Ori Underway

Misschien een open deur, maar de aankoop van een zeilboot kan op heel veel verschillende manieren verlopen. De aankoop van allebei onze zeilboten verliep verschillend, en ook tijdens onze zoektocht werd duidelijk dat verschillende mensen er verschillende manieren op na kunnen houden. Geen enkel probleem, zolang je van te voren probeert zo transparant mogelijk te zijn. Net als met elke andere grote aankoop waarvoor je ook nog eens flink in de buidel mag tasten, gaat de aankoop van een zeilboot vaak gepaard met flink wat eigen belang en emotionele waarde. Zeker als je ja net als ik snel hecht aan voertuigen, zoals zeilboten en auto’s (hoi Betty!). Mocht je twijfelen over het aanschaffen van een zeilboot, misschien dat onze ervaring je dan kan helpen! Dan heb je in ieder geval een beeld.

Ondanks dat tijdslijnen misschien uit elkaar kunnen lopen, komen een paar onderdelen vaak terug in dit proces:

Financiële situatie

Ieders financiële situatie is anders, maar de kosten van een zeilboot kunnen aardig uiteenlopen. Bolle kostte een paar duizend euro als 7.5 meter kajuitjacht. Ori, als 12.5 meter zeilboot om op te wonen, kostte ietsje meer. Bedragen die flink kunnen oplopen en soms heeft niet iedereen dit even op de plank liggen. Niets mis met wat hulp inschakelen van buitenaf. Betrouwbare financiële instellingen kunnen daarbij helpen. Mocht je van deze optie gebruik maken, bedenk dan dat dit toch 8 tot 15 werkdagen bij het proces kunnen optellen, wat neer kan komen op 2 tot 3 weken extra.

Voor de droom die wij hebben, hebben we voor de aankoop van onze boot jaren gespaard. We willen er op wonen, dus al het spaargeld dat we opzij hadden gezet voor een huis ging ons bootpotje in. Groot bedrag uiteindelijk, maar het is het helemaal waard!

De keuring

Een keuring is een groot onderdeel van het aankoopproces. Toch is een keuring geen standaard onderdeel bij elke boot. Voor Bolle hebben wij geen gebruik gemaakt van de keuring gezien de leeftijd, lengte en staat. Een keuring kan best prijzig zijn, zeker als je een goede keuring wilt laten uitvoeren. We hebben bij Bolle toen besloten het avontuur aan te gaan en te zien wat we zouden tegenkomen.

We knew in advance that an inspection of a sailboat like we were looking for would be mandatory, at least for us. We happily pay money for our peace of mind and for the expertise of others when we have to make such a big choice. As a condition on our bid for Ori, we added an inspection carried out by a HISWA expert. When the offer was accepted, we made an appointment for a day of inspection in Zeeland.

The expert comes to the boat in the morning with sandwiches and immediately starts tapping, measuring, asking questions and taking notes. Lars loved that and stayed with the expert all day with all his questions. The day includes a general inspection, viewing the underwater hull (i.e. having it hoisted) and doing a test sail. But with the weather on November 9, 2023, we only sailed onto the Oosterschelde for a while. Too much wind and rain to open the sail with confidence.

At the end of the day we received an overview of the sailboat’s defects and the expert’s advice. In the purchase contract, you write down what both parties will do if substantial defects are found during the inspection. These significant defects are determined by the expert, and advice is immediately given on how to resolve them. In theory, this can reduce disputes during the purchasing process. In practice you will probably always have a discussion.

At Ori, a defect emerged in the anchor box to which the anchor winch is attached. This is loose, causing water to enter the boat. Not so much that she immediately sinks, but enough to have caused some damage on the inside. We managed to handle this neatly through the contract by reducing the purchase price a bit for repairs.

Within a few working days, the expert provided us with an overview of all the major defects that we can properly resolve in the coming years. In the end this costs money (depending on the length of the sailboat, but for us this was about 1700 EUR including hoisting), a full day and a some discussion, but it was well worth it for two neurotics who like to know everything and can now go onto the Markermeer with peace of mind.

The purchase contract

During an earlier purchasing process last year, things broke down during contract negotiations. This time we decided to hire someone for this. A yacht broker who can help us draw up the contract and, as a third party, takes care of the financial transfer. A wonderful solution for us, because they also turned out to be a great source of advice and knowledge. The contract is drawn up under HISWA conditions, which are generally very standard conditions with little room for discussion. The only point we had to agree on was up to what amount the material defects would be treated.

We can recommend everyone to have a contract drawn up by a yacht broker. The costs in our case were approximately EUR 500 and for this we received an extensive contract, a registration check, an escrow account and a patient man who answered our many questions and provided us with a lot of advice. As soon as a third party arranges this, the selling and purchasing parties are part of it, instead of responsible. That position saves a lot of stress and decision-making.

The transfer

Once the inspection has been done, the contract has been signed and the deposit has been paid, it is time for the final step: The transfer! The most exciting step, we would say, during which you make sure the sailboat is delivered as agreed. Ori was located in Zeeland, so our key transfer was done on a Saturday morning in Zeeland. A strange realization when the old owners press a bunch of keys into your hands and then leave. We immediately arranged the insurance, because from that moment on we are responsible. There you are, on your recently purchased, much too large boat, which you now have to sail home.

How we sailed from Zeeland to Almere as you can read here!

The timeline

Once again it is important to emphasize that any boat purchasing process can be different. But it often helps us to read other people’s experiences, so that you can create a realistic picture. So here is our timeline:

We made an offer on October 17 and received the keys on November 19. The offer was accepted on October 18, financing was completed on November 1, the contract was signed and the down payment was made on November 4, the inspection was on November 8, and the official agreement was on November 15.

A golden tip for anyone who is going to buy sailing boats and ends up in such a process: try to estimate the steps you want to go through and the time involved. Expectation management can avoid a lot of discussion, irritation and misunderstanding for both parties. A lesson for us too, if we ever buy our next boat. For us, the financing took a little longer than expected, and if we had communicated this in advance, we would have been on the same page for a little longer. There can be 8 working days between the inspection and the inspection report, and also a week when creating the contract and any discussion.