You CAN use an auction site or walk the Side of the Canal aided and abetted by The Internet . You can pay serious bread-loaves for thick coats of cheap paint and for what you can observe above the water line and. more importantly, was is below the water line. You can end up with a-sieve into which to pour all your hard-earned and start your life afloat in a load of shite that will drive you mad and cost you a small fortune.
Or!
You can use the Brokerage System, putting in the road miles and disappointments to get what you need rather than what you think you want
I had no option
Pentargon was with a Broker
To acquire something a broker is offering, you can't just call in a mate in or kick tyres.
Buying a boat is done on the same contract as would be used to purchase the Britannia
(or the Titanic ... come to think of it)
Brokers can be tedious; mine was a classic.
I found out later he had sold insurance and had only fallen into this line of business by marrying the boss's daughter.
Insurance is a great place to learn how to read small print without seeing the bigger picture.
Someone with an insurance background may be good at minding boats but not necessarily at selling them.
I took Mr. Broker completely off guard
by pointing at the boat and enquiring:-
"How much?"
He told me how much he wanted;
I asked him what he would accept.
He told me to make him an offer
... under contract! ...
with no back out clause!
Having a test drive was out of the question.
Starting the engine was a no-no.
You only get to drive a boat
you might want to buy
if you're very lucky.
SPOILER
May I point out that in a brokerage,
every boat belongs to a boater
and the broker is its custodian,
responsible under law
for the security of every boat e holds
To even look inside the boat, I had to prise the key from his clenched teeth and walk unaided to it. But, after a quick look round inside, things appeared promising. She matched most of the items on my "Wish List". But if I were to sign a contract, I would need to commit, de jure, to purchase without trial.
SURVEY
A "full' survey would cost around £650 (include £120 vat) in that and £250 for the boat to be hauled out.
Looking at a SPRINGER as I was, Mr.Broker said he would need an 'excess' on the haul out fee on the basis that he would have to employ 'extra gear'.
"because it has not got a flat bottom, you will need to hire our special cradle"
Hauling out then would be £400 vat inc. and the total bill would exceed £1000
This "excess" is a total load of horse-bollox but you don't know that so you pay up. 36ft Springers have a very shallow angle and can be treated as flat-bottomed. How could I have known that? I had come in off the sea and had been told that ALL canal boats have flat bottoms. Later, much later I would study the theory and practice of ... Sam's ... Springers ... TWO hyper-links here! ... Press the back button to return!
You can only have a boat surveyed at a
brokerage after you've made an offer in
writing on a legally watertight contract
subsequently accepted by the seller.
That is how the brokerage system works. Also, you must pay a 10% deposit and commit to purchase before a surveyor is allowed near the boat.
This is a good time to underline that a particular broker may have 'a mutual arrangement' with a particular surveyor. I know one yard where, if you want a surveyor who has no such 'arrangement', they require the survey to be done outside the marina, in the cut, in clear view!
Fat chance of getting at the only part which matters. The wetted hull. Watch yourselves
There are some right sharks in and around the soup. There is some VERY interesting small print in a "legally watertight contract"
if a survey shows up defects which can be 'fixed' within a contracted budget, fixing is done on the BUYER'S request by the SELLER or his 'AGENT' but at the BUYER'S expense. Guess who the 'AGENT' is!
The BROKER has the BUYER over a barrel. He calls on a few apes, pays them peanuts and gets some monkey work done, pockets the margins and MUGGINS pays wads of hot wonga ON TOP of the purchase price, for a boat which enters your life ropey and will pauperize you eventually unless its sinks first or blows up.
This was NOT applicable to my purchase but did happen to a previous owner of Pentargon and not when he bought it but while he owned it. Buyers come in all shapes, sizes and skills, sometimes with experience in sheet metal fabrication, plumbing, carpentry, engines, gearboxes, sign-writing, galvanic corrosion and the price of a piece of string. Luckily I have previous in all these.
If a boat should fail a marine survey under a legally binding marine contract because the faults cannot be put right for x% of an agreed price, the buyer can walk away.
But all you get back is your deposit.
