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It sounds like the trick is not just finding a good boat but finding a good surveyor as well. The guy I use, and have used for years, is pretty good, but better at power boats than at sailboats. I can always find something he missed and he can always find a bunch of things I would miss (why I hire a surveyor in the first place.) We have one surveyor in the neighborhood that all of the brokers don't like because he is too tough when inspecting a boat. Also a surveyor who specializes in a brand or type of boat may be better than one the seller suggests. I'm tryng to track down a guy who is a C&C specialist now. I'm not a maritime lawyer but I handle a lot of contracts and I never worry about the escape clauses as much as some people do. In fact I can't recall ever getting a contract back from an attorney saying "you better X out that part where he says he's not responsible." Maybe an attorney can shed light on how much valuse those clauses really have. Anyway if I am buying a boat for a couple of thousand I will not use a surveyor, but if I plan on spend $100K plus I would seriously consider using two. And I'm not paying anyone who does not know what that big metal stick is for. Finally the last question to ask a surveyor is "how much do you charge".
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