New Boat - Surveyor Suggestion by Broker

Jim@sea said:
READ THIS ABOUT HAVING A RECOMMENDED SURVEYOR
I made a mistake 43 years ago when I was buying a boat for £17,000, (the boat was 9 years old) I asked the boat broker to recommend a surveyor, whether he knew the history of this boat is another matter, but it was a mistake as he recommended a local boatyard to do the survey who I since found out did not have a properly qualified surveyor. After the survey II bought it and moved it to another Marina. Being on the boat for a week made me find things which I felt should have been found by the survey, So I contacted a highly qualified surveyor from another area and after he did his survey he said that he had surveyed this boat previously for the owner and there was Osmosis on the hull and it was coming back.
It turned out that the Local Boatyard who did the survey for me were the very same boatyard who repaired and painted the hull.
With this particular boat a Nauticat 33 there were very few and you cannot tell me that when the boatyard did the survey for me that they did not recognise a boat that they had repaired and painted 3 years before.

I bought the boat in the Channel Islands.
Click to expand...

P;lease define 'properly qualified surveyor' ...... particularly in terms of Yachts.

As to the content of your post - not a rarity unfortunately. I know of so-called 'qualified' Surveyors I would not ask to check a bath toy ... but that's another matter.

I've caught them ..... falsely condemning an engine so they supply new and sell on the old ... advising client to have osmosis work done under THEIR supervision and costings when hull was good ... writing a report requested by Insurance to give cause to dismiss a claim .... the list goes on and on ...
In one case - it actually affected a boat of mine - and it led to my threatening legal action ..

Use of Surveyor should not be lightly decided ... check around other boat owners for referrals .. talk to potential Surveyors BEFORE agreeing service. If they are any good - they will gladly discuss and likely provide references.
Do not forget that there are many very good Surveyors out there who are not members of Associations or other 'trade group' - who prefer to work without.

Ok - lets look at an example of so-called missed item in a survey.

I conducted a survey back in the early 90's (I will not be specific about location / boat / date) ... but the boat was being sold and I was to verify boats value and general condition.
All was good ... no outward signs or evidence of serious faults. All gear worked as designed. Measurements / photo's made ... probe mirrors and such all used to get into hard to reach areas .. meter readings of hull etc etc.
Hours were spent checking the boat .. sale went through ... report was also used to secure Insurance Cover ...

About 6 months later I had a call from the buyer ... understandably upset. He'd beached the boat on the slipway and when tide went out - the stbd bilge keel had split - literally exploded apart .... he of course blamed me for not seeing this potential ...

I attended the boat straight away to find out why. And of course whether boat was safe enough to put on its trailer at tide return.
We got boat onto its road trailer and proceeded to check it further ......

The WC piping passed through the top section of the bilge keel and had leaked - causing the iron ballast to rust - expand and split the keel. To find the cause of the leak and why the iron had rusted - we had to cut into the GRP covering the keel top ... then we found the pipes that had caused it and the lack of seal before the Iron ..

I provided a written report - free of charge - for owner to submit to Insurance. Insurance accepted and paid for repair.

The point of the story is that Surveyors are not magicians .. cannot see every thing .. we do our best in often difficult circumstances. One of the items I really disliked and would avoid if possible .... putting a Value on a boat ...
 
If, for any reason, you're not able to attend with the surveyor, make sure you chat with him after the survey. You'll find surveyors happy to talk about a lot more than they would ever be willing to commit to paper.

You may even find the survey a load of disclaimers and "further electrical/engine/keel checks may be recommended".

The phone call is what really matters as he'll likely informally advise if it's worth buying.
 
Refueler said:
P;lease define 'properly qualified surveyor' ...... particularly in terms of Yachts.

As to the content of your post - not a rarity unfortunately. I know of so-called 'qualified' Surveyors I would not ask to check a bath toy ... but that's another matter.

I've caught them ..... falsely condemning an engine so they supply new and sell on the old ... advising client to have osmosis work done under THEIR supervision and costings when hull was good ... writing a report requested by Insurance to give cause to dismiss a claim .... the list goes on and on ...
In one case - it actually affected a boat of mine - and it led to my threatening legal action ..

