Whether you decide to buy a boat for adventure with friends or family or for your own passion of adventures or fish hunting, many things must be made clear in order to avoid inconveniences in the future regarding the ownership of the purchased boat.
Questions to Ask Oneself Before Buying a Boat
The following questions must be kept in consideration before deciding to purchase a boat:
- Is it Safe?
- Did I Consider the Worst Case Scenario?
- Am I Ready for Annual Maintenance?
- Which Boat is the Most Suitable for the Area?
- Can I Fix it if it Breaks?
- How can I Repair it in Multiple Circumstances?
- How Experienced am I Using a Boat?
Let’s now discuss them in detail:
Is it Safe?
Although, it is possible with any boat to have an accident or a harmful event due to some natural disasters or circumstances, before looking for a boat, it is highly important to make sure the type of boat that you want to buy is safe enough to travel or not. Purchasing the type of boat with not very good reputation is no less than a blunder as it can definitely put the lives of those traveling on it in danger.
Other than that, it is also important to confirm that the place from where you are about to make a purchase is worth trusting. This can be ensured by asking a number of people who already have made a purchase from them.
Did I Consider the Worst Case Scenario?
No matter how much you care about the safety of yourself as well as of the boat, there is always a probability of meeting an accident. Think of the “Titanic”, which was a huge project but unfortunately ended up with a heart wrenching incident. So, before making the decision to purchase any of the boats, be prepared to meet such circumstances. Think of the worst-case scenario and then decide on buying one.
Am I Ready for Annual Maintenance?
When you purchase the boat, it seems to be well prepared and easy to use in the beginning but everything you buy needs maintenance after a certain period of time. Similarly, the boats normally require annual maintenance in order for the purpose of keeping it clean, safe and reliable.
So, before making a purchase, the overall costs must be estimated or roughly calculated to avoid any financial surprises in the future. Mostly, ten percent of the actual amount of the boat is required per year as its maintenance cost.
Which Boat is the Most Suitable for the Area?
Different types of boats go well with environments or areas. For instance, some water areas are so deep that a small boat will not be a safe option for that. Similarly, there are some areas where there are frequent fluctuations in the climate and for such areas, the boats that can bear such inconsistencies are the most suitable rather than a simple and small dinghy boat. This is also done to make the traveling experience safer.
Can I Fix it if it Breaks?
The most common distressing event that can occur in a moving boat is the boat being broken. Even a small hole can get the people on it into a huge trouble as it can make the boat filled with water and this ultimately makes the boat sink. So, it must be made sure before making a purchase of the boat that the type you are about to purchase will allow successful repairing procedures. Otherwise, if it is difficult to handle such types of situations, it is highly discouraged to buy the boat.
How can I Repair it in Multiple Circumstances?
Sometimes the boat gets defected when it has been placed in an unsafe area for a longer duration of time. It is generally recommended to not let the boat be placed unused for the time period of more than two weeks because it is believed that its engine starts losing its originality and the fuel starts to break down. This can cause damage when the boat is again started after a long time.
Moreover, it happens more often during winters that a boat being placed at a certain time starts getting defected. So, it is important to first give it a thought that where will I place the boat during winters and if so, then for how long?
How Experienced am I Using a Boat?
Last but not the least, it is very important to consider one’s experience to sail the boat and make the purchase accordingly. If you are a beginner and do not have a lot of experience sailing boats and ships, you will probably decide on buying a small boat. But, if you are experienced enough to sail a larger boat, you will probably end up buying a larger boat.
But, it is obviously always important to consider the budget before making a purchase as larger boats that are reliable and of high quality are very costly.
The Bottom-Line
There is a list of numerous questions that the person should ask oneself before buying a boat like asking or thinking whether the boat sailing experience will be safe or not, the boat sailing experience that one has, the ability to afford the boat and the ability to repair any possible damages in future and the compatibility between the area and the type of boat. Moreover, the worst-case scenario must be kept in consideration before making a purchase.