You should be prepared to lose over £1000 for survey, slipping, slippage with nothing to show at the end of the day apart from a gaping hole in your wallet about the same size as a nice holiday for two in Madeira
... Pentargon FAILED on the 4mm rule ...
As of that moment, legally, it was junk
Or!
You can use the Brokerage System, putting in the road miles and disappointments to get what you need rather than what you think you want
I had no option
Pentargon was with a Broker
To acquire something a broker is offering, you can't just call in a mate in or kick tyres.
Buying a boat is done on the same contract as would be used to purchase the Britannia
(or the Titanic ... come to think of it)
Brokers can be tedious; mine was a classic.
I found out later he had sold insurance and had only fallen into this line of business by marrying the boss's daughter.
Insurance is a great place to learn how to read small print without seeing the bigger picture.
Someone with an insurance background may be good at minding boats but not necessarily at selling them.
I took Mr. Broker completely off guard
by pointing at the boat and enquiring:-
"How much?"
He told me how much he wanted;
I asked him what he would accept.
He told me to make him an offer
... under contract! ...
with no back out clause!
Having a test drive was out of the question.
Starting the engine was a no-no.
You only get to drive a boat
you might want to buy
if you're very lucky.
SPOILER
May I point out that in a brokerage,
every boat belongs to a boater
and the broker is its custodian,
responsible under law
for the security of every boat e holds
To even look inside the boat, I had to prise the key from his clenched teeth and walk unaided to it. But, after a quick look round inside, things appeared promising. She matched most of the items on my "Wish List". But if I were to sign a contract, I would need to commit, de jure, to purchase without trial.
SURVEY
A "full' survey would cost around £650 (include £120 vat) in that and £250 for the boat to be hauled out.
Looking at a SPRINGER as I was, Mr.Broker said he would need an 'excess' on the haul out fee on the basis that he would have to employ 'extra gear'.
"because it has not got a flat bottom, you will need to hire our special cradle"
Hauling out then would be £400 vat inc. and the total bill would exceed £1000
This "excess" is a total load of horse-bollox but you don't know that so you pay up. 36ft Springers have a very shallow angle and can be treated as flat-bottomed. How could I have known that? I had come in off the sea and had been told that ALL canal boats have flat bottoms. Later, much later I would study the theory and practice of ... Sam's ... Springers ... TWO hyper-links here! ... Press the back button to return!
You can only have a boat surveyed at a
brokerage after you've made an offer in
writing on a legally watertight contract
subsequently accepted by the seller.
That is how the brokerage system works. Also, you must pay a 10% deposit and commit to purchase before a surveyor is allowed near the boat.
This is a good time to underline that a particular broker may have 'a mutual arrangement' with a particular surveyor. I know one yard where, if you want a surveyor who has no such 'arrangement', they require the survey to be done outside the marina, in the cut, in clear view!
Fat chance of getting at the only part which matters. The wetted hull. Watch yourselves
There are some right sharks in and around the soup. There is some VERY interesting small print in a "legally watertight contract"
if a survey shows up defects which can be 'fixed' within a contracted budget, fixing is done on the BUYER'S request by the SELLER or his 'AGENT' but at the BUYER'S expense. Guess who the 'AGENT' is!
The BROKER has the BUYER over a barrel. He calls on a few apes, pays them peanuts and gets some monkey work done, pockets the margins and MUGGINS pays wads of hot wonga ON TOP of the purchase price, for a boat which enters your life ropey and will pauperize you eventually unless its sinks first or blows up.
This was NOT applicable to my purchase but did happen to a previous owner of Pentargon and not when he bought it but while he owned it. Buyers come in all shapes, sizes and skills, sometimes with experience in sheet metal fabrication, plumbing, carpentry, engines, gearboxes, sign-writing, galvanic corrosion and the price of a piece of string. Luckily I have previous in all these.
If a boat should fail a marine survey under a legally binding marine contract because the faults cannot be put right for x% of an agreed price, the buyer can walk away.
But all you get back is your deposit.
You should be prepared to lose over £1000 for survey, slipping, slippage with nothing to show at the end of the day apart from a gaping hole in your wallet about the same size as a nice holiday for two in Madeira
... Pentargon FAILED on the 4mm rule ...
As of that moment, legally, it was junk
