Practical guide to successfully selling your boat

As a boat owner, selling your vessel can be more difficult than it seems. Should you hire a professional boat broker or handle it yourself?

Is there a safer, more efficient, or less expensive solution? What are the steps to follow to help sell the vessel quickly?

In this article, the team at Bateau-immatriculation.com shares their opinion on the matter.

Selling your boat: alone or with the help of a professional?

First, be aware that it is not mandatory to hire a professional to sell your boat. Regardless of your vessel, you have the right to choose to sell it yourself or to trust a third party to find a buyer and complete the sale.

If you delegate the sale of your boat to a specialist, the fees to be paid to this intermediary are generally a commission, deducted from the final price of the boat. The professional can manage your file from A to Z: they can take photos of the vessel, draft and publish the ad, conduct viewings, answer questions from potential buyers, and put you in contact with other boating specialists, if needed.

Thus, hiring a professional can be a quick and safe solution, especially if you are geographically distant from your vessel, or if you have little time to spare. It is the guarantee of finding a serious buyer, without necessarily spending more: indeed, the specialist will also take care of negotiating the sale price for you!

In the event that you delegate the sale of your boat to a specialist, the fees to be paid to this intermediary are generally a commission, deducted from the final price of the boat. The professional can manage your file from A to Z: they can take photos of the vessel, draft and publish the ad, conduct viewings, answer questions from potential buyers, and put you in contact with other boating specialists, if needed.

Thus, hiring a professional can be a quick and safe solution, especially if you are geographically distant from your vessel, or if you have little time to spare. It is the guarantee of finding a serious buyer, without necessarily spending more: indeed, the specialist will also take care of negotiating the sale price for you!

Steps to sell your boat yourself

Do you want to handle the sale of your motorboat or sailboat yourself? Bateau-immatriculation.com details the necessary steps to stack the odds in your favor and ensure nothing is forgotten. Here are some tips to know for selling your boat on your own, without stress!

Clean your unit

First of all, remember to get your boat into a clean condition. The interior, the exterior… To prepare your unit for sale, everything must be taken care of! In your living spaces and cabins, limit the presence of personal belongings: during future viewings, neutral spaces will help potential buyers project themselves.

Check the condition of equipment

Plumbing, electrical, electronics… Check the good condition of all onboard elements.

Carry out any necessary repairs, as well as the small jobs you may have been putting off for some time. They will make a difference on the day of the viewings, and while waiting to sell your boat, they will allow you to enjoy your navigation more!

Gather the paperwork

Ensure you have all the boat's administrative papers, warranty certificates, and invoices for purchases, repairs, or maintenance. Ideally, you should sort and place all these documents neatly in a binder or folder to be handed over to the future owner.

You can also anticipate by preparing the administrative documents necessary for the sale, including an essential element: the bill of sale that formalizes the sale of your boat.

Fill out a regulatory bill of sale

Take photos

When your boat is clean and tidy, take out your camera. Ensure you have good lighting, and photograph the different spaces of the boat: interior, exterior, sleeping areas, engine room… Vary the points of view and take detailed photos of the most important elements. Keep in mind that, sometimes, a wide-angle lens allows for better shots!

Draft a description

To appeal to potential buyers, prepare a detailed description of your boat. Shipyard, model, year of launch… Note all the characteristics of your vessel, and all the specific equipment it is equipped with. Don't forget the details of electrical and electronic devices! Describe the condition of all elements, as well as the work to be expected. Specify the dates of the last maintenance operations, and supplement with the history of your boat or the navigation areas it may have frequented.

Choose the right sale price

Estimate the value of your boat based on the price at which you bought it and the value lost over the years. Research the asking price for other units of the same type on the market, and find out about other boats available at the target price. The chosen price must be fair, justified, and justifiable!

Publish and promote the ad

Now that everything is ready, you can officially put your unit up for sale! If your motorboat or sailboat is based in a port, you have surely already placed an ad at the harbor master's office. But if you want to stack the odds in your favor and broadcast the ad for your boat more widely, you will need to publish the ad online, on the web.

A good option is to use a website specialized in boat sales, such as Band of Boats. On it, you will be able to share your ad with everyone looking to acquire a new unit, to find the buyer you need!

Conducting boat viewings

Thanks to the publication of your ad, you will get several leads. You will offer to hold viewings of your boat and receive each person individually on board. So that potential buyers can discover your boat while enjoying good lighting, prefer to welcome them during the day!

Let them discover all the spaces. Answer all questions, explain the role of each piece of equipment, and detail the work carried out. Also specify how you maintain your unit.

You will need to create a relationship of trust and leave no doubt about your transparency.

Even if you probably love your boat very much, try to remain objective! Give the visitor time so that they can grasp the different spaces and imagine themselves as the owner.

Offer to show them the boat's capabilities during a sea trial and, if necessary, to train them on the various maneuvers, while navigating or at the port.

Negotiate and close the sale

At the end of the process, you may need to review the price and conditions of sale for your unit to reach an agreement with the buyer. Be open to negotiation, but don't lower your requirements too much! Once an agreement is reached, you will sign the documents together and carry out all administrative procedures related to the sale of a vessel. For this last step, the experts at Bateau-immatriculation.com can help you!