survey expectations

D

darren93

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Joined
Jun 17, 2009
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31412
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having my first used boat surveyed this week. What can I expect my surveyor to do? Should he check all pumps including shower and such as part of the complete survey? Also, what should I look for during the sea trial as I go with the surveyor? Thanks
 
Your surveyor should get on the boat with stone cold engines and begin his survey in the engine room (what kind/size boat??). Yes, he should check every system, accessory, nook and cranny of the vessel to make sure everything works as it should and is properly installed. If the boat is not on the hard he will have it hauled so he can sound the hull and check it with a moisture meter. During sea trial he will direct the Captain on what to do as he checks WOT, cruise, idle and reverse. Normally, the surveyor will not operate the boat. You should stay with the surveyor throughout the entire survey and sea trial... he will teach you much about your new boat. I'm sure others here (Al in particular) will add some details to this.

Best of luck. Let us know how you make out.
 
Mike described the process pretty well, indeed the surveyor will check every system on the boat, from lights to pumps to AC, etc... he will run the genny under full load.

you need to discuss what he will check on the engines. Since you didnt' say what kind of boat it is, it's hard to be precise... if diesel, you will probably need/want a separate engine survey by a diesel survyor familiar with whatever engine the boat has. It will require another sea trial. The hull surveyor will check the engines part of the hull survey (mounts, basic temperatures, etc...).

on gas engines, he can check compressions (may charge you for that).
 
Here is a copy of what is on my website.

Pre-Purchase Survey
This is the most comprehensive type of survey and is strongly advised when purchasing either a new or used vessel. Condition and overall operation of the vessel should be examined. This covers structural integrity, electrical systems, the propulsion system, the fuel system, other machinery, navigation equipment, miscellaneous on-board systems, cosmetic appearance, electronics, and overall maintenance, as well as, an out of water inspection and a sea trial.

You can include fluid sampling,compression testing,live data testing and thermal imaging to this list.
 
The first and most important expectation should be that the surveyor is working only for you and that he will give you honest well reasoned and truthful opinions. If your Yacht Broker recommended him, a conflict of interest exist right off the bat. Give a monkey a bananna and he can flip a light switch to ON and tell you if the blub glows or not. You are paying for experience, real applicable experience. Ask to see a copy of a survey report. Laundry list are only useful if a statement of condition is also included with each item. You want to be around to discuss with the surveyor his findings and to see what he sees, but don't hover over him the entire time.
 
I sort of agree/disagree with the above posts. I think the first thing the surveyor should do when he(or she in the case of my last surveyor who was excellent) is to sit down with you and describe to you exactly what they will be looking at, and just as importantly, what they will not be looking at. There is no "standard" list of things that every single surveyor will do, so your first task is understanding what you are getting and whether it is sufficient. If you don't have enough background to understand the conversation, consider increasing your research. Ultimately, all the risk is on your shoulders, not the surveyors. Your just paying them for an opinion. Could be the opinion is worthless.

Driving down this path a little further, how did select the surveyor? If they were recommended/provided to you by the seller or a broker, of course you should immediately cancel the meeting. This is a very common problem and rarely does it get you a survey worth the price you will pay.

It's good your asking questions here. I'm like a lot of people you will find here, the survey's I've received have ranged from excellent to the one where that was worthless upon which the boat died from water in the cylinders the day after I bought it, costing more than the purchase price of the boat to repair.
 
Warning: the surveyor is offering you a personal opinion of the condition of the boat based on his experience and observations for a fee. He may or may not find a problem! A complete inspection by you prior to hiring the surveyor may be the best inspection you will get. What I simply mean is do not expect the surveyor to find everything that is wrong with a boat. Use your eyes, ears, nose, and common sense first! Use his advice to help you decide if the boat is right for you. I once paid for a survey from an accredited surveyor that met all the criteria i felt was needed. Once on the boat he found the seller had many life experiences that aligned with his. Much of the sea trial consisted of their reminiscing and little attention to his inspections. I believe his results tended to lean against my best interests. This was proven to me at a later date when I found myself paying for repairs that should have been better explained at the time of the survey.
 
have someone who know boats take a look first to let you know if he (or she) feels the boat is survey-worthy. if not, you´ll spend money on a survey but won´t buy the boat. or you´ll buy a boat with problems.
 
