Confused. In what order and when do I do this?

[Tenzin]

Wednesday is d day, survey day. Crane is paid for surveyor will be paid soon.

The owner of the narrow boat says the boat saftey cert is until 2029. 

“Before you buy a boat licence, you'll need a valid Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) certificate or exemption.” (from a website)

 

 

Do I have to buy another one, a new one? 
Long term  boat licenses?  Obviously I can’t moor it at home. I want to moor it permanently at a Marina? 
And then the insurance.  When do I buy this?
 

 

On the day if I agree to buy the boat, that godwilling everything is okay, and the seller  the seller gives me the boat? 
Can someone give me a simple list of what I need to do and the order I need to do it in. Don’t refer me to websites, they jump about. I need a clear. Do this first, then this, then this. 
Thank you
 

[Stroudwater1]

The BSS stays with the boat so remains valid. Rather like a car you will need a new licence, that can be arranged just after you have bought the boat online via the CRT website (Assuming the boats on a canal owned by CRT).

Insurance should be arranged ideally in advance with cover taking place from the day you pay for the boat. 
Ideally you ought to see if you can arrange a marina mooring in advance of buying. 
 

There are other nuances that I’m sure others will expand on especially on the specifics of the sale. It was straightforward for us as we bought via a broker. 
 

Hope all goes ok and welcome to the forum 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Wish everyone would type that size,

I can see that without my readers!

 

So you know the boat you want?

then get some insurance quotes in advance and insure from the date of purchase (should your survey be a good one)

The BSS will come with boat. 
And buy license to coincide with purchase OR even the date it goes back in to the water. 
 

(a boat out of the water does not need a license, probably wise to insure it mind)
 

And of course do your research in advance regards moorings and ring around marinas to enquire if they can accommodate you,

 

easy peasy really

 

I see post above for there before me 👍

[BEngo]

Pre- Survey Check with the surveyor as to whether he will do a BSS exam as part of the survey.  Some do.  If so this will update the BSS expiry date and save a little money.🙂

Pre-survey, get a CRT login

Post survey get some insurance arranged.  Craftinsure get good reports and are online.  Depending on age of boat insurers may want to see the survey.Pay money.☹

 

Find a marina you like, with space.  Arrange a mooring.   Pay money☹.

 

Post Survey Get on the CRT site with your login and apply for a new licence. You will need your insurance details, your mooring details  and the boat index number but the BSS should be automatically provided.  Have the BSS paperwork handy in case you do need to type it in.  Pay more money☹

 

Cruise to your new mooring.

 

[Wafi]

Couple of additional points:

• When you agree to purchase the boat, you normally agree a handover date some time in the future (a week is plenty), a bit like buying a house. That gives you time to sort out the insurance and licence.
• When you apply for the CRT licence you either need to register as "continuous cruiser" or provide evidence of a home mooring (receipts etc). You quite likely won't have the required home mooring evidence yet, and if it's a long cruise to the mooring you may not need to start paying for it until you arrive (in which case you definitely won't have receipts). The workaround (recommended to me by CRT) is to start with a continuous cruiser licence. When the paperwork for your mooring comes through, you can upload that to the CRT site and convert the continuous cruiser licence to a home mooring licence.

[Tenzin]

I won’t be on a canal. I will be Hopefully on the river Stort in Roydon. So which affiliation do I register with.  

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Tenzin said:

The owner of the narrow boat says the boat saftey cert is until 2029. 

 

1 hour ago, BEngo said:

Pre- Survey Check with the surveyor as to whether he will do a BSS exam as part of the survey.  Some do.  If so this will update the BSS expiry date and save a little money.🙂

Boat Safety Certificate is valid for 4 years, so it sounds as if the boat has a recent certificate, and there is no point in getting it updated/renewed.

[Lily Rose]

River Stort is CRT.

[David Mack]

3 minutes ago, Tenzin said:

I won’t be on a canal. I will be Hopefully on the river Stort in Roydon. So which affiliation do I register with.  

CRT, same as for canals, but you have the option of a Rivers Only licence (which will restrict you to the Lee and Stort only) at 60% of the cost of a canal and river licence.

[BEngo]

2 hours ago, David Mack said:

 

Boat Safety Certificate is valid for 4 years, so it sounds as if the boat has a recent certificate, and there is no point in getting it updated/renewed.

