Nate5.0

$300 seems very cheap for a survey. Was he Accredited or anything like that or just a local guy you found when searching?

Rick G

I bought my first boat after paying good money for a Survey from an accredited surveyor . I was hot to buy my dream boat I was willing to overlook the faded Gel coat which was described as good for its age . According to the survey one would have thought that I got a good deal at the price I paid . It was a great deal if you over look the fact that both TRS lower cases were rotten and freshly spray painted , the transom was rotten the stringers were rotten the forward bilge bulkhead was rotten , the exhaust was rotten ,the gimbals needed rebuilding, all of which the surveyor gave a clean bill of health . Good thing I was able to repair all that myself or I would have been completely screwed . This just my opinion , buy a moisture meter and small ball peen hammer and take a marine mechanic with you and save the price of a surveyor . RG.

Nate5.0

Your suggestion though doesn't fit everyone as most have ZERO clue what you are talking about, how to read the meter, or know what to look for.

phragle

iTrader: (3)

A friend if mine sold a blowboat and the survey on it said in bold up by the to "above average use with average maintenance" Knowing my friend that owned the boat, and the life the boat has had... That translates to "this boat has been beat to hell, but somehow the owner has kept it floating"

Another friend of mine was selling a topgun, I was there when the potential buyers survey guy showed up. I cringed and asked "WTF are you doing???" as he started tapping along the custom painted hullside with a ballpeen hammer

Rick G

Nate 5.0 my point is the majority of the surveys people pay for aren't worth the paper they are printed on . A light tapping with a small hammer will sound different on rotten core fiberglass that solid fiberglass and certainly won't damage the gel coat . I would think it shouldn't be to hard to figure how to read a moisture meter especially if it comes with instructions. I am sure most guys n this site have the where with all to figure it out . 'Just my 2 cents .
RG.

freebirdpa

I just had a survey done by an accredited surveyor and was disappointed by the report. Although I wasn't there to oversee the process, I think the only thing he checked was for fire ext and smoke alarms. Took two moisture readings and I had to send him back to check a spot of the hull that I had seen prior to him being there! There was no evidence of it in the report so I called and he was questioning my knowledge between the Port & Starboard side! REALLY..... If I had to do it over, I would buy the moisture meter and check it myself. I also had a mechanic check it out for me also. Save your money on the survey.

Nate5.0

Most on this site are enthusiasts and are not the bulk of the buyers in the grand scheme. Plenty have the cash, want the boat, and have zero knowledge.

scottgjerdingen

Last "inspection" quote I had was on 27' boat; $850 for the survey (including travel) + 3 hrs per engine for a mechanic to do a compression and leakdown test (x2) - that is $1,500 potentially flushed down the porta potty, $1,500 for a report that may or may not be complete, $1,500 for a report I may not understand. $1,500 for no guarantees. In this case it was roughly 10% of the boat cost. OUCH! Having said that, I don't have the skills to do this myself and it is a cheap price to pay if I have chosen a turd and it is caught.

One surveyor I used had a really cool policy, if the boat turned out to be a big turd (and he knew it), he would communicate it orally and if you chose not to have a full report written up he would only charge 1/2 the survey cost. For me this was a significant gesture, not only did it signal in easy to understand terms that the boat was a turd, it also signaled that it probably isn't worth negotiating the price down, and it saved me 50% off the survey cost. I wish this was a practice all surveyors adopted.

iliveonanisland

Where did you bury the body?

Wally

iTrader: (1)

Just bringing this back up since i found something interesting today that may help potential buyers......looks like Home Depot has FLIR rentals now! would help to see if there are any questionable spots on the hull before spending the money on a surveyor!
$54 for 4 hours or $75 for the whole day...not bad

http://www6.homedepot.com/tool-truck...amera/FLIR_i7/