Brokers and Brokerage

HOW TO BUY A USED FISHING BOAT

Precious few feelings of exhilaration can surpass taking delivery of your new boat, and many of us would love to buy a new boat but perhaps can't afford the one we'd really like. If the new boat you want exceeds the limits of your budget, you may be able to do what boat owners have done for thousands of years: fulfill your dreams with a pre-owned boat.
Until recently, the marine industry has bemoaned the decline in boat buying. Curiously, they only look at sales of new boats. What you find when you look at sales of used boats is a huge market that dwarfs new-boat sales. In fact, in the United States alone, used boats comprise 75 percent of recreational boat sales. What most of you in the boating public understand is that you can get a really good boat for a more affordable price by purchasing a pre-owned one. But what if you aren't technically knowledgeable? How can you stack the odds of getting a good boat in your favor?

Determine Your Needs
This may be the harshest part of the entire boat-buying process. The success of your purchase efforts depends on how critically you evaluate your true needs.
For example, will you really be running 100 miles offshore on a regular basis? Or are you more likely to spend 90 percent of your time fishing the inlet mouth? Perhaps more important, will you really be fishing with just the guys, or does your whole family expect to use the boat somewhat regularly? And just what kind of fishing will you mainly be doing? Trolling or drifting, live baiting or dead baiting, spinning or fly casting?

The factors you must decide upon include:
* Power: outboard, stern-drive or inboard, diesel or gas?
* Speed (a big factor): Where long distances must be traveled to the fishing grounds, higher speeds usually are a requirement. Like people, younger models are faster than older ones. Also, what kind of range do you need?
* Fishing amenities: freezers, rigging stations, tackle drawers, big or small fish boxes, padded coamings, or triggers?
* Accommodations: Will you use it as a day boat? Plan to sleep aboard offshore or at the dock? Plan to entertain below decks?
* Design: Which is more important to you? Knocking down spray in a head sea or lots of room below decks? Need a deep or moderate deadrise? Want everyone on one level as in an express or the improved visibility of a flybridge or tower? Want a cabin in which to lock valuable equipment or an open-bow center-console for more fishing room?
* Stability: How do you fish? Heavy beam seas or calm bays? Is high speed or roll stability more important to you? Performance boats often roll more than wide bodies.
* Features: Head? Cooking facilities? Shower? Large area for mounting electronics or not necessary? T-top? Rod holders in bow?
* Condition: Like any other used product, the better the condition, the higher the value. If you're handy, then bringing an older hull back to pristine will save you money.
* Price: This should be one of the major considerations when looking for a boat. It determines what size boat you can get, what condition (age) you can afford and whether or not your wife is going to let you back into'the house after purchase.
You won't be doing yourself a favor if you aren't brutally honest with your assessment. I guarantee that you and your family will be disappointed if you buy a dream rather than a reality.

Determine Who Builds It
Once you know all the parameters of the boat you want, you need to find out who builds such a beast. Boat shows provide a quick overview of that information, as can Sport Fishing's Boat Buyers Source Book in each January issue and on the magazine's Web site. Since numerous companies build similar models, let your research narrow it down to one or two builders you find acceptable. Remember, too, that higher-quality boats enjoy better resale. In other words, you may pay a little more for a better boat at the outlet, but when you go to sell it, you'll get more of your investment back as well. Also, check some of the valuation publications such as BUC Research or N.A.D.A (see sidebar, p. 92). They can tell you market prices, adjusted for region. The same boat will cost more in one part of the country and less in another. The Internet has become an unbelievable source of boating information. Typing "Boats" into the search box in Yahoo, for example, delivers over 600,000 Web site pages. If you participate in newsgroups, beware of people passing themselves off as experts. They can transfer loads of false and incorrect information.

Where to Find It
It stands to reason that used boats can be found in many more places than new boats. Once you determine which boat you want, you should, of course, contact all new-boat dealers that handle your particular model. Let them know what you're looking for. Used boats eat up a large portion of a dealer's floor-plan financing, and one that's on the lot too long steals profit from the'new boats. Even if the dealer doesn't have one in stock, he may have a client who owns one that he can then talk into a new-boat purchase based on your desire for the old boat.
Consider buying a boat to be much like buying a house. The experience can be far less stressful and easier if you employ a reputable broker. Talk to friends who have utilized the services of a yacht broker and find one with whom you can feel comfortable. Yacht brokers, like real-estate agents, can make the purchase process pleasant and rewarding or an exercise from hell.
According to Doc Austin at HMY Yacht Sales in Dania Beach, Florida, "Most brokers work off pretty much the same listings ( from BUC or other listing services. That makes finding the right broker more important than finding one with the boat you want." Austin suggests compatibility as the key ingredient. "If a broker tries to sell you a boat for more money than you can handle, consistently represents inappropriate boats or provides incorrect information, then look for another broker," he advises.
Wayne Roman, of Wayne Roman Yachts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, feels strongly that a good yacht broker should show a client everything there 's on the market that fits the buyer's parameters, no matter where the boats might be located. "A buyer should have just one broker, not 10 or 12. But that one broker should be willing to pick up the buyer at the airport and, if necessary, drive around for as long as it takes to acquaint the buyer with everything available in the buyer's category. Whether it's five boats or 20 or 30 boats at a cli", the broker must be comprehensive." And finally, Roman insists that the single most important facet of a broker/buyer relationship is that the broker should not gender absolute trust in the buyer's mind."
Some of the services a broker can really help with include finding appropriate financing, arranging a survey, contract negotiation, finding boat prospects, insurance, outfitting and much more.
Remember, as Doc Austin says, "A broker's job is to make the entire boat purchase as easy, pleasant and painless as humanly possible". Barring friends recommendations, look in the back of your favorite fishing and boating magazines. There you'll find classified ads placed by numerous brokerage firms. Find the ones that specialize in the types of boats you're seeking and give them a call.
Check the classified sections of local newspapers and magazines and any dedicated classified publications like Boat Trader, Pennysaver, etc. And finally, if you happen to be handy, a new Internet site, www.BentBoat.com, lists many damaged boats offered by various insurance companies. Some have minor scratches, while others are truly totaled.

