getting a survey on a used boat
 

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:27:25 -0400, Captain Wizard of Woodstock
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:20:07 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

Well, let me put it this way. I'm pretty familiar with problems and
such as far as the hull goes and I'm handy around engines - know what
to look for in a general sense.

A few years back, I became really interested in a early model Topaz
28' sportfisherman - twin 350s. I looked that boat over for three
days before I committed to buy it - put the 10% down and called a
surveyor, set up an appointment and off we went.

He spent a whole five minutes before the $13,000 deal was off.

That should tell you something.

Do what you will, but it can be money well spent. And they aren't as
vague as you seem to believe - their rep is on the line and they have
to tell it like it is or they are going to get insurance companies on
their asses if something happens.

What did he catch?

getting a survey on a used boat
 

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:48:43 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

On Jul 17, 11:30*am, Frogwatch wrote:
On Jul 17, 11:20*am, wf3h wrote:





The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) *boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

I know they're legally on the hook for certain things, but most
surveyors I've talked to don't do mechanical surveys apart from a sea
trial. (On my first boat, I had a mechanic do a compression check on
the engine). They have enough caveats built into the report to enable
them to avoid unpleasantness.

Having the boat pulled from the water and looking at the hull seems to
be their main focus, along with tapping the hull with a small hammer
looking for soft spots. *I have seen blistering and patching on hulls,
etc.. *The also turn on and off various systems...but so what?

opinions?

The answer depends on your level of expertise and if $10,000 is a lot
of money for you to take a reasonable risk. *Some insurance companies,
even for liability only insurance will require some level of survey
although this may cost a lot less than a full survey. *To insure my
homebuilt 20' Tolman cost only $100 and he did very little except to
verify I had the coast guard minimum requirements. *A survey on my 28'
S2 years ago when I bought her for $19,000 was about $300 and although
it did not uncover anything I did not know was a confidence builder
for me.
I would wonder, Why is the boat cheap? *is it cheap because it was
originally poor construction? *Is it cheap because of damage? *Is it
cheap because it is simply worn out?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

it's basically an old boat...1996. new engine which is a great
feature. but it's 13 years old...and getting older, like the rest of
us!

Geez, my last boat was 1987 and I thought it was pretty new.

getting a survey on a used boat
 

On Jul 17, 2:27*pm, Captain Wizard of Woodstock wrote:
On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:20:07 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) *boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

Well, let me put it this way. *I'm pretty familiar with problems and
such as far as the hull goes and I'm handy around engines - know what
to look for in a general sense.

A few years back, I became really interested in a early model Topaz
28' sportfisherman - twin 350s. *I looked that boat over for three
days before I committed to buy it - put the 10% down and called a
surveyor, set up an appointment and off we went.

He spent a whole five minutes before the $13,000 deal was off.

That should tell you something.

Do what you will, but it can be money well spent. And they aren't as
vague as you seem to believe - their rep is on the line and they have
to tell it like it is or they are going to get insurance companies on
their asses if something happens.

interesting comment...and good observation, thanks

getting a survey on a used boat
 

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:12:25 -0700, jps wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:27:25 -0400, Captain Wizard of Woodstock
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:20:07 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

Well, let me put it this way. I'm pretty familiar with problems and
such as far as the hull goes and I'm handy around engines - know what
to look for in a general sense.

A few years back, I became really interested in a early model Topaz
28' sportfisherman - twin 350s. I looked that boat over for three
days before I committed to buy it - put the 10% down and called a
surveyor, set up an appointment and off we went.

He spent a whole five minutes before the $13,000 deal was off.

That should tell you something.

Do what you will, but it can be money well spent. And they aren't as
vague as you seem to believe - their rep is on the line and they have
to tell it like it is or they are going to get insurance companies on
their asses if something happens.

What did he catch?

No baffles in the exhaust, sea water had gotten up into the engines
and they were siezed solid.

Never got beyond the stern. :)

getting a survey on a used boat
 

Wizard of Woodstock wrote in
:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:12:25 -0700, jps wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:27:25 -0400, Captain Wizard of Woodstock
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:20:07 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

Well, let me put it this way. I'm pretty familiar with problems and
such as far as the hull goes and I'm handy around engines - know what
to look for in a general sense.

A few years back, I became really interested in a early model Topaz
28' sportfisherman - twin 350s. I looked that boat over for three
days before I committed to buy it - put the 10% down and called a
surveyor, set up an appointment and off we went.

He spent a whole five minutes before the $13,000 deal was off.

That should tell you something.

Do what you will, but it can be money well spent. And they aren't as
vague as you seem to believe - their rep is on the line and they have
to tell it like it is or they are going to get insurance companies on
their asses if something happens.

What did he catch?

No baffles in the exhaust, sea water had gotten up into the engines
and they were siezed solid.

While I'm not debating that a survey is a good idea, if you couldn't tell
both engines were siezed in three days of looking, without a survey, you
should pick a different hobby. Maybe you have money to burn, but to me,
that's like spending $600 for somebody to tell me there's a foot-sized hole
in the hull. Survey or no, I would do my own preliminary check of the
obvious before I shelled out for a pro. At a minimum, that would include
starting all engines.

getting a survey on a used boat
 

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:22:14 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

Wizard of Woodstock wrote in
:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:12:25 -0700, jps wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:27:25 -0400, Captain Wizard of Woodstock
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:20:07 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

Well, let me put it this way. I'm pretty familiar with problems and
such as far as the hull goes and I'm handy around engines - know what
to look for in a general sense.

