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Buying a boat: the paperwork and the day of handover
Short answer
The risky hours are not the first passage. They are the day of the handover itself: the lift, the road move and the first night on a berth nobody has looked at. Sort the cover out before the money changes hands, and keep the paperwork that proves what the boat was worth.
A second hand boat often changes hands on trust, and the questions that decide the purchase are settled before the handover rather than after it. Ask for the bill of sale chain back far enough to show that the seller can pass good title, and check whether a marine mortgage is still registered against the vessel. Ask for the VAT status in writing, because a boat whose VAT position cannot be evidenced is considerably harder to sell on than it was to buy. And read the builder's plate: a craft placed on the market after June 1998 carries a conformity mark and a design category, and both belong in the file that stays with the boat.
A pre purchase survey is the one cost that repays itself twice over. Instruct the surveyor yourself instead of taking the broker's suggestion unquestioned, and choose one who knows the type, because a moisture map of a plywood deck, an osmosis reading on a thirty year old hull and a rig check are three different jobs. Have the boat lifted for it, since everything that really matters sits below the waterline and is invisible afloat. A sea trial belongs in the same day: the gearbox under load, the charging circuit, the steering and the way the engine behaves once it is hot say more than an hour alongside a pontoon ever will. The report then does double duty, because it also records the condition and the value of the boat on the day it was taken over.
Arrange the insurance before the handover rather than after it, because the exposed hours sit between the two: the lift, the road move on a trailer, the delivery passage and the first night on a berth nobody has inspected. Whether the seller's cover carries across depends on the law behind the policy: in Germany the hull policy passes to the buyer by law (§ 95 VVG) unless one side cancels within a month, while liability cover ends with the sale, and other countries have rules of their own. Keep the bill of sale with the price actually paid written on it, as that figure is the plainest evidence of value if something happens in the first season, and a price written down to save a little tax weakens exactly that evidence. Registration follows on: Part I of the register or the Small Ships Register in the United Kingdom, and in the Netherlands the entry appropriate to the waters the boat will be used on.
Buying a used boat checklist: before the viewing
A useful checklist for buying a used boat starts before you see a single hull. Decide where the boat will be kept and whether that marina or club actually has a berth free, because a boat without a berth is a project rather than a purchase. Work out the running costs that come every year on top of the price: mooring, lifting out and storage ashore, antifouling, servicing and insurance. If you plan to take the boat abroad, check that your qualifications fit, for instance whether you need an ICC for the waters you have in mind.
At the viewing, go through the boat in a fixed order so that nothing gets skipped: hull and keel, rudder and steering, deck fittings and hatches, rig and sails, engine, gearbox and stern gear, electrics, batteries and gas installation, and every sign of water where it should not be. Our printable checklist for buying a used boat follows that order. It does not replace a surveyor, but it tells you whether the boat is worth paying one for.
Boat survey before buying: what the surveyor looks at
A boat survey before buying is normally a full condition survey, carried out ashore with the boat lifted out. Tell the surveyor how you plan to use the boat, because a survey for coastal weekends and one for an ocean crossing look for different things, and check that they belong to a recognised professional body. Ask in advance what is included: many surveyors look at the engine visually but leave a full inspection to a marine engineer, and the rig often needs a rigger who goes aloft.
Make your offer subject to survey and sea trial, so that the findings give you room to renegotiate or withdraw. The buyer usually pays for the survey and the lift, which is one more reason to do your own viewing carefully beforehand. Read the report for the items marked as safety critical or urgent, get quotes for them and bring those figures into the negotiation. Keep the report afterwards, as it records the condition of the boat on the day you bought it.
Buying a boat privately or through a broker
A broker arranges viewings, handles the paperwork and usually holds the deposit in a client account until completion, which gives both sides some protection. Buying privately can save money, but the checks are then all yours. Confirm that the person selling is the person named in the registration documents and the bill of sale chain, compare the HIN on the transom with the papers, and ask whether any marina, yard or lender has a claim on the boat. A marina owed unpaid fees may refuse to release a boat until they are settled.
Be wary of any seller who asks for a deposit before you have seen the boat, presses for a quick decision or proposes an unusual way to pay. Write down in the agreement what is included in the sale, from the tender and outboard to electronics and safety gear, because inventories have a way of shrinking between viewing and handover. A written agreement with the completion date, the price and the inventory protects you better than any handshake on a pontoon.
Boat finance: what the lender asks for before completion
If the purchase is financed, speak to the lender before you sign, not afterwards. Lenders usually want the agreement, a survey or valuation for a second hand boat, and insurance with their interest noted on it before they release the money. If the seller still owes money on the boat and a marine mortgage is registered, it has to be discharged at completion. Plan the dates so that survey, loan approval and insurance are all in place before the handover day, or the money and the handover will not meet.
Our boat finance page shows what price, deposit, term and a final balloon payment mean for the monthly figure, and our topic on what the bank wants explains the document a lender asks for in case of a claim. Remember that mooring, storage and insurance come on top of the instalment. A boat that barely fits the budget on the day of purchase tends to be the one that is neglected later, and neglect shows up in the next survey.
Worth remembering
Before the handover
is when the contract should be in place
On the handover day
is when the lift and the road move happen
The lift and the road move come long before the first passage, and they come on the day the paperwork is still on the kitchen table.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
When should the cover start?
Before the handover rather than after it. The lift, the road move and the delivery passage all happen on the day the boat changes hands, and that is precisely the day nobody has arranged anything for.
Can the seller's policy be taken over?
It depends on the law behind the policy. In Germany the hull policy passes to the buyer by law (§ 95 VVG) unless one side cancels within a month, while liability cover ends with the sale. Either way, arrange liability cover in your own name before the handover.
What paperwork should come with the boat?
The bill of sale chain, evidence of the VAT position, the builder's plate details, engine and gearbox records, the registration documents and, if a trailer is included, its own papers.
Why does the price on the bill of sale matter later?
It is the clearest evidence of what the boat was worth on the day it changed hands. A figure written down below the money actually paid weakens that evidence at the exact moment it is needed.
Should I make an offer subject to survey?
Yes. An offer subject to survey and sea trial lets you renegotiate or withdraw if the surveyor finds something serious. Put the condition in writing, together with the time you have to rely on it.
Who pays for the survey and the lift out?
As a rule the buyer pays for the survey, the lift out and any separate engine or rig inspection. Agree in advance who pays if the sale falls through because of what the survey finds.
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Boat sale contract and used boat checklist
A bilingual sale contract and a checklist for the viewing, free to print.
