Thoughts on a new boat with these caveats.....

[Kettlewell]

I would say from you telling the broker or the owner you want it to actually taking possession maybe a month typically. Depending on the time of year, it often takes two or three weeks before a surveyor can see the boat, so that can be a hold up. Personally, I prefer to negotiate the price downward rather than require the owner to get things fixed--that is a guarantee for delays, hassles, disappointment. Frequently, the owner just doesn't want to budge after the survey, so that can be a big delay. Let the owner think about things for another month or two while you look around and you often hear back from them before you recontact them. Depending on what needs to be done, I figure at least a few months for getting any boat, even a new one, ready for any sort of serious trip. In an ideal world I think it takes a good two years to sort out most boats to where you really like the way things are set up. Don't make the mistake of setting off with major boat issues thinking you'll take care of them later. It is almost always easier and cheaper to take care of those things as close to home as possible.

[msponer]

I feel that if you want to minimize the time between 'purchase' and 'go', then there is a lot of value in using the boat for at least a long weekend as soon as you get it. Before you start tearing it apart for projects or get caught up in working on it.

I made this mistake with my first boat. I started a lot of projects before I took her anywhere, and then couldn't go anywhere for a long time because some part of her was usually taken apart. Several months later I thought she was 'ready', then took her to a nearby island for a week and realized that I had overlooked a lot of basic details. If I had known about these details sooner I would have made them a higher priority than most of the projects I had already spent a lot of time and money on.