Can I afford to buy a boat?
Well everybody can buy a boat. It’s just a matter of to what level of a boat you want to purchase. But you have to ask yourself some questions: do you have a budget? Also, why do you want to buy a boat? Do you want to day sail? Do you want to just kind of go out and relax? And that’s one of the criteria. Top
Can I borrow money to buy my new or used boat?
Buying a boat is no different from buying a house. It has indoor plumbing, it has full refrigeration, it has cooking facilities, it has full sleeping accommodations. So, in essence, you’re really buying a condo on the water. What does that means? Well, you can write off the interest as if it were a second home. It is considered a full-blown accommodation that can be written off. Now, you can finance a home for 30 year. On a sailboat, it’s from 5 to 20 years. The financing rates may be from a point to a point and half higher than on a home. Boat loan rates right now are at 5.99%, for example. And that varies. Now you can also have 1-year adjustable, 3-year adjustable-rate mortgages. Or you can do a Libor. Basically, you have the same options buying a boat as you do buying a house. Top
I already own a boat but want something newer or bigger. What are my options?
With most dealerships, you got two different programs. You’ve got what is a bonafide dealer or you have what are called brokerage boats. Those are individuals who want to sell their boats through a contract dealer such as Naos to handle the advertising and the paperwork and the processing. Now, with the brokerage boats, you can’t trade your current boat. However with the dealership, if you buy a boat owned by them whether it’s a trade-in or a new boat you now have the option to trade the current boat in and get the value of your current boat– if it’s paid for– at full value. If it’s not paid for then the difference between what you owe on the boat and what you get as a trade-in can be applied to your down payment. Top
You have monohulls and catamarans. How do I know what’s right for me?
This goes back to: why are you buying a boat? If you want a boat that is strictly for entertainment and family fun, then a catamaran would work for you. If you like to just go sailing and you’re going to go out there and want the adrenaline rush of keeling over and tacking hard, then a monohull could be fun for you. Each boat will bring the same set of results: entertaining? Yes. Sleeping? Yes. Living quarters? Yes. But it goes down to how you perceive yourself with the boat. Top
How do I know what is the right length of boat for me?
This is another thing you’d want to talk to us directly about. It depends on if you’ve sailed before, if this is your first boat and what you intend to do with it. Are you going to stay on the boat any length of time, maybe even live on it or do you just want to have fun and go to Catalina for the weekend? Now, a boat that is 37 to 45 foot is easier to handle than a boat that is 25 to 30. That’s right: the bigger the boat, the easier it is to handle; it cuts through the water better. Plus, those will have many more accommodations than on a small boat. We want you to feel the most comfortable when you’re on the boat, so we suggest you come in, look at a 34, a 37, maybe look at a 40 and a 43. If this is your first boat, look at it this way: each boat can be your stepping stone to the next. Top
O.K. so let’s say I buy a boat, where do I keep it?
Luckily, there are probably 12 to 14 marinas within Marina Del Rey. There’s plenty of available space. You’re going to be paying anywhere from $15-to-$20-a-foot for a slip based on the size of a boat that you’re getting and depending on the marina. We can help you with that fully. Top
Once I purchased a boat or make the initial payment. How soon can I sail on it?
If you take a boat in stock, it normally takes us about 3 weeks to commission it. If you order something special from the factory, it will take anywhere from 60 to 90 days. If you bought a boat today that was a brokerage boat and we surveyed it you could buy it this week and you’d be sailing it by the weekend or beginning of next week. So it’s just a matter of what you’re getting. Top
Aside from mooring, what are my other fixed costs?
There’s insurance to pay, which is roughly $100 a month for a new boat. You have monthly bottom maintenance and the normal wash downs, either weekly or bi-weekly. In California, there’s a 1 percent annual Use Tax to pay. Top
I hear I can make owning a boat less expensive by chartering it. How does that work? Do you recommend it?
Chartering a boat can quite advantageous. What you’re basically doing is asking the U.S. government and/or other individuals to help pay for your boat. You look at the fact that you have 365 days a year which you can use to go sailing. If you put your boat in a charter program and, let’s say, it goes out 75 days a year, you still have well over 275 days a year to use your boat. What you have to think about is that people will be using your boat and they may not care for the boat as well as you do. However, whenever revenue is generated through the charter program you get 60 percent of the revenue to be applied to what you owe on the boat. It’s a great opportunity for people who don’t the boat all the time to make some money to cover your overhead costs. Top
What makes you different from other boat brokers?
First of all, we’ve got the largest franchise boat in the country. Beneteau owns approximately 42 percent of the market. So, right off the bat you’re dealing with one of the most well thought of and well accepted sailboat lines in the entire marine industry. Secondly, the individuals that are involved with this dealership truly have a love for pure sailing. But our objective is that we want to take care of our people. We want them to have fun in a lifestyle that is centered on entertaining friends in the ocean and having a boat that will always bring you back home. Top
What kind of services do you offer once you’ve sold the boat? Is there someone who can look after her for me?
Probably, one of the most important things is that we’ll stick with you until you really have a grasp on the boat. If that means is that we have to go out with you at sea repeatedly and that’s what it’ll take for you to really understand the boat, we’ll do that. We’ll walk you through the boat on a final checklist that will take anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. We’ll pull up every board. We’ll show you where everything is a on the boat. So that when you are out there by yourself, you can know where the water manifold is, that where the battery switches are, this is how I turn on the water pressure, this is how I get the propane working. You’ll know how to do everything. And we also set up an optional concierge program. And that is dedicated to servicing the boat for you on a weekly basis. We’ll clean it we’ll detail it. You come back after a weekend and you want to get going, go home. Call us and say, “Hey, can you take care of that boat?” We’ll have someone down there to wash, clean, inside and outside and put it away for you. And there are different levels of concierge care. Top
I live far away from Marina Del Rey. Can you arrange shipment?
We’ll deliver the boat for you anywhere you like. Once the boat is here in Marina Del Rey, in most cases we’ll sail it wherever you need it, whether that’s in San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area or Hawaii. Or, if needed, we’ll have it shipped to you. Top
Are sailboats safe for my family? I don’t want my kids falling overboard.
Absolutely. They are totally safe. However, sometimes it’s good just to take lessons so that you know what to do in an emergency. All boats are certified with North American specs so you’ll know Top
I’m excited about buying my first boat and getting friends and family on it. I don’t need to take lessons right?
Well, we highly recommend taking lessons so that you become totally familiar with your boat. If you’ve had some sailing background then that won’t be a problem. But we’ll go through a whole series of “check-outs” so we make sure you know how to do everything and are comfortable doing them. Top
How am I going to learn to sail?
We’ll teach you the basics and get you comfortable and we can also set you up with a guy you can take 6 or 8 hours of lessons from. The most important thing is to make sure you’ll know the boat and we’re not really going to take. That’s not to say that you won’t have any questions. Top
