I just figured alot of people who have used surveyors would be chiming in on this thread. As for the troll issue its the first I've heard of it. Sorry

On Page 3 of the survey it indicates that the surveyor, customer, and owner took the boat out on a sea trial. It also indicates the boat was inspected in the water.

1. If you soley relied on the report of the suveyor in your desicion to buy or not buy the boat, I think you got what you paid for.

2. I personally would have inspected the boat on and off the trailer, again if you didnt do it on your own thats your bad.

All in all I think you "might" have a claim but your going to waste allot of time and money trying to collect on something that might not be collectable. You cant get blood from a turnip and you might not realize it now but in the end after all your attorney costs and court costs, you might find out you dug up a turnip.

Suck it up and utilize your money to pay for your repairs. Your going to spend more money to recover nothing, and your boat is still not fixed.

I for one have PLENTY of experience in spending money on my boat. $15k in repairs on a boat I paid $13k for....go figure...

If you cant afford a performance boat and the repairs, stick to owning Bayliner's. You can buy them cheap enough and throw them away when they break and not loose any sleep over it.......Quit crying about it and fix your boat, your 50% to blame if you were there during the inspection and your 100% to blame if you solely relied on the surveyor....just my .02 cents

Based on my experience you probably can't win a judgement against this guy and if you do, you probably won't be able to collect anything. Forget it and move on.

I am in the same boat(pardon the pun)and also pay a good $$ for lianbility insurance. I will always make sure I get insurance cert's from contractors & manufacturers that I deal with, including for professional services. I don't care how many disclaimers, if negligence is involved when rendering a proffesional service, a good attorney will get results. Unfortunately, collecting on a judgement is a whole other issue.

Lawyer-Up time; or go it alone in Small Claims.

There is a HUGE difference between a general contractor and a boat surveyor.....

If you build a new structure and the new stucture fails then I see your point. When your talking about a used boat this is a lilittle different ball game.

You cant exactly sue someone for professional negligence if they were an idiot and gave you an idiots level of advise. If the surveyor made an honest mistake then I can see the point in taking this far. There are FAR too many unknowns (to the forum) about the situation to give adequite advise as to how to pursue this.

For instance, how much time elapsed before the damaged was noticed? Who noticed the damage? Had the new owner taken the boat out prior to noticing the damage?

I read the report and looked at his (buyers) pictures, the damage is pretty noticable and I personally could have spotted the damage with my own visual inspection of the hull. If I can see it, you can see it, why didnt the buyer see it? Some of the damage is obvious, WAY obvious.... and I just dont buy the story....

IMHO either the buyer soley relyed on the surveyor, or he personally didnt throughly inspect the boat himself, on and off the trailer before handing over the money to buy the boat.

I'm not trying to flame anyone or say the author is full of hot air.....I'm mearly giving an "objective" opinion based on what I have read....

No need to be sorry, was just a little humor!! Was just trying to get you the most responses possible.:ernaehrung004:

Being that you are an attorney and know my situation personally, with that response everyone should take note. BTW....I am having Ed Cozzi redo the survey and when that's completed I feel like I will have enough legitimate information to determine the true amount of neglect here. I am really hoping to stay under $5K to avoid anything but small claims. Thanks for the phone chat!!!

[QUOTE=long duck dong;2327102]

You cant exactly sue someone for professional negligence if they were an idiot and gave you an idiots level of advise. If the surveyor made an honest mistake then I can see the point in taking this far. There are FAR too many unknowns (to the forum) about the situation to give adequite advise as to how to pursue this.[quote]

So when a Dr. misses a terminal illness on a 90 y.o man that kills him a month later he's not responsible, because maybe's he's an idiot? Are you saying all surveyors are idiots? Based on his credentials one would believe he is well qualified to provide a professional service based on the expectations of several certifying groups.

[quote]For instance, how much time elapsed before the damaged was noticed? [quote]
Three days after taking delivery.

[quote]Who noticed the damage? [quote]
The cabin floor was found to be soft prompting me to call a friend who in fact could get under the trailer and inspect. The hull damage was then found.

[quote]Had the new owner taken the boat out prior to noticing the damage?[quote]
One trip to the lake, 1.5 hours on the water, soft floor found the same day. Took it to the fiberglass shop and he states "this is not new, you can see it in the exposed wood."

I read the report and looked at his (buyers) pictures, the damage is pretty noticable and I personally could have spotted the damage with my own visual inspection of the hull. If I can see it, you can see it, why didnt the buyer see it? [quote]
The buyer didn't see it because of the inability to get under the trailer to do so.

[quote]Some of the damage is obvious, WAY obvious.... and I just dont buy the story....[quote]

I totally agree with you....reason I hired a surveyor, I don't have the ability to get under the boat to see the damage, nor do I have xray eyes to see any rot that may be present.

[quote]IMHO either the buyer soley relyed on the surveyor, or he personally didnt throughly inspect the boat himself, on and off the trailer before handing over the money to buy the boat.
Maybe my response will clear things up a little bit