Are Surveys Important?
 

I've had many boats and only one that I paid for a survey because it was bank owned. The boat was only 5 years old. Bottom line was the boat had an aluminum gas tank that cracked along the top because it had broken away from its mountings which was two flanges at the bottom of an 80 gal. tank, front and back, that were screwed to the longitudinal stringer. This caused the tank to buffet up against the bulkhead between the engine compartment and the aft birth. The surveyor never noticed this obvious defect. My first fill-up after purchase revealed the defect by spilling gas into the bilge. I now do my own do diligence and would never trust a surveyor's assessment. Surveyors do not offer guarantees.

Am I in the minority on this opinion?

They are only as good as the person doing it. I look at them in the same way as a home inspector, some good, some not and even the good ones can miss things.

There is a guy hear which boat a boat and had it shipped in after a clean survey. Once here you could smell an issue, opened the engine hatch and there was mold growing in the cabin bilge, and later found the boat needed to be gutted and redone with stringers being rotted

Boat owners zero, surveyor's wallet "2."

My One experience with a surveyor was a complete waste of money . Spent 300 bucks to be told boat was in above average condition with minor gel coat fading. The transom , stringers and first bulkhead were rotten , the gel coat completely oxidized , the outdrives corroded . My 2 cents don't waste your money. Most suryeors don't own a moisture meter ( should have been my first clue ) . Go do your inspection .
Rick G .

Confucious say "If man has no clue, surveyor may save him money, if man has clue surveyor may cost man money"

2 boats, 1 survey...I haven't anything good to say about the experience. From first contact to survey completed to receiving report and final word insurance coverage was bound took 9 weeks. Boat finally came home yesterday.

Things are a changing, if the boat is 15 yrs old or older the insurance companies are requiring an in water and out of water survey, my agent and I have checked with four different underwriters and they have all said the same thing. Stacy @ Wake zone is the same, the bad thing is you don't have insurance during the sea trial and if it sinks you're SOL

Just had one done due to the insurance company demanding it . Nice guy , I've known him for years and was expecting him to tear the boat apart and I was ready to show him everything .
I admit that the boat does show as near new for its age but he did NOTHING at all . I could have done the survey myself but the insurance company probably thinks that I don't know pointy end of the boat from the square end .
Except for the fact that he admitted our valuation on it was fair value it was a total waste of time .

Depends on the boat....
If there's nothing wrong with the boat then a survey is a waste of money!

In Australia, a well known advertising mogul and entrepreneur (John Singleton) once said.....
"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, the trouble is, I don't know which half."

Depending on both the boat and the surveyor, I reckon the odds are similar. :crazy:

rr

The one and only experience I've had with having one done before purchase (only because the bank required it) was a joke. One person's idea of "condition" or things that need attention aren't the same as the next guy's.