Why is boat evaluation important?

Establishing the monetary value for a boat is one of the most important and sometimes the most difficult aspects of dealing with pleasure boats, from the perspective of the seller but of course also for other parties such as buyers, brokers, insurers and marine surveyors.

As the potential seller of a boat or yacht, whether owned for pleasure or for fishing, and whether you plan to reinvest the proceeds of the sale into another boat or not, it is critical that you get the maximum used boat value from your vessel.

Even if you are buying, or trading in used boat for a new one, you should not let anyone fool you into believing that you should get anything but the best from the arrangement, and for this it is crucial that you manage appraise your boat correctly as a precursor to getting the best value out of it.

But doing this is easier said than done. Without adequate knowledge of boat values, without knowing about the current market situation (often influenced by season and location), chances are that you will end up less well off than you thought. There are possibilities that you will do a deal which might seem to you very profitable in the beginning, but that a few days later you might realize that you could have got a much better deal in the nautical transaction.

Therefore, the correct amount of forethought and organization is essential before finalizing any deal and for this, you have the option of either doing the evaluation yourself, or to hire a broker. Hiring a broker is the most straightforward solution, but it remains to be proven that the broker will earn his money's worth.

On the other hand, why should you hire a broker and spend money and time waiting for other peoples judgments to affect you? There is plenty of information available on industry publications and on websites, so if you have the option of doing the boat evaluation yourself, then why not do it?

What you have to do if you decide to follow the self-appraisal route is to check out as many resources that you can to approximate the value of your boat based on its mode, age, characteristics and state of repair, aiming at establishing realistic minimum and maximum price levels that you would realistically be able to sell the boat for.

Online or paper trade magazines are a very popular source to compare the min-max values of your boat with comparable objects - check out classifieds, journals, various yards and boat traders. You will find plenty of listings with prices, and if you look at various ads over time (in different issues) you will get an idea of how fast objects are selling, that is if the asking price was right.  

Also good are boating festivals, which are usually organized by boating clubs and yachting marinas. These shows are excellent to pick up more info on boat values, plus people who come to the shows are experts in this industry and know what they are talking about. Don't underestimate the value of a chat with the right person to accurately pinpoint the possible value of a boat - and you may even find a buyer! 

Lots of new makes and models are introduced in these festivals every year and so you Going to trade shows will also allow you to get an idea of current fashion. What is in fashion sells, and if you can add slight modifications to your vessel to make it look hotter, your boat's value will increase.