Would you bother with a survey?

seanfoster

seanfoster

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Hi All,

Been quite a while since I've posted on this excellent forum, but after a while away from being on the water I'm in a position again to get on again in the coming 2015 season!

I'm pondering over buying a Hunter 26 which looks in excellent condition, I get the feeling that the current owners have taken great pride and care of their yacht.
They have a survey from 2011 when they bought her and as the value is around the £10K mark, I'm wondering if I really need another survey?
I know a fair amount about boats from an amateur level, and certainly will be going over her with a fine tooth comb, but do I need to shell out the extra £500 or so for a survey?

Any comments would be appreciated!
(Oh, and happy New Year to everyone!)
 
With a boat of that value I'd probably not bother with a survey unless the insurance people wanted one. If you do get one done for insurance purposes, make sure the surveyor knows that's what it's for and writes his report accordingly: you don't want to be doing a lot of unnecessary work to simply to meet an insurance requirement 'to complete all jobs identified in the survey'.
 
When I bought my previous yacht (around £5K) I had a couple of knowledgable friends look over her, and as I was re-insuring her with the same company that the previous owner had used (GJW) they didn't require an immediate survey - I had a year to get one done, and in fact that turned into 2 years, so it would be worth checking with your anticipated insurer.

Neil
 
Yachtline let me self certify without a survey for my insurance based on my having owned and run a boat for a few years and my Hunter 26 selling for under £10k. Something to think about.

In general if this is your first boat I'd get a survey but bear in mind that the problems won't be as bad as they seem on paper.

By the way.... key thing is engine. A new inboard one is likely to be half the value of the boat, so if it isn't good and sound, go find another boat. Try to make sure you see it running under load if possible.
 
Naff surveyors exist. Mine missed a howler - the windlass didn't work! I'm pretty sure he didn't look at the sails.

If you are looking for a surveyor ask for recommendations from: Your local Marina manager, your harbourmaster and your lifeboat engineer.
 
EdWingfield said:
Naff surveyors exist. Mine missed a howler ...........
Click to expand...

Same here. My surveyor assessed my catamaran out of the water and did not spot anything wrong with the rudders. The first time I saw it out of the water a couple of months ago I saw that the rudders were not parallel but had a 10 degree toe-out. I emailed Robertson and Caine in the evening and Peter Robertson himself emailed me back the next morning to say the rudders should be parallel.

On closer inspection I found a problem with the starboard steering arm which involved removing the whole assembly. Removal and re-installation plus realignment of the wheel and recalibration of the autopilot sensor took me a whole day.

It will be interesting to see whether the boat goes any faster without the drag from the rudders next season!

Richard
 
If as you say you have a good knowledge of boat technicalities and you have researched the particular model involved and checked its particular condition against known issues of the class then a survey won't add much at this point.
 
seanfoster said:
Hi All,

Been quite a while since I've posted on this excellent forum, but after a while away from being on the water I'm in a position again to get on again in the coming 2015 season!

I'm pondering over buying a Hunter 26 which looks in excellent condition, I get the feeling that the current owners have taken great pride and care of their yacht.
They have a survey from 2011 when they bought her and as the value is around the £10K mark, I'm wondering if I really need another survey?
I know a fair amount about boats from an amateur level, and certainly will be going over her with a fine tooth comb, but do I need to shell out the extra £500 or so for a survey?

Any comments would be appreciated!
(Oh, and happy New Year to everyone!)
Click to expand...

£500 for a survey on a 26' Hunter, who on earth quoted that price, I would expect £14/m max !

Happy new year to you also,but don't start by getting ripped off !
 
Caer Urfa said:
£500 for a survey on a 26' Hunter, who on earth quoted that price, I would expect £14/m max !

Happy new year to you also,but don't start by getting ripped off !
Click to expand...
I haven't been quoted for a survey yet, I paid around £400 for a survey about 15 years ago for a 28ft yacht so thought that would be in the right ball park. Thank you for your advice though, that's good to know!
Happy New Year!
 
If possible consider just getting the hull together with keel and rudder surveyed by a local man this could throw up any really expensive problems unlikely to be spotted by the less experienced.
 
I paid £350 for a survey on a Cobra 750 and I was present. I knew nothing about boats and it was the best £350 I ever spent. It was a training course for me, not just a survey.

Basically everything was broken or failing.

Gooseneck, winches, engine mounts, roller furling, osmosis blisters, evidence of grounding on keels/ internal cracking on glass, rudder saturated, all through hulls dezincified, no swan necks on plumbing.

Boat was on sale for nearly £10k!

Safe to say I left it there!
 
Don't bother with a survey.

Make sure the engine starts and runs well. A bit of smoke on startup is nothing to worry about as long as it starts and pulls well and doesn't smoke under load.
Check the shroud bases (at deck level and below decks).
Check the structure around the keel for any issues (cracks, delamination, leaks, etc.)
Look up the mast to make sure there are no kinks or weird bends in it.
Check that all the electrics and insruments work.
Feel under the bunk cusions to make sure they're not wet (leaks from hull/deck joint)
And generally if it looks ok, it probably is ok.
 
seanfoster said:
Hi All,

Been quite a while since I've posted on this excellent forum, but after a while away from being on the water I'm in a position again to get on again in the coming 2015 season!

I'm pondering over buying a Hunter 26 which looks in excellent condition, I get the feeling that the current owners have taken great pride and care of their yacht.
They have a survey from 2011 when they bought her and as the value is around the £10K mark, I'm wondering if I really need another survey?
I know a fair amount about boats from an amateur level, and certainly will be going over her with a fine tooth comb, but do I need to shell out the extra £500 or so for a survey?

Any comments would be appreciated!
(Oh, and happy New Year to everyone!)
Click to expand...

The legal position is straightforward - you have no contract with his surveyor and therefore no ability to sue him for negligence. That apart ( and ignoring the ridiculous £500 on a 10k boat) I reckon you are more likely to find any nasties than a surveyor is because you have the time and incentive to do the job really thoroughly. Only caveat to that is the osmosis issue where it takes an experienced eye to know in marginal cases.

I once surveyed a boat on my own and found a list of issues quite a few of which the surveyor missed when he came round. But the surveyor found early osmosis and it wasnt until he showed me that I realised just hoiw difficult it can be to spot.
 
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