I am worried that this boat I am surveying was not winterized since it's a repo. Is there a way I can tell if it was not prior to spending hundreds on a survey. The boat is on land and I'm not sure if I can access the engines. If not, will a qualified surveyor be able to determine if lines have been frozen etc. due to lack of proper winterization and the extent of the damage, or is it just a matter of him telling me what works and what doesn't? Thanks very much
 
Have the seller fire up the engines. I would never proceed to a survey without having the engines working. If they can't do it, then pass (or reduce the price to include complete engine replacement). Good luck.
 
Apparantly they did start the engines without me there to make sure it would work for the sea trial, one was overheating so they replaced the raw water pump and now they say they run well enough for the sea trial. Will the surveyor be able to detect major problems prior to the short haul? I'm trying to reduce my potential costs becasue the survey is over $500 and the broker is charging me $10/ foot to do the short haul for the sea trial as well. That's a pretty heavy investment if the sale doesn't go through.
 
Tough call. Probably not much you can do with the engines on land other than start them up for a few minutes. If your that concerned, maybe you'll want to spend some money on a compression test before you do anything. Probably cost $100-$200, depending upon what your mechanic charges per hour. If the compression numbers come back ok, then proceed to survey and sea trial. Good luck.

Another thought. Why is the broker charging you to put the boat in the water? Normally, buyer pays for survey expenses including a haul out. And seller is required to have the boat ready and available for a sea trial, including launch. Also, is the broker part of a marina? If so, you should be able to get the launch for free if he wants to sell it.
 
boat is a repo and the dealer/broker wants to squeeze me for some extra fees I guess. was at the boat today again to look at engines. one looks clean but the other has rust in front arount top belt drive. Didn't know what that means. Engines have 130 hours on them but I don't know if boat was winterized properly because it's a repo and broker won't tell me any history. They say they don't know.
 
With all the really nice used boats available for sale, why not just keep looking? If this is the boat of your dreams, you might want to do a thorough search for this make, model and within a 5 yr range. Find something that doesn't give you so many worries.

Or make your offer include a full replacement on each engine [parts AND labor]......
 
I agree with Liz otherwise make an offer based on both engines needing replacement. Also if the engines were not winterized what about the fresh water sytems, waste systems, hot water heater I can go on and on. I would politely pass and do a search on one of the many internet brokerage sites. Trust me you will find probably the same boat with a history. Most people going bamkrupt or losing their boat do no maintenance 130 hours doesn't seem like much time but 2 days at freezing temperatures will negate the low hours real fast. Now if the boat was in Florida or Southern California and not winterized you may want to continue with a survey/seatrial.
Bill
 
my other boat option is a 2002 rinker 310 with 250 hours which was a sea ray dealer trade in and is in clean condition and everything running, but the regal seems like a more valuable boat for the same or less money if all pans out. I'm assuming I may want to move to a newer boat in 3-4 years and I'm afraid the Rinker will be hard to move and worth a lot less than the regal. Just hope that I'm not throwing $800 away for the survey and what they are chargin me for the short haul. I'll listen to any and all opinions. I'm really struggling to make a decision between these two boats. thanks
 
STOP! Have you even put in an offer on the boat? I wouldn't go any further until you decide which boat you want and get an offer accepted subject to survey and sea trial. Otherwise, you could spend $800 and not even agree to a sales price or have the boat sold out from under you.

If you like the Regal, tell them you want to try the engines in the water and under load. You won't pay for any "short haul" until sea trial/survey. Otherwise, you can just low ball the crap out of them and see if they bite. If they don't like it, there are plenty of other boats out there -- it's a buyers market. Good luck.
 
Golfman is giving you excellent advice in today's boating market. Don't count on moving any of these boats fast in the future. There current Cap & Trade Bill HR2454 will have a devastating affect on boating and the price of fuel. I would look at boating as strictly a hobby and don't expect an imaginary number in your head to be even close to what a gas boat will be worth a few years from now. I would say that no ome has a clue how much more boats will drop in value.
Bill
 
thanks, the broker for the bank won't pay for the short haul, or atleast they are trying to get a few extra $$$ out of the sale. It becomes a matter of if this repo is already priced low that even if it requires $5-$10 thousand more of my money it would still be priced better than the other comparable boats on the market...unless the surveyor can't catch pending problems in water lines and such from neglect. I don have an offer already accepted on the boat but am still unsure of whether it will come throgh the survey ok. Broker will not put boat in the water just to run the engines. It's almost as is.
 
If your offer has been accepted, then you are at the next stage -- survey and sea trial. Get them done and if there are any issues you can try to adjust price accordingly or walk away. Next time try to deal with a more accomadating broker. Good luck.
 
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