Refurbishing and selling a boat in 6 steps
A well-maintained boat that you can sail right away sells faster (and for a higher price) than a boat that needs repairs. So if you want to sell your boat, you would do well to refurbish it first. In this article, we share a practical step-by-step plan for getting your boat ready for sale.
Fixing up the boat
A “refurbisher” is a cheap boat that is in less demand than one that is all spick and span. Therefore, invest time and money to prepare the boat for sale.
Tip: Do you choose to sell your boat through Jachtmakelaardij de Maas? Then we can take repair out of your hands! Contact us for options.
Step 1: Major repairs
Basically, a sale-ready boat is one without technical defects. The advice is to start with the most important repairs:
- Fixing leaks
- Engine, steering and rudder trim
- Repair lights and other electronics
Step 2: Repair work
The items below are less necessary, but still result in a large increase in value:
- Repainting or repairing painting
- Touch up rust
- Spot repair (locally repair the paintwork)
- Gelcoat repair upper watercraft
- Striping refurbishing
Step 3: Major cleaning
Perform one major cleaning. During the sale, you only have to keep up with it after that.
- Biels cleaning (with extra emphasis on the engine room)
- Thorough cleaning inside and outside of top water ship
- Boating scale and osmosis removal from rudder and underwater ship
- Upholstery and flooring cleaning or replacement
- Cleaning or replacing sails
Selling the boat
After refurbishing, it’s time to market the boat.
Step 4: Engage a yacht broker (or not)
There is a lot involved in selling a boat. You must advertise the boat to interested parties, communicate and schedule appointments with potential buyers, do the viewings and clean the boat regularly.
A lot of time secretly goes into this!
If you choose to outsource the boat sale to Jachtmakelaardij de Maas, we will take professional photos, write the ad text and take care of the marketing to sell the boat as quickly as possible for the best possible price.
Tip:
Also read our blog
“Sell boat through a broker or by yourself?”
in which we list the advantages of both options.
Step 5: Provide good info etc.
If you decide you want to sell the boat yourself, you need to gather and list all the necessary information. This will give potential buyers a good idea of what to expect when acquiring your boat.
Minimal information for a good ad:
- Professional photos
- Realistic asking price
- Enthusiastic summary
- Describe the boat as completely as possible
- Year built
- Dimensions
- Headroom, creep height and headroom
- Hull and deck color
- Material
- Rudder and steering system
- Detailed description of motor and electrics
- Present navigation and electronics
- Detailed equipment description – such as anchor, cushions, swim ladder, etc.
- Maintenance history
- Number of cabins and other spaces
- Unique Selling Points: what makes this boat unique?
Tip:
Also read our blog
“Ten tips for selling a boat”
in which we discuss marketing your boat in more detail.
Step 6: Make the presentation a celebration
Selling a boat should feel good for both parties. The selling party wants to be assured that his boat – of which he or she has so many fond memories – is in reliable hands, and the buying party does not want to buy a pig in a poke.
A pleasant viewing is therefore super important!
As a seller, always be honest and don’t conceal anything. Make sure you have maintenance reports, notes and other documentation complete and clear, and give potential buyers room to explore the boat for themselves. Introduce yourself politely and enthusiastically and you are already ahead 1-0.
Engage real estate agent?
Having your boat sold by an experienced broker? Jachtmakelaardij de Maas is EMCI certified. We advertise on 45 websites, in several offline magazines and have a large network of domestic and foreign buyers. We have been doing that for over 19 years! Contact us for options.