How to Sell Your Boat

[Sue & Larry]

For most people, buying a boat is a very emotional experience, not a rational one. Whether your boat is as old as the hills or relatively new, you want the prospective buyer's first reaction to be "Wow"! But how do you make this happen? Remove all personal gear from the boat in advance. Leave aboard only the items that are included with the vessel. Remove all food and any clothing. Empty lockers will make the buyer think there's much more storage space than those bulging with stuff. (It's hard to get really excited when you open a drawer and find dirty socks that are crammed inside.) Ensure that the inside and outside are spotless. Really spotless. Clean all cupboards, under floorboards, ports and hatches, inside the engine room, and the bilge-basically everything. Outside, clean and wax the hull, polish the stainless, re-do the teak, repair gelcoat cracks, and detail every nook and cranny. If you don't have time to clean, pay someone. You'll get your money back several times over. Have all manuals and information regarding the boat's systems neatly kept in a binder or series of binders. The prospective buyer will be more comfortable knowing he'll have references should a problem arise. This also denotes a meticulous owner and a well-maintained vessel. If you've made improvements to the boat or added gear, keep your receipts to show the buyer. It's the boat that sells the boat, not all that extra gear. If there are things you know you'll use on your next boat, you may want to consider taking these off before you put your boat on the market. If you do take things off, be prepared to do what's necessary to make it look as if they were never there, e.g., don't leave holes in your nav panel or other places. Have photos and specification sheets for your boat prepared in advance. Keep these in envelopes to hand to prospective buyers. Once your boat is under contract, be prepared for the sea trial and survey. Check out all systems and ensure that they function correctly. Check all lights, instruments, pumps, engine, etc. If you find a problem, correct it in advance. It will show up on the survey, and may be a negative to your buyer. If you want to sell your boat yourself, plan on investing lots of time and money in advertising, marketing and showing your boat. Be prepared to do some work. Everyone thinks that his or her own boat is special. The reality is that there are always lots of boats for sale, and yours will probably bring the current market price. Try to price it correctly from the start by researching what similar boats have sold for. If you're unrealistic in your asking price, you may get lucky. But it's more likely that you'll eventually wind up reducing your asking price to what your local market will bear. - - L.H. and S.H.