Guides for boat buyers

Is a boat a good investment?

The honest answer on boats as financial assets: how fast they depreciate, the rare exceptions that hold value, and how to buy in a way that minimises the loss.

The true cost of owning a boat

Insurance, mooring, maintenance, haul-out, rigging, sails, and electronics, category by category, with realistic annual figures for three common vessel types.

Boat buying mistakes to avoid

Nine mistakes with a price tag on each: buying on emotion at a boat show, skipping the survey, trusting the broker's description, ignoring engine hours, and more.

The used boat buying checklist: what to find out before you pay for a survey

The expensive mistakes in boat buying happen before the surveyor is ever instructed. Here is what to establish about any used boat, in order, before you spend a penny.

What to check before buying a used sailboat

Hull, keel, rigging, sails, engine, through-hulls, and electrics: every system has a finite lifespan and a known replacement cost, and the listing will not volunteer either figure.

What to check before buying a used powerboat

Transom rot, outdrive bellows, fuel tanks, wiring, and trailers: what to check before you commit your money, with realistic repair and replacement costs for each system.

Do I need a marine survey to buy a boat?

Yes, always. But the gap between what a survey can and cannot do for you is where expensive mistakes happen. What the survey covers, and what it was never designed to tell you.

How much does a marine survey cost?

Per-foot survey rates in the US, UK, and Europe, the extras nobody budgets for, haul-out to engine surveys, and the hidden cost of surveys on boats you never buy.

Global boat insurance in 2026: who insures, who declines, and what cannot be covered

The 2026 insurance landscape: which insurers lead each market, which vessels are becoming uninsurable, why multihulls are penalised, and which survey findings now trigger rejection.