Buying a boat

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Charles_Graham said:

Thanks Vivelo, who draws up the bill of sale and what kind of document s it?

It is drawn up by the seller (or Broker).

There are a number of 'approved' forms, here is the 'main one' that is used :

 

 

Bill Of Sale MCA.pdf

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Not normally.

There is the SSR (Small Ships Register) which is administered by the Government, but few narrowboats will be registered. You may well find GRP cruisers registered under SSR Part 3 (many are).

 

When buying you can only ask the owner for 'history' - have they got letters (in their name & address) from C&RT with licence reminders, or from an insurance company, or a mooring provider ?

Do they have any evidence of bills / invoices / receipts for work done ?

Do they have the original builders Bill-Of-Sale (sales receipt) and VAT paid HMRC certificate ?

Do they have the owners RCD manual and RCD approval paperwork ?

 

All of the above SHOULD be transferred with the sale of a 2nd hand boat 

If any of the above is 'not available' then dig deeper into their ownership.

 

Have you seen proof of their name and address (driving licence etc) ?

Cheers Alan, I wanted to trust the guy. I had met him and spoke with him several times. His enthusiasm for the project was very convincing.

I didn't press him for identification, in hind sight I should have. But I just dislike the formal route and believed I should be able to trust people in life.

The guy seems to be known in the area and has so far completed the work, but is of late very slow to complete work and very quick to ask for more money.

Fair enough he needs money to complete, and purchase parts materials etc, 

 

Its just at this stage now I feel some kind of proof of ownership should be transferred.

[vivelo]

1 minute ago, Charles_Graham said:

Thanks Vivelo, who draws up the bill of sale and what kind of document s it?

The bill of sale is done by both the seller and the buyer. It contains both peoples details. It is also witnessed by an individual who has nothing to do with the sale. Its very easy to do and both should keep a copy each. Below is a link to one I use that is prewritten by the RYA. If the link doesn't work, just search/google "RYA bill of sale" and it will come up. They all should have these details on them at a minimum.

 

https://www.rya.org.uk/sitecollectiondocuments/legal/Web Documents/Legal Leaflets/Members Advice/Bill of Sale/BILL OF SALE.pdf

[Guest]

Thanks all

[vivelo]

Just now, Charles_Graham said:

Cheers Alan, I wanted to trust the guy. I had met him and spoke with him several times. His enthusiasm for the project was very convincing.

I didn't press him for identification, in hind sight I should have. But I just dislike the formal route and believed I should be able to trust people in life.

The guy seems to be known in the area and has so far completed the work, but is of late very slow to complete work and very quick to ask for more money.

Fair enough he needs money to complete, and purchase parts materials etc, 

 

Its just at this stage now I feel some kind of proof of ownership should be transferred.

Sound like you have already been paying him without any bill of sale. I don't want to alarm you, but if he is just giving you receipts for the work done, all you are doing is repairing someone else's boat if you have no title for it. 

[mark99]

Years ago I visited a well known builder to work out how to commission a new boat and the payment structures. Very calmly told me how much he wanted up front.

 

Few months later he went bust. He must have known at the time.

 

I went second hand in the end.

 

 

[Stilllearning]

Always buy second hand. Boats, cars, houses, buying new is asking for trouble and cost.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, mark99 said:

Years ago I visited a well known builder to work out how to commission a new boat and the payment structures. Very calmly told me how much he wanted up front.

 

Few months later he went bust. He must have known at the time.

 

I went second hand in the end.

 

 

A friend of mine paid the full cost of the boat and had that happen

[mark99]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

A friend of mine paid the full cost of the boat and had that happen

Yes indeed I was lucky in that I lost nothing.

Edited March 4, 2019 by mark99

[Markinaboat]

This is the RYA's equivalent of the BMF's new build agreement (which I think you can get if you register on their site). Whilst it's primarily for new builds, there may be some useful T's&C's that could be incorporated?

 

https://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/legal/Web Documents/Legal Leaflets/Members Advice/Buying New/bmf-agreement-construction-new-boat-fixed-price-june-2007.pdf