How to sell a boat without a broker?

tony1b2000

tony1b2000

Active Member
Oct 10, 2007
243
Salem MA
Boat Info
Carver C37
Engines
Mercury Diesel 4.2 TDI, inboards
I currently have my boat for sale on Boat trader. I have been getting a lot of inquiries on just this past week alone! My guess is people are getting the itch due to us not having a boat show again here in Boston.

My question to you all is: What paperwork should I have to sell my boat? I am not familiar with the process except for trading in my previous boat which they easily gave me 20% less than what they sold it for! Should I be asking for a 10% deposit upfront?

Note: The boat IS documented
 
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What I would do, is the same as what happens when I purchased my boat

show people the boat and if someone wants to go for a ride, iirc, we came to terms subject to survey, compression tests and test drive. Once we agreed to that, I gave them 10% and set up survey and test drive. After test drive and survey. The seller fixed 4 items, low compression on starboard engine (heads), repaired windlass (works on walk through but not survey), port fuel guage, and electric couch that didn’t operate.

the. We took a final test drive and we closed. Which really seemed like a Bill of sale and paperwork through a local marine title company to transfer the uscg documents and state title.....
 
The broker is used when I bought my boat used these guys for all the paperwork with getting the boat documentation transferred over. They had good communication and helped us expedite the process. They are out of Plymouth, Ma. other than that I agree with the steps laid out above.

http://vesseldocumentationservice.com/services.htm
 
If the buyers are going to Finance the purchase, and they use a marine loan broker, The broker will coordinate all transfer paper work. The deal we are in the middle of is costing us $550 documentation fees including title search and transfer along with any name change and change of port for the CG documentation. It is is an all cash deal then you should be able tp find a local or regional Marine Title company to handle things. You can negotiate who pays for what, We are splitting the legal fees with the seller as it involves an LLC transfer.
Good luck with the sale
Carpe Diem
 
Chris-380 said:
What I would do, is the same as what happens when I purchased my boat

show people the boat and if someone wants to go for a ride, iirc, we came to terms subject to survey, compression tests and test drive. Once we agreed to that, I gave them 10% and set up survey and test drive. After test drive and survey. The seller fixed 4 items, low compression on starboard engine (heads), repaired windlass (works on walk through but not survey), port fuel guage, and electric couch that didn’t operate.

the. We took a final test drive and we closed. Which really seemed like a Bill of sale and paperwork through a local marine title company to transfer the uscg documents and state title.....
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Unless I just feel like it on the day of showing there won't be joy rides. Anyone looking at these boats should have an idea of how they run and the water test should just be about whether it performs to its specs.
 
Carpediem44DB said:
If the buyers are going to Finance the purchase, and they use a marine loan broker, The broker will coordinate all transfer paper work. The deal we are in the middle of is costing us $550 documentation fees including title search and transfer along with any name change and change of port for the CG documentation. It is is an all cash deal then you should be able tp find a local or regional Marine Title company to handle things. You can negotiate who pays for what, We are splitting the legal fees with the seller as it involves an LLC transfer.
Good luck with the sale
Carpe Diem
Click to expand...

For $550 I'd just toss it to them and not mess with anything else. I will definitely look into this link provided: http://vesseldocumentationservice.com/services.htm

Every boat I've bought, with the exception of the current one, I've put a 10% deposit down on before sea trial, survey and pull. BTW, that's the order you should do them in. Eliminate the boat as soon as possible in the process and with the least amount of outlay.
 
copb8tx said:
Unless I just feel like it on the day of showing there won't be joy rides. Anyone looking at these boats should have an idea of how they run and the water test should just be about whether it performs to its specs.
Click to expand...
Exactly, when I sold last year, I showed the boat in the slip, stepped away and let the buyers go through it, came back to answer questions and started the engines so they could see them run. Once we agreed to a sale price, and 10% deposit, I agreed to take them for a short ride. I used a 1 page BoatUS Purchase Agrement and a simple Deposit Receipt for both my sale and my new purchase a few months later. Depending on your state, you may need to do a Bill of Sale as well. If the buyer is financing, their lender should be able to handle everything off of these 2-3 docs, plus the survey once complete.

https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-archive/2019/february/sales-contracts

https://eforms.com/receipt/deposit/...posit receipt is,the buyer provides a deposit. (Bill of Sale from same site)
 
AJSB said:
Exactly, when I sold last year, I showed the boat in the slip, stepped away and let the buyers go through it, came back to answer questions and started the engines so they could see them run. Once we agreed to a sale price, and 10% deposit, I agreed to take them for a short ride. I used a 1 page BoatUS Purchase Agrement and a simple Deposit Receipt for both my sale and my new purchase a few months later. Depending on your state, you may need to do a Bill of Sale as well. If the buyer is financing, their lender should be able to handle everything off of these 2-3 docs, plus the survey once complete.

https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-archive/2019/february/sales-contracts

https://eforms.com/receipt/deposit/boat/#:~:text=The boat deposit receipt is,the buyer provides a deposit. (Bill of Sale from same site)
Click to expand...

