A listing is written by the seller's side. Most of what it says is true, but the seller chooses what to put forward and what to leave out altogether. So when we read a listing we also look at what isn't there. The two together decide which boat deserves your time.
Kind words need evidence
Phrases such as "well maintained", "carefully used" and "well kept" leave an impression. The evidence for that impression is the maintenance records. Where a listing is long on photographs and short on information, we fill the gaps by asking. If it says the engines have been overhauled, we ask what work was done, by which service agent and when. If it says "newly painted" or "upholstery renewed", we find out what was renewed and why. "Lightly used" is not good news by itself either. A boat that has not run for a long time raises questions of its own. The opposite happens too, and a plainly written listing can turn out to have a well-kept boat behind it. So we look at the information a listing gives more than at its style.
The same detail can mean different things
The year in a listing may be the year of build or the year of first registration. The length may be the length overall or the hull length. The cabin count sometimes includes the crew cabin and sometimes doesn't. Two listings can show the same year and the same length and be describing different things. We clear these points up by asking the seller's broker. The equipment list needs the same care. We ask separately whether every item on it stays with the boat, because some electronics and personal belongings may leave with the seller.
The definitive information comes from the registration certificate and the builder's documents. With engine hours, too, the figure in the listing is not enough on its own. It is compared with the figure on the engine display and with the service records.
What most listings leave out
Some information hardly ever appears in a listing:
- when the boat was last hauled out
- whether there are maintenance records
- whether the tender and other equipment are included in the sale
- the boat's flag and tax status
- known faults
- whether the boat has been used for charter
Nor does a listing say how long it has been up or whether the price has changed in that time. Those two things show how the market sees the boat.
Leaving these out doesn't mean something is being hidden. Most sellers keep the listing short. All the same, you need to know every one of them before you decide.
When you send us a listing you like
We write to the seller's broker first. Is the boat still for sale, and is there another offer on it? How many hours are on the engines, and when was the last service? Which equipment is included? Has the boat been chartered, and does it have any known fault? Is there a debt or a mortgage on it? Can its flag and tax status be shown by a document? We also ask for current photographs and video, including the engine room and the hull out of the water.
We take the answers in writing. An answer that is slow to come, or stays vague, tells us something as well. We ask the same questions about every boat on the list, so that you weigh them all on the same scale. Inspecting from a distance is the next step, and we cover it in a separate article.
A listing that is read well tells you from the start which boat is worth going to see.
