Tips for buying or selling a small traditional sailing boat

 

Some guidance tips if you are considering buying or selling a small boat

Arwen has gone. Her sale not without its stresses and a few lessons learned about the art of the boat sale deal!

My three aims for Arwen’s selling process were simple:

•             get a good but fair price for her,

•             find a purchaser who would value and care for her as much as I had, and

•             achieve as stress-free a sales transaction as I could for myself and her buyer. 

With lots of preparatory work to achieve these aims, I share what I learned and offer some answers to potential questions that first-time sellers and buyers of small sailing boats may have rattling around their heads.

My initial attempt to sell Arwen was disastrous. Put on the market in the November, an overseas buyer wanted to collect her in late Spring but then had difficulties arranging her collection and delivery. Four months of shifting collection dates and the loss of five other potential buyers. Before I had to step in, the buyer acknowledged his difficulties and ended the sales deal. A tough lesson for me, and possibly for him too. Feeling sad and deflated about the whole affair, my only consolation was I felt I’d been more than fair throughout the whole process. My second sales attempt was far more successful and from start to finish took just two weeks.

So, what did I do and learn? Let’s look from two perspectives, the seller’s and then that of the buyer.  For the seller, it’s about proper pre-sale boat preparation, appropriate pricing, effective advertising, and efficient sales administration. A buyer should research and understand their boating needs, know how to inspect a potential boat properly and have some understanding of the current market and assessment of what the boat is truly worth. Both need to know their legal rights in this area before embarking on the process.

From a seller’s perspective

1.       What are the first decisions you must make?

First up, sell the boat yourself or go via a boat broker? Sell it yourself to control the process and keep all the sales monies, but have an advertising plan, do the pre-sale preparation work, negotiate the sale, and sort the paperwork. A broker does all this for you, they might help you get a higher price for your boat because of their good knowledge of the boating market and have insurance against fraud. They will help with all due diligence issues but there are brokerage fees for all this service.

2.       How do you work out how much to sell your boat for?

I agonised over trying to get a balance between maximising the price for Arwen and setting a competitive but fair, ‘realistic’ price that would attract buyers’ interest. Exhausting!  Someone told me “£3950 is likely to attract more interest than £4000 – it’s the psychology of being sub ‘big number’”. 

The price negotiations process that follows! What’s your bottom sales price, the one below which you will not go, under any circumstances? How much ‘negotiation’ wiggle room do you factor into the price you set? Step into the shoes of a buyer - if you saw the price you were asking for your boat, what offer would you be prepared to make? What would you settle on as a buyer?  Be hard-nosed and honest with yourself and do your research! I scrutinised small boat sales sites on the internet, searched the various small boat Facebook forums, and sailing magazine/journal classifieds. What were the similar boats to Arwen on the market - in terms of age, condition, equipment, and sales price being asked. I discreetly enquired with a few highly experienced dinghy cruisers I knew, what they thought a fair price might be for Arwen and her equipment – eliciting simultaneously enlightening and sobering responses!   What if your boat is a unique design? How do you price a self-built, unique ‘Welsford navigator’ when there are so few coming up for sale in the UK, Europe or world-wide for that matter?  Tricky stuff! I searched the internet for ‘Welsford navigators’ sold in the last three years globally. It gave me a feel for pricing when factoring in currency exchanges and gave indications as to how long it might take to sell Arwen.

Before I settled on a sales price and my absolute bottom line price, I went and briefly explored Arwen and her equipment one more time. What needed servicing? What needed immediate repair or maintenance? What could I leave to a new owner to do and if I was going to do this, what impact would all this have on my potential sale price? What were the original building costs of Arwen? I dug out receipts (needed if you are selling a self-built boat to someone in the EU apparently – something to do with VAT and taxes to be paid at the border). What are the annual maintenance costs? The ancillary equipment I bought (from lifejackets to anchors, mooring warps to a drogue? It all added up.  Decide on what you are selling with the boat. Trailer, outboard, anchors?

