| What You Need To Know Before You Sell Your | | | | first aid kit ARE part of the boat. Knick-knacks, fishing |
| Boatby: James "Doc" Lewis | | | | tackle, cutesy wall plaques, and half full paint cans are |
| As the owner/operator of a full service boat detailing- | | | | NOT part of the boat-and look tacky. A few cleaning |
| yacht maintenance business I can't help but chuckle | | | | supplies, in their own locker is probably all right as long |
| sometimes at seeing the extremes that otherwise | | | | as they're kept neat and clean.g) Make a list of things |
| bright, intelligent, successful, people will go to in a | | | | that need attention, and get it taken care of. A few |
| misguided attempt to save a few dollars. | | | | dollars spent now will pay back in spades when the |
| One of the biggest mistakes that we see is that | | | | time comes to show your boat. Anything that isn't right |
| people will decide to sell their boat without first having | | | | will stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, be noticed |
| her completely detailed. | | | | and start the price spiraling down. (if it doesn't just send |
| According to Rob Scanlan, a well known and | | | | them scurrying off shaking their heads) |
| respected Master Marine Surveyor; | | | | Hint: If you are not a woman reading this and don't |
| "Detailing a boat is the single most important | | | | have a wife of your own, ask your mother or sister, or |
| investment of time, energy and money a seller can | | | | see if a friend will loan you his for a few minutes. For |
| make because a clean and shiny boat sells faster and | | | | some reason women can smell things that a man |
| for a lot more money. I strongly recommended that a | | | | would never notice. You may think that men buy boats |
| seller enlist professional assistance to do a quality | | | | but in my experience they buy the boats their women |
| (Email) (Web site) | | | | like. |
| We at BoatDocs1, do a lot of work here on the | | | | Along this same line, pay particular attention to the |
| Emerald Coast with local yacht brokers and know | | | | cabin and heads. |
| what the standards are for a "ready to show" boat. | | | | 3. Prioritize the Job |
| These professionals know that the cosmetic | | | | With your list you are in good shape to decide what |
| appearance says everything to the prospective buyer | | | | needs to be done and whether or not you want to do |
| as to the overall care and maintenance that the | | | | the work yourself or have it done by a professional. |
| previous owner has given the yacht. Add to that the | | | | Most of the professional yacht maintenance |
| universal wisdom about first impressions and it's not | | | | companies we are familiar with, would be happy to |
| hard to see the importance of this vital first step. | | | | take a look and give you an estimate of what it will |
| Even if you intend to do most of the work yourself we | | | | cost to have the work done right. We can do part of |
| can offer the expertise to assure that your time and | | | | the job, for example the compounding/polishing and will |
| money are spent wisely. Our trained eyes will often | | | | gladly help you choose the best wax to finish the job |
| pick up the little details that only a prospective buyer | | | | yourself. |
| would notice and likely balk at. | | | | What about those little chips and dings in the gelcoat? |
| Here is an outline of the standard procedures we use | | | | Many books have been written on fiberglass repair |
| when preparing a yacht to be put up for sale: | | | | and it isn't the intent of this article to cover the subject |
| 1. Thoroughly Wash and Dry the Boat | | | | in any depth but many small repairs are well within the |
| Note: For this part, pay attention to everything you see | | | | reach of a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer. Like anything |
| and unless your memory is a lot better than mine, | | | | else though, if you have never done it before, "consult |
| make notes on a piece of paper for later. | | | | an expert." |
| - Wash and chamois-dry your boat top to bottom | | | | I've been building and repairing in fiberglass since I was |
| including transom. | | | | 14 and while the first wooden boat I glassed was |
| - clean Isenglass and other ports/windows | | | | water tight and lasted a good many years, it was far |
| - wipe down and dress all aluminum/stainless | | | | from pretty. The small investment you lay out for |
| - clean and dress vinyl seats | | | | expert repair now will pay big dividends when your |
| - wipe down fly bridge and cockpit | | | | boat sells at the price you want. |
| - vacuum exterior carpet | | | | In the Emerald Coast region the standard fees for |
| - clean and dress nonskid | | | | compound/waxing run between $15.00/ft. and $18.00/ft. |
| 2. Stand Back and Survey the Boat | | | | for the topside (rub-rail up) which includes a thorough |
| Note: Bring your list and organize it with the following | | | | cleaning and treatment of the vinyl, windows, isenglass, |
| outline | | | | and metal. In other words, for the price of doing the |
| - Put yourself in the buyers shoes, be critical, the buyer | | | | "hard" part we'll detail the entire topsides and leave it in |
| will.a) Is it shiny? It's the first thing most people notice.b) | | | | "ready-to-show" condition. Hulls (rub-rail down) run |
| What about the smell? People have a way of getting | | | | about $8.00/ft. but, of course, the boat must be out of |
| used to almost anything. Get a second opinion and see | | | | the water in order to do it. (This walking on water with |
| the hint below.c) Is all hardware intact and | | | | a hi-speed electric buffer in hand is still beyond me, but |
| presentable? Just because you've used that broken | | | | I'll let you know;-) |
| table for years and are rather fond of it, to anyone | | | | Fiberglass repair runs from $45.00 to $65.00 per hour |
| else, it's just a broken table.d) What about dings, any | | | | and in general as with most everything else, one gets |
| damage to the fiberglass? Aside from the fact that | | | | what one pays for. The up side to this is that when |
| broken gelcoat can let water into the core of the | | | | approached in a professional manner the dents and |
| lay-up and delaminate the fiberglass, it just plain looks | | | | dings of ten years hard use can be repaired and |
| BAD.e) What about rust? You are probably thinking | | | | made to look like new in an amazingly short time. |
| right now; (what's a little rust on a boat?) Let me tell | | | | All too often we have seen people save $300.00 or |
| you. A little rust on a boat is a sure sign that the owner | | | | $400.00 on a detail only to loose $Thousands$ on |
| let's little things go by unnoticed and if there is one thing | | | | what their boat could have sold for. Then too, our local |
| there are always more. What about oil changes? I | | | | marinas are clogged with many examples of boats |
| wonder if he flushed out the outboard after use? The | | | | with "For Sale" signs which were never given the least |
| object of this little exercise is to make the boat look | | | | bit of attention to make the passer by want to stop |
| like you are conscientious and a stickler for having | | | | and think, "Hey, I wonder what it would be like to call |
| everything perfectly "SHIP SHAPE."f) One more little | | | | that boat mine." Some of these boats have sat for |
| tip that you have probably already thought of. Take a | | | | years when all they ever really needed was a little |
| look around the boat and remove EVERYTHING that | | | | T.L.C. |
| isn't part of the boat. | | | | I remember, years ago, someone saying something |
| EXAMPLE: | | | | about being penny wise and pound foolish? Let's not |
| Engine controls, compass, life jackets, flare kit, and a | | | | let them be saying that about us. |