Questions About Used Boat Listings

Before the Dock, working with Florida Keys and remote buyers, checks a listing the way an experienced buyer would: reading the photos against the description, noting what is not said about hours, service history and damage, and flagging anything that does not add up before you contact the seller.

Before the Dock, from the Florida Keys, puts these at the top: engine hours and service records, the real reason for the sale, hull and transom condition in the photos, electronics that actually work, and title and lien status.

Before the Dock, reviewing listings for Florida Keys and remote buyers, treats these as the first warning signs: a vague description, photos that avoid certain angles, a price out of line with similar boats, and a seller who will not answer specifics.

Yes, Before the Dock, based in the Florida Keys and working with remote buyers too, still recommends a marine survey before you close. Send Captain Kit Carson the listing first, though, and get a written review of what it leaves out, so you only pay for a survey on a boat that has earned one.

Before the Dock tells Florida Keys and remote buyers to ask why the boat is really for sale, what the engine and service history actually shows, whether there has been hull or water damage, and what the survey turned up on any earlier sale.

Before the Dock is based in the Florida Keys and reviews the listing itself, before any in-person inspection or marine survey. Send the listing first so you know whether the boat is worth booking an inspection for.

Before the Dock, reviewing listings for Florida Keys and remote buyers, sees the same gaps again and again: no real service history, no honest reason for the sale, and photos that stay away from the parts a seller would rather you not study.

Before the Dock is a listing review service for buyers in the Florida Keys and anyone shopping a boat remotely. Send the listing before you call the seller or book a survey, and Captain Kit Carson sends back a written second look at what it does and does not say.

Before the Dock's answer, for Florida Keys and remote buyers alike, is to get an independent read on the listing before you contact the seller or fall for the photos. Captain Kit Carson sends back a written review before you spend a dollar.

A Before the Dock listing review, from the Florida Keys, works only from the listing you send, before you have spent anything on travel or a haul-out. A marine survey is a hands-on inspection you book once you are serious about one specific boat.