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.

Had 1 done and thought it was worth every penny and was a easy to deal with process from start to finish.

I had only seen the boat on the rack for less than 5min with no keys and never running. Called to Ed Cozzi, he did my Survey and report. In water and out, pics, videos, and break down report. Was professional and made the deal happen. Ended up with a clean and great boat that I saw all of 1 time for less than 5min.

Depending on the cost and size of the boat, most banks now require a survey be done. I personally have not had any of my last 4 boats surveyed. I'm wishing with my current one that I did. It has been one thing after another with it. By the time i'm done with this next repair I will have spent as much money in repairs as i did to buy the boat.

Just received my Ins renewal- They are requiring one now. Had boat almost 10 yrs. Really??

Depends on the results you get and who paid for it. :D

Most surveys are done to show the boat condition for valuation purposes, for the benefit of the insurance and finance companies They don't usually do a thorough mechanical inspection. Some surveyors do mechanical inspections also, but probably at additional cost based on what you want done. When I was in the boat business we did a lot of buyers checks. These were for the benefit of and paid for by the buyer. They could be as simple as a quick going over and test run, or a very intrusive inspection. Charges were reflective of what was done. A lot of times we would incorporate maintenance with the inspection, once it was established the boat was in reasonable shape. Bottom line is get a good mechanic to inspect the boat.

I'd say it's only worth it if you can find a reputable inspector. I mean someone who is personally recommended not just internet reviews. I did one inspection one time from a guy named Captain Tony I found thanks to the internet and it was a ridiculous waste. he was about as useless as a white crayon. The experience was kind of like a used car salesman showing me around a boat. Even the report was about a 4th grader effort and it was full of mistakes.
Now I had about the worst experience but I'm sure mine isn't the norm.