Survey

[shinintimes]

Can someone please tell me when should you get a survey done on a boat.. lets say your getting a boat that's only worth lets say $3000 dollars OR LESS is it really worth it ?? there has to be a price range that its just not worth the trouble... Thank you

[Don Supon]

IMO you get what you pay for.

 

A survey for a $3000 boat/motor is going to be a waste of cash. I also think a $3000 boat/motor is a waste of cash unless it is going to be a winter boat that will take a beating from ice. In this case, a ride on the water will let you know.

[antney1]

I found a marine surveyor that charged me $200 and that was an inspection of a few boats. The question you have to ask yourself is $200 worth the piece of mind you get. The boat I purchased cost 15k and IMO it was worth every cent to know what I was purchasing was in excellent condition. The big issue is water in the hull, transom ect.. where you have to worry about rot

[Kuba]

For 3000$, it will float

[Chas0218]

I bought my fiberglass boat and trailer for $800 condition unknown added a used outboard for $1000.  When we pulled the original motor off the transom we checked around the bolts for dry rot and she was clean as a whistle (no punky wood or funny smells).  I have had the boat going on 3 seasons and have almost 2x if not closer to 3x as much invested in electronics and running gear than what I paid for the boat.  If you keep your wits about you and check everything out with a fine tooth comb you will be good to go.

[shinintimes]

Chas0218 that's what im talkin about if you have half a brain you can check most of this stuff yourself and again you get what you pay for ! I passed on two baha's that had bad stringers but know for a fact both sold so for 8 grand and 2 thousand for new stringers some guy has a nice boat for 10 g's ITS A 50 THOUSAND DOLLAR BOAT !! now back to the question IDK about the price of a good survey but it seem to me it would be more then 200 bucks

[TyeeTanic]

Guys the way I would look at it is (a) do you have the experience to go and look at the right things (stringer conditions, transom, engine test, wiring) and (b) if something goes wrong what will it take to fix.

 

(b) is the biggest issue.  Let's say you are talking a bigger boat say 28' boat. If something goes wrong, it's easy to drop a couple thousand $$$ on it.  So is a $300 survey a good investment? Probably yes.  If the biggest issue you can forsee will cost you $500, then is a $300 survey still gonna be worth it, probably not.

 

I always lean towards conservatism, and if I want to keep something for a while, I'd do the check, even if it was $5000 - unless you have money to throw away. A survey also gives you time to think about it, rather than get emotionally caught up in the deal and looking past problems.

[shinintimes]

Sounds like good advice markb it is easy to let emotions get the best of you when your really ready to buy and for some reason I thought a survey would cost a lot more like 900+ (don't know why)

[Chas0218]

Chas0218 that's what im talkin about if you have half a brain you can check most of this stuff yourself and again you get what you pay for ! I passed on two baha's that had bad stringers but know for a fact both sold so for 8 grand and 2 thousand for new stringers some guy has a nice boat for 10 g's ITS A 50 THOUSAND DOLLAR BOAT !! now back to the question IDK about the price of a good survey but it seem to me it would be more then 200 bucks

Dont get me wrong if I were dropping 20k on a boat you bet your ass it would be surveyed but I figure anything under 5k you should be able to unload it for close to what you bought it for.

Edited May 11, 2013 by Chas0218

[Instigator]

I just bought a boat from Michigan.  I had it surveyed prior to purchasing.  I would advise anyone (even if you have a good sense of boats) to have the boat surveyed by and accredited marine surveyor such as a SAMS (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors) member.  They go through an awfull lot of training, and have specialized equipment to test the fibreglass for moisture content as well as other things.  I talked to several in the area that I bought the boat and they all charged by the foot.  You can go to marinesurvey.org and punch in the zip code or city and it will give you a list close to where your boat is.  I had my Tiara surveyed, sea trialed and compression check done on the engines for $525.00 and I'd do it again in a heart beat.

 

A good friend of mine had a boat surveyed in Michigan at the same time.  His "looked" like an awesome boat.  The survey came back with some major deficiencys.  Needless to say that boat is still in Michigan.  That particular surveyor called while on the boat to go over the problem list.  At that time it was decided to stop the survey, he was charged a nominal fee and the search for another boat continues...

 

Just my $00.02