| Boat Buying Guide : Inspecting Your New Boat |
| Written by Administrator | |
| Monday, 18 February 2008 | |
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IF you want buy a new boat, the viewing, or inspecting your boat is a very considerable part of the purchasing process. Inspecting a boat thoroughly can save you a lot of time, headaches and money. Inspecting will allow you to see what you are purchasing before you spend any money. You may want to use a inspector to do this, as they will execute a very detailed inspection of the boat. You can be present, and as this will give you the chance to ask problems if you like. While using a surveyor is the best way to do an inspection, you can do it yourself if you are skillful and certain enough. There are many parts of the boat to inspect, which makes it nearly impossible for beginners. If you inspect yourself, you should also have a piece of paper and pen to keep track of anything that you find questionable and will want to bring to the attention of the surveyor. Make sure you look at the interior, electrical system, pumps, the control cables, the bottom of the hull, do not be afraid to climb under the boat and look for cracks or patches in the bottom of the hull, and be sure that everything is in working order. If the boat has been well maintained, you shouldn't have a obstacle looking everything over. The machine should also be checked, as it is very considerable to the boat. If you don't know a lot about boat machines or general machines, you should get a mechanic to look over it for you. You may want to do this anyway, as the machine can be very tough to inspect. Beyond this, you'll probably have to rely on a mechanic to learn more about the condition of the engine. If everything is up to par. Now, it's time to take a test drive. Before you fire up the machine, check to see if it's already warm. If the machine has trouble starting or smokes when cold, the seller could have warmed up the machine prior to you arriving to disguise any obstacles. Checking the bilges at the start and end of the test drive, check for oil leaks as well. See how the boat performs when moving around. You should test with hitting the waves from different angles, looking for any type of pitch or roll, and make sure you also test that all the instruments are working correctly, then run the machine for a period of time to see if it overheats. If you are purchasing a sail boat, put the sails up and see how the boat performs under wind pressure alone. Also, make sure you inspect the mast and how the boat rigs under load. If the boat you are planning to purchas doesn't pass any of your tests, but you are willing to put both time and money into making things work, don't rule it out just yet, you can use any obstacles as bargaining tools to try and get a lower price on the boat. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 18 February 2008 ) |