My wife burst my bubble, reminding me that I couldn’t factor in maintenance costs. Those come with owning a wooden boat. And equipment? Well, it depreciates in value rapidly. Back to internet selling sites once more to see what any items of equipment I intended selling were fetching currently. Another wise person then told me “your boat is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it and it won’t be what you think it is truly worth. They won’t have the sentimental attachments you have”.  Finally, I whittled it all down to what I thought was a fair, realistic price, with some negotiating wiggle room built in. As I said, an exhausting process!

What would be a fair deposit for an interested party to pay to secure the sale? I went with 10% of the purchase price and ensured it was understood via advertising literature that it was a non-refundable deposit. If it was going to take a couple of weeks to sort out the sale and collection of Arwen, I didn’t want to arrive at the fortnight end only to discover that a buyer had decided to pull out and I’d meanwhile lost two or three other potential buyers. (I learnt that painful lesson on my first sales experience.)

I drew up a draft sales agreement which I was going to share with my final buyer so that he/she could negotiate its final wording with me until we were both happy with it. You can view it in figure 1. I then left it for a few weeks before returning to mull over it once more. You can download a simpler one from the RYA if you are a member. The MCA also has a similar document on the government website.

3.    When is the best time to sell your boat?

I went too early, starting in November. My rationale? Arwen needed some cosmetic maintenance work and this could be done over the winter months by her new owner. Daft thinking in hindsight, as it would be better to do a sale launch in the first days of spring when more people are looking! (It was spring time when my biggest number of potential buyers came forward.) Seasonality! Who knew its importance? Not me obviously! In spring, you may get a better price, as potential buyers begin to think about the good sailing weather imminently arriving! Buyers seem more numerous and more motivated in February/March.   Another possibility is a quick sale at the end of the sailing season, especially if you consider lowering your price slightly. The scent of an end of season bargain is always a powerful motivating force. The condition of your boat will also factor in here – how much maintenance work needs doing? How long will it take and cost? Don’t neglect the current economic climate you sell in either. During 2024/25 I was selling in an economic climate facing a cost-of-living crisis, mortgage interest rate rises and falls, job cuts, fluctuating wage rises and the rather bizarre impacts of Trump tariffs!

4.   How do you describe and advertise your boat for sale? What ‘pre-advertisement’ boat preparation work do you need to do?

Specialist boat sale websites, social networks, social media market places, sailing magazines and traditional classified ads in local newspapers and local newsagents by the coast! Where do we start when selling a boat? Something like Apollo Duck specialise in selling boats and attract highly focused boat buyers as well as the casual armchair dreamer browsers! But it costs! I advertised Arwen in the Dinghy Cruising Journal, on various small boat Facebook groups (both national and local), YouTube and Facebook market place. I reserved the option to advertise on Apollo Duck, if things were not going well. I planned a constant drip feed marketing campaign across several months on different selling sites/market places and from the start, I was clear that I wanted to give as fair and as honest a description of Arwen and her equipment as I could. That is what I would want as a buyer, so it seemed only right to facilitate it as a seller. I also wanted an attractive, detailed advert that would appeal to the ‘right kind of people’ – dinghy cruisers basically!

I emptied Arwen and wrote a detailed inventory of what I intended selling. Then a thorough clean out and wash and writing of a maintenance jobs list - all minor cosmetic jobs; odd scrapes and dings from a season’s sailing. Buyers notice and appreciate skippers who do their own boat maintenance work. For various reasons, I couldn’t do this maintenance on Arwen so I was selling her ‘sold as seen’. If you do this, you must accept your boat will sell for less than what it is truly worth. Buyers go through your boat carefully and faults and maintenance jobs will be discovered! They may walk, or at very least, re-negotiate your asking price! A few hours of work on your part pays off in the sale process.

For my advertisements, I took many decent pictures showing different parts and aspects of Arwen - doing what she was designed to do – sailing, beaching, creek crawling, loaded with camping gear, under way! Four detailed videos tours as well. Viewers could see Arwen under sail and under use as a camp cruiser. The videos were brutally honest about her qualities, deficiencies, and condition, and they proved a big hit with potential buyers. A detailed walk around allowed them to genuinely ‘see’ the boat.