Excellent. Thanks for the links.
 
copb8tx said:
Unless I just feel like it on the day of showing there won't be joy rides. Anyone looking at these boats should have an idea of how they run and the water test should just be about whether it performs to its specs.
Click to expand...
I’m shopping for my first big boat. TRYING to give a guy my money but he’s being a Dick about it. 8 months into this process and I still haven’t been on one of these vessels underway. Please tell me the secret to how I am supposed to have an idea of how they run? I have to put 10% down just to find out if I like the way one of these drives.

I get you don’t want to give joy rides. And I get that the standard process is the sea trial comes after the deposit. But if you really stop and think about it, this puts the new guy at serious risk of getting in over their head. Once you put the money down you’re more likely to overlook things that you shouldn’t overlook.
 
jmauld said:
I’m shopping for my first big boat. TRYING to give a guy my money but he’s being a Dick about it. 8 months into this process and I still haven’t been on one of these vessels underway. Please tell me the secret to how I am supposed to have an idea of how they run? I have to put 10% down just to find out if I like the way one of these drives.

I get you don’t want to give joy rides. And I get that the standard process is the sea trial comes after the deposit. But if you really stop and think about it, this puts the new guy at serious risk of getting in over their head. Once you put the money down you’re more likely to overlook things that you shouldn’t overlook.
Click to expand...

Nope.

Lots of tire kickers out there who are bored and want something to do. An afternoon boat ride sure sounds like fun. And with no skin in the game, it's just a way to pass time.

This is not a car lot where you get the 10 minute test drive in hopes of a sell.

As far as your situation, make friends at the dock. If someone has a model of boat you are interested in, ask them if you can go out sometime, and even volunteer to chip in for fuel and/or snacks.
 
So ask a person who isn’t interested in selling their boat to help someone who is selling their boat. Do you realize how backwards that sounds.... why not just offer the person selling their boat money for fuel/snacks?

And again I’ve accepted how stupid this process is. But as a seller do NOT assume that the buyer has any clue about how the boat handles. How would they.
 
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jmauld said:
So ask a person who isn’t interested in selling their boat to help someone who is selling their boat. Do you realize how backwards that sounds....
Click to expand...

That's not what I said.

jmauld said:
why not just offer the person selling their boat money for fuel/snacks?
Click to expand...

Again, too many joy riders looking for some way to spend an afternoon. Go ahead and try, but don't be surprised when they don't take you up on it.

jmauld said:
And again I’ve accepted how stupid this process is. But as a seller do NOT assume that the buyer has any clue about how the boat handles. How would they.
Click to expand...

Put up the deposit. Most contracts have clauses that the boat can be turned down on the sea trial and/or the survey. And contracts specify if the buyer turns it down his deposit is refunded.
 
jmauld said:
So ask a person who isn’t interested in selling their boat to help someone who is selling their boat. Do you realize how backwards that sounds.... why not just offer the person selling their boat money for fuel/snacks?

And again I’ve accepted how stupid this process is. But as a seller do NOT assume that the buyer has any clue about how the boat handles. How would they.
Click to expand...
By doing research. You can get people's opinions on how it handles all over the interweb. There are also boat reviews and whatnot you can review. But the saving grace is the sea trial is subject to the buyers approval. So if there is a handling issue, ie; boat is under powered, the buyer can walk and get his deposit back. The buyer really has little risk. The seller on the other hand ties his boat up for 30 days while the seller decides what he wants to do.

Now I do think seller and brokers should do a video putting the vessel thru its paces. Show me the numbers. Makes my decision easy and reduces the chance that something will come up during sea trial.
 
I get the frustration for sure and I'm sure you're a stand up guy but there are many people who have no qualms showing up with the family to 'test' a boat that they probably aren't going to buy. After a few times driving 150 miles round trip to the boat and paying for boat rides you'll quickly develop the same approach.

That said, I'm no dummy, I'm not going in the not-selling boat business either. Like I said in my original post "Unless I just feel like it on the day of showing there won't be joy rides". I leave a boat ride up to MY discretion. If I'm standing there with a person I deem to be a legitimate buyer of *MY* boat and I get the feeling the only thing holding him back is the fear of the unknown, well then I'm throwing off the lines and we're going for a quick cruise. But on the other hand, if I hear that they've been looking at all kinds of different boats for 3 months then they'll need to pay to play. That's the reason it's important to set the buyer's expectation that there will NOT be a test ride so they're not put-out if it doesn't happen. And if it does, well then they're even more thrilled.
 
jmauld said:
So ask a person who isn’t interested in selling their boat to help someone who is selling their boat. Do you realize how backwards that sounds.... why not just offer the person selling their boat money for fuel/snacks?

And again I’ve accepted how stupid this process is. But as a seller do NOT assume that the buyer has any clue about how the boat handles. How would they.
Click to expand...
Boats of similar size and design handle pretty much the same. If you are new to the big boat thing and have no experience how are you going to know any better any way? Say for instance you want a Sea Ray 340 SD, you can read countless reviews and scan club threads and ask how people like them. You may get people telling you that going with big blocks is the only way to go and that small blocks are just too under powered ECT. ECT. I've owned six boats now over 28 years and I don't ever recall considering how they handled as criteria for whether I wanted it or not. May be competition ski boats or wake boats or dinghies but not a larger cruiser boat.
Just my HO
Happy hunting
 
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