What to Look for When You Find Your Dream
Remain cool, calm and collected when you first see your pre-owned dream boat. Don't let your excitement, impatience or need for instant gratification cloud your judgment.
Look for obvious lack of maintenance or care. Are electrical connections corroded? Are there gelcoat or (worse) cracks in the fiberglass anywhere (especially in areas with radius curves? Are the bilges clean or have they had years worth of oil and sludge collecting? Does shoving the T-top cause it to wobble? Do the hatches squeak loudly when you step on them? Are hinge screws pulling out? Are there mold and mildew inside cabinets, drawers or in the head?
These are all common-sense items that you can check for yourself in a matter of minutes. Once you find a boat that passes your cursory inspection, you'll do yourself a huge favor by hiring a professional surveyor and engine technician to dig deeper, checking all the stuff that you can't see at a glance. Your yacht broker can suggest several reputable surveyors. (Be careful to get a list of several to prevent collusion between broker and surveyor.) Or, you can find a surveyor in your area by contacting SAMS (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors) at 4162 Oxford Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32210; 800-344-9077; fax 904-388-3958 or e-mail SAMSHQ@aol.com. SAMS - complete listing of members by region can also be found on the Internet at http://www.marinesurvey.org/.

The Purchase
Yacht brokers can suggest several reputable financial institutions that speciali'e in marine lending in case you don't have your own resource such as your bank or credit union.
Just as banks require a home inspection prior to executing a mortgage, so do most marine lenders require something similar called a survey. Actually, after having a home inspection done recently, I assure you that marine surveys are far more stringent. Even if you plan to pay cash out of pocket, a survey stands you in very good stead as an insurance policy against buying a clunker.
Survey costs depend on the size of the boat. Today's rates run from about $10 to $15 per foot of length, plus sea-trial time and haul-out costs. Engine surveys, usually performed by a different surveyor (an engine specialist), can run upward of $2,000 for big diesels.
Wayne Roman suggests including several buyers' escape clauses in any purchase contract. "Fairly common codicils make the purchase subject to successfully passing a sea trial, a survey, an engine survey and successful completion of finance arrangements." He also asks us to keep in mind that li"ting brokers are sellers' brokers. "Find your own broker and let him go to bat for you," he says.

State Registry or Documentation
There are two ways to register a boat in the United States: simple state registration, which gives you numbers and a sticker to place on either side of the bow, and Coast Guard documentation.
According to Greg Fitzpatrick of Mid-Atlantic Yacht Sales in Wilmington, North Carolina, state registration works fine for"sm'll boats (up to about 35 feet". "It's easier, faster and cheaper," says Fitzpatrick. Larger boats almost all opt for federal documentation. Documenting your vessel requires loads of paperwork. "For that reason alone, most owners employ a documentation service to handle it all," says Fitzpatrick. "An average documentation will cost between $400 and $600, plus a yearly renewal fee," he says.
But if state registration is faster, easier and cheaper, why would anyone choose to document a boat? Lending institutions prefer documentation since it affords them a legal means to attach a lien to the vessel ( much like holding a mortgage. It gives the lender a clean, traceable paper trail and a title it can'hold onto. State registration doesn't give a lender preferred treatment.
Another benefit is documentation that protects you when traveling internationally. An American-flag vessel legally resembles an embassy; it is an actual part of the country of registry. Of course, this also means that in time of war, if the government wishes to, it can commandeer your vessel. My grandfather ran several such conscripted yachts off Long Island's shores in search of submarines during World War II.
Buying a pre-owned vessel has one other significant benefit: Every new boat has bugs to be ironed out over a period of time. A pre-owned boat usually has all those glitches resolved so you can spend your valuable time enjoying your boat, rather than playing Mr. Fix-It.
With 75 percent of the boat business in pre-owned boats, it's obvious that most of you know the benefits of brokerage boats. Thankfully, pride of ownership knows no difference between new and used boats.

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