I wrote the description - details about length, beam, construction, weight, build materials etc - organised into sections and drawing readers attention to Arwen’s qualities, benefits, unique features, and yes, her flaws and areas requiring maintenance.

I pointed out why I was genuinely selling her and listed what maintenance I’d done recently and what still needed doing. I included a detailed inventory summary; every piece of equipment being sold, and where appropriate, a description of that item.  Contact details, an invitation to potential buyers to call me or drop me an email so we could chat and arrange a potential viewing and an offer to send out the advert, written description, and inventory as a PDF email attachment. It all helped.

Think carefully about what title you use in any advertisements to sell your boat by thinking about what a potential small boat buyer might write in an internet search bar to track down their perfect new boat purchase. Aim to attract the interest of potential boat buyers and then keep their interest focused on your advertisement for as long as possible. Things to avoid on your marketing – avoid using the phrase ‘no time wasters’. It hints that you may have already had a potential buyer who then let you down or walked away and that raises suspicions with any other future buyers.

Find any documentation. Old invoices, trailer EU conformity certificates and servicing reports, receipts for outboard engine services, the timber, epoxy, fixtures and fittings used in her construction (in case her buyer was from the EU as they need to prove that it was a self-built to avoid additional VAT taxes at the border).

When I had loaded all the advertisement, photos and videos to the various social media marketplace sites, I then notified people on all the various small boat forums I belonged to, (plugging the sale) that they were missing a great bargain! Arwen would only sell, if people knew she was for sale!

My final task in the preparation/advertising phase? Blocking out time on the family calendar for potential boat viewings! Easy to forget and a potential cause of some domestic strife! Did I have some surprises after going ‘live’? Well, I wasn’t ready for a potential buyer who asked for my current boat survey report! That one caught me! Should you get your boat professionally surveyed before selling her? I have no idea; it seems to me to be a little excessive for a small sailing boat!  Did I go overboard on the videos and descriptions? Some thought so, and didn’t hesitate to tell me this, but interestingly all the serious potential buyers said my marketing and preparation was ‘perfect and reassuring’. They felt it gave an honest portrayal of Arwen which was heartening to them.

5.  How do you deal with potential buyers?

First a reality check. Don’t expect an immediate flurry of potential buyers after launching your advertising campaign. It was two or three weeks after mine, before people began to contact me.  It can take as short or as long a time as it takes to sell a boat. I put Arwen on the market in November 2024. I sold her in April 2025. Selling a boat depends on so many factors but assume it will take longer than you think.

Know how you will arrange for any monies to be paid – bank transfer details ready and think carefully about whether you set up another account just for this transaction. Respond immediately to any queries! Treat all enquiries with tact, patience, and enthusiasm, whatever the outcome. If you say you will get back to them, do so as soon as possible. In saying all this, be careful. Is the query a scam? If an email sounds strange, then it probably is! Answer their queries, be honest and up front, ensure that they understood what was being sold and in what condition. Depending on the type/class of boat you are selling (and what condition it is in), a genuine buyer will more than likely probably arrange to come and see your boat in person. I made sure that prospective buyers knew if they were to make an offer then there would be a 10% non-refundable deposit to pay me as well. I also had a sales deadline I had to keep to, a date by which Arwen had to be gone from the driveway and so I made this clear at the start as well. Be clear about your expectations. Consult them about theirs. The difference between ‘a dreamer’ and a potential genuine buyer? The latter will either want to see the boat if they can and/or won’t mind paying a deposit! They will also ask ‘pertinent’ questions beforehand and will be all over your advertisement details. My second potential buyer thoroughly inspected Arwen on a very wet day. He knew boats, asked probing relevant questions and didn’t make an offer there and then. He needed a day or two to think about it. Fair enough! As a seller you have to expect this. Be honest in your answers, there is nothing to gain by being vague or non-committal about your boat! Also, make it clear that if someone else comes along and makes an offer, before your buyer gets back to you with his/her’s, then so be it. Most buyers understand this! I didn’t want to agree the sale there and then at the end of any visit, so I was relieved to agree a two-day thinking period for us both. Unless the buyer offers your actual sale price immediately, give yourself a day to consider an offer and your response. Thinking time. Could I counter offer and if so on what grounds? The buyer made an offer two days later and I promptly returned a counter offer, which was accepted. The day after, he secured the sale with the non-refundable deposit by bank transfer and we agreed he’d pick up the boat two weeks later. Under such circumstances, discuss and agree whose insurance will cover the boat for any unforeseen calamities during this time and amend your bill of sale agreement accordingly.

