Survey came back and there are issues

[gonesail]

i think if you like the boat buy it. sail it and fix the things you can when you can. without destructive testing there is no way you can prove the chainplates are bad. most older boats have some form of blisters. all boats are a compromise. like the guy said: the surveyor already got paid.

[Ex-Calif]

Every defect is a scab...

As gross as it still sounds you need to keep picking.

Hard to tell how wet the deck is from your posts. If still interested I would get the guy who's gonna fix it to have a look and give a quote. Add 50% to the quote as they invariably seem low. If seller objects to an investigation, run don't walk...

[Wand]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Being on "freindly terms" with Brokers is not unheard of and that can cover a few sins, even if only of ommission / smoothing the edges to nudge a sale along.......and that applies whether the Broker suggested him or not (in a local industry everyone knows everyone else...

That's how it is around here. They're good blokes but they're all on the take, or would like to be. They've lived their lives in boatyards and that's just how it is. I've also seen esteemed surveyors miss the most glaring of problems; they just walk away with their fee and leave it to insurance.

So I'd recommend avoiding surveyors altogether; they just muddy the waters by doing the thinking for you. For example, the surveyor packaged together and dismissed as "minor" a number of potentially serious problems; but would the OP have regarded them as minor had he identified them himself? I don't think so.

The OP has had a boat before and that experience, plus commonsense and his boating friends, should find most issues. There's not much on that list that the average boatie couldn't identify.

Note that I'm no expert and I've missed problems when self-surveying and it's cost me; but I'd reckon I'm still a long way ahead.

[Fiberglass1Inc]

Surveyors and moisture meters, very amusing topic! I witnessed a surveyor with a meter keep a New Jersey built fiberglass sportfish out of the water for almost 2 months (@$80/day) because he felt that the "slightly" higher numbers on the sides of the keel were cause for concern. Having done lots of work on these keels over the years, I knew that what he was reading was a completely normal number for the MAHOGANY that this builder encapsulated in their keels! What an idiot! Can't tell you how many times I've seen "surveyors" claim high readings through bottom paint>copper is reflective and moisture meters are basically "reflectometers"! And to this OP - are you sure this surveyor is not reading the reflectivity of a backing plate? And NO.....it won't dry out by itself.