Broker & Survey But No Comeback

[jrudge]

I have some sympathy for this view.

I looked at a boat that had been surveyed and had a series of faults that were potentially expensive to fix if undiagnosed. I did not buy it for other reasons ( it was a Manhattan 56 and I just didn’t like it in the end ) however most of the big things listed ( generator u/s , hi low non functional ) worked fine. The surveyor did not know how to use them so just listed as inoperative which would be quite capable of scuppering a sale.

 

[Boat2016]

I have some sympathy for this view.

I looked at a boat that had been surveyed and had a series of faults that were potentially expensive to fix if undiagnosed. I did not buy it for other reasons ( it was a Manhattan 56 and I just didn’t like it in the end ) however most of the big things listed ( generator u/s , hi low non functional ) worked fine. The surveyor did not know how to use them so just listed as inoperative which would be quite capable of scuppering a sale.

Yes that what i have seen on a couple of surveys, if surveyor cant find the switch then put it down as not working.

I would have done the same and had the Sq58 over the Manhattan 56 any day.

 

[Bigplumbs]

Bought a 24 foot Sealine recently with a single engine. The survey carried out had the following

There were over 24 get out clauses in the report saying things had not been looked at

It made comments about one engine and also the other engine..... The boat only had one engine

The Survey said the Windlass was not working...... Well that was true as it did not have a windlass installed

The Survey said the Bow thruster did not work...... True again as it did not have a bow thruster

It said the water pump was not working..... It was working fine and has been ever since

It was clearly a copy and paste of a Sealine S34 survey moored on the other pontoon that was for sale

I will leave it to you to decide if Surveys are worth having.

I am a Chartered Surveyor by the way

 

[julians]

Bought a 24 foot Sealine recently with a single engine. The survey carried out had the following

There were over 24 get out clauses in the report saying things had not been looked at

It made comments about one engine and also the other engine..... The boat only had one engine

The Survey said the Windlass was not working...... Well that was true as it did not have a windlass installed

The Survey said the Bow thruster did not work...... True again as it did not have a bow thruster

It said the water pump was not working..... It was working fine and has been ever since

It was clearly a copy and paste of a Sealine S34 survey moored on the other pontoon that was for sale

I will leave it to you to decide if Surveys are worth having.

I am a Chartered Surveyor by the way

That's a pretty poor show, are you sure he didn't just survey the s34 by mistake instead of the boat you asked him to survey?

Did you take it up with the surveyor? Those mistakes you list are pretty irrefutable.

 

[Seastoke]

Bought a 24 foot Sealine recently with a single engine. The survey carried out had the following

There were over 24 get out clauses in the report saying things had not been looked at

It made comments about one engine and also the other engine..... The boat only had one engine

The Survey said the Windlass was not working...... Well that was true as it did not have a windlass installed

The Survey said the Bow thruster did not work...... True again as it did not have a bow thruster

It said the water pump was not working..... It was working fine and has been ever since

It was clearly a copy and paste of a Sealine S34 survey moored on the other pontoon that was for sale

I will leave it to you to decide if Surveys are worth having.

I am a Chartered Surveyor by the way

There must have been photos that tied up to he survey and other descriptions ,was it a tick box survey

 

[petem]

That's a pretty poor show, are you sure he didn't just survey the s34 by mistake instead of the boat you asked him to survey?

Did you take it up with the surveyor? Those mistakes you list are pretty irrefutable.

I agree. I hope you didn't pay him.

 

[Bigplumbs]

The survey was of my 24 foot sealine it was obvious that they had used the survey of the 34 footer for the base document and just not edited it properly. Happens all the time on all sorts of work in all sorts of industries...... People seldom start with a blank sheet, especially since the advent of computers

 

[Keith-i]

Happens all the time on all sorts of work in all sorts of industries

I don't know about marine surveyors and any regulation (or lack of it), but that really shouldn't happen in a professional sphere. Sure we all 'copy and paste' and the odd error might slip through but not that catalogue. If that were from a Chartered Building Surveyor I would suggest it amounted to negligence borne out of laziness and smacks of an incompetent or careless surveyor. I'd be wanting my fee back at the very least.

