Contracts & Surveyors

Having paid our deposit, it was necessary to sign a contract. We had seen a variety of different contracts from builders in our search and a variety of terms - there didn't appear to be an industry standard even though the British Marine Federation provide a model contract.

Darren's proposals regarding the payment schedule were fine. We paid £1,000 deposit, then about 35% when the shell went in the water, including the engine mounted - which was when the boat would become ours - 35% when the line out was complete with the bulkheads in and the final payment once the boat was complete. (Update: we agreed a variation to this with Darren at a later date - we would not pay the final £5,000 until after the boat was complete and we had had her for a couple of weeks)

A simple contract was proposed but we really didn't feel that it was strong enough to protect us or Darren. Suppose we used the boat as collateral for a loan and defaulted on it after we had made the first stage payment and then didn't pay the second stage payment. Well, the loan company would take the boat, the builder wouldn't get his money and wouldn't have the boat.

Looked at from our side, what happened if the work wasn't done to a satisfactory standard? How would we know?

So I got a copy of that model from BMF. This is said to be even handed between builder and client but to our reading it wasn't, it favoured the builder. However, it did show us how we could protect ourselves against sub-standard work - employ a marine surveyor and have provisions which said payments were only made once the work had been inspected and approved.

Working with Darren, we came up with a (lengthy) contract which we believe is fair to both parties and gives the necessary protections. The sort of things included are:
We can't use the boat as collateral for a loan, unless that loan is to buy the boat
We can appoint a surveyor to review the work once completed at each stage payment point and approve it before payment is made. If the work isn't done to standard, then payment is deferred until the problems are rectified.

If we don't make the 2nd stage payment or the final payment, then the builder can sell the boat and take the proceeds (but only up to the value of the work done and unpaid - any excess comes to us). Provisions include how the value of the work done at any stage is determined plus restrictions on who could buy the boat - so that it can't be sold at a knock down price to family, etc of the builder. There is also a Dispute Resolution Procedure put there in case we all fall out. Finally, there is a detailed specification.
Obviously, we all hope that none of the 'disaster' provisions will be needed and that the whole build will be an enjoyable process for all concerned.

So that was the contract in place, but now we needed a surveyor. BWB publish a list of marine surveyors which can be downloaded from their website - it is usefully divided up by regions. So, printed it off, looked for surveyors around the Birmingham/Rugby area and hit the phones. Left quite a few messages on answerphones which were never returned and came across some very different attitudes from the people I spoke to. One of the first surveyors I spoke to wanted 10% of the build cost, would not normally even consider taking on a client who had had the temerity to find a builder without assistance and where he hadn't drawn up the boat design & spec. Needless to say, we didn't appoint him!

Our surveyor is Paul Smith of Narrowboat Surveys Ltd. He was prepared to take time talking to me and making some helpful suggestions even without the promise of the contract. Plus the fee he quoted seemed reasonable to us.

Well, now we had a boat builder, a contract and a surveyor - it's just a matter of sitting back and waiting for the boat to be delivered.

A plea for caution

Since September 2003 we have been in touch with a number of other people who are having boats built by other builders and have heard some real horror stories. One couple I spoke with had paid virtually the whole of their build price before their shell was even started and the shell fabricator kept on pushing their build slot back - a credit check on their builder revealed he was virtually insolvent. Another horror story involved someone who's builder just decided to pack up without completing the boat because he wasn't making enough money on the build.

If you are reading this site for background information prior to having a boat built, please take a good long look at the contract and make sure that you don't have to hand over lots of hard earned cash without making sure that you get ownership of the boat, make sure you have staged payments and that there is a fair chunk of money due at the very end of the build so that your builder has an incentive to keep going!

In December 2004, I came across an article on a canal website about a couple who commissioned a boat and had an absolutely disasterous experience - ending up having to go to Court and get the bailiffs in after about 3 years of trying to get the problems resolved. Unfortunately the article is no longer available - it was an extremely cautionary tale.

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