Buying a cruising sailboat often starts with reading the ad.
There’s often some photos, a tempting price, a nice description. Maybe, the boat’s at a location that is not too impossible to reach. Then the imagination starts whirring…..
………and all of a sudden you’re imagining yourself onboard, swinging on anchor…. completely forgetting you have to travel for a day and spend $1,000 to inspect a boat that was never right for you.
Good boat ad research matters
Before you book flights, drive across the state, call a surveyor or start talking about offers, slow down and look at the listing properly. A boat ad is not just a sales page, it is your very first.
Save the full listing before it changes
Save the Ad
Listings can change, photos disappear (or are added to. Details are edited and sometimes the price changes. Sometimes important wording vanishes once questions start being asked.
Take screenshots or save the page as a PDF. Save all the photos, not just the pretty ones. Later, if go as far as arranging a surveyor or negotiating, you may want to compare what was advertised with what is actually there.
This is especially useful when the listing says things like:
recent rigging
well maintained
ready to cruise
new batteries
many upgrades
survey available
Those phrases sound reassuring, but you need the actual evidence.
Check the location
A boat in another state, another country or a remote marina can still be worth inspecting, but the location is part of the cost.
Before you get excited, check:
Where is the boat actually located?
Is it in the water or on the hard?
Is there haul-out access nearby?
Can you get a surveyor there?
Can you get a rigger, mechanic or insurer involved if needed?
How much will it cost you to travel there?
How would you move the boat after purchase?
A cheap boat in a difficult location may not be cheap by the time you add travel, accommodation, haul-out, survey, delivery, marina fees and repairs.
This does not mean you should only buy locally. We have bought boats in different countries and sailed them home. But you need to count the real cost before emotion takes over.
Compare the asking price with similar boats
Do not judge the price from one listing.
Look for comparable boats of similar size, age, design, condition and location. If possible, compare boats of the same model or similar type.
You are not trying to prove the seller wrong. You are trying to understand the market. And it isn’t always that easy, as the age of systems and rigging, etc., can mean prices vary a great deal.
Ask yourself:
Is this boat priced fairly compared with others?
Is it cheap because it needs work?
Is it expensive because it is genuinely better equipped?
Has it been sitting for a long time?
Are similar boats selling, or just sitting online?
A boat can be overpriced and still look like a bargain if you have fallen in love with it.
Note the age of the big-ticket items
When you read the ad, look for the expensive areas first. Just a few items are listed here, this is assuming the boat has a seaworthy hull to begin with:
Rigging
Engine
Sails
Batteries
Electronics
Seacocks
Safety gear
Steering gear
Insurance issues.
If the listing does not mention the age or condition of those things, make a note.
You do not need every answer before you inspect, but you do need to know what is missing. A lovely-looking boat with unknown rigging age, tired sails, old electronics and an engine with vague service history can become very expensive very quickly.
Some missing information is not suspicious. Sellers are not always boat experts. But missing information should become a question, not something you gloss over.
Check Paperwork Early On
Before you spend serious time or money, ask whether the seller can provide basic paperwork.
That might include:
Registration details
Ownership history
Receipts for major work
Engine service history
Rigging invoices
Recent survey
Insurance information
inventory list
If the boat is older, there may not be a perfect folder of paperwork. That is common. But the seller’s response still tells you something.
A helpful seller who says, “I don’t have everything, but here is what I do have,” is different from a seller who avoids questions, becomes defensive or cannot explain basic ownership details. Our last boat had it’s entire history in receipts, logbooks, notes and manuals. A huge plus!
Write down the weak spots in the ad
Before you call or message the seller, write down what is unclear.
Whether it is poor photos (an image of a ‘sister ship’ is a HUGE red flag to me!). Are the engine details missing, rigging age. Why are there no interior photos. Is the inventory vague, or just too many big claims without proof.
This keeps the conversation focused. Instead of asking, “Can you tell me more about the boat?” you can ask:
When was the standing rigging last replaced?
Do you have receipts for the engine work mentioned?
Are the batteries lead-acid or lithium?
Is the boat currently insured?
Is the boat in the water or on the hard?
Are there any known leaks, soft spots or insurance issues?
What is included in the inventory? (This will need to be checked it may be a long list of old/worn out items and someone is just dumping their rubbish on you!)
Good questions save time. The point of ad research is not to kill the dream. The point is not to talk yourself out of every boat. The point is to stop wasting time on boats that were never suitable, and to arrive at the right boat with clear thoughts of what you actually want and need.
A cruising sailboat is not just a hull and a price. It is a collection of systems, history, maintenance, paperwork, costs and compromises. The ad is where you start sorting that out.
Before you travel to inspect a boat, save the listing, compare the price, check the location, note the missing details and prepare your questions. It’s much easier to take a pause before you fall in love with the boat than after you have already imagined your life onboard.
Want a clearer process before you inspect, survey or commit? The Buying a Cruising Sailboat course walks you through the checks, questions and red flags to work through before you buy. We also have a Boat Buying Club.
