A Good Surveyor Does Not Guarantee a Good Survey

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I think 'The top of the mast' involves you or someone else being there with a Bosun's chair to winch him up..
Mind... few do like to go up there..
In the UK there are they say two types...
The 'Buyers' surveyor... pretty good
The 'Sellers' surveyor... not quite so good
The one will dive into every nook and cranny accessible to him.. this usually involves a lot of prep by yourself.. they'll check what's visible and whatever they can reach.. winch him up the mast
The other you get to do an insurance survey ... if your selling your boat and want a good price.. if a light comes on.. it works...

All it takes is a pair of low-power binoculars. Don't have to be expensive, or marine, etc. Stand on the dock and look at the meast.

I hired the surveyor. Therefore he was the "buyer's" surveyor. He did a rotten job.

[sailvayu]

Another thought here is that when you hire a surveyor do not just pick the first one you talk to. Take the time to ask a few questions, find out their back ground, how long they have been in the boat business and how much experience they have with the type of boat you are looking at. Also do not shop on cost alone. I have many call me and the first question they ask is how much? That should be the last question not the first. I responded to another surveyor bashing thread on another forum the OP complaining about the poor survey he got. When I finally pinned him down he admitted that he had picked the cheapest guy! You get what you pay for. We all want a bargain but if you are investing 10s of thousands of dollars why scrimp on a couple of bucks per foot? I am not saying always pick the most expensive but I am saying shop around and get the person you feel most comfortable with.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

All it takes is a pair of low-power binoculars. Don't have to be expensive, or marine, etc. Stand on the dock and look at the meast.

I hired the surveyor. Therefore he was the "buyer's" surveyor. He did a rotten job.

Please tell me your not serious...

Oh... and you actually hired a 'Sellers Surveyor'... in time you get to spot the difference

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

All it takes is a pair of low-power binoculars. Don't have to be expensive, or marine, etc. Stand on the dock and look at the meast.

I hired the surveyor. Therefore he was the "buyer's" surveyor. He did a rotten job.

Raku, the binocular inspection really is not very conclusive. Yes, it might have revealed your defective forestay but will not reveal cracks in swages, cracks in shackles on spinny halyard blocks or wear in tangs, sloppy bearings in halyard sheaves, cracks in spreader bases and on and on. A close up visual inspection is really the minimum for a rig inspection.

I do find that binoculars are useful for analyzing issues aloft when at sea and going up isn't all that feasible.

Cheers,

Jim

PS: For Zeehag... unfortunately, many insurance companies DO require a survey for liability only policies. I know that in Oz I was not able to find otherwise. Doesn't make sense, but then not much about marine insurance makes sense to a sailor.

[FLLCatsailor]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

That's what I've said, multiple times -- that I needed a certified marine diesel mechanic, not a surveyor, for the engine.

Unfortunately I didn't know that at the time, and it is my opinion that the surveyor should have suggested that. I really didn't want to get stuck with a boat that had a bad engine, and I would have done it.

Most pre purchase surveys recommend a separate engine survey to be conducted by a certified tech...

[sww914]

I never paid a surveyor, I bought basket cases cheap and knew most of what I was getting into. My in-laws bought a boat a few weeks ago and used a surveyor. What a waste of $200.00 an hour. The boat had a lot of stuff on it, not personal items but a LOT of spares and safety equipment. He didn't move a single thing to look around. If there was something in a space, he just closed the door and moved on. He didn't even inspect all of the through hulls and valves, only 1/3 of them that were easy.
One good thing though, there was a little damage to the front of the keel. He said that there was a bunch of water inside the keel and they got some extra money for the repair. I drilled several exploratory holes as I repaired the keel and there wasn't a drop of water in there, just fiberglass 2' thick.
Yes, two feet thick at the front of the keel.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by sww914

I never paid a surveyor, I bought basket cases cheap and knew most of what I was getting into. My in-laws bought a boat a few weeks ago and used a surveyor. What a waste of $200.00 an hour. The boat had a lot of stuff on it, not personal items but a LOT of spares and safety equipment. He didn't move a single thing to look around. If there was something in a space, he just closed the door and moved on. He didn't even inspect all of the through hulls and valves, only 1/3 of them that were easy.
One good thing though, there was a little damage to the front of the keel. He said that there was a bunch of water inside the keel and they got some extra money for the repair. I drilled several exploratory holes as I repaired the keel and there wasn't a drop of water in there, just fiberglass 2' thick.
Yes, two feet thick at the front of the keel.

