First phone call with a boat owner - what to ask?

[Fidu666]

Hey guys


After having seen a potential boat for purchase on a yacht sale / broker website, the next thing to do is to make contact.


What questions do you think are of the most importance when making the first contact with the owner/broker? I sometimes find it hard to remember what I wanted to ask when being on the phone and would like to make a list.

[Snore]

Help us, help you better. Sail or power boat? Size? Older boat or 2-3 year old boat? Where is it located? BVI prompts hurricane questions....

[Fidu666]

I'm talking general. Questions you could/should ask for most boats.

- Why the sale?
- Where has the boat travelled to?
- General condition of the hull
- Condition of rig & sails
- Condition of electrics & engine

etc. etc.

[sailnautilus]

Age and hours on mechanicals...engine and gen set.
Age of rig.
Age of sails and sail wardrobe.
Ever been damaged, sunk or major insurance claim?
Osmosis hull issues if fiberglass.
Ultrasound evaluation if steel or aluminum.
Last survey.
Insured value.
General maintenance condition, records available?
That’s a start.....

[captstu]

In addition to the above list, I would ask about owner upgrades. Specifically has the owner operator to replace the Upholestry , the sole/floor, the engine especially if it’s an outboard, the sails and Bimini if it’s a sailboat?

[TrentePieds]

Question #1: "When can we meet so I can inspect 'er".

How things will go from there is anybody's guess, but if you have a reasonable knowledge of boats, of what you want to do with the boat you are looking for, and you go prepared with a checklist developed e.g. from the Boatpoker's "Surveying 101" available on this forum, you'll be off to a good start.

Additional questions, not anticipated in your "homework" preparing for the inspection, will present themselves, so keep a notebook with you during the inspections so such things can be retained for review.

You will also get a feel for the personality of the broker/seller and thus be able to determine if that person is someone you can work with, most particularly whether that person's assertions regarding the boat can be taken at face value or must be investigated in depth.

All the best

TrentePIeds

[jrbogie]

Originally Posted by Fidu666

Hey guys


After having seen a potential boat for purchase on a yacht sale / broker website, the next thing to do is to make contact.


What questions do you think are of the most importance when making the first contact with the owner/broker? I sometimes find it hard to remember what I wanted to ask when being on the phone and would like to make a list.

I don't have questions for owners and selling brokers. all my questions are answered by my own inspection and that of my surveyor.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Question #1: "When can we meet so I can inspect 'er".

Agreed. The more questions you have in your initial contact, the less likely you will be perceived as serious and the more you will be perceived as a tire kicker.

1) If the boat is listed with a broker, you will only be dealing with a broker. It is doubtful you will ever meet the owner if that is the case.

2) If the broker had that information it would be in the listing. You're now generating at least 2 phone calls or E-mails (one to the sellor and one back to you). Now imagine if 3 people do this for each of the 100 boats that broker is listing). If if the broker did the work, it would take a massive amount of time.

The reality is, that of those 300 people and subsequent responses, the broker might hear back from 5 of them.

[jcdexter]

Always ask how old the pictures are. Pictures can be years old and not represent the current state of condition at all. I’ve even seen some listings that posted pictures of a sales brochure from years before!

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Fidu666

I'm talking general. Questions you could/should ask for most boats.

- Why the sale?
- Where has the boat travelled to?
- General condition of the hull
- Condition of rig & sails
- Condition of electrics & engine

etc. etc.

This implies you have never bought or owned a boat. If correct, you might be best served by forgoing the internet expert path in favor of a trusted friend who has the experience to help you in such discussions.

[dcstrng]

I probably do it all wrong – and only once have I ever been interested in the truly newer boats, but I usually don’t ask specifically pointed boat questions – usually just “tell me about your boat…” They’ll certainly tell me what they want me to hear and in the back of my mind I have the usual list of questions on hull, history, rig, maintenance (etc.) , but I’m really deciding whether I’d be comfortable doing a deal with them – if “yes” on that point, then where and when to see her and go from there – on the other hand, I generally only call on boats I can probably drive to, so getting to the boat is no big deal if I find myself interested… Only bought one boat as a “quasi-investment” and it was painful. Now only for fun, and there are too many fun boats out there to tolerate the un-fun transactions…

[Fore and Aft]

jcdexter has it correct. "How old are the photos" is the number one question. I have seen boats listed with photos of a sister ship or they have used the same photos from when they last purchased the yacht.
Another good question is "What needs repairing"?
Some people have no morals when it comes to unloading their boat and it seems like there is no end of suckers if you just wait long enough.
Cheers

[George DuBose]

First question? Hmm... Is she still afloat?

[boatpoker]

Questions for a 20' daysailer in fresh water and a 40' cruiser for the caribbean are like apples and oranges. Without knowing your aims, type of boat, desired equipment and your budget, answers to these type of questions have little value.

The answer to your question is .... it depends.

[anacapaisland42]

If it's a sailboat ..."how does the engine run?"
Bill

Originally Posted by Fidu666

Hey guys


After having seen a potential boat for purchase on a yacht sale / broker website, the next thing to do is to make contact.


What questions do you think are of the most importance when making the first contact with the owner/broker? I sometimes find it hard to remember what I wanted to ask when being on the phone and would like to make a list.