Respectfully Bob - I strongly disagree with your position on sea trials and feel compelled to offer the following long winded response.
It is my opinion that it is border line irresponsible to buy a boat for this kind of money, WITH OUT a sea trial.
During pre offer discussions, the seller conveys specific information about the boat and motor’s condition. An offer is made based on this information. The survey combined with a sea trial confirms that the information provided appropriately reflects the current condition of the boat. Some items cannot be confirmed to be in appropriate working order by a surveyor without a sea trial.
The seller has to pay for the boat to be put in the water come spring – so it is not unreasonable to expect them to put it in the water now – if the boats performs as indicated, then the buyers closes on the sale – if during the sea trial a professional surveyor determines an undisclosed problem (bad lower unit, motors not reaching rev limiter, ect) it is my belief that the seller is required to either fix the problem or pay to put the boat back in storage.
This above described process forces each side to stay honest, and prevents people from backing out just because “The don’t like how it rides”
I have been on both side of the coin as a seller and buyer – when selling – the first buyer was serious and the boat it was put in the water – after the sea trial he determined that the boat was not fast enough for him compared to his “Bass Boats” – he paid to haul the boat and put it back on poppits. Since we were crystal clear upfront about expectations it was not a problem.
As mentioned, I negotiated the purchase of my Grady in January with a sea trial in February with the process above – the transaction went smooth with the surveyor only finding small issues. The seller’s instructions to the marina were “What ever the surveyor finds fix” bolstered confidence in the entire sale.
Tim
