Enjoy a ride with a yacht


What You Need To Know Before You Sell Your Boat

James  "Doc"  LewisEngine controls, compass, life jackets, flare
kit, and a first aid kit ARE part of the
As the owner/operator of a full service boatboat. Knick-knacks, fishing tackle, cutesy
detailing- yacht maintenance business I can'twall plaques, and half full paint cans are
help but chuckle sometimes at seeing theNOT part of the boat-and look tacky. A few
extremes that otherwise bright, intelligent,cleaning supplies, in their own locker is
successful, people will go to in a misguidedprobably all right as long as they're kept
attempt  to  save  a  few  dollars.neat and clean.g) Make a list of things that
need attention, and get it taken care of. A
One of the biggest mistakes that we see isfew dollars spent now will pay back in spades
that people will decide to sell their boatwhen the time comes to show your boat.
without first having her completely detailed.Anything that isn't right will stick out like
the proverbial sore thumb, be noticed and
According to Rob Scanlan, a well known andstart the price spiraling down. (if it
respected  Master  Marine  Surveyor;doesn't just send them scurrying off shaking
their  heads)
"Detailing a boat is the single most
important investment of time, energy andHint: If you are not a woman reading this and
money a seller can make because a clean anddon't have a wife of your own, ask your
shiny boat sells faster and for a lot moremother or sister, or see if a friend will
money. I strongly recommended that a sellerloan you his for a few minutes. For some
enlist professional assistance to do areason women can smell things that a man
quality  (Email)  (Web  site)would never notice. You may think that men
buy boats but in my experience they buy the
We at BoatDocs1, do a lot of work here on theboats  their  women  like.
Emerald Coast with local yacht brokers and
know what the standards are for a "ready toAlong this same line, pay particular
show" boat. These professionals know thatattention  to  the  cabin  and  heads.
the cosmetic appearance says everything to
the prospective buyer as to the overall care3.  Prioritize  the  Job
and maintenance that the previous owner has
given the yacht. Add to that the universalWith your list you are in good shape to
wisdom about first impressions and it's notdecide what needs to be done and whether or
hard to see the importance of this vitalnot you want to do the work yourself or have
first  step.it  done  by  a  professional.
Even if you intend to do most of the workMost of the professional yacht maintenance
yourself we can offer the expertise to assurecompanies we are familiar with, would be
that your time and money are spent wisely.happy to take a look and give you an estimate
Our trained eyes will often pick up theof what it will cost to have the work done
little details that only a prospective buyerright. We can do part of the job, for
would  notice  and  likely  balk  at.example the compounding/polishing and will
gladly help you choose the best wax to finish
Here is an outline of the standard proceduresthe  job  yourself.
we use when preparing a yacht to be put up
for  sale:What about those little chips and dings in
the  gelcoat?
1.  Thoroughly  Wash  and  Dry  the  Boat
Many books have been written on fiberglass
Note: For this part, pay attention torepair and it isn't the intent of this
everything you see and unless your memory isarticle to cover the subject in any depth but
a lot better than mine, make notes on a piecemany small repairs are well within the reach
of  paper  for  later.of a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like
anything else though, if you have never done
- Wash and chamois-dry your boat top toit  before,  "consult  an  expert."
bottom  including  transom.
I've been building and repairing in
-  clean  Isenglass  and  other ports/windowsfiberglass since I was 14 and while the first
wooden boat I glassed was water tight and
-  wipe down and dress all aluminum/stainlesslasted a good many years, it was far from
pretty. The small investment you lay out for
-  clean  and  dress  vinyl  seatsexpert repair now will pay big dividends when
your  boat  sells  at  the  price  you  want.
-  wipe  down  fly  bridge  and  cockpit
In the Emerald Coast region the standard fees
-  vacuum  exterior  carpetfor compound/waxing run between $15.00/ft.
and $18.00/ft. for the topside (rub-rail up)
-  clean  and  dress  nonskidwhich includes a thorough cleaning and
treatment of the vinyl, windows, isenglass,
2.  Stand  Back  and  Survey  the  Boatand metal. In other words, for the price of
doing the "hard" part we'll detail the entire
Note: Bring your list and organize it withtopsides and leave it in "ready-to-show"
the  following  outlinecondition. Hulls (rub-rail down) run about
$8.00/ft. but, of course, the boat must be
- Put yourself in the buyers shoes, beout of the water in order to do it. (This
critical, the buyer will.a) Is it shiny? It'swalking on water with a hi-speed electric
the first thing most people notice.b) Whatbuffer in hand is still beyond me, but I'll
about the smell? People have a way of gettinglet  you  know;-)
used to almost anything. Get a second
opinion and see the hint below.c) Is allFiberglass repair runs from $45.00 to $65.00
hardware intact and presentable? Just becauseper hour and in general as with most
you've used that broken table for years andeverything else, one gets what one pays for.
are rather fond of it, to anyone else, it'sThe up side to this is that when approached
just a broken table.d) What about dings, anyin a professional manner the dents and dings
damage to the fiberglass? Aside from the factof ten years hard use can be repaired and
that broken gelcoat can let water into themade to look like new in an amazingly short
core of the lay-up and delaminate thetime.
fiberglass, it just plain looks BAD.e) What
about rust? You are probably thinking rightAll too often we have seen people save
now; (what's a little rust on a boat?) Let me$300.00 or $400.00 on a detail only to loose
tell you. A little rust on a boat is a sure$Thousands$ on what their boat could have
sign that the owner let's little things go bysold for. Then too, our local marinas are
unnoticed and if there is one thing there areclogged with many examples of boats with "For
always more. What about oil changes? ISale" signs which were never given the least
wonder if he flushed out the outboard afterbit of attention to make the passer by want
use? The object of this little exercise is toto stop and think, "Hey, I wonder what it
make the boat look like you are conscientiouswould be like to call that boat mine." Some
and a stickler for having everythingof these boats have sat for years when all
perfectly "SHIP SHAPE."f) One more little tipthey  ever  really needed was a little T.L.C.
that you have probably already thought of.
Take a look around the boat and removeI remember, years ago, someone saying
EVERYTHING  that  isn't  part  of  the  boat.something about being penny wise and pound
foolish? Let's not let them be saying that
EXAMPLE:about us.



1 A B C D E F G 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140