Pre purchase boat survey

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nicholascollin

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Would any one be able to point me in the right direction for a reputable surveyor who can conduct a pre - purchase survey on a a yacht under 30 feet.
I am looking for some one who is extremely pedantic and pays attention to detail and would allow me to be present whilst he under takes the task in question.
The area that I am looking for is the west side of Southampton in the Bucklers Hard area.
Please guys, has any one any names and contact details as it would be much appreciated.
Please no graduates out of university or desk bound office wallers.
Thanking you
 
Nicholas,

Chrissie of these forums is well thought of and relatively local to you, indeed she surveyed a friends' boat recently and was spot on.

I'm afraid I don't have her contact details and my chum is on holiday but I'm sure someone here does.

No connection.
 
I will not suggest names, as I am a broker, but we have a list on http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/surveyors.htm

A few thoughts:-

By all means attend, but please do not stay with the surveyor all the time - let the surveyor get on with the job without distraction, and be nearby if he/she wants to point something out to you. Maybe bring him/her a cup of tea/coffee after an hour or so!

The value to you being there is in having him/her point out and explain detail that will go into the report, and discuss how it can be fixed. This of course after he has finished, not bit by bit as he/she works.

Discuss with him/her beforehand what might be "show-stoppers" - and say you are prepared to stop the survey if something of this nature comes up. By showstoppers I generally mean serious structural issues, but some buyers regard soundly repaired accident damage or some osmosis as an absolute no-no. If you are of this opinion, make sure he/she knows this. Most surveyors will reduce their bill if the survey is terminated early and no written report required.

Surveyors come in many flavours, from people who started as boatyard/boatbuilder apprentices, and have virtually no formal qualifications, to highly qualified engineers and/or mariners. The older the boat you are looking at, the more I'd say the practical-skills person is the better choice.

Expect 10-30 pages of defects in the report, unless a near-new or truly fanatically maintained boat. Expect defects even in a new boat.

Bear in mind that your insurance will issue cover on the basis that "all survey recommendations are carried out". The surveyor might recommend that the boat would look smarter painted pink - and you'd have to do it to get insurance cover (joking about the pink). Therefore make sure he separates his findings into "must be dones" and "would be better if dones"
 
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omegajames said:
Another recommendation for Nick Vass - he surveyed my current boat.

Also had good experience of Rich Cray - http://www.precisionyachtsurveying.co.uk/about-us.html
Click to expand...

A third recommendation for Nick Vass.... he's done my last 3 boats, and i've been very happy with all three reports, and he is very helpful and willing to discuss in depth, along with advice as appropriate.

He also welcomes, indeed even encourages, buyer presence, rather than tolerating it.
 
Chrissie recently did a survey for me - very thorough. The previous survey a few years back was done by David Hopkins, who's mentioned above - I learnt the hard way and would NEVER EVER use him again.
 
How strange - David Hopkins surveyed my boat and it was an excellent job - he identified an expensive to fix fault and made a number of well considered recommendations that made the exercise of buying the boat worthwhile - I'd strongly recommend him.
 
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