I would say that is an excellent survey. Not much good for getting a decent price reduction though. My own opinion about the high moisture reading is, if you have to use a meter to detect moisture on a boat, their is not any problem, when you go into the cabin of a boat, and you instantly smell damp and rot, that is when you have a problem, and i can guarantee, that in every marina, you wont have to check many boats, until you smell the distinct smell of decaying plywood, damp cushions, wet foam backing, and stagnant air.
What you got is a really good survey, last one i had done, was going to cost 600 bucks on a ten year old Benetau 35, in florida. I was late getting to the boat, surveyor was already there, and just finishing up surveying the engine. He found seventeen faults on the engine, none too serious, most serious (and dangerous) was exhaust leaking into the cabin. When I arrived he asked me what my concerns were, i told him, the keel bolts which i had noticed were very badly rotted, and the mast step, which seemed to be turning to powder. He looked at the keel bolts, and told me "one good hit, and that keel would come off" then i showed him the mast step, he told me, very good chance of losing the stick with that mast step, need replaced, few hundred for the step, and about six for the hire of a crane to lift the mast. I told him i liked the boat, because the rig looked almost new, he said "the rig looks new, because it has never been used, its a condo boat, they come down here to sit in the cockpit, and drink cocktails, and tell their friends off sailing this weekend" then he tells me, their is somthing just not right about the boat, too much rust, doors dont close, all the wood is warped, so he pulls the cushions off, and points to this line, and says to me "do you know what that is" i said "i havent a clue" he said "that is a ghost mark, this boat sunk at its moorings, and that is how high the water went inside the boat"
The guy selling that boat was a doctor, he owned it from new, he wanted 35k, after seeing it, i told him, i would be interested at 30k, after a survey, so he aprehensively agreed. He gave me a list of surveyors, (which i wasnt too keen on, as i thought he might know them) but i picked one and phoned him. then i phoned the owner back, and said, "look survey will cost me 600, thats 600 i could spend on the boat, if you will take 25k, i will buy it off you tonight. Am i so fecking glad he said no, he said to me "you said thirty, and i agreed to thirty, now you want it for 25, lets just get the survey done, and see what the surveyor says" so in short, the surveyor said, "do you want me to stop the survey now, for 400, or do you want me to continue the whole survey, and charge you 600. I said, how much would it cost to put this boat in shape, he said dont even think about it, its a parts boat, or if you got it for less than 10k, and could do the work yourself, it may be worth it. I said, "stop the survey" I told the surveror, that the owner was a doctor, and he knew i was coming a long way to see it, and told me it was in excellent shape, he said "a doctor, well i hope he takes better care of his patients than he does his boat"
I phoned the guy up, and told him, it was a very bad survey (felt it was my duty, plus pissed off at him for waisting my time) told him i wouldnt even be interested in his boat for 20k, to get a dig in at him, for refusing my 25k.
It was an experience, and i was just taken in by the condition of the rig, i was blind to everything else, because i saw, excellent sails, really good roller reefing, all newish running rig, excellent rod stays holding up the mast (never seen those before) I would have bought it for the rig, so it does pay to get a survey.