What if your buyer asks for a sea trial? Up to you but it strikes me this is a great way of attracting individuals who just want a nice day sail and who are not serious about buying your pride and joy! Hence, I use the phrase ‘sold as seen’. Basically, no sea trials! You may have a different view on this, of course. I referred people to my YouTube videos of Arwen under sail. They could see everything they needed to see on these!

If you are in the very lucky position to have multiple interested buyers then think this through. Do you negotiate with the most enthusiastic buyer first? Do you take them in the time order they approached you and explain to others waiting that you have done this? Depends on your personal ethics I guess. I took them in the order that they came to me in and I gave them a few days each to decide on whether they wanted to continue or not. When others contacted me, I’d tell them someone was ahead and deciding whether to make an offer and I would get back to them as soon as I knew the outcome in a couple of days. A nightmare to keep track of, but ethically I felt better!

6.   What are the key points to be aware of when conducting sales negotiations with a buyer?

Clear communication is the key. I wanted to try and build a rapport with my buyer. I knew my bottom price line. I knew that a buyer would want to negotiate on the asking price and that I would likely receive an offer below my asking price.

The key to negotiation is to be prepared and anticipate the kind of questions a buyer might ask. Rightly so. What would they not want from the inventory, what price reduction would they suggest as a result? What would it cost to do the maintenance Arwen needed? They’d seek a reduction on that – I priced it up, ready for that argument! What would I be prepared to throw in for free? Rather than a price reduction, would there be something I could add in? (I paid for a trailer service to reassure the buyer that the trailer really was good to go on a long journey north). Make a counter offer, explain why and be prepared to negotiate on extras beyond the asking price, or on not including certain equipment items in the price. My buyer made a lower offer based on the extent of the maintenance tasks that needed doing on Arwen. When you agree a price – its either conditional based on a forthcoming survey and/or sea trial; or its unconditional. Sign the contract immediately so that you are both clear about payment terms,  deposits, collection dates, exchange dates for documentation etc. You could exchange them by email. If you do make sure they are in PDF format so they can’t be altered.  When sales funds have been received and have cleared, send a receipt and a completion of sale statement.

Now things to be aware of. Firstly, ‘Caveat Emptor’ (Buyer beware) applies when someone buys a second-hand boat from a private individual who is not selling it under a business. The buyer is expected to protect themselves by doing due diligence on the purchase. A seller doesn’t have to volunteer any information but they MUST, under law, provide accurate answers to any questions a buyer asks and avoid misrepresentation of any aspect of their boat sale that might unduly influence the buyer into competing the purchase. False statements by a seller can give rise to legal action for misrepresentation and damages. Bottom line, answer a buyer’s questions truthfully.  And one last thing. You may be in possession of an old surveyor’s report about your boat!  As a seller, don’t share an old survey without checking the copyright first.

 

Having looked at the decisions involved in selling your boat, lets change perspective. What if you are thinking of buying a boat? What questions do you need to ask yourself?

