The Complete Boat-Selling & Buying Guide

1. Before you list

A clean, honestly-described listing sells faster and attracts serious buyers instead of tire-kickers and scammers.

• Price it with real data. Check recent sold prices for your make/model/year and condition — not just asking prices. Online valuation guides (NADA/JD Power, BUC) give a baseline; your boat's hours, electronics, and maintenance history move it up or down.
• Gather your paperwork now. Title or USCG Certificate of Documentation, current registration, the HIN (hull identification number), maintenance and service records, and — if you still owe money — your lender's details.
• Shoot great photos. Clean the boat, shoot in daylight, and include the engine(s), helm, cabin, hull, and any wear. Honesty in photos prevents wasted survey trips and renegotiations.
• Know your payoff. If there's a loan, call the lender for your current balance. You'll need a formal payoff later, but knowing it now tells you your equity — or whether you're underwater.

2. The two kinds of buyers: cash vs. financed

Every offer you get is essentially one of two deals. Knowing the difference up front sets your expectations on speed, paperwork, and who controls the money.

3. Selling to a cash buyer

1. Agree on price and put it in writing. Sign a purchase & sale agreement stating the price, deposit, who holds the deposit, the survey/sea-trial contingency, the acceptance deadline, and the closing date.
2. Take a deposit — into a neutral account, not your pocket. ~10% is the industry norm. Use an attorney trust account, a marine title/closing company, or a recognized escrow service. A deposit straight to the seller offers the buyer no protection and is a scam pattern.
3. Let the buyer survey and sea-trial the boat. The buyer hires and pays an accredited surveyor (see §5). Give reasonable access and your maintenance records.
4. Get written acceptance (or renegotiate). By the contingency deadline the buyer accepts as-is, asks for a price/repair adjustment, or walks (deposit refunded per the contract).
5. Prove clear title before money moves. For a documented vessel the buyer should pull a USCG Abstract of Title; for a state-titled boat, a state lien check. If you have a loan, get a written payoff.
6. Close with a simultaneous, verified swap. Signed title + bill of sale change hands at the exact moment you receive guaranteed funds — a cashier's check verified in person at the issuing bank, or a wire to an escrow/title company.
7. Transfer registration/title and hand over the keys. The buyer files for a new title/registration (within 30 days in Florida — see §7).

4. Selling to a financed buyer (marine loan)

Marine loans aren't car loans — they run longer (often 10–20 years), and lenders almost always require a survey and a clear title before funding. A third party (the lender) now controls the money, so the timeline stretches and there are more hoops. Here's how it works from both sides.

What the buyer does

• Gets pre-approved (a soft credit pull), then completes underwriting with tax returns, asset statements, the signed purchase agreement, and the survey report.
• The lender lends against the lower of the price and the book/appraised value, informed by the survey — so a survey that flags problems can shrink the loan.
• At closing the lender funds directly — it pays the seller (and any existing lienholder), not the buyer.

What you do as the seller

1. Get your exact payoff (if you still owe). Ask your lender for a written payoff good for ~10 days, plus the per-day interest. Compare it to your price to see your equity.
2. Accept the offer and its contingencies. A financed offer is contingent on survey, sea trial, clear title, and loan approval — and the closing runs on the buyer's lender's schedule.
3. Cooperate with the survey and the lender. Make the boat available; provide a copy of the title and proof you can convey clear title.
4. Coordinate a simultaneous payoff. Give the closing agent your written payoff and lienholder wire details so the buyer's loan funds pay your lender first and directly. If you owe more than the boat sells for, you must bring the shortfall in cash — no lender releases a lien for a partial payoff.
5. Sign (and notarize) the bill of sale and transfer documents. Don't hand over the boat until funding is confirmed.
6. Get paid and confirm the lien release. The lender disburses (usually 1–2 business days after paperwork is in); your old lienholder issues a Satisfaction of Mortgage / lien release, and you receive your equity.

5. The marine survey & sea trial

A pre-purchase Condition & Value (C&V) survey by an accredited surveyor is a buyer's single best protection — and lenders and insurers usually require it on a used boat. As a seller, welcome it: a clean survey closes the deal.

• Use an accredited surveyor — SAMS (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors) or NAMS (National Association of Marine Surveyors). The buyer should hire their own surveyor, never one referred by the seller.
• Three phases: (1) a dockside/in-water systems check, (2) a haul-out to inspect the hull, keel, rudder, prop, shaft and through-hulls, and (3) a sea trial running the engine under load.
• Who pays: the buyer pays for the survey, the haul-out, and sea-trial fuel, and should attend to learn the boat. Budget roughly $20–$35 per foot for the survey plus separate haul-out/lift fees (figures vary by region, size and surveyor — get a written quote).

6. Escrow & getting paid safely

This is where real money is lost — to fraud, not to bad boats. Treat the payment step with the same care as the boat itself.

Where the money should sit

A true escrow holds both the buyer's funds and the seller's transfer documents under written instructions, and the neutral agent can't release either until all conditions are met. For boats, use a marine/vessel documentation service, a marine title & escrow company, or a maritime attorney's trust account — people who actually understand vessel title. For a small, car-priced boat, a careful in-person closing at the issuing bank can be enough.

