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What You Need To Know Before You Sell Your Boat

As the owner/operator of a full service boatprobably all right as long as they're kept
detailing-yacht maintenance business I can'tneat and clean.Make a list of things that
help but chuckle sometimes at seeing theneed attention, and get it taken care of. A
extremes that otherwise bright, intelligent,few dollars spent now will pay back in spades
successful, people will go to in a misguidedwhen the time comes to show your boat.
attempt to save a few dollars.One of theAnything that isn't right will stick out like
biggest mistakes that we see is that peoplethe proverbial sore thumb, be noticed and
will decide to sell their boat without firststart the price spiraling down. (if it
having her completely detailed.According todoesn't just send them scurrying off shaking
Rob Scanlan, a well known and respectedtheir heads)Hint: If you are not a woman
Master Marine Surveyor;"Detailing a boat isreading this and don't have a wife of your
the single most important investment of time,own, ask your mother or sister, or see if a
energy and money a seller can make because afriend will loan you his for a few minutes.
clean and shiny boat sells faster and for aFor some reason women can smell things that a
lot more money. I strongly recommended that aman would never notice. You may think that
seller enlist professional assistance to do amen buy boats but in my experience they buy
quality (Email) (Web site)We at BoatDocs1, dothe boats their women like. Along this same
a lot of work here on the Emerald Coast withline, pay particular attention to the cabin
local yacht brokers and know what theand heads.3. Prioritize the JobWith your list
standards are for a "ready to show" boat.you are in good shape to decide what needs to
These professionals know that the cosmeticbe done and whether or not you want to do the
appearance says everything to the prospectivework yourself or have it done by a
buyer as to the overall care and maintenanceprofessional.Most of the professional yacht
that the previous owner has given the yacht.maintenance companies we are familiar with,
Add to that the universal wisdom aboutwould be happy to take a look and give you an
first impressions and it's not hard to seeestimate of what it will cost to have the
the importance of this vital first step.Evenwork done right. We can do part of the job,
if you intend to do most of the work yourselffor example the compounding/polishing and
we can offer the expertise to assure thatwill gladly help you choose the best wax to
your time and money are spent wisely. Ourfinish the job yourself.What about those
trained eyes will often pick up the littlelittle chips and dings in the gelcoat?Many
details that only a prospective buyer wouldbooks have been written on fiberglass repair
notice and likely balk at.Here is an outlineand it isn't the intent of this article to
of the standard procedures we use whencover the subject in any depth but many small
preparing a yacht to be put up for sale:1.repairs are well within the reach of a
Thoroughly Wash and Dry the BoatNote: Forfairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like
this part, pay attention to everything youanything else though, if you have never done
see and unless your memory is a lot betterit before, "consult an expert."I've been
than mine, make notes on a piece of paperbuilding and repairing in fiberglass since I
for later.Wash and chamois-dry your boat topwas 14 and while the first wooden boat I
to bottom including transom.clean Isenglassglassed was water tight and lasted a good
and other ports/windowswipe down and dressmany years, it was far from pretty. The
all aluminum/stainlessclean and dress vinylsmall investment you lay out for expert
seatswipe down fly bridge and cockpitvacuumrepair now will pay big dividends when your
exterior carpetclean and dress nonskid2.boat sells at the price you want.In the
Stand Back and Survey the BoatNote: BringEmerald Coast region the standard fees for
your list and organize it with the followingcompound/waxing run between $15.00/ft. and
outline* Put yourself in the buyers shoes, be$18.00/ft. for the topside (rub-rail up)
critical, the buyer will.Is it shiny? It'swhich includes a thorough cleaning and
the first thing most people notice.What abouttreatment of the vinyl, windows, isenglass,
the smell? People have a way of getting usedand metal. In other words, for the price of
to almost anything. Get a second opinion anddoing the "hard" part we'll detail the
see the hint below.Is all hardware intact andentire topsides and leave it in
presentable? Just because you've used that"ready-to-show" condition. Hulls (rub-rail
broken table for years and are rather fond ofdown) run about $8.00/ft. but, of course,
it, to anyone else, it's just a brokenthe boat must be out of the water in order to
table.What about dings, any damage to thedo it. (This walking on water with a
fiberglass? Aside from the fact that brokenhi-speed electric buffer in hand is still
gelcoat can let water into the core of thebeyond me, but I'll let you
lay-up and delaminate the fiberglass, it justknow;-)Fiberglass repair runs from $45.00 to
plain looks BAD.What about rust? You are$65.00 per hour and in general as with most
probably thinking right now; (what's a littleeverything else, one gets what one pays for.
rust on a boat?) Let me tell you. A littleThe up side to this is that when approached
rust on a boat is a sure sign that the ownerin a professional manner the dents and dings
let's little things go by unnoticed and ifof ten years hard use can be repaired and
there is one thing there are always more.made to look like new in an amazingly short
What about oil changes? I wonder if hetime.All too often we have seen people save
flushed out the outboard after use? The$300.00 or $400.00 on a detail only to loose
object of this little exercise is to make the$Thousands$ on what their boat could have
boat look like you are conscientious and asold for. Then too, our local marinas are
stickler for having everything perfectlyclogged with many examples of boats with
"SHIP SHAPE."One more little tip that you"For Sale" signs which were never given the
have probably already thought of. Take a lookleast bit of attention to make the passer by
around the boat and remove EVERYTHING thatwant to stop and think, "Hey, I wonder what
isn't part of the boat.EXAMPLE:Engineit would be like to call that boat mine."
controls, compass, life jackets, flare kit,Some of these boats have sat for years when
and a first aid kit ARE part of the boat.all they ever really needed was a little
Knick-knacks, fishing tackle, cutesy wallT.L.C.I remember, years ago, someone saying
plaques, and half full paint cans are NOTsomething about being penny wise and pound
part of the boat-and look tacky. A fewfoolish? Let's not let them be saying that
cleaning supplies, in their own locker isabout us.



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