Buying & selling a yacht

Not usually. Taking a cruising yacht under way involves a captain and crew, line handling at the marina, an engine warm-up routine and insurance liability, so it is nothing like test-driving a car off a forecourt. Under standard brokerage practice the boat is first toured thoroughly dockside, at no charge, during a 90-minute appointment on the showroom pontoon. Once the right yacht is chosen, a written Purchase and Sale offer goes in with a refundable 10% escrow deposit, and the formal sea trial and haul-out survey follow straight after the offer is accepted.

The buyer chooses and pays directly for the independent accredited marine surveyor (SAMS or NAMS), the certified engine technician and the boatyard's Travelift haul-out and power-wash fee, so that every inspector works entirely for the buyer. The seller provides the vessel fuelled and insured, with a qualified captain or representative aboard to run her during the sea trial. The brokerage's own survey and sea-trial coordination is a US$350 flat fee, credited back at closing.

Many states require no licence or exam at all to sell a yacht worth a million dollars. The Certified Professional Yacht Broker (CPYB) designation, backed by the YBAA and the major maritime associations, requires verified full-time brokerage experience, a demanding national exam on maritime law, USCG documentation, tax compliance and ABYC standards, ongoing continuing education, and adherence to a strict fiduciary code of ethics. Both brokers at Ashwell Foyle Yachts hold it.

Below roughly 26 feet, with a beam under about eight and a half feet, a boat can usually be trailed behind a suitable vehicle and kept at home, which removes berth dues and turns winter storage into a driveway question. Above that, and for almost any fixed-keel boat, a berth or a mooring is the practical answer and is best arranged before completion rather than after it. The brokerage states the towing weight fully loaded, with engine, fuel, water and gear aboard, rather than the dry weight printed in a brochure, because that is the figure a tow vehicle has to match.

Yes. Under the standard Yacht Brokers Association of America (YBAA) Purchase and Sale Agreement the brokerage uses, accepting the vessel after sea trial and survey is entirely at the buyer's discretion until the written trial and survey acceptance deadline. If the buyer rejects the vessel in writing before that deadline, for any survey or sea-trial reason, the 10% deposit is returned promptly from the bonded escrow account.

No. As with co-brokerage in residential property, the seller's listing agreement already sets a single commission, which is shared 50/50 (or on the agreed co-brokerage terms) between the listing brokerage and the buyer's brokerage at closing. The buyer gains a CPYB advocate, SoldBoats comparable sales and leverage in survey negotiations at no added cost.

Specialist marine lenders typically offer 15- to 20-year fixed-rate loans on qualifying recreational vessels with a 15% to 20% down payment, depending on the vessel's age, the loan size and the borrower's credit profile. They almost always require a current SAMS or NAMS condition-and-valuation survey, a binder of hull insurance and, for larger cruisers, USCG federal documentation with a First Preferred Ship Mortgage. The brokerage does not lend itself, but it can introduce marine lenders.

Vessels of at least 5 net tons, which generally means most cruising boats of 26 feet and over, qualify for federal U.S. Coast Guard documentation. It establishes an internationally recognised chain of title, records every mortgage and lien on an official Abstract of Title, and simplifies clearance into coastal and foreign ports. Many states still require tax compliance or validation decals on documented vessels kept in their waters, and the brokerage confirms which applies before an offer is made.

Not automatically. A marina berth is a contract between the marina and the current owner, and most Annapolis marinas require an application and their own approval before it is reassigned. The brokerage asks the marina early, because a boat that has to move on completion needs somewhere to go, and where a transfer is refused, alternative berths are looked for in parallel rather than after the fact.

Most brokerage purchases close within 2 to 4 weeks of signing the Purchase and Sale Agreement. Roughly 10 to 14 days go on scheduling the haul-out, hull survey, engine oil analysis and sea trial, followed by 5 to 10 business days for marine lender underwriting, insurance binding and USCG lien and title clearance. Any outstanding marine loan or recorded lien is cleared before closing, never after it.