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**boatman61** · 16-10-2022, 17:04

A sea trail proves nothing.. 3+ days into a voyage does

BBill · 16-10-2022, 22:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by riki

a good mechanic can tell you much more with an engine running at idle than while going at sea. But it might be the only reason for a sea trial besides knowing better the boat, but that's another matter that dosen't have to do with the sale process.

What cannot be evaluated while idling at the dock is a marginal cooling system. An engine that runs cool for half hr bursts for day sailing can start overheating the first day it heads south as a full time cruiser. Older raw water cooled engines are the usual ones and pulling the tstat is first line of defence...and adding a manual metering valve can help control the temps. None of this is found by mechanics at the dock. The system has to get a full heat soak under load if you want to know for sure. To each their own.

goboatingnow · 16-10-2022, 23:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by boatman61

A sea trail proves nothing.. 3+ days into a voyage does

Many surveyors would disagree it’s allows the boat to be examined in motion , sure more time is better but it’s better then nothing.

I’d never buy a boat without being present on the typical sea trial . A sea trial will usually be the first time I will have the desired boat “ in motion “

It’s an important part of the sale process.

BBill · 17-10-2022, 07:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Many surveyors would disagree it’s allows the boat to be examined in motion , sure more time is better but it’s better then nothing.

I’d never buy a boat without being present on the typical sea trial . A sea trial will usually be the first time I will have the desired boat “ in motion “

It’s an important part of the sale process.

It's more important on motor boats but dock running doesn't reveal slightly bent shafts or props. The cutlass may chatter but that's about all you get at the dock. The more boats you buy the more you learn what to look for.

BlueH2Obound · 18-10-2022, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Many surveyors would disagree it’s allows the boat to be examined in motion , sure more time is better but it’s better then nothing.
I’d never buy a boat without being present on the typical sea trial . A sea trial will usually be the first time I will have the desired boat “ in motion “
It’s an important part of the sale process.

Another reason I'd never buy a boat without a sea trail, is that some boats . . . well, just don't "feel right" to me. Maybe just a weird response to the sea condition, or that she "wallows" in the water, whatever. It would be a darn shame to purchase a boat and then the first time out (and possibly every time thereafter), you just HATE the ride . . . But that's just me . . .

katamarankris · 24-10-2022, 18:34

I'll have an update on this in February/March when I finally take delivery.

The deposit is in the 50-100k USD range. Not 10k like one user mentioned.

I'm already familiar with the make/model of the boat so I don't need a sea trial for that reason. I just want my surveyor to be able to fully evaluate the condition of the boat (e.g. engines underway).

As one user pointed out, the language in the contract is probably how it is commonly written in France. Ultimately I am choosing to trust the broker to some extent. I think that a broker that tried to use the strict letter of the law to screw a buyer, instead of following the spirit of the contract, would at least damage his brokerage's reputation. Maybe I am naive, but I like to think that not everyone is an evil short-sighted bad actor. I know that I always consider my reputation when making decisions.

I'm in touch with the owner of the boat, and following the trip progress, and am not particularly stressed about this purchase so far.

I don't agree that there are "many" boats out there as some user's have said, as in my experience over the last months of searching, few catamarans have met my criteria.

I think it's common in threads on the internet for comments to become increasingly negative as the thread progresses. Is that true? If so, I wonder why that is. Even just for humans in general it's typical to see risk and problems. This is a necessity given to us by evolution I suppose. Which is okay, and useful really. So thanks everyone for your input so far.

That said, I choose to be brave and take a chance to trust the broker to act honorably (within reason) in order to get this specific boat that I want.

LeeV · 24-10-2022, 18:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by katamarankris

I'll have an update on this in February/March when I finally take delivery.

The deposit is in the 50-100k USD range. Not 10k like one user mentioned.

I'm already familiar with the make/model of the boat so I don't need a sea trial for that reason. I just want my surveyor to be able to fully evaluate the condition of the boat (e.g. engines underway).

As one user pointed out, the language in the contract is probably how it is commonly written in France. Ultimately I am choosing to trust the broker to some extent. I think that a broker that tried to use the strict letter of the law to screw a buyer, instead of following the spirit of the contract, would at least damage his brokerage's reputation. Maybe I am naive, but I like to think that not everyone is an evil short-sighted bad actor. I know that I always consider my reputation when making decisions.

I'm in touch with the owner of the boat, and following the trip progress, and am not particularly stressed about this purchase so far.

I don't agree that there are "many" boats out there as some user's have said, as in my experience over the last months of searching, few catamarans have met my criteria.

I think it's common in threads on the internet for comments to become increasingly negative as the thread progresses. Is that true? If so, I wonder why that is. Even just for humans in general it's typical to see risk and problems. This is a necessity given to us by evolution I suppose. Which is okay, and useful really. So thanks everyone for your input so far.

That said, I choose to be brave and take a chance to trust the broker to act honorably (within reason) in order to get this specific boat that I want.

Bravery has nothing to do with this. You made your decision initially and didn’t agree with any of the advice offered my more experienced owners. This is Risk, not bravery. If you’re lucky yor money won’t be wasted, and you’ll wid up with a boat you can live with.
Btw, there were many more boats posted this month than any of the last 8 that I’ve kept track of. Good luck.

LeeV · 24-10-2022, 19:17

Here’s an example of what’s beginning in the market; this is a as of today: https://www.catamarans.com/catamaran...est-Price-Cuts

Wishbone Too · 24-10-2022, 19:42

You're correct that things break on the boat on extended trips that may not make the boat un-seaworthy but still cost time and money to fix. I'm going through the process from Canada with a French seller and broker. I travelled to europe to see the boat and did sea trial. I even got to stay on the boat while I was there to reduce my costs. I tested and found a number of things the surveyor missed by spending time on the boat.

In my experience if there is no sea-trial there is no sale. Keep in mind though that I sent the (supposedly refundable) deposit before the sea trial. But you are not doing anything out of the ordinary.

katamarankris · 24-10-2022, 22:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeV

Bravery has nothing to do with this. You made your decision initially and didn’t agree with any of the advice offered my more experienced owners. This is Risk, not bravery. If you’re lucky yor money won’t be wasted, and you’ll wid up with a boat you can live with.
Btw, there were many more boats posted this month than any of the last 8 that I’ve kept track of. Good luck.

I did agree with some of the posts, and some of the posts seem to agree with me making this purchase.

As a result of this thread, a sea trial was added to the purchase agreement. Although not with my ideal legal language, sea trial is now in there along with surveying the boat before handoff in February/March.