Surveyor Recommendations

[bobofthenorth]

I have been around machinery all my life and I have never encountered such an army of charlatans as I did when and since we bought Gray Hawk. The surveyor is just the tip of the iceberg. The good marine professionals are notable because they are so rare. I'm sure there are qualified surveyors out there somewhere but the odds of finding one are infinitesimally low. I'm not sure why I qualified my initial statement by applying it to 30 year old boats. It applies no matter how new or old the boat but maybe on a newer, more valuable boat it would be worthwhile flying in someone you knew was qualified rather than taking your chances with the locals.

 

[RickB]

... more valuable boat it would be worthwhile flying in someone you knew was qualified rather than taking your chances with the locals.

I agree with that and your general take on the subject.

In my end of the business, that is precisely what we do when we have to use a surveyor other than a legitimate class or flag surveyor. There are a very few that we use and we fly them all over the world as necessary.

For the most part the independent surveyor is merely a formality for the insurance company and bank as the greatest service they perform is that of inventory taker. We do not under any circumstance rely on them for technical evaluation of condition or maintenance, they are not qualified to do so.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Survey for insurance and finance aside, and assuming you are a boat vs yacht owner, I agree with BoboftheNorth as it applies to older vessels. I suspect he was making a point with regards to ongoing maintanence issues.

As a "boat" owner, I've hands-on retrofitted a number of old/tired boats. From a time and money perspective, the experience taught me two things; that I don't want to do it again <and> what to look for so I don't have to.

Prior to getting serious (ie, spending money on the purchase process), I spent two days going through my current vessel. I'm sure the broker suspected something when I showed up with a cooler and work clothes. By the time I hired the surveyors, I already knew the condition (except engine operation) and was confident of my purchase decision/offer. I was also able to point out a few items to the surveyor which he did not discover. Mike

Very good points!

 

[magicbus]

If you didn't find a surveyor yet I can recommend Hitchcock Marine Services of Essex CT. I believe the owner's name is Buddy and I imagine he would have no problem going to the Cape. He went to Rhode Island for our survey. His # is 860-767-7251. He was thorough, provides a comprehensive written report, and patiently answered my stupid questions.

Dave

 

[yachtbrokerguy]

I would suggest calling three other brokers in the area and ask for suggestions for two or three surveyors. If the same name comes up a few times that surveyor has built a reputation. Then interview the surveyors yourself and ask for a sample survey on a similar boat.
I have seen seen a few poor surveyors over the years but I have never seen one who knew less than the buyer. I have met some incredibly knowledgable buyers but never one who knew more in general than any surveyor who was a full member of one of the surveyor associations.
If most buyers only bought boats when they were knowledgable enough to do their own survey then very few boats would be sold, how do you learn enough without owning boats over the years?
It should also be noted that there is a major difference between an insurance survey and a pre-purchase survey. Plus the reccomendations of a recognized surveyor can become negotiating items for adjustments of price or who will pay for repairs found to be needed by the survey.

 

[skipperdude]

Just because a surveyor has a SAMS certificate doesn't necessarily mean he/she is a competent surveyor.
The requirements to become a SAMS surveyor Is to send in 2 completed surveys and pay a fee.
This allows you to be and use the SAMS certification on your shingle.
After time has passed and you pay more fees you move from associate to member.

NAMS is a little better they at least require a few classes.

The point being is Due diligence. Call for references and be sure you are there for the survey.

Sd

 

[Marin]

Apologies to any surveyors out there but I would not use a surveyor recommended by a seller.

There may be instances when a particular surveyor has established such a good reputation that everyone in the area connected with boats knows this. There are two such surveyors in the Puget Sound area that I know of. In this case I would not hesitate to use either one of them even if they were recommended by a seller's broker.

Of course you have to do the homework to find out that these surveyors are, in fact, as good as everyone says they are (or already know it from prior experience). In the case of the two I know of in this area they are recommended by many PNW GB owners on the GB forum as well as by many local yards and individual owners, including us now that we've used one of them.

So if there is one or more of these guys around in your area it can make the task of finding an objective surveyor who knows boats backwards and forwards much easier.

 

[expat]

Tucker, what is the difference between a pre purchase inspection and an insurance inspection ?

 

[Marin]

Tucker, what is the difference between a pre purchase inspection and an insurance inspection ?

I'm not Tucker but a pre-purchase survey should be extremely thorough and uncover every problem or potential problem with the boat, big and small, significant or insignificant. An insurance survey should be sufficient to determine the safety and integrity of the vessel to satisfy the sorts of things an insurance company would be concerned with.

The insurance surveys we have had conducted on our boat have cost half or less of what the same surveyor charges for a full-bore survey.

 

[expat]

thanks Marin

 

[Marin]

I should have added that the insurance surveys we have had done on our boat have taken but a fraction of the time the pre-purchase survey did.

 

[bfloyd4445]

Hi,
I'm the new guy here with a grand total of ZERO posts!
Recently sold our home and soon to be live aboards. I am looking for a certified marine surveyor in the Cape area of Massachusetts for a mid 80's trawler type boat. The broker has recommended someone and it appears that this person has an excellent reputation based on web searches.....but I am concerned about any "conflict of interest" issues. Can anyone here recommend a surveyor or two?
Thanks
John

chuckle....kinda like the car salesman saying he would be happy to have have a mechanic look her over for you before you buy to ascertain if there are any issues.........

That said people in the business like brokers would know more about which is the best surveyer for a particular type of vessel so are a valuable resource. What you might do is contact a different broker to see what surveyer they would recomend.
Good luck