Cheapest Boat You would get a survey on prior to Purchase.

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thesaintlyone

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So in the process of selling my 21ft westerly had a perspective buyer along today. He appears keen but said he has been advised by family to have a survey done. Now given that she is floating in a marina in reasonable condition for the price £2000 and has working outboard motor serviced seacocks, reasonable sails etc.
Now dont get me wrong the potential buyer is more than welcome to get a surveyor along and I have no problems provided he pays for it.
Got me thinking paying out for the cost of a survey on top of the purchase price what would be the lowest price boat I would bother with a survey on......oppinions please

Regards
 
I am not sure I would bother on a 2k boat, cheapest I am not sure £10k perhaps, it might be up to the insurer anyway?

Costs are always the buyers responsibility, including lift out pressure wash etc, and including relaunch, All IMHO you understand.
 
For a 2k boat , no I rather use the 500 pounds on buying something for the boat .
But as said above maybe the insurance wanted one , althought for 2k boat I be looking for just third party
 
Tranona said:
No, because they are not insuring the boat, only liability to third parties.
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Though they are (if they are Basic Boat Insurance, at least) also covering wreck removal, which must to some extent be more likely to be needed on a dud boat. It's probably pretty rare, though.

OP, I think I wouldn't bother up to £5k or so, unless there was a significant issue with the structure and it was outwith my experience. Westerly Jouster? No way. I know everything there is to be known about them, he said, modestly. Fairey Atalanta? You bet your boots.
 
I've had a couple, where insurance company insisted on it, such as my current boat. Once bought a fairly modern one for £40k and didn't bother because the insurance company didn't want one. I wouldn't have had one with this boat if i had the choice, the only things the surveyor picked up that i'd missed was a loose locking nut on the headsail furler and a plain nu instead of a locknut on the gooseneck. But then he did recommend a fire blanket and radar reflector, that were already there. Also recommended i anti-foul it, despite doing the survey on the hard, where she'd just been anti-fouled !
 
Leighb said:
I am not sure I would bother on a 2k boat, cheapest I am not sure £10k perhaps, it might be up to the insurer anyway?

Costs are always the buyers responsibility, including lift out pressure wash etc, and including relaunch, All IMHO you understand.
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+1 £10k if I hadn't got a clue. Personally, if I was looking at a serious cruiser with generators, water makers etc, I probably would (you might be surprised how cheap they can be had for)
 
Surely a lot would depend on weight and construction of the hull?

Welding a rusty a steel hull where damage is found bellow the water line and hard to see, I'd expect to be very expensive for survey and remedy,

GRP repairs a lot cheaper to fill and refinish, less likely to suffer catastrophic failure due to decay. I know when I enquirer about insurrance, the first question is usually about hull material used, and they seem not bothered if the boat is 40 years old.

Alan
 
Not answering your question but hopefully relevant : Three years ago the insurance survey was due on our 24 year old Moody , we had to return unexpectedly to uk from Greece where she is based.I spoke to company and asked them what they wanted to do as a survey couldn't be arranged before we left , they asked for as many pics as possible along with a list of work done , duly emailed off and ten mins later they rep,IDE saying all okay ...next survey 2025 ! The company were premier marine I think , few months later I bought a bigger boat and sold the Moody .Just thought this was of interest.
 
I think it all depends on how much you know about these things. I'm not sure I'd bother with a survery on any boat purchase these days. I'd get a rigger to go up the mast and check-out the rig, and have the boat lifted so I could have a look at the bottom, but that's about it.

However, if you're new to sailing and don't know what you're looking for, then I can understand it.

When we bought our first horse (which was only £2k), we had a vetting done much to the surprise of the seller, mainly because I didn't know what to look for and didn't want to end-up with a massive liability of a horse that had some kind of long-term medical condition. We haven't bothered since though, as we now know so much more about it.
 
FullCircle said:
+1 £10k if I hadn't got a clue. Personally, if I was looking at a serious cruiser with generators, water makers etc, I probably would (you might be surprised how cheap they can be had for)
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Do surveyors test watermakers etc? I assumed that they would fall under the same category as engines which in my experience only get a basic look over (esp if on the hard..)
 
I have just done an self survey on an boat we buying which the insurance are quite happy about , we did get the bottom , rudder and keel surveyed but to be honsty it was a totally waste of money ,
Reason ? He could only see part of the keel bolts without ripping the boat to bits so that wasn't much good .
The hull reading we have already taken so we know it was dry .
The rudder he just took a look at the top m he didn't take anything apart , which I didn't expect any way , so he only sew what I sew .
And the sea cock I didn't need an survey to tell me they are going to need changing .
One thing , if you do a self survey you have to be as honsty as possible with the insurance , if an sea cock goes and the boat sunk , don't expect the insurer to pay out when you said it in good order .
 
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£10-15k is about where I'd be now before I felt I needed a survey. Above that, I like the security blanket of the survey plus it give an objective view of the state of the vessel which you can use to discuss either remedial work or price reduction.

On the insurance topic, I bought a 1969 Hurley 18 recently. Given its low cost I have only got third party cover for it. The insurers simply took my money no questions asked about the state of the boat.
 
I dont really mind if the perspective buyer wants a survey. But they also wanted a feathering prop on the 1980's johnson 8hp Outboard ;)
I just personally feel as others have said that the money would be better spent elsewhere but its not my cash
Would be interesting to hear what an actual surveyor thinks.
 
RivalRedwing said:
Do surveyors test watermakers etc? I assumed that they would fall under the same category as engines which in my experience only get a basic look over (esp if on the hard..)
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Probably true but I was thinking in line of the kit and installations I have a limited knowledge of. As we know there are specialist surveyors for different genres.
 
Circa 10k up I suppose. On the last yacht I purchased in that price range the surveyor saved me far more than his costs (a lot more) with the seller trying to hide things or not declaring things the survey picked up.
 
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That's a bit mad paying for a survey on a boat of that value. What does he expect for £2000? I paid £3000 for mine and didn't bother about a survey. If you are paying £2000 for a reasonable size old yacht then you have to be in the DIY category anyways so you should be able to see if anything bad is going on and be able to fix it to some extent.
 
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