I have read a number of posts about buying/selling a boat and have followed the general consensus on a couple of transactions in the past. I am now in the process of selling my Cig to an out of town buyer, we have agreed on a price and he is in the process of setting up a survey and a mechanical insp. but at this time I don't have anything in writing or any deposit. I just got a call from the surveyor to schedule an appointment and he was planning on doing a sea trial, which was a complete shock to me. I had pretty much been under the impression, that after a deal is made, ie; deposit, contract, inspections etc. that a boat is sold contingent on a sea trial by the buyer, and assuming there were no issues it was a done deal. Now I know in a tough boat selling market you might have to go the extra mile but this? Am I out of line here or not????
HELP!!!

Thanks.
John

Grin and bear it!

I wouldn't let the surveyor drive the boat for insurance purposes. The sea trial I had done the surveyor just went along for the ride............and about shut his pants at 65mph during a rough day on the chesapeake.

Will it not make it through a sea trial?

I'd run the surveyor all over the lake. The buyer is going to listen to him more than you, so give him a smooth ride. Hell the surveyor might give you a deposit if the boat is nice enough!

If I were paying for a survey long distance (which I did), I would certainly expect that the surveyor would do a sea trial. That is part of what he gets paid for. I would make any deal contingent upon the boat passing a full marine survey & sea trial. As a seller, you should have no problem with that in my opinion. As a buyer, wouldn't you want the same?

"Questions about selling a boa"t

Buy Low, Sell High

The buyer is spending money for the survey so maybe he is serious. It would be nice to get a deposit though. In this market I would go for the boat ride with me driving.

I would have something in writing and a deposit before a sea trial. The sea trial isn't going to break the deal he should be willing to give you a deposit if he is serious.

What he said!!!

If he's ponying up for a survey, he's probably serious. If you have another buyer, you can press the issue. if not, I'd smile & be accommodating. I'd at least check to see what accreditation the surveyor has. If nothing else, if the guy carries no certifications nor has any high-performance experience, he may do you more harm than good. Plus, I wouldn't want a non-accredited surveyor fooling with my boat.