A few years back, I became really interested in a early model Topaz
28' sportfisherman - twin 350s. I looked that boat over for three
days before I committed to buy it - put the 10% down and called a
surveyor, set up an appointment and off we went.

He spent a whole five minutes before the $13,000 deal was off.

That should tell you something.

Do what you will, but it can be money well spent. And they aren't as
vague as you seem to believe - their rep is on the line and they have
to tell it like it is or they are going to get insurance companies on
their asses if something happens.

What did he catch?

No baffles in the exhaust, sea water had gotten up into the engines
and they were siezed solid.

While I'm not debating that a survey is a good idea, if you couldn't tell
both engines were siezed in three days of looking, without a survey, you
should pick a different hobby. Maybe you have money to burn, but to me,
that's like spending $600 for somebody to tell me there's a foot-sized hole
in the hull. Survey or no, I would do my own preliminary check of the
obvious before I shelled out for a pro. At a minimum, that would include
starting all engines.

Ok genius - you start your engines on the hard - I'll wait.

getting a survey on a used boat
 

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:52:22 -0400, Captain Zombie of Woodstock
wrote:

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:22:14 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

Wizard of Woodstock wrote in
m:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:12:25 -0700, jps wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:27:25 -0400, Captain Wizard of Woodstock
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:20:07 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

Well, let me put it this way. I'm pretty familiar with problems and
such as far as the hull goes and I'm handy around engines - know what
to look for in a general sense.

A few years back, I became really interested in a early model Topaz
28' sportfisherman - twin 350s. I looked that boat over for three
days before I committed to buy it - put the 10% down and called a
surveyor, set up an appointment and off we went.

He spent a whole five minutes before the $13,000 deal was off.

That should tell you something.

Do what you will, but it can be money well spent. And they aren't as
vague as you seem to believe - their rep is on the line and they have
to tell it like it is or they are going to get insurance companies on
their asses if something happens.

What did he catch?

No baffles in the exhaust, sea water had gotten up into the engines
and they were siezed solid.

While I'm not debating that a survey is a good idea, if you couldn't tell
both engines were siezed in three days of looking, without a survey, you
should pick a different hobby. Maybe you have money to burn, but to me,
that's like spending $600 for somebody to tell me there's a foot-sized hole
in the hull. Survey or no, I would do my own preliminary check of the
obvious before I shelled out for a pro. At a minimum, that would include
starting all engines.

Ok genius - you start your engines on the hard - I'll wait.

It makes sense to have the hull and systems checked before doing the
mechanical. But you could certainly check compression on the hard.
Imagine pulling a plug might have told the story...

getting a survey on a used boat
 

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:05:43 -0700, jps wrote:

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:52:22 -0400, Captain Zombie of Woodstock
wrote:

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:22:14 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

Wizard of Woodstock wrote in
:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:12:25 -0700, jps wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:27:25 -0400, Captain Wizard of Woodstock
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:20:07 -0700 (PDT), wf3h
wrote:

The gospel is that one gets a survey done. Has anyone found this
useful, apart from your own experience looking at a boat, especially
for cheap ($10K) boat? Is it worth it to get a survey done since on a
28' boat this costs about $600 in the NY area.

Well, let me put it this way. I'm pretty familiar with problems and
such as far as the hull goes and I'm handy around engines - know what
to look for in a general sense.

A few years back, I became really interested in a early model Topaz
28' sportfisherman - twin 350s. I looked that boat over for three
days before I committed to buy it - put the 10% down and called a
surveyor, set up an appointment and off we went.

He spent a whole five minutes before the $13,000 deal was off.

That should tell you something.

Do what you will, but it can be money well spent. And they aren't as
vague as you seem to believe - their rep is on the line and they have
to tell it like it is or they are going to get insurance companies on
their asses if something happens.

What did he catch?

No baffles in the exhaust, sea water had gotten up into the engines
and they were siezed solid.

While I'm not debating that a survey is a good idea, if you couldn't tell
both engines were siezed in three days of looking, without a survey, you
should pick a different hobby. Maybe you have money to burn, but to me,
that's like spending $600 for somebody to tell me there's a foot-sized hole
in the hull. Survey or no, I would do my own preliminary check of the
obvious before I shelled out for a pro. At a minimum, that would include
starting all engines.

Ok genius - you start your engines on the hard - I'll wait.

It makes sense to have the hull and systems checked before doing the
mechanical. But you could certainly check compression on the hard.
Imagine pulling a plug might have told the story...

Probably, but that's the job for the surveyor. I did a external
check, did the bilges, nothing appeared out of place and the engines
didn't look abused in any sense - clean, fairly new. When I pulled
the dip sticks, the oil was dark, not milky - that seemed to be
sufficient. With no batteries on the boat, it also would have been a
problem.

If it had been an outboard, probably a little different. I never even
thought of looking at the exhaust to check for baffle problems.

I just learned something new the other day about inboards - one of the
mechanics at the dealership I'm associated with was working on a
Mercruiser - 5.7 and when he fired up the engine, I heard this
clacking noise - asked him was it was, it was the exhaust baffles.

Don't mess with things you don't know about.