The yacht buying process...

Despite reading a ton of blogs, forum discussions etc there was very little by way of information to help illustrate the steps or the timeframes involved with buying a yacht / boat. Even less so when dealing abroad.

This is a quick post that may aid a future yacht buyer who is buying a vessel out side of their home country. These timings are my experience. Yours may be different.

1. See the vessel and make an offer (1 day)
2. Negotiate / Offer accepted (1 - 2 days)
3. Find and contact surveyors (2 days)
4. Survey vessel - in and out water and sea trial (1 full day - ours was split over 2 days though)
5. Await survey report (3 days)
6. Review survey and major cost items (1 day)
7. Renegotiate price if any major issues are identified (1 - 2 days)
8. Bill of Sale: This is where it is different for certain countries...For Americans buying from an American and going to register the vessel in the US, I recommend going through some one that does this sort of paperwork as it requires a Lien check and a specific Bill of Sale template and Coast Guard registration etc (to my knowledge)
9. A Lien check is always a good thing to do anyway. In the UK if a yacht has a mortgage it has to be listed on Part 1 of the Small Ships Register. In the US they have it listed with the Coast Guard I believe. Worth you checking with the marina / yard (and even chandleries) to make sure all the bills are up to date too. (3 - 5 days)
10. Once you are confident there are no Lien's you can get a Bill of Sale done. This part was trickier than you might think. There are various templates to chose from. No one template is more legal than the next. The US Coast Guard have a template (which has to be signed in front of a notary), the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) has one which requires a witness and there are a few others online.
11. Drafting up a Bill of Sale (.5 of a day)
12. Signing Bill of Sale (.5 of a day)
13. Transferring finances can be a long winded process due to money laundering regulations and limitations on internet banking transfers, international money transfers etc. A friend recommended using an Foreign Exchange currency service and boy am I glad I did. Transfer cash to FX house in your own country in your own currency (this can take a variable amount of time depending on your daily limits)  (3 days) 
14. FX house will transfer the funds on your say so and in a matter if hours the cash will be in the sellers account. (1 day)
15. Confirm payment with seller and get the keys to the castle!
16. But you are not done! You now need to register the vessel. If you are registering her in the US, as i mentioned before, best to get a professional to do this. I believe that this process can take weeks. In the UK if you have bought the vessel outright, you can register her on the Small Ships Register Part 1 (online) and then you await the delivery of your Certificate of Registration / Documentation (4 weeks to arrive).

You cannot exit / enter a foreign port without the Cert. of Registration (I believe), so you will need to wait until this comes before you are set forth on your adventures. 

What I would do differently next time:

1. Line up the funds with the FX House before we finalise the agreement on price.
2. Create an appendix of the yacht inventory and include it in the Bill of Sale to ensure that the yacht you see is the yacht you get. The seller we had was very honest and had removed all his personal belongings before we viewed, but sometimes a seller will strip a vessel of expensive items like tools and hand held electronics etc etc.