Marine surveys on secondhand boats

[SgBFish]

From a private buyer purchasing from a private seller.

Has anyone had any experiences in having inspections done prior to purchase?
What do they normally cost for trailer boats?
Do they come to the boat or do you take it to them?
Anyone you would recommend?
Do they offer some form of warrantee or are you still on your own.
Cheers.

[Spaniard_King]

I think you need to rename this post.

Boat surveying is a whole different kettle of fish to boat inpections

cheers

Garry

[seatime]

Don't know much about the pre-purchase inspections per se, which aren't really a "survey" as in a Dept of Transport USL Code survey.
The inspections are however carried out by Marine Surveyors. They wouldn't be cheap as the surveyor carries loads of insurance to cover himself for the "advise" he is giving. There has been litigation involved and subsequently the expensive surveys are done by the reputable firms and the cheapies by uninsured surveyors.

I guess its like a car inspection, if they hoist it and take off the wheels etc, they are being thorough. If they walk around kicking tyres, well, anyone can do that.
I have chatted to a surveyor about this subject and I would advise u shop around research the firms, these guys should be accredited and should have some sort of liability insurance. cheers Steve.

[MulletMan]

Gelsec is spot on SgBFish!
I doubt many of the Surveyors want much to do with recreational boats these days of what I assume is not a big vessel?
I assume it is fibreglass?
How old is it?
What sort of Motor & HP?
What brand of boat?
What type of trailer?
If you give the guys in here some more info like this there is a good chance one of them will know something about the type of boat maybe?
If a Fibreglass boat the most troublesome area is the rear transom where rot on the internal timber can occur and you are looking at big bucks if you have to replace the transom.
Some boats have no timber in the transom but many of the older ones do.
Only FRESHWATER can cause dry rot in this area - saltwater has no effect!
I'd would certainly check for cracks all around the transom area and a rather brutal way to check for rot is to drill a small hole through the very top part of the transom and see if a long steel skewer will go down easily - if it does = dryrot!
I can just imagine it when you pull out yer Black 'n Decker in front of the owner!!
Under the floor is another big worry and cracks along the hull and side wall joint may indicate something is wrong.
One good way is to put the bungs in and fill the floor of the boat with water.
If water comes out when you remove the bungs you have a fresh water leak somewhere.
Similarly if you do take it for a test run, again remove the bungs first and tip the boat rearwards to get all the water out.
If after the run, you remove the bungs and saltwater (taste it) runs out there is a much bigger problem.
Many hull cracks only leak at speed and when up on the trailer close up and conceal the crack.
It is a big problem making the decision but keep after the guys in here!

[ynotaj]

Hi SgBFish

As Garry has started you may need to define your needs a bit more. I used a guy from ausfish to inspect my boat before I bought it and was very happy I did. He picked up things that I missed, and gave me information that I used to make my finial decisions on the purchase of my boat.

There was no warranty given but with the report and the information that I received I felt confident with my purchase. The inspection included, hull inspection, electrical systems, motor compression, steering etc, right down to a loose nut on the sounder transducer and the fact that the live bait tank didn't have an elbow on the pick up.

As my boat was on a canal with no trailer I used a mobile mechanic, he had sound credentials and is a member of this site, he has answered hundreds of questions on this forum and on a wide range of topics, if he has not already contacted you pm me and I will pass on his name.

I'm sure if you ask the right questions you will find what you need, I did.

Good luck hope it works out for you.

Tony

[SeaSaw]

I had a marine surveyor do a pre purchase inspection on my boat about 7 years ago when I bought it. He came out to the boat and was fairly thorough. He spent about 2 hours going over everything. I just looked up the cost and they charged $10 per foot back then, so it cost me $220 for a 22 foot boat. It gives you some peace of mind when buying privately.

Cheers,

Mark

[SgBFish]

Thanks Gents there's some great advice in here. Panther you sound like you have been around boats a long time.

Tony I wouldn't mind getting the name of the bloke you used I'll send you a PM.

Its a bit like Rumsfeld said " I don't know what I don't know".

Again thanks Steve and Mark for the great feedback.

Scott

[fish_crazy]

Hey ynotaj,
Can you also p.m. the forum members name as I'm also looking at purchasing a second hand boat.
regards,

Johnny

[inspired]

I had Toby at Marine Matters look at 2 boats for me. They took Photos every where Wrote up a report and all pictures on report and CD was very impressive.
They had this moisture meter wich picked up moisture in the hulls (was told by a dealer could be a very dangerouse tool) but i was happy with my report and bought the boat. I have now since sold it

[unhappyseajaybuyer]

a marine surveyor/engineer in melbourne costs 110 per hour on a 4 mtre tinnie plus gst and it takes about 3 hours with a full written report thats wat i was quoted last week

[Heath]

Give Garry AKA Spaniardking a yell. ;)