Smarty, that is certainly the route he WILL take as he begins to find out the extent of the damage. I really appreciate your input, I will keep you in mind and forward your info should he be inclined to seek your assistance--thanks again!!

Are you speaking from the buyer or the surveyors stand point?

The seller is VERY emotional about the whole situation--BUT we feel that it was totally the surveyors responsibility to locate this damage. He had his thermal imaging gun with him that his website shows actual 1" blisters in the gelcoat underneath bottom paint. It should certainly detect this damage.

tell your friend to go after the SURVEYOR,they will try the there not liable but they have ins and its there FUCH UP,Hired a surveyor and paid 1600.00 for survey they used an old survey left someone elses names on pics,changed names on paperwork,and missed gas soaked glass & balsa from leaky fuel tanks,and a bad patch & some wett wood .they tried to say only had 14 days to find any problems,and now there working a settlement
good luck:p

Me being the seller .RING RING hello ...My boat you sold me is f....up.(what) its got bad water damage...whats that guy you paid say...(f him)well i didnt know...how can we make this right. Me not having any idea of the damage
Ring Ring ..yello ..my boat is jacked up that you sold me.Really id call that guy you paid good luck!!
me knowing of damage (this is what auctions are for)
"this is my idea of me selling and does not imply or express real life issues in this topic"
Off topic i was at an auction (rb) and was buying a few cement mixers when the last one i was the winner of (9k) just started reving out of controll and tossed the rods on the block. All i rember is SOLD AND BOOM

A few items come to mind. Not trying to be a dick here but, that damage as shown in your pictures are a fairly large item to miss when looking at a boat. I can't believe that the seller, your friend, or a surveyor would miss what you have shown in the pictures. Is there a possibility the damage happened after the purchase of the boat? As far as the soft floor goes..your friend payed for a proffessional survey and didn't receive one. The surveyor admitted on the phone that he felt the floor flex but didn't investigate it? Did he mention it in the survey?

My friend has a bad back and is too big to get under the boat to see this. The damage is pretty close to the bunk and I had to be right up on it to see it, partly because of the trailer beams and partly because of location. I can't speak for the seller, can only go on the fact I fell he is telling the truth. The surveyor totally should have caught this.
Happen after purchase? I really don't think so, the damage looks as if it has been there for awhile. The boat has been out one time since taking delivery, I was present then and there was never a time when I felt like that could have happen. You stated correctly--he "didn't investigate it" and NO not a single mention of the floor flexing or the major hull damage

Werd brother--that's my thought too!!:ernaehrung004:

As a surveyor I hate reading stuff like this. Yes, we all have disclaimers in our paperwork because some buyers think that a survey is a guarantee that nothing will EVER go wrong with the boat.
I have a few questions.

1. Who recommended the surveyor?

2. Is the surveyor NAMS or SAMS affiliated?

3. Is this surveyor a high performance boat surveyor?

4. Is there a possibility the bottom damage was caused by launching or retrieving from the trailer?

In Wisconsin a surveyor was paid for a full hull survey, a sea trial and compression tests. Twenty-nine pages later of BS and the guy missed both gimbal rings totally worn-out, an exhaust manifold gasket leak, the fact that one of the Bravo outdrives was older than the boat, neither one had the first gear change upgrade and the bearings in the blower snouts were growling so loud it was a joke. There was nothing in the survey about the bad trim indicator cables either.

Your friend needed a better surveyor.

1. Surveyor was found on marinesurveyors.com

2. He is a survey associate with SAMS

3. He does survey high performance boats, according to him. The seller said this surveyor surveyed a 38 Top Gun for a friend of his 3 years ago. He has been surveying over 20 years.

4. I don't believe it is possible. The boat actually got walked on the trailer when coming out of the water, the water was pretty rough. Launching occured flawlessly, I don't believe it's possible.

Thanks for chiming in, I was hoping a surveyor would provide some input. In no way is my friend trying to screw anyone, just wants to get what he was told he was buying.

Where is that damage in relation to the stern? If it extends to 6' forward of the transom, why is the step not visible in the pics? If that is the rear lifting strake it should be turned down. The 33s have a negative strake at the rear most planing surface. Just trying to understand where the damage actually is.

On the 33s some of them leak around the cabin hatch into the headliner and run down to the cabin sole in a different location, not necessarily right around the hatch itself. You could also check the bow cleat and nav light to see if either of them are leaking into the forward locker in front of the berth and the water seeping to the cabin floor from there.

good luck!