inspecting before purchase

[David]

I am conidering buying a used hunter saiboat. What is the best way to get qualified personnel to inspect the boat before I purchase it? Any information on this subject would be much appreciated.

 

[Doug T.]

Marine surveyor

There are people that do this for a living. They advertise in the yellow pages. Your insurance company (which will require a marine survey) can also provide you with a list of surveyors in your area.You can also ask around at your local marina(s). Word-of-mouth is the best way to find a good surveyor.When you find one, check on their level of experience. They should be NAMS or SAMS certified.Check out:http://www.namsurveyors.org/http://www.marinesurvey.org/

 

[Dan Sheehan AMS]

Good Advice

Doug is right. But try not to rely just on advertising. Word of mouth is probably the best way to find someone in your area. I advertise very little but most of my buisness comes from referrals and repeat customers. When you have surveyed 3 boats for the same client over the years they must feel you are doing something right.Dan Sheehan

 

[Tom Wootton]

Surveyor is needed, but not sufficient...

...especially if you're looking at 10 to 20 year-old-boats. A surveyor hired by the insurance company will be more concerned with basic soundness than with how much work is needed to bring the boat's systems up to snuff. You need to know about both in order to negotiate a price. Also, surveys are expensive, so you'll want to narrow it down on your own, then call in the surveyor once you're pretty sure you've found the right boat. There are some good books on evaluating and buying old boats. One by Don Casey comes to mind, but the title escapes me at the moment.

 

[Peggie Hall/Headmistress]

More than one type of survey

Insurance companies and lenders only require what's called a "condition and value" survey, which is limited only to those things that could put the boat at risk of sinking or fire and anything that could detract from its "book value." A true pre-purchase survey is one that SHOULD assess the condition of every inch of the boat and every bit of equipment, wiring, rigging etc on it.The same qualified surveyor can do either. Just remember that a surveyor SHOULD work for the person that pays him/her...and that should always be the buyer. Why? Because the only thing the seller and/or broker will be "stuck with" after the sale is the buyer's money...the buyer will have the boat and any problems it has.It would be too expensive to have every boat you're even vaguely interested in surveyed. But never make an offer that isn't "subject to survey and sea trial." That allows you to walk away with your deposit back if the survey should find problems serious enough to be deal breakers (which is rare, but happens), and also allows renegotiation for anything short of that...you can either require the seller to correct to YOUR SURVEYOR'S SATISFACTION, or come down on the price enough to cover any repairs. A complete pre-purchase survey can run $300-500, depending on the size of the boat--about double the cost of a "condition and value" survey." And worth EVERY penny...'cuz I've yet to see a boat--including my own, which I'd have sworn had -0- problems--that didn't need at least enough work to cover the cost of the survey--work you can require the seller to pay for to close the deal.