Inspect before You Buy a Boat

Now that our four children are all grown, out of college and living on their own, my husband and I decided to fulfill our dreams of owning a boat again. We’re not completely brand new to boating. We’ve had several boats in years past, but with expensive college tuitions and demanding careers, there just wasn’t enough money or time for boating. Although we knew exactly what we wanted feature-wise, neither my husband nor I are mechanically inclined in any sense of the word. I mean, I had to call an electrician to install a new light fixture in the dining room. We are definitely not mechanically inclined.

Although the thought of going out to buy a brand new boat was certainly enticing, we felt we’d have a better shot of getting all of the features we wanted in a used boat. Besides, a used boat was much more budget-friendly than a new one. We went to several boat dealers and after drooling all over some of the new ones, we were a bit disappointed in the condition of the used boats they were offering for sale. We decided to try to find a local person who was selling his own boat.

Marine Surveyors in Fort Lauderdale

We scoured the internet and actually found a few boats that we were interested in checking out. The first one was a nightmare. Honestly, I think that the picture the owner posted had to be around five years old. The fiberglass was all chipped up, and was certainly not shown in the picture. He did tell us that he would take us out on the water so we could see that it was in great condition.

Against my better judgment, we traveled to the marina. The boat owner got the boat in the water and we boarded. Guess what? The boat wouldn’t start. So, the owner had the marine mechanic install a new battery and off we went. I must say that everything went well for around twenty minutes, when the boat just decided to quit working. After nearly two hours, sea tow came out and brought us back in. Needless to say, we didn’t buy the boat.

On the ride home, we decided that before we actually lay down the cash for a boat that we would have an inspection done. When we did find one that was aesthetically appealing and actually ran, we contacted Simex International for an inspection. They went over the boat with a fine tooth comb, and provided us with clear information about it. This gave us the peace of mind that we weren’t throwing our money out the window, as well as the assurance that the boat was safe. I’m so glad that we made the decision to contact a professional before buying the boat.