Selling a second-hand boat has its pitfalls. To help you protect your legal rights and be aware of some of the common issues Noble Marine have produced this guide to selling a boat. Please note that we have only addressed the legal aspects of the subject and have not addressed the different methods of advertising your boat.
Advertise your boat online
The Noble Marine boats for sale database contains thousands of boats for sale and includes descriptions and detailed photos.
The only legal terms that cover a private sale contract are:
the seller must have the right to sell the craft
the craft should not be misrepresented
it should match its description
The increasing use of the Internet for boat sales in recent years has seen a large increase in the number of fraudsters contacting the people advertising boats.
If you receive an email from a potential buyer ask yourself if they sound genuine. Most people will be able spot spam emails by the broken English and poor grammar they use - fraudulent emails are no different.
The emails detailed at the end of this article were received in response to a recent advert selling an RS200, we have removed the names for security reasons.
In these cases the buyer will eventually email offering to transfer a much higher sum of money than the value of the boat into the sellers account and stating that they will send a representative to collect the boat. Of course the seller would then need to reimburse the additional money paid by the buyer.
The end result of these types of scams is that the buyer's cheque appears to clear and then bounces leaving the seller out of pocket by the amount they refunded to the buyer and with no boat. The fraudsters are usually based abroad so it is very difficult to recover any compensation from them.
When the sale is complete you should always draw up a sellers contract so that each party can sign and keep a copy as proof of sale.
Don't let anyone take your boat away until you're satisfied that you've been paid in full.
Cash is always the best way to be paid.
If you are given a personal or building society cheque, wait for it to clear in your bank before you hand the craft to the buyer.
Noble Marine have prepared a sample sellers contract for use in private boat sales. It is always important to keep the proof of sale and the new owners details - you may need to contact the buyer in the future.
Patrick Altoft is an insurance expert with Noble Marine a specialist UK insurance broker providing boat insurance for most types of pleasure craft. Policies and claims are dealt with in-house, by knowledgeable staff, giving unequalled levels of service.
Guide to buying a boat 
