Lost bill of sale

[Horsehorn]

So... in the process of cleaning out my boat ready to get it up for sale I 'may' have thrown away some of the paperwork including bill of sale. 

Any tips on how I can prove ownership? I can try and back track to the marina where's I bought it from six years ago to try and see if they have any copy, but wanted to see if there are other ideas!

Thanks

Lucy

[WotEver]

Yes you could try the seller from whom you purchased it but many buyers won't even ask. You're selling a boat, they give you the money, now it's their boat. After all, a bill of sale would hardly be a difficult thing to forge. 

[zenataomm]

Tell me what you want written on it and I'll knock one up for you.

After all they don't mean a thing.

[JJPHG]

You can complete a statutory declaration if you really want something official.  Will cost a bit to get it 'witnessed' by a solicitor or the like - when we last did this about 11 years ago (when we moved here) it cost about £25 from memory.

[Drayke]

Just go back to the company you brought the boat from, they should be able to supply you with a copy, but they may make a charge for it as they will need to search through their archives. If it was a private sale then you don’t stand much of a chance.

[Alan de Enfield]

Was it a 'proper' bill of sale registered with the MCA, BMF or, just a 'receipt' for your payment ?

 

The MCA Bill of sale is actually recorded onto the 'registry' at which point the title of the vessel is transferred.

[Chewbacka]

13 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Was it a 'proper' bill of sale registered with the MCA, BMF or, just a 'receipt' for your payment ?

 

The MCA Bill of sale is actually recorded onto the 'registry' at which point the title of the vessel is transferred.

If the boat is an inland waterways boat and does not go to other countries it almost certainly will not have a BoS recorded on the MCA register, which may help the op in her quest.  A few boats on the G&S canal are on the small ships register (SSR) but I don't think that records proof of ownership.

[Alan de Enfield]

16 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

If the boat is an inland waterways boat and does not go to other countries it almost certainly will not have a BoS recorded on the MCA register, which may help the op in her quest.  A few boats on the G&S canal are on the small ships register (SSR) but I don't think that records proof of ownership.

I was under the impression that a BMF broker recorded the sale using the BMF / RYA documentation.

[Chewbacka]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I was under the impression that a BMF broker recorded the sale using the BMF / RYA documentation.

Apologies, I thought you were only talking about the MCA ship register.

[Naughty Cal]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I was under the impression that a BMF broker recorded the sale using the BMF / RYA documentation.

They do, or should do anyway.

[koukouvagia]

Having just sold one of our boats the process is still very much in mind.

1. Although I had owned the boat for nearly thirty years, I had nothing formal to show that it was mine. However, I did have a large file containing invoices for all the work done on the boat since 1989 and many other relevant documents.  This I handed over to the buyer. There was also a recent hull survey and a Boat Safety Certificate and I made a detailed website and a comprehensive inventory of exactly what was included in the sale.

2. I had two pieces of paper – both cribbed off the internet.

(a) an Agreement to Sell. This outlined price, dates, arrangements for a survey, etc. etc. In fact, I simply spelt all this out verbally to the buyer whom I trusted.

(b) A Bill of Sale. This was a very simple document which again I adapted from one of the many examples to be found online. The crucial phrase was that the boat was mine to sell and was “free from all encumbrances”. I and the buyer signed this when the money had been deposited in my bank.

Remember that the moment you sell the boat, it is no longer insured in your name, even though there may still be several months to run. It is the responsibility of the buyer to have his/her own insurance in place.

I may have been lucky in having such a hassle-free sale. A diy approach certainly saved me a fortune in a broker’s commission.

Incidentally, when I sold the Seffle many years ago, it was simply a matter of a handshake whereupon the buyer handed over a carrier bag full of fivers.