How to pay / get paid

• Use guaranteed funds: a cashier's check verified in person at the issuing bank, or a confirmed bank wire to an escrow/title company.
• Verify wire instructions by phone using a number you look up yourself — never a number or link from the email. Treat any "updated" or "changed" wire instructions as fraud until proven otherwise.
• Avoid scammer-preferred rails for a large sale: personal checks, money orders, gift cards, crypto, or app payments (Zelle/Venmo) from strangers.

7. Title, bill of sale & Florida paperwork

There is no single "yacht governing body." In Florida, authority is split three ways:

• FLHSMV (Dept. of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles) — vessel titling and registration, under Chapter 328, Florida Statutes. You don't deal with them directly: you file at your local County Tax Collector (or a licensed tag agent), who acts as their agent and collects the tax.
• FWC (Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission) — on-the-water enforcement, boating safety, and derelict vessels (not routine transfers).
• U.S. Coast Guard / NVDC — federal documentation for larger vessels (see §8).

How a state-titled sale transfers

1. Seller signs over the title. Complete the "Transfer of Title by Seller" / assignment section on the existing Florida title — sign as seller, enter the selling price, date, and the buyer's name and address. If owners are joined by "and," all must sign; if "or," any one may.
2. Execute a bill of sale. Florida's form is HSMV 82050 (Notice of Sale and/or Bill of Sale): HIN, year/make/model, color, price, both parties' names/addresses/signatures, and the date. (You can also use our free bill of sale in addition.)
3. Buyer applies for title. The buyer files HSMV 82040-VS (Application for Certificate of Vessel Title — mandatory for vessels since July 1, 2023).
4. Within 30 days, the buyer titles & registers at the County Tax Collector with the signed title, HSMV 82040-VS, bill of sale, photo ID and any lien release — and pays the tax and fees. Operating an untitled/unregistered vessel after 30 days is a second-degree misdemeanor.

Florida sales / use tax (the buyer pays at titling)

• 6% Florida state tax on the full purchase price, plus a county discretionary surtax that applies to only the first $5,000 of the price.
• The total tax on any single boat is capped at $18,000 (in effect since July 1, 2010) — which is why Florida is attractive for high-value yachts.
• In a private sale, the County Tax Collector collects the tax when the buyer applies for title. A boat brought in from out of state owes use tax in the state where it's kept.

8. Coast-Guard-documented yachts (5+ net tons)

A vessel of at least 5 net tons (a volume measure — roughly 25–26 ft and up, not a weight) owned by a U.S. citizen is eligible for federal documentation instead of a state title. Recreational vessels may document voluntarily; vessels in coastwise trade or fisheries generally must.

• A documented vessel is exempt from Florida titling — but still must be registered (decals) to use Florida waters.
• Transfer: a (notarized) bill of sale is recorded with the NVDC, and the buyer applies for a new Certificate of Documentation (governed by 46 CFR Part 67).
• Lien check: order a USCG Abstract of Title from the NVDC — it shows the full ownership chain plus any Preferred Ship Mortgage or recorded lien. Always pull one before buying a documented boat.

9. Buying a boat safely

The buyer's job is to verify three things before any real money moves: the boat (survey), the title (clear and lien-free), and the payment channel (a neutral escrow you chose).

1. Make your offer contingent on a satisfactory survey, sea trial, and clear title — with the deposit in escrow and refundable if you reject the boat in the window. Use the free purchase agreement.
2. Hire your own accredited surveyor (SAMS/NAMS) — never the seller's referral — and attend the survey and sea trial.
3. Verify identity and history. Match the seller's ID to the name on the title, record the HIN, and check it against state titling, USCG documentation status, the NICB (total-loss/theft), and a commercial HIN/lien report. Beware unexplained rapid state-to-state moves (title washing).
4. Confirm clear title / no liens yourself — don't rely on a seller's word or a seller-supplied abstract. Require a lien payoff/release in writing if there was a loan.
5. Pay through a neutral, independently-chosen escrow or maritime attorney's trust account. Never use an "escrow" or "shipping" site the seller sent you. Never buy a boat you (or your surveyor) haven't physically inspected.
6. Title & register promptly (within 30 days in Florida) and budget for sales/use tax in the state where you'll keep the boat.

10. Red flags & scams (both sides)

11. The free contract template

We built a free, plain-language Boat Purchase & Sale Agreement and Bill of Sale you can fill in, print, or download. It includes the clauses that actually protect a by-owner deal — deposit and escrow, the survey/sea-trial contingency and acceptance deadline, an as-is sale with a seller's title warranty free of liens, cost allocation, default/deposit terms, an equipment inventory, and signature blocks.

12. Frequently asked questions

Important: This guide is general educational information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it is not affiliated with FLHSMV, the U.S. Coast Guard, the IYBA, or any government body. Vessel titling, lien, and tax rules vary by state and for Coast-Guard-documented vessels, and figures change over time. For a high-value, financed, foreign-flag, or documented vessel — or any deal you're unsure about — consult a maritime attorney and confirm current requirements with the relevant state agency before you sign or send money.