Boat Buying Tips

Before buying a boat of any kind, you need to understand exactly what condition the boat is in, prior to parting with your hard-earned cash! Engage Big Sea Marine Consultants to provide a Pre-purchase Condition Inspection Survey, to assess the vessel, prior to purchase. 

When searching for a suitable boat, ensure you know exactly what you intend to use the vessel for. Consider where you want to operate, the kind of on water activities and length of voyages you wish to undertake. Consider the vessel's fuel economy and annual running costs.

Safety is the priority! Make sure you put safety equipment and beacons at the top of your priority list. Equipment must be checked for service life, expiry dates, and general condition. Equipment includes life jackets, fire appliances, flares, EPIRB, radio, electronics etc. 

A boat salesman or broker may have had a condition report prepared prior to the vessel being offered for sale. Do not assume this report is comprehensive and covers existing defects. If you are offered a report from the seller or broker, read the report with caution. It is unlikely to include previous repairs and there is no guarantee the report has not been altered. 

Boat brokers are often clients of surveyors, so it's important to keep this in mind when purchasing a vessel from a broker. It is common practice for boat brokers to send work to surveyors and quite often, a solid business relationship is established between the parties. If at any time the broker insists on using a particular surveyor, walk away from the deal, as this is often a red flag. 

Engage Big Sea Marine as your independent surveyor, to carry out the survey. Big Sea Marine Surveyors are your first choice for providing a quality service. We're qualified marine engineers, with extensive experience across a broad range of vessel types. Call or email to arrange your obligation free estimate for your Pre-purchase Inspection. 

The process of engaging Big Sea Marine Consultants and Surveyors is simple. Send us a brief email from our contacts page with supporting images and vessel particulars and upon receipt of your enquiry, we will provide a copy of 'terms of engagement' for the particular type of survey and discuss the finer points of the inspection. At this stage a preliminary 'scope of works' and an indication of fees is established. An offer is provided for you to view. Both parties sign and approve in writing when completely satisfied with the agreement. 

Some important points to consider at the time of engagement or during preparation: 

• Type of survey you require. 
• Additional survey items. 
• Your budget constraints.
• Place, time and location.
• Tide and weather conditions.
• Access to the vessel and spaces. 
• Ships documents availability.