Owning a boat

Buying a second-hand boat has its pitfalls. Boats are sometimes stolen and you need to ensure that you will be the legal owner before you buy. You should also make sure there is no outstanding secured finance on the boat or that it has not been in a major accident.

The history of the boat is very important - you don't want to end up buying something ready for salvage or that has already seen the bottom of the river.

Photo of old boat

Unlike a car there is not a legal registration document tracking the ownership of the boat. Amazingly unless you want to take your boat abroad there is no requirements to register your boat at all.

Buying a new or second-hand boat

If you are a first-time boat buyer it may be best to buy a second-hand boat before buying new. After you have spent some time living on a boat you will know what's important to you . There is always compromises to be made when buying a boat and the best design is a matter of personal choice

When buying new there is a wide choice of boat builders and boat fitters ready to meet your requirements. There are two basic parts to building a new boat:

Building the hull
fitting out of the boat's interior

Some boat builders will do both for you and others specialise in one part.