A.           How do I research and define my needs when buying a boat?

What are my sailing goals? Where will I be sailing; how will that influence my needs? What do I want to achieve in my new boat? What are my capabilities now/in the future? Draw up a checklist of your sailing boat needs/requirements. Give this real, honest, pragmatic thought. Gain a good understanding of what you will require your boat to do. Peruse the sales ads. Look at different boat designs. Consult friends and people with more knowledge/experience/realism than you. Which boat designs come closest to your needs and why? Spend time on this to avoid purchasing a boat you later regret!

B.           What finance calculations and arrangements do I need to make in advance of buying a boat?

Get your funding organised immediately. Budget not only for the boat but also things like maintenance costs, mooring fees, annual insurance, trailer servicing, outboard servicing. Yep, it’s always more than you think! How much can I now spend on the actual boat purchase having deducted the above?  What is my absolute bottom line, funding wise?

C.           Am I clear about the processes involved in buying a boat?

You found an ad for a boat that interests you, now here comes the order of processes to follow. Firstly, how many of the criteria on my ‘needs/requirement list’ does it tick off?  Next, re-read the ad without rose tinted spectacles. Interrogate it. 

What am I being told/not told? What questions do I have for the owner? Annotate a printed off copy with questions/notes. Ok, is it still meeting most of my requirements? Now figure out the price at which you want to make an initial offer based on this initial work. You will revise it after visiting and inspecting the boat.  Time to contact the seller and arrange a visit! But before you go, do your research – what further questions do I need to ask? What things do I need to systematically go through on my inspection of the boat, trailer, equipment? Now is the time to decide whether you want a further survey undertaken – which depends on surveyor availability so you may need to negotiate some flexibility here with the seller.  If, on the day, you are happy with what you see on your visit – you will want to make an offer; but not there and then – give yourself some thinking time. Go back to what you considered as a first ‘offer’ before your visit. Now revise that offer based on everything you now know about the boat. There may be a counter offer from the seller after you have made your offer, but when you have both agreed a price, you are in the acceptance of offer phase. A contract stating the terms and conditions of the sale, signed and exchanged comes next; an agreed deposit to be paid by when – a receipt received.  Generally, a contract is binding once signed. Section H below gives further details. And, finally at this point, don’t forget to sort out your insurance, ideally in place as soon as you have made the commitment to buy.

D.     What are my legal rights/responsibilities as a buyer?

Firstly, go back up this article and read question 6, where it is discussed from a seller’s perspective! A private individual selling a boat only needs to declare ‘known defects’. However, they MUST answer all your questions about their boat truthfully, under the law! If you are buying a boat from a dealer/broker, then they must state it is FREE from undeclared defects and so many will commission a survey for potential buyers to read to minimise the risk of selling a boat which does have defects they were unaware of. Secondly, as far as possible, try to get proof that the seller does own the boat they are selling to you. Do they have any receipts/sales paperwork? Mooring fee payments? Yard storage bills? Maintenance cost bills? What are the dates on these? Try to establish a paper trail/time line of ownership. Basically, you MUST ask all the relevant questions of the seller; it may be prudent to get a survey done as well so you know all the facts before completing the sale. If you don’t ask questions, and seek and verify answers, then you have no right to redress if a problem becomes apparent at a later date.

E.       What do I look for when inspecting a potential boat to buy?

Firstly, allow plenty of time to view the boat, ask lots of questions and don’t let the seller rush you! If they are reticent or pushing you along, consider walking away! Buying a boat is a big investment! So, what previous repairs have they done? What is their annual maintenance regime? Servicing histories? What kind of sailing do they do? When was it last sailed and where? How long has it been out of the water? Be curious without being irritating.  Warning signs – dirty and chaotic presentation, mould in places, staining (leaks?), gaps anywhere in the wood work, spongy/soft bits of wood, cracked paintwork, loose fittings, battle scars in the wood trim, fraying on sail stitching, chainplates, centreboard bolts and casing, mast steps, anchor wells, rigging. Be thorough and systematic. Start at one end of the boat and work carefully to the other end – hull, decks, side decks, cockpit interior, lockers, mast and spars, rudder etc. Peer into and feel around lockers and under side decks. Crawl about, explore. Gently tug the odd fitting or two but don’t damage the boat – you will be liable for that! Do the same for a trailer; an outboard – in fact any equipment being sold with the boat!  A good, honest seller will be EXPECTING you to do this and will allow you to get on with it!