Did your in-laws hire a mover or a surveyor ?
Shown below are three boats I was asked to survey.
What kind of survey do expect from nonsense like this ?

[Teknav]

These boats are storage lockers! You never know what could be stored inside! Sheesh...what happened to your sense of humor? Will it be boat #1, boat #2 or boat #3? I can't decide!!! I need a hint from the audience...I don't like to be ZONKED!

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[sww914]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Did your in-laws hire a mover or a surveyor ?
Shown below are three boats I was asked to survey.
What kind of survey do expect from nonsense like this ?

The boat didn't look like that. It was spotless. The lockers had stuff in them. I may not be quite as stupid as you think.
I hope you're not trying to get work on this forum.

[sww914]

Most of the people on CF are fairly nice.

[sww914]

Unsubscribing. It's been a really really really bad day, we were just handed a major setback negating 6 years of work today. I don't need this **** at all.
Boatpoker, WTF?

[Teknav]

Hi SWW! Don't get too excited when you see some folks "spilling their drinks"; you can spot the wet ones from afar.
Sorry about your projects! We all had setbacks in our lives. If you fall off a horse, you just dust yourself up, and ride again "...for tomorrow is another day!" <Gone With The Wind>

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[sailpower]

I wonder at all the posters saying never hire a surveyor that the broker recommends.

If you are satisfied that the broker YOU are using (not the listing agent) is a knowledgeable professional, why wouldn’t you at least interview the guy that he recommends?

Back in the 90’s I sold sailboats in Annapolis and had a few surveyors that I would suggest because I knew that they would do a thorough job. I was more interested in doing the right thing than trying to slide something through. In reality this is how business is done by professionals.

Many a time I had the buyers “expert” friend, neighbor, brother-in-law, etc nix my guy and suggest “his” guy. It was frustrating for me to deal with what invariably (not always) showed up. If I suggested or critiqued anything I was “interfering”.

FWIW my prime recommendation was usually David Manning and I am sure there are posters here who know and might have even used him so can vouch for my choice.

Nest time a well meaning person tells you as a buyer what you should do, appreciate the advice but keep your options open.

I also will say that the various surveyor accreditations mean little in determining who is competent.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by sailpower

I wonder at all the posters saying never hire a surveyor that the broker recommends.

If you are satisfied that the broker YOU are using (not the listing agent) is a knowledgeable professional, why wouldn’t you at least interview the guy that he recommends?

Back in the 90’s I sold sailboats in Annapolis and had a few surveyors that I would suggest because I knew that they would do a thorough job. I was more interested in doing the right thing than trying to slide something through. In reality this is how business is done by professionals.

Many a time I had the buyers “expert” friend, neighbor, brother-in-law, etc nix my guy and suggest “his” guy. It was frustrating for me to deal with what invariably (not always) showed up. If I suggested or critiqued anything I was “interfering”.

FWIW my prime recommendation was usually David Manning and I am sure there are posters here who know and might have even used him so can vouch for my choice.

Nest time a well meaning person tells you as a buyer what you should do, appreciate the advice but keep your options open.

I also will say that the various surveyor accreditations mean little in determining who is competent.

All true but that just adds another variable; that being many dont know how honest their broker is. All brokers have the inherent conflict of interest in how they earn their money regardless of honesty.

I would never compound the potential of hiring an incompetent surveyor with the dubious advice of a broker.

[FLLCatsailor]

Originally Posted by sailpower

I wonder at all the posters saying never hire a surveyor that the broker recommends.

If you are satisfied that the broker YOU are using (not the listing agent) is a knowledgeable professional, why wouldn’t you at least interview the guy that he recommends?

Back in the 90’s I sold sailboats in Annapolis and had a few surveyors that I would suggest because I knew that they would do a thorough job. I was more interested in doing the right thing than trying to slide something through. In reality this is how business is done by professionals.

.

I work as a broker, and am involved in a lot of surveys. I was representing a buyer on a deal... I recommended a surveyor I thought would do a good job for the boat from past experience... They said, "thanks, but no thanks... We'd never use a surveyor recommended by a broker." So they hired a guy recommended to them from a friend... Needless to say the surveyor had not only never surveyed this type of boat, but not even stepped foot on one... They got a terrible survey done that missed some key items... I felt really badly about the fact that despite my best efforts the clients were let down...

The point in using a buyer's broker is to have someone looking out for your best interest as the buyer... If you don't trust them enough to recommend a good surveyor then you should probably find a broker they can trust...