Once the balance is paid and the documents are signed, the boat physically changes hands. Handover usually takes a few hours. How smoothly it goes depends on the preparation done in the days before. We plan the handover, and it helps you too to know beforehand what will happen on the day.
Before the day
We settle a few things ahead of handover day. Where does the new registration stand? Has the insurance been issued in your name? Have the marina and fuel bills been paid? The place, the time and the person who will hand the boat over are agreed in writing with the seller's side. Naming a reserve day in case the weather turns also takes the pressure off. If a captain or a representative is to take the boat in your place, a power of attorney is prepared and the seller's side is told in advance.
If the new registration is not yet complete, we set the handover date to suit. The travel plans of whoever is going to the handover are made around the same timetable.
Documents and keys
At handover the following pass to you:
- the registration certificate and a copy of the bill of sale
- the builder's documents
- the manuals for the engines, the generator and the other equipment
- the maintenance records and the survey report
- the insurance policy
- all keys, remote controls and access cards
- the spare parts on board
- the passwords for the navigation equipment, the cameras and the internet system
- the papers relating to the radio licence
The list can vary a little with the boat's flag. If a document is missing, we discuss it before handover.
Going round the boat with the list
You take the inventory attached to the sale agreement and go through the boat from end to end: the tender and its engine, the deck gear, the safety equipment, the galley and the cabins. If the seller agreed to carry out repairs after the survey, we ask for the invoice or the engineers' report. We also look at the work itself.
The boat is handed over in the condition in which it was seen at the survey. If there is new damage since then, or something on the list is missing, we discuss it and put it in writing before the handover is completed.
Readings and the handover record
The engine and generator hours are read and photographed. The fuel and fresh water levels are noted. The sale agreement says how the fuel left on board is to be accounted for. The general condition of the boat is recorded in photographs and video. Everything goes into a handover record: the date and time, the readings, the documents and keys handed over, and any reservations. Both parties sign it and each keeps a copy.
Getting to know the boat
A short introduction from the previous captain or owner is the information you will find most useful in the first weeks. The sequence for starting and stopping the engines, the electrical panel, shore power, the generator, the bilge pumps, the tanks, the fire-fighting system and the anchor windlass are shown one at a time. This is also the moment to ask about the boat's small quirks and known defects.
If the boat is leaving on a long passage straight after handover, the captain who will make that passage attends the introduction too. Making the boat's first trip with the previous captain, if that is possible, lets you see at sea what you have just been shown. Taking notes or short videos keeps it from being forgotten in the first weeks. After the handover, the marina and the firms that maintain the boat are given the contact details of the new owner and captain.
By that evening you have taken over the boat together with its papers, its records and its quirks.