A BSS exam as part of the Survey ensures that the new owner can negotiate a compensating price reduction if there are any areas where the previous examiner had a different interpretation of the requirements,  something we all know is common.  It also reduces the likelihood of 'surprises' when the handed over BSC expires.

N

[jonathanA]

12 hours ago, BEngo said:

A BSS exam as part of the Survey ensures that the new owner can negotiate a compensating price reduction if there are any areas where the previous examiner had a different interpretation of the requirements,  something we all know is common.  It also reduces the likelihood of 'surprises' when the handed over BSC expires.

N

I'm afraid I can't agree with you there, i'd ignore that if I was the OP. Different if the bss was about to expire, but it isn't.

 

the OP has enough to think about without shelling out another 250 quid. Anything that's a bss fail should be picked up by the surveyor. 

 

He can worry about the BSS in 4 years time.

[alias]

5 hours ago, jonathanA said:

I'm afraid I can't agree with you there, i'd ignore that if I was the OP. Different if the bss was about to expire, but it isn't.

 

the OP has enough to think about without shelling out another 250 quid. Anything that's a bss fail should be picked up by the surveyor. 

 

He can worry about the BSS in 4 years time.

My surveyor was also a BSS examiner. Alongside the survey report he offered a BS certificate gratis (if his recommendations were complied with). 

 

We negotiated a small reduction on the basis of one recommendation, but for various reasons didn't get round to having the suggested work done. None of the subsequent four examiners over the next 18 years picked up on the issue that the surveyor had identified. 

[Gybe Ho]

On 14/06/2025 at 18:07, Wafi said:

Couple of additional points:

• When you agree to purchase the boat, you normally agree a handover date some time in the future (a week is plenty), a bit like buying a house. That gives you time to sort out the insurance and licence.
•  

 

It is better that the sales contract specifies what must happen for ownership title to transfer to the buyer. Basically the buyer is happy with the survey and cleared funds have been received by the seller. Dates add complexity in a transaction where you want simplicity. A complexity might arise if the boat has been badly prepared for sale and the seller has a lot of clobber to remove but that is where trouble can start.

[Wafi]

Even for a trivial purchase that doesn't require a contract, if the item's too large to chuck in the back of your car you still need to agree a handover date. If you were buying a £1000 car for cash, for instance, you'd typically pay a deposit and agree a collection date several days in the future, to give yourself time to sort out insurance and logistics (and possibly to withdraw the balance of cash from the bank).

[Gybe Ho]

14 hours ago, Wafi said:

Even for a trivial purchase that doesn't require a contract, if the item's too large to chuck in the back of your car you still need to agree a handover date. 

 

 

This is not how a pro broker does things. There will be time limits placed on the buyer to compete and another specified think-time limit post receipt of survey report. The key event is when does the buyer acquire title ownership.

[Wafi]

25 minutes ago, Gybe Ho said:

 

This is not how a pro broker does things. There will be time limits placed on the buyer to compete and another specified think-time limit post receipt of survey report. The key event is when does the buyer acquire title ownership.

My experience with a professional broker was that, having agreed a price verbally, I submitted an offer on the broker's standard form. In return for that I received an invoice stating completion and handover on receipt of cleared funds. I then transferred payment to the broker's client account in a couple of instalments (as the money became available from various accounts) and agreed a handover date the following week; the whole thing was very straightforward. The bill of sale was completed and signed (in advance) by the seller, effective noon on the agreed day of handover. Although I don't know when the broker transferred funds to the seller, I assume it was immediately after handover.

[ditchcrawler]

17 hours ago, Wafi said:

My experience with a professional broker was that, having agreed a price verbally, I submitted an offer on the broker's standard form. In return for that I received an invoice stating completion and handover on receipt of cleared funds. I then transferred payment to the broker's client account in a couple of instalments (as the money became available from various accounts) and agreed a handover date the following week; the whole thing was very straightforward. The bill of sale was completed and signed (in advance) by the seller, effective noon on the agreed day of handover. Although I don't know when the broker transferred funds to the seller, I assume it was immediately after handover.

But by that you knew when you would own the boat and when it would be your responsibility so you could arrange insurance etc.