Buying a boat: the sea trial checklist
When buying a boat, most people understand the need for a survey and an engineer's report but few are quite so clear about the sea trial. After all, while marine surveys are carried out by seasoned experts, the sea trial is more often conducted by the prospective buyer, during a trip out on the water with the seller. Boats can be complex pieces of equipment and your sea trial time is often very short so it can be tough to formulate a relevant checklist, to ask the most pertinent questions and to add any real clarity to your campaign to buy the right yacht. Clearly then, to get the best out of it, you need to be properly versed on what your sea trial is designed to achieve.
Buying a boat: what is a sea trial?
A sea trial is not a pleasure cruise. For some, it is a short trip to help a potential buyer achieve final verification that every practical element is as it should be - and for others, it is a chance to rubber stamp the professional evidence of your survey and marine engineer's report with your own subjective impressions. That's why it's so important that finalising the deal and settling any balance should remain dependent upon the satisfactory completion of a sea trial. And that's also why you need to make it plain at the outset that your sea trial is about subjective satisfaction as well as technical fidelity. Only by this means can you be certain of buying a yacht that dovetails with your lifestyle and makes you and your crew feel confident and comfortable.
Buying a boat: sea trial imperatives
By the time you embark on a sea trial, you should already know that the boat's basic features (the style, price, performance, layout and specifications) tally with the way you like to go boating. You should also have conducted all necessary shoreside inspections. That means that when you step on board for your time on the water, you can attend directly to the things that matter.
Once on board, you should do everything you can to recreate a regular day out. So take your regular crew along to act as additional eyes and to make sure they feel as good about the boat as you do. Sit in every seat, stand in every space and make your way from zone to zone and deck to deck. Does it feel safe and reassuring at sea? Are the external seats usable underway? Is your crew comfortable and secure negotiating the wet bow, navigating the side decks or heading up to the flybridge? Are they happy with the noise levels, visibility, seating positions and ease of movement? Whether you choose to take a marine professional with you on the day or not, these are the key subjective impressions that will help define whether it's a boat you can really enjoy.
The five-point sea trial checklist
Security and protection. Make your way forward and aft, up and down, inside and out. Are the walkways clear, are the gunwales sufficiently deep and are the handholds well positioned? Do you and your crew feel safe and secure underway? And does it afford you sufficient protection from the elements to enjoy the external parts of the boat?
Refinement. Sit in the places you would use on a day out and operate the boat at the speeds you would want from a cruise. Can you conduct a conversation without raising your voice? Check out the vibrations throughout the boat and make sure you take a look at the aft deck too.
Visibility. When you're underway, the attitude of the boat changes. Does it run flat? Does it retain the all-round visibility you enjoyed so much alongside? To what degree is visibility compromised as you make the transition to the plane or execute a turn?
Manoeuvrability. Don't forget to have a go at close-quarters manoeuvring. How does she handle in the confines of a marina? Think about the off-plane tracking and the impact of windage and check out the effectiveness of any driver aids like joystick control or thrusters. Does it offer the control you need for comfortable close-quarters operation? Does it have the ease of access to the side decks you might want for singlehanded operation?
Handling and performance. Conditions (and seller) permitting, try to put the boat at every angle to the swells. Play with the trim and the tabs, the pace and the angles, to assess how fast, how comfortable, how dry and how composed the boat is in each situation.
Our new and pre-owned Princess yachts
At Princess Motor Yacht Sales, both our new, brokerage and pre-owned 'Princess Approved' craft are among the most rewarding and confidence-inspiring yacht purchases you can make. With our pre-owned yachts, we have a fastidious approval process in place, encompassing a certified independent yacht survey and sea trial. Specifically, with our Princess Approved crafts, we carry out a rigorous 280-point check, plus an extendable 12-month insurance-backed guarantee, covering all mechanical and electrical components, wherever your boat happens to be berthed.
Meanwhile, our new yachts are delivered direct from the Princess Yachts factory where they undergo rigorous testing and a sea trial in a mixture of sea conditions. Plus, you can rest in the knowledge that the yacht is brand new and therefore completely yours.