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Old 03-30-2015, 06:19 AM   #36
GregBrannon
Guru
 
City: Solomons, MD
Vessel Name: Branwen
Vessel Model: Hatteras 48 LRC
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 645
And she's all mine!

When the sellers and I wrote up the Sales/Purchase Agreement after they'd accepted my initial offer, we set the end of March as the date the deal had to be done, a short 5 weeks and 4 days later. I assumed there was some flexibility in that date, because we just guessed at a reasonable date and all agreed that we didn't really know what was reasonable. Even so, the Agreement said what it said, and I worked very hard to comply. Technically, if the owners wanted, and the deal hadn't completed by that date, they could take my deposit and walk away. I don't think that would have happened, but I sure wasn't going to let it be an option, if I could help it.

As it turned out, it took EXACTLY 5 weeks to complete the deal. The paperwork transferring ownership and legally documenting the boat's new status is still making the rounds for signatures, but it should be all signed and filed with the right agencies within a day or two. The owners have been great to work with, and I've done my best to treat them in kind.

In the final weeks of the deal, I submitted several insurance applications and settled on the best of the resulting responses. I'll write later - possibly in my blog, currently in its infancy - about the lessons I learned there, but I'll summarize here with a plug for Peter Ricks of Anchor Marine Underwriters. I learned there's no substitute for working the details with a live body. Peter was accessible and responsive throughout the entire process, and I'm confident that his efforts to tailor the policy to precisely what I needed, coupled with his knowledge of the industry, resulted in a policy with the coverage I need at a price I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. The same result MAY have been possible through some of the big online storefronts, but the effort and time required to get there would not have been reasonable. A couple of those agencies told me flat out that they were limited in what they could provide due to the age of the boat, my experience, or both. I got no such nonsense from Peter. If there were limitations, he worked with them or around them rather than presenting them to me as obstacles. I can't say enough about the experience and Peter's contribution to the successful conclusion. If you're in the market for a new policy or renewal, start there.

I was also able to arrange a covered slip at the boat's new home on the Chesapeake. I feel luckier to have found the slip than the boat, but that's due to my inexperience with such things. The timing couldn't have been much better - and that was purely accidental - because most of the marinas around here renew their agreements May 1st.

What's next? The boat is headed to a nearby marina to catch up some deferred maintenance items before making the journey home. I've engaged the experts needed and am waiting for estimates to get the work done. I'm planning to meet with the POs over a weekend in about a month to get a pass down on the operation of every system on the boat. I'll enjoy visiting with them and getting more details of their adventures with the boat and what they know of its history in a completely different context.

There will be lots more to share as the adventure continues. Be well.
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