may go with it - like a haul-out.
Low engine hours on an older boat is always a red herring to an experienced boat owner. The hours on the engine are only one aspect of the boat’s wear and tear. Marine age – the time an engine and boat systems have sat with saltwater in or around them – is a far more accurate gauge than engine hours. That 25-year-old Florida boat with only 700 hours on the engine has 70,000 days of marine age where saltwater has been corroding away through-hulls, engine raw water hoses and coolers, and working its bad effect on your boat’s wiring. [links]
A 70-foot boat that did 15 miles and 2 hours of boating each year from its storage yard on Cape Cod to its summer home on Martha’s Vineyard came within hours of sinking at the dock last summer. A sharp-eyed dock staff member noticed the boats bilge pump on nonstop. Investigation showed a corroded through-hull fitting inside the boat. There was a circular split inside the threaded part of the fitting and weeping a gallon or two an hour into the boat. The next time that boat was at sea that fitting would have snapped off and let hundreds of gallons per minute of saltwater into the boat. That’s what marine age can do, regardless of how little the boat is run!
So, you bought a new and bigger boat. Where are you going to store it? In your yard, in a (presumably) secure lot? At a marina, either inside or outside? Regardless of your location, each comes with its own set of challenges. Winters are rough, and wherever you decide to leave your boat, it needs to be protected from the elements, and it needs to be properly winterized.
An aerial photo of a Pursuit S 428. more
That being said, it's important to ensure that the boat has a high-quality fabric. The fabric should be durable and reliable as it will help in protecting, you, your passengers, and, of course, your boat from the elements. here
Buying a sailboat is no small task. It's not like going to the grocery store and buying some tomatoes. Things may be even more complicated if you're buying a used sailboat. After all, not all used sailboats will do. So unless you're a sailboat expert, it can be quite challenging to know what to look for when buying a used sailboat. more
On the test drive, you should test everything about the boat. From the engine performance, the boat's electrical system to the performance, and the general feel of the boat, this is a great chance to make the last decision on whether the boat is or isn't right for you. more
There's certainly no harm in asking why the boat is being sold in the first place. This will most likely reveal a lot of things about your prospective purchase. In addition to revealing the position in which the seller is in (which may be vital when you reach the negotiation table), it can be essential in knowing a thing or two about the vessel. More importantly, be wary if the seller is elusive when answering this question or if their answer is unconvincing or seem too choreographed and rehearsed. here
The best thing to do is to find out with the dealer on his/her preferred type of financing. You can then find out with your financial advisor about the best option for financing your purchase and use it to reach a consensus with the dealer. here