How to buy a used boat in California
A summary of the CYBA’s guide to buying a previously owned boat — what to ask first, what a boat really costs, and how the offer, the survey and the closing work. The full guide is free to download.
Know what you’re looking for
The guide starts with the questions to ask yourself: where you’ll do your boating, what kind — fishing, cruising, entertaining, sailing or racing — how many people will be aboard and how often, where you’ll keep her, and what your budget really is.
It is just as direct about cost. Beyond the price and the sales or use tax come the survey and haul-out before you buy, the improvements that make her yours after, and the recurring bills: washing and waxing, hull cleaning and bottom paint, insurance, slip rent, maintenance and repairs.
For financing, it puts a typical down payment at 20% of the price and loan terms at 10 to 20 years — and notes that pre-approval shows a seller you can afford the boat.
Choose carefully, and get it in writing
Weigh the whole boat
Price, quality, condition, age, options, equipment and location all need weighing before an offer. A “project boat” with deferred maintenance can add substantially to the total cost — which is why most buyers prefer a well-maintained “turnkey” boat, and why the guide warns against buying sight unseen.Be wary of private sales
Buying straight from an owner leaves the hard questions to you: who writes the contract, who holds the deposit, whether the title is clear, who transfers ownership and who settles a dispute. The guide’s advice is “buyer beware.”Work with a licensed broker
California yacht brokers pass a state licensing exam, are bonded, secure deposits in bank trust accounts, and answer to the state’s Division of Boating and Waterways. Their fiduciary duty lies with you.Put the offer in writing
An offer is a signed Purchase Agreement: the price; the deposit — held in the broker’s trust account and refundable if your contingencies aren’t met, less any expenses you authorize; the trial-run and survey deadlines; and the dates the transaction closes.
Trial run, survey, keys
The trial run
With the offer accepted and financing in place, you take her out: how she performs on the water, and how her systems work under way.The marine survey
Hire an independent surveyor you select yourself, approved by your lender and insurer. She is inspected in and out of the water, and you get a written report on her condition and value — with a mechanical inspection, and a rig survey for a sailboat, strongly recommended. California has no occupational licensing for marine surveyors; the guide points to SAMS and NAMS.Who pays for what
You pay to evaluate the boat — the surveyors and the yard — whether or not you buy her. Brokers are paid out of the selling price; you don’t pay for their representation separately.Closing
Final acceptance, the bill of sale or title signed over, funds distributed, your insurance in place, registration or documentation transferred — then the keys, and a final statement of every charge and credit.
Purchasing a Used Boat in California
The guide’s own credits thank Nick Friedman of The Shoreline Yacht Group — with Jeff Merrill of Jeff Merrill Yacht Sales and the CYBA’s board of directors — for its rewrite and update.
Have a broker in your corner
We can take you through every step in the guide — on the boat you actually want.