F.  Should I get a survey?

I have no definitive answer here as I really don’t know. You could make an offer subject to getting a good survey report. It will be inspected out of the water and in it probably. A report should identify any potential problems and you may be able to negotiate the price down a little as a result. However, just remember a marine survey is the buyer’s responsibility to organise and pay for. ‘If in doubt but in love’ with your potential purchase, get a survey done would be my advice. ‘Buy in haste and repent at leisure’ and all that! Oh, if the seller offers you an old survey report, be polite but cynical! It could have been amended! And it isn’t UpToDate is it? So, what’s happened since it was written? If you need a surveyor, seek out local recommendations. Ask a potential surveyor to show you some previous reports they’ve done on similar sized boats to the one you are buying. A survey has limits remember. Just like a house survey!  However, it should highlight any severe defects needing immediate attention and then recommendations for repair which can be part of a routine maintenance schedule. It may even point out things that don’t need fixing but monitoring/ remedial work over a longer time frame.

G.      Should I ask for a sea trial?

If they are selling it ‘sold as seen’, then no. If the seller agrees, you pay any launch and car parking fees incurred. Be honest with yourself – are you asking so that you can partially check out whether this boat is one that will suit your needs – then this is disingenuous on your part! As a seller, I would be very irritated and would make it clear that I am! I would have walked away from a sale if someone had done that with me. Perhaps, offer to pay a non-returnable deposit in advance of a sea trial and explain to your seller that you are looking at the trial as a chance to further inspect the boat. They can only say no to your request and don’t read too much into that! I certainly didn’t have the time to constantly go out on a sea trial for every potential buyer enquiry!

H. How do I make a successful offer?

Firstly, make a clear specific offer and why you are offering that amount. Clear communication is essential for a successful sale so share any potential concerns you have to help the seller understand issues from your viewpoint. The seller will have a range in which they are likely to sell and so will negotiate a counter offer back with you. Remember, this is where your prior research pays off – understanding the seller’s original pricing and motivations. Adjust your offer according to their response. Possibly meet in the middle! Or move on. Just remember your bottom line – the maximum price you are prepared to pay for a boat. Stick to it!

You could consider other facets of the sale – delivery, potential repair costs, trailer servicing. The owner of a boat which has been up for sale for some time might be more accommodating towards your offer, particularly if he/she is still paying mooring or storage fees. If you have had a survey completed, you might discuss who will shoulder the cost of any repairs – is it something you are prepared to do if the seller discounts the price further? Can you share costs between you? There is no ‘definitive’ way to do a sale negotiation, but avoid being curt, impatient, patronising or pushy. Don’t make a silly low offer either. It’s just not professional or conducive to a good sales/purchase approach. Give the owner time to consider your offer – a day or two.

If your offer is accepted, the owner will expect a deposit to be paid. Mine was non-refundable and I made that clear to prospective buyers at the very start. Ask for a receipt for the funds you transfer and a written agreement defining the terms and conditions for ‘non-refundable’.  Immediately sort your insurance having paid the deposit. Agree when the balance will be paid and also collection details.  As a seller I made sure that my bill of sale agreement outlined specifically how I would store and look after the boat in the interim time between payment of deposit and collection date. You should expect something similar from your seller or even ask for it if he/she isn’t forthcoming. Make sure your owner sends or transfers to you any paperwork regarding ownership, repairs and servicing.

Conclusion

Transparency, honesty, fairness, integrity, open communication. These lead to successful sales of small boats. I hope the above has helped you if you are considering selling or buying a small boat from someone. Please note all the above is informal advice based on my own experiences in selling Arwen. It is written in good faith and please do not regard it as professional or legal advice; in no way am I liable for the consequences of following the advice above. You are completely responsible for investigating your legal rights and responsibilities.