Use of Surveyor should not be lightly decided ... check around other boat owners for referrals .. talk to potential Surveyors BEFORE agreeing service. If they are any good - they will gladly discuss and likely provide references.
Do not forget that there are many very good Surveyors out there who are not members of Associations or other 'trade group' - who prefer to work without.

Ok - lets look at an example of so-called missed item in a survey.

I conducted a survey back in the early 90's (I will not be specific about location / boat / date) ... but the boat was being sold and I was to verify boats value and general condition.
All was good ... no outward signs or evidence of serious faults. All gear worked as designed. Measurements / photo's made ... probe mirrors and such all used to get into hard to reach areas .. meter readings of hull etc etc.
Hours were spent checking the boat .. sale went through ... report was also used to secure Insurance Cover ...

About 6 months later I had a call from the buyer ... understandably upset. He'd beached the boat on the slipway and when tide went out - the stbd bilge keel had split - literally exploded apart .... he of course blamed me for not seeing this potential ...

I attended the boat straight away to find out why. And of course whether boat was safe enough to put on its trailer at tide return.
We got boat onto its road trailer and proceeded to check it further ......

The WC piping passed through the top section of the bilge keel and had leaked - causing the iron ballast to rust - expand and split the keel. To find the cause of the leak and why the iron had rusted - we had to cut into the GRP covering the keel top ... then we found the pipes that had caused it and the lack of seal before the Iron ..

I provided a written report - free of charge - for owner to submit to Insurance. Insurance accepted and paid for repair.

The point of the story is that Surveyors are not magicians .. cannot see every thing .. we do our best in often difficult circumstances. One of the items I really disliked and would avoid if possible .... putting a Value on a boat ...
Click to expand...
I've had many surveyors look at boats I am looking to either buy or sell and several are simply awful for both seller and buyer. They badly edit prior reports they are copying from, report nonsense that does not exist, then there is the 'Osmosis' word. Over state acknowledged defects providing the buyer an excuse to renege on his obligations.

Bear in mind often a buyer is a 'great pretender' and desperately needs a reason to renege - his surveyor provides him such a reason.

As a seller never ever attend the boat with the surveyor - they will ask you questions to feed their report, rather than their own observations - SO DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.
 
Last edited:
Giles is absolutely fine. Just be aware of who their 'principal' is - they will report to the person who pays their bills, but I think Giles and any other accredited surveyor will still be impartial. If something goes wrong and they've covered it up, their head is on the line.
 
wonkywinch said:
Been 3 weeks now. Any update? Parker Adams still have the boat listed without any "under offer" or similar tag.

OP not logged in since 27th March. Just curious how this turned out.

2001 – Bavaria 32 Cruiser With A Volvo Penta MD2020 19hp Engine | Parker Adams Boat Sales
Click to expand...

Hey folks

I mistakenly thought this had all gone quiet but just logged in thinking "I wonder if I missed anything" and it seems I did...

So yes, all is well and good. The survey occurred and there were a few advisories, some of which Parker Adams had already pre-empted and set to sort. One or two things sounded particularly curious (some cracking near the keel bolts believed to be superficial, as well as some chafing on the boom that was recommended to be reviewed by a rigger). On both of these points, Andrew (at Parker-Adams) was all over it, immediately getting a surveyor to take a peek at the boom as well as Desty Marine to look at the keel. Both confirmed absolutely fine with Andrew sorting letter-headed paperwork by each respective company to confirm as such.

I didn't attend the survey but did have a great chat with Guy at Solent Marine Surveys -- very helpful and clear.

So, we're all good guys. I suspect Giles would have been just as helpful based on hearing more since, but I'm glad I took the opportunity to have Guy do the survey based on recommendations here as well as a bit more public feedback on them.

Sorry for the delay in acknowledging and updating; this thread once again led to influencing me on the surveyor front which, I feel, really paid off, so thanks once again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top