 

[Seastoke]

The survey was of my 24 foot sealine it was obvious that they had used the survey of the 34 footer for the base document and just not edited it properly. Happens all the time on all sorts of work in all sorts of industries...... People seldom start with a blank sheet, especially since the advent of computers

Are you saying that you do it. In your surveying capacity

 

[ari]

Bought a 24 foot Sealine recently with a single engine. The survey carried out had the following

There were over 24 get out clauses in the report saying things had not been looked at

It made comments about one engine and also the other engine..... The boat only had one engine

The Survey said the Windlass was not working...... Well that was true as it did not have a windlass installed

The Survey said the Bow thruster did not work...... True again as it did not have a bow thruster

It said the water pump was not working..... It was working fine and has been ever since

It was clearly a copy and paste of a Sealine S34 survey moored on the other pontoon that was for sale

I will leave it to you to decide if Surveys are worth having.

I am a Chartered Surveyor by the way

I always have a long chat on the phone with the surveyor going through each point once I've received the survey (because it's important to understand the nuances and detail). It would be a very uncomfortable chat for him had I received that survey...

Out of interest, would one bad experience with one chartered surveyor in your field suggest that no chartered surveyor is worth employing (which seems to be what you're intimating about boat surveyors)?

 

[markc]

I have only really regarded the survey as the opportunity for the surveyor to pick up on expensive repairs and always assume that they'll miss some of the smaller things. Plus I have been at every survey I have had done so the surveyor can explain an issues in person as he goes along. With my current boat new cutlass bearings and some fire fighting gear was identified as requiring work, so that secured 6,00 euros off the price of the boat. However, there were a number of smaller things that were missed or not understood, but I think that's par for the course.

 

[Ocean Star]

The survey was of my 24 foot sealine it was obvious that they had used the survey of the 34 footer for the base document and just not edited it properly. Happens all the time on all sorts of work in all sorts of industries...... People seldom start with a blank sheet, especially since the advent of computers

Dear lord.

 

[Bigplumbs]

Are you saying that you do it. In your surveying capacity

It I did use a base document it would be for layout and other general clauses etc. The main part of any Survey I do would be bespoke to the building in question. I am not a boat Surveyor by the way

 

[Bigplumbs]

There must have been photos that tied up to he survey and other descriptions ,was it a tick box survey

No photos just lots and lots of writing and loads of useless sometimes confusing padding out

 

[Bigplumbs]

I always have a long chat on the phone with the surveyor going through each point once I've received the survey (because it's important to understand the nuances and detail). It would be a very uncomfortable chat for him had I received that survey...

Out of interest, would one bad experience with one chartered surveyor in your field suggest that no chartered surveyor is worth employing (which seems to be what you're intimating about boat surveyors)?

Not intimating anything Just sharing my experience as I said I will leave it to others to decide

 

[Bigplumbs]

I agree. I hope you didn't pay him.

No I did not pay him as it was a survey passed on to me from the previous owner that had it done about 9 months before I bought the boat. It had been paid for however but I would not have paid for it.

It had some useful information but not much

 

[Seastoke]

No I did not pay him as it was a survey passed on to me from the previous owner that had it done about 9 months before I bought the boat. It had been paid for however but I would not have paid for it.

It had some useful information but not much

It is hard to criticise ,if you did not commission the survey

 

[Bigplumbs]

It is hard to criticise ,if you did not commission the survey

Was not criticising simply sharing the survey information. Who commissioned and paid for the Survey has little to do with the errors that were in it. They were there that is bad enough, Facts are Facts

 

[volvopaul]

I know many surveyors , out if all of them there is only one I would trust .
Sadly a few weeks back this guy could not attend a survey so the buyer got a local one recommended by the broker .
When the report came it was a cut and paste job but the unprofessional forgot to remove the boats name and other details , this left me wondering if he did attend the boat at all.
Tick in the box surveys can be done by anyone , the best way to do it is from scratch , pen , paper and clip board going through everything in turn not just climbing aboard and ticking boxes , that’s what stackers in supermarkets do .

 

[petem]

IMO, I want the surveyor to check the hull for damage, osmosis and any other high moisture readings. I'd also want him to assess any cracks to ascertain if they are cosmetic or not.

I'd get an engineer familiar with the engines / drives to check them out, particularly on a sea trial.

In this day and age I'd expect to be photographic evidence of anything found.

I'm quite capable of crawling over the rest of the boat myself to gauge the general condition of fixtures and fittings and to test that all of the boats systems are working / in serviceable condition. Paying a surveyor to do this would seem to be a waste of money.