Pre-purchase tips and advice for boat buyers

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 in Airlie Beach, to provide a Boat Pre-purchase 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 # 1priority! 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 at pre-purchase time. 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, call us for an independent pre-purchase inspection.

Engage Big Sea Marine as your independent surveyor, to carry out the inspection. 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 boat types. Call or email to arrange your obligation free estimate for your pre-purchase boat Inspection. 

Consider these important points when arranging a boat inspection, especially in the case of a Pre-purchase assessment. 

• Time required for inspection. 
• Additional survey items. 
• Your budget constraints.
• Location and availability.
• Tide and weather conditions.
• Vessel accessibility. 
• Ships documents' available.