A boat was bought after the previous owner said it was “in great condition and everything had been regularly maintained.” The engine looked clean and tidy and nothing jumped out in the initial visual inspection by the purchaser. But there were serious problems underneath; corrosion in the exhaust horns and the transom shields were corroded beyond serviceable limits. In other words, this boat was destined to sink in its current state!
This is the real story of a customer who purchased a boat without a pre-purchase inspection. After realising the extent of serious problems, the new owner got Seatech Marine involved in fixing the boat. We hauled the boat out, removed, fixed and replaced the engine, drives and transom shields and are happy to say, the new owner has a seaworthy vessel now! Nevertheless, this all ended up costing $30k and the original owner refused to, and is not obliged to, contribute to fixing the vessel post-purchase.
A pre-purchase inspection is a road worthy certificate for your boat. It doesn’t just save you money, time and effort in the long-run but it will keep you and everybody onboard your boat safe.
Pre-purchase inspections are minimal cost for maximum peace of mind
Pre-purchase inspection will cost around $5-600 upfront but will give you confidence in the purchase AND potential leverage to negotiate the price. And don’t forget that it is plausible for an insurance company to deny a claim later on if you didn’t get a pre-purchase inspection, because no duty of care was practiced when the purchase was made.
We carry out both wet and dry inspections for pre-purchase inspections
Our inspections are mainly visual and where it cannot guarantee to pick up every possible fault, it will give you a good overall idea of the condition of the boat, where the potential issues might be, an indication of where further investigation might be needed and the price estimate for any potential repairs. We include both wet and dry inspections as most problems can be identified ONLY on the water. We insist that the boat runs at maximum speed for a specific period of time to ensure the boat is correctly propped and the whole package appropriately set up.
Independent surveyors for larger vessel pre-purchase inspections
If it is a larger vessel you have your eye on, we also recommend you get an independent surveyor to inspect the whole vessel and the hull when it is out of the water. We would be happy to help you get in contact with an independent surveyor.
So before you purchase your new boat, give us a call for an inspection and buy yourself piece of mind.
