Buyers shortlist on photographs and decide in person. A day of preparation is worth more than any amount of advertising.
A buyer scrolling a list of boats gives each one a second or two. The photographs decide whether yours makes the shortlist, and the viewing decides whether it sells. Both reward the same thing: a boat that looks cared for.
Empty the boat before you photograph it
Take off everything that is not part of the sale — the fenders piled in the cockpit, the folding chairs, the spare warps, the personal kit in the lockers. Clutter reads as neglect in a photograph, and a stripped boat looks larger. Open the lockers you want a buyer to look in and clean them out too; a buyer will open them anyway.
Shoot in the right light
- Early morning or late afternoon. Midday sun blows out the topsides and fills the cockpit with hard shadow.
- Dry, and out of the rain. A wet deck photographs grey.
- Afloat if you can. A boat in a cradle with the props exposed is useful as a hull-condition shot, but it should not be the lead image.
- Landscape orientation. Listing pages are wider than they are tall, and a portrait photo is displayed small.
Take the shots buyers look for
A full set answers questions before they are asked, which is exactly what you want — every question you leave open is a reason to move on to the next boat. Aim for: a bow-quarter view of the whole boat, the opposite quarter, the cockpit, the helm, the saloon, each cabin, the heads, the galley, the engine, and the hull. Photograph any known defect too. A buyer who finds it themselves at the viewing wonders what else you did not mention.
Prepare for the viewing itself
Air the boat out well beforehand — damp is the fastest way to lose a sale, and you will have stopped noticing it. Run the engine before they arrive so it starts on the button, but be ready to start it cold if they ask, because a serious buyer will. Have the paperwork out on the saloon table: registration, service records, survey history, VAT documentation, and the receipts for recent work.
Let the boat do the talking
Show them aboard, point out where things are, then give them room. Buyers need to picture themselves using the boat, and that is difficult with the owner narrating. Answer what you are asked, straightforwardly, including about the things that need doing. Honesty about a tired sail costs less than the trust you lose when a surveyor finds it later.
