Jeff was called to answer a question from a reader of Passagemaker Magazine about a faulty gauge that the reader had noticed during the sea trial phase of his trawler purchase. The boat broker and owner of the boat knew – but nothing was said. Had the reader not noticed, he would be purchasing a boat with known faults to everyone but him. What accountability does the broker have?

To this question and any other questions about disclosing information during a sale – Jeff will respond:

“If you know it – disclose it. That’s simple and fair.”

The age-old saying that honesty is the best policy holds true in every environment. It may not always please everyone involved or yield the best results, but there will never be a questionable thought about your ethics or transparency. For boat brokers, their career depends on disclosing any flaw that could affect the safety or value of a trawler, so honesty and having their client’s best interest in mind should be their policy.

Follow this link to read Jeff’s full response!

https://www.passagemaker.com/technical/09-21

With any large purchase comes an inspection stage to ensure the product you are spending your hard-earned money on is worth the price tag. You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it first, right? Well, the same should be true for buying a boat. Having a trusted surveyor aboard is necessary to complete the trial, but don’t leave it completely up to them to tell you everything. The sea trial and survey stage is YOUR chance as a future owner to see how the boat performs, and together you can catch any issues that may arise from running the systems.

A future trawler owner submitted a question to Passagemaker Magazine’s column, Ask the Experts, about the sea trial and survey phase of the buying process.  Jeff was asked to respond about the importance of the trial, and his answer was featured in the May/June issue.

Passagemaker Magazine has launched a new column called Work Bench, where they offer various tips and a Q&A section called “Ask the Experts” for readers to inquire about various trawler related topics and they will receive answers from seasoned trawler professionals.

Andrew Parkinson, Editor in Chief of Passagemaker Magazine, received a question from a reader about the specifics of selling a trawler in the winter when the trawler is stored out of water. Andrew called on Jeff to respond, and his answer was included in the March 2021 edition of Passagemaker.

So how do you handle a trawler transaction in the winter? Good question to ask, click below to see Jeff’s response.