Surveyor in Florida?

[juliann]

Hello community,


Anyone knows a trustworthy, full professional surveyor in Florida..?


Not a friend, but the real deal.



We are about to get our dream boat, in cash, with all our savings.


We need the survey to make sure that we wont waste all what we have..


Not for insurance purposes or loans, but for our own good.


Please help!!


Thanks to all,


Juliana

[MrReedatsea]

Anyone knows a trustworthy, full professional surveyor in Florida..?



I used this gentleman last month and he was the real deal. He was informative, meticulous, and a true professional. I have since purchased the boat he surveyed and he saved me approximately $3000. I HIGHLY recommend him. Here is his contact information:

Steve Berlin
Independent Marine Surveyors, Inc.
17080 Safety St.
Unit 105
Ft. Myers, FL 33908
239-466-4544

[hellosailor]

If you are heading from Pensacola and the panhandle down to Key West, "Florida" can be about fourteen hours long. So unless you are willing to pay huge travel expenses, it might help to refine what part of "Florida" you are looking for a surveyor in.


Just saying.

[nautical62]

It was a few years ago, but I hired Noel Miley for a couple surveys. He worked out of central Florida. His survey was very thorough, in fact, so good you wouldn't want to use it for insurance!

[juliann]

Sorry, the boat is in Fort Myers!


I have been searching through the forum. Nautical, did you posted this years back or someone else recommended the same surveyor?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"A few weeks ago on CF I requested a recommendation for a surveyor located in Florida. The surveyor I went with did an exceptionally good job so considering the hit-or-miss proposition that selecting a surveyor can be I want to give this gentleman his props.

Noel Miley showed up on time, was professional in all respects, and
provided me with an extensive written report. As he inspected every square centimeter of the boat, I peppered him with dozens of questions and to his credit he patiently answered every one with good humor.

Here is his information if you ever need a surveyor in Florida:

Miley Marine Surveying & Consulting, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA - Noel A. Miley, SAMS® AMS®

The good news is that he found little wrong with the boat.

The bad news is that he found little wrong with the boat and left me with little room for price negotiation."


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Why is it good or what is the advantage that I dont need to use it for insurance?


Thank you everybody and more!

[juliann]

Thank you MrReedatsea!

Did you take the boat out of the water?

Did he also check the engine?

The mast?

[tikirawker]

I just purchased and surveyed a couple months ago in central Florida.
The thing I recommend is requesting a sample survey first.

things that disappointed me:
*not enough photos of broken or concerning items
*vague language that was written to protect the surveyor
*not enough detail concerning the hull
* the bimini wasn't unfolded and tested
*determined what happens if two weeks later you notice a large error in the survey (hull has excessive blisters or water system doesn't actually work...)

If had had asked for a sample survey I probably would have noticed and either requested more detail or looked for a different surveyor.
In the end you are the final judge of the work.

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by juliann

Sorry, the boat is in Fort Myers!


I have been searching through the forum. Nautical, did you posted this years back or someone else recommended the same surveyor?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"A few weeks ago on CF I requested a recommendation for a surveyor located in Florida. The surveyor I went with did an exceptionally good job so considering the hit-or-miss proposition that selecting a surveyor can be I want to give this gentleman his props.

Noel Miley showed up on time, was professional in all respects, and
provided me with an extensive written report. As he inspected every square centimeter of the boat, I peppered him with dozens of questions and to his credit he patiently answered every one with good humor.

Here is his information if you ever need a surveyor in Florida:

Miley Marine Surveying & Consulting, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA - Noel A. Miley, SAMS® AMS®

The good news is that he found little wrong with the boat.

The bad news is that he found little wrong with the boat and left me with little room for price negotiation."


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Why is it good or what is the advantage that I dont need to use it for insurance?


Thank you everybody and more!

I don't think that post was from me.

The problem one can have submitting a very thorough, very complete purchase survey to an insurance company is that by highlighting every minor issue (which you want to know about as a potential purchaser) it can give the impression to the insurance company that the boat is in worse shape than it is, which might cause them to either deny coverage or require you fix things that really don't need fixing.

When I had a survey done specifically for insurance reasons it was much shorter and had a very different perspective, basically saying the boat was sound.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by MrReedatsea

Anyone knows a trustworthy, full professional surveyor in Florida..?



I used this gentleman last month and he was the real deal. He was informative, meticulous, and a true professional. I have since purchased the boat he surveyed and he saved me approximately $3000. I HIGHLY recommend him. Here is his contact information:

Steve Berlin
Independent Marine Surveyors, Inc.
17080 Safety St.
Unit 105
Ft. Myers, FL 33908
239-466-4544

Steve Berlin has done a couple of insurance surveys for me. Very professional and easy to work with.

[s/v Jedi]

We used Jonathan Howe (a while ago) and were very happy: Nautical Services Group, Inc., Marine Surveyors, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Jonathan J. Howe, SAMS® AMS®

[DavidLGCrawford]

Back in December we used Gary Frankovich. He works out of Jacksonville but regularly travels throughout Florida (and across the globe) to do surveys.
I highly recommend him.

[MrReedatsea]

"Did you take the boat out of the water?

Did he also check the engine?

The mast?"

He did a sea trial, had the boat hauled out, checked the sails and rigging, and did an oil test. He was very meticulous. I was there for every part of it. I stayed out of his way but he would call me over to point things out.

[juliann]

Great info, really!

I was very scared to don't be able to find the "real thing" on time and ALL what that could possible means..

[tstilp]

Ed Rowe & Associates, Inc.
9116 86th Place
Vero Beach, FL 32967
772-589-7463 office
772-589-7346 fax
954-328-5780 Ed's cell
eroweassoc@comcast.net


Just used Ed for a 42' Whitby a few months ago and he did an awesome job! Made sure to make us part of the survey by showing and explaing every step . Highly recommend!!

[juliann]

Well, we didn't get that boat but Im so thankful to those who did recommendations.

Im so relieve to get to know Noel Miley.
Highly reccomended.

We don't have enough experience and getting a boat is a lot of money.

If you don't have a surveyor to trust you are lost!

He was all what was previously described plus he had the decency to let us stop the survey half way because he found enough wrong with the boat that wasn't necessary to keep going. Therefore, he charged us half the price for his job.

That is the type of people that I wanted to know.