Maintenance Log

D

Doc

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What are the pros and cons of showing your maintenance log (if you keep one) to prospective buyers of your boat?

I'll start:

Pros:

1. It will show that you have been conscientious about the care of you boat.

2. It will be a good record of what has been done and when it was done.

Cons:

1. If you don't keep one he'll wonder why.

2. If you do keep one maybe it could come back and bite you on the ass someday.

3. If you include the prices for materials and labor it may scare some people away when they see how much it really costs to maintain a boat.

I keep a very detailed log. The PO (a lawyer) did not. When I asked for it he said that he had the boat maintained when it needed it. I did not get a warm fuzzy with that answer. Fortunately, I had a good surveyor which may be all you need.
 
A log book is good for the present owner. If you trust the previous owner, it's a good reference guide. I can't recall how many arse whoopings were delivered on my last ship for sailors faking maintenance logs.
 
IMO todays buyer is usually inexperienced. They don't often know much and get a lot of scary info from the web. showing a log is just another way to give them more to obsess about. Keep a clean ER, everything working and eliminate smells so the maintenance is obvious and a log adds nothing.
 
I think keeping a log is good, wish I was that organized.:(
I keep receipts, stuff I ordered online or picked up locally. IMHO, anyone can fake a log, to believe it is true, receipts are good. If you have a log, even without receipts, I see no con. Things always happen on a boat and a record of what was done (big or small) shows the owner took care of things. If your a buyer, without receipts, there is not any proof of the log is real.
 
"IMO todays buyer is usually inexperienced."

I think Bruce is exactly right 90 % of the time nowadays. Unfortunately most buyers do not know what most things mean in a log nor there significance to the future of their prospective purchase.
I have kept detailed logs on my boats and I doubt anyone could fake them in there detail of there content. Each trip is logged by date as well as each gallon of fuel added and to which tank. You can then overlay the maintenance log contained in a spreadsheet by dates and see when which parts/fluids/checks/and adjustments were made. On that spread sheet there are normally hidden columns which contain sources of parts/volumes/prices and other notes which makes follow up ordering or comparing simple. Similar spreadsheet(s) I find useful for any mechanical machinery such as cars, trucks, gensets, outboards, snowblower , etc

Hope this helps
 
I keep a log in Excel, with the work performed, a date and comments (e.g. with impellers, looked like new or had a small tear on one of the vanes). I keep the log not for a potential buyer, but for me. It especially helps me with making sure I don't miss preventative maintenance items. I haven't kept pricing info, but it's a good idea.
 
I keep the log for me, but if/when I do decide to sell, the process will adapt to the ssituation. It all depends on the buyer. If the buyer is knowledgeable and asks for maint records and I believe it is a buying requirement for the buyer, then I will show them the log. I do not see how it could hurt the deal with a knowledgeable boater.
 
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