Lessons learned in boat purchase

[Tony B]

Every pre-purchase survey I have had (3) went the same way. The surveyor arranges with a yard for a haul-out the same afternoon as the regular in-the-water survey. The survey usually starts early in the morning wherein the surveyor looks and hammers himself to death. Since he doesn't know how much I am paying or what my budget is, he will stop at relatively expensive items and discuss the estimated costs with me. If all is ok, he will continue on until the "In-The-Water" survey is complete. Then, the sea trial is usually the taking of the boat to a yard for a haul-out and an "out-of-the-water" survey is performed. Then the sea trial continues on the way back to the slip. The cost of the survey has always been by the foot.
The first time I ever had a survey was when I bought my Catalina 30. I pretty much knew that most of the boat systems did not work so my real survey concerns were with the hull, engine and rigging.
Prior to that, all my other boats were taken for a test drive before I bought them.

[bobconnie]

Almost all GOOD Surveyers either have a sea trial included in, or offer one for an additional fee of (in my experence) 50 to 100 US dollars! It might include engine only on the way to the haul out or it might be a couple of hours sail and motoring! I have always thought it a good idea to know how the boat handles under both power and sail if there is any LOL ! Just make sense to me if Im gonna pay 500 + bucks to a GOOD surveyer I want a sea trial cus it could be a deal breaker for me !! Just my 2 cents

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by cal40john

To keep just anybody from going on joyrides what seems to be the common procedure here is to put a refundable deposit in escrow and have a contract signed that has clauses sale dependent on sea trial and survey.

To my mind a difference between a testdrive and a seatrial - the latter only occurs after a deal is signed and is only to confirm (or at least try to!) what the Vendor is claiming / what the Buyer thinks he is paying for!........whereas a testdrive is simply marketing. In practice these things do seem to get rolled into the one trip.

Whilst I can understand the desire to avoid offering endless joyrides, nonetheless I think being able and willing to offer prospective purchasors a taster is just a useful marketing tool. Of course if "your" boat (and the deal) is so great that it sells itself then don't need to put any great effort in to attract punters...........but for others, every little helps.

I am sure that not beyond the wit of folk to come up with a test drive (joyride?!) that shows off how great the boat is - but without being simply a really great way to spend a few hours on the water for free...........an early start springs to mind for starters!, as well as simply test drives only after a week of chatting (i.e. not simply upon first contact). and maybe throw in a run through all the boat paperwork and bills before leaving the dock (useful for a buyer - boring as crap for a timewaster!)......stuff like that won't cost the "buyer" cash, but it will cost them time.

Besides, if "you" are actually using the boat anyway, then having a couple of folks onboard (a captive audience for hearing how great your boat is!) is not exactly a biggie.

But each to their own . (buying or selling).

[anchordown]

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[JazzyO]

Originally Posted by anchordown

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I hear you brother.


Onno

[MarkSF]

My take on this :

The survey is there to find major, expensive issues. Not whether a sheet is worn or a block doesn't work perfectly. The main point of a sea trial then is to check the engine performance.

After purchase it took me a year of regular sailing to get everything working smoothly and as I wanted it. These are things that are unlikely to be obvious in a short sea trial. Indeed, it took a while to figure out how to get the best out of my boat, and a sea trial could easily give a falsely negative impression of sailing performance.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by anchordown

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Couldn't have put it better myself.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

My take on this :

The survey is there to find major, expensive issues. Not whether a sheet is worn or a block doesn't work perfectly. The main point of a sea trial then is to check the engine performance.

After purchase it took me a year of regular sailing to get everything working smoothly and as I wanted it. These are things that are unlikely to be obvious in a short sea trial. Indeed, it took a while to figure out how to get the best out of my boat, and a sea trial could easily give a falsely negative impression of sailing performance.

I turned down a boat after the sea trial due to its sailing characteristics. I've been on quite a few boats and couldn't believe how much worse this boat sailed than anything I'd been on. And this design has had reports of people doing long distance cruising. I'm glad I didn't have to buy the boat to find out I didn't like the way it sailed.

[Terra Nova]

Any offer should be based on the satisfactory conclusion of sea trial and hull survey. Other common surveys can be purchased separately and made a condition of sale, typically rigging and engine.

During sea trials, motoring and sailing systems are checked. As well as all electronics, equipment and machinery. If an engine or rig survey has been ordered, you will likely want the mechanic or rigger to be along for sea trials, with more thorough examination taking place prior to and immediately following sea trials. If OK so far, the yacht proceeds to haulout and hull survey. Anything untoward that turns up during sea trial and survey(s) is subject to renegotiation between buyer and seller.