First, everyone needs to understand that there are 2 kinds of survey
report, one for insurance and one for purchase.

Sellers will often give a potential buyer a copy of an insurance survey
because it's a 7-10 page overview that doesn't list anything but major
safety deficiencies, will almost always indicate that the vendor has
corrected them (otherwise he won't be insurable), and indicate that the
boat is now "sound". I've seen several of these that bore very little
resemblance to the boat I then examined.

Sellers will rarely provide a copy of a purchase survey since it is a
different beast altogether. It usually runs to +/- 30 pages for a
typical 20 year old 40 foot trawler, and contains a very long list of
findings ranging from the trivial to the very serious. I've yet to meet
anyone - myself included - who actually managed to get every last
recommendation implemented within the first few years of ownership. To a
novice buyer, reading a purchase survey without the surveyor's oral
interpretation would be very scary. And off-putting.

When the survey is complete, if you think you are going to complete the
purchase, it is wise to ask the surveyor to produce both an insurance
report and a purchase report, even at extra cost. It will save you
enormous aggravation - and perhaps a lot of money - since the insurer
will typically require that all/all recommendations be implemented
within thirty days regardless of whether they have anything at all to do
with insurability. If you fail to do any one of them, your policy could
be voided in the event of a claim.

I have to disagree with many of the comments about what surveyors will
and will not do. Clearly, they have the same liability concerns as any
consultant, and since the very good ones are true professionals, of
course they're not going to speculate about deficiencies they suspect
but cannot certify as such. However, they can, should, and do indicate
when, in their professional judgment, there are symptoms that indicate
that something they cannot see might be a problem. I've used 2 marine
surveyors on 6 boats. One is Canadian, the other American. Both are
excellent, answered every one of my questions, and were forthcoming with
advice and estimates of cost to repair. Their reports were detailed and
pulled no punches. (I also used 5 mechanical surveyors. Their written
reports were next to useless, but the oral advice, if brief, was fine.)

Ask around before engaging a marine surveyor. You want to find the best
purchaser's surveyor in your region, the guy with the reputation of
being a deal-killer, whom no broker wants to see boarding the boat.
Before contracting him, ask how long he expects to take - a 40 foot boat
requires at least 6 hours of work - what elements the survey will cover,
what he will tell you both orally and in writing, whether and how he
will answer questions about potential hidden deficiencies and costs to
repair, and whether he will also produce an insurance survey if you
decide to proceed. If you really want him to speculate in some detail,
you might also consider offering him a liability waiver for any oral
advice he provides.

With apologies for the preachy tone of the foregoing,

Cheers, Garrett

Ask around before engaging a marine surveyor. You want to find the best
purchaser's surveyor in your region, the guy with the reputation of
being a deal-killer, whom no broker wants to see boarding the boat.
Before contracting him, ask how long he expects to take - a 40 foot boat
requires at least 6 hours of work - what elements the survey will cover,
what he will tell you both orally and in writing, whether and how he
will answer questions about potential hidden deficiencies and costs to
repair, and whether he will also produce an insurance survey if you
decide to proceed. If you really want him to speculate in some detail,
you might also consider offering him a liability waiver for any oral
advice he provides.

Cheers, Garrett

I posted this earlier without drawing comment, indicating possibly a touchy
subject. I have a good friend who is a retired marine surveyor (Right coast)
He maintains the biggest shortcoming of marine surveys is that the industry
is price structured to get the survey done in a minimum amount of time. He
feels that a thorough survey should take two days and the surveyor should be
paid accordingly and that this would be the best expenditure a buyer could
make. Just an opinion from a surveyor who must have been successful, but
still feels he seldom got nor gave full value for his services.

Zeke Anderson
Kerrville, TX