...

There's nothing reasonable about that.

The buyer is selecting the surveyor, and has the benefit of the survey,
deal
or no. The seller has no control over the surveyor or the outcome.

Let's not forget that most insurance companies will require a recent
survey
on any larger boat over 5 years old.

Now you want the SELLER to provide you with a survey that you then use to
obtain insurance?!

If you are not sufficiently skilled to determine the condition of the boat
on your own, you're welcome to hire as many surveyors and other experts as
you wish, for whatever you wish, from a cold beer in the local bar to
$25,000.

However, as the seller, I am neither going to recommend a particular
person
nor will I reimburse you for the costs of your decision(s) in that regard.

If the boat is on a trailer I'll be more than happy to launch it and take
you for a ride once I've determined that you're actually able and willing
to
fund the purchase, and are seriously interested. If I'm already going
out,
and have room, I'll generally let you come along with no obligation or
verification - why not? It doesn't cost me anything in that case.

Where it stops is when you want me to pay you to inspect the boat.


I've bought a few boats, 2 airplanes, a bunch of cars, and a dozen houses
and rentals. I've never had anyone bellyache about picking up the cost of
the inspect IF I bought. Let's all assume a reasonable man standard here.
A home inspect is around 25 cents/foot, a car inspect at autoclub is under
$100. My last boat checkout on a 25 Searay was $250. Big deal in the
scheme of $20K for the seller.