Inspecting Your New Boat
The viewing, or inspecting your boat is a very important part of the buying process. Inspecting will allow you to see what you are buying before you pay any money.
You may want to use a surveyor to do this, as they will perform a very detailed inspection of the boat you are interested in. You can be present if you like, as this will give you the chance to ask questions if you like.
Although using a surveyor is the best way to do an inspection, you can do it yourself if you are experienced and confident enough. There are many parts of the boat to inspect, which makes it nearly impossible for beginners.
If you inspect yourself, make sure you look at the bottom of the hull, the interior, the control cables, electrical system, pumps, and be sure that everything is in working order. If the boat has been well maintained, you shouldn't have a problem looking everything over.
The engine should also be checked, as it is very important to the boat. If you don't know a lot about boat engines or engines in general, you should get a mechanic to look over it for you. You may want to do this anyway, as the engine can be very tough to inspect.
If everything is up to par, it's time to take a test drive. Before you fire up the engine, check to see if it's already warm. If the engine has trouble starting or smokes when cold, the seller could have warmed up the engine prior to you arriving to disguise any problems.
Check for oil leaks as well, checking the bilges at the start and end of the test drive. When moving around, see how the boat performs. You should experiment with hitting the waves from different angles, looking for any type of roll or pitch.
Make sure you also test that all the instruments are working correctly, then run the engine for a period of time to see if it overheats.
If you are buying a sail boat, put the sails up and see how the boat performs under wind pressure alone. Also, make sure you examine the mast and how the boat rigs under load.
If the boat you are planning to buy doesn't pass any of your tests, don't rule it out just yet. If you are willing to put both time and money into making things work, you can use any problems as bargaining tools to try and get a lower price on the boat.
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