That is the way it works. Florida instituting a "sea trial" to determine whether vessels have a working means of propulsion and to test if owners can actually operate their vessels.A sea trial is the marine equivalent of a test drive, crucial for assessing a vessel's performance before it is fully commissioned or sold. Before the official sea trials, dockside trials are held for the preliminary testing of main and auxiliary machinery. Sea trials are an important step within the boat buying process that allows you to take a boat for "test run. I want complete access to all past documentation, and (in the case of a broker sale) I want to be able to talk directly with the owner. A sea trial involves taking the boat you are interested in purchasing on a test ride. A sea trial is totally out of the question. Is it OK to just get a marine survey done with the boat out of the water? Shopping for a 32 CB and out on a sea trial.