Before you hand-over your money to buy the glamorous boat of your dreams, don’t neglect paying for a professional boat survey. In fact, a good survey could save you thousands in costs, for repairs or adjustments noticed after the purchase. Upon completion of a survey, you should be provided with a professionally prepared report that will be accepted by your bank or boat insurance underwriter.

Don’t simply hire the surveyor recommended by the seller and don’t rely on a report paid for previously by the seller. Find a reputable professional for the job yourself instead.
Look for a certified marine surveyor, who is accredited in professional bodies that require strict technical and ethical standards. Ask for the criteria your boat will be evaluated upon and exactly what will be covered in the report. It is worth paying to have an ‘out of water’ inspection to see whether the boat has been grounded or if there is keel damage. When arranging the date and time for the inspection, arrange to be present yourself. It’s a great chance to learn about your boat from an expert.

Remember, the survey is an overview of the boat condition on the day of inspection and problems hidden by the permanent structure of a boat may not be detected. A good survey could save you the value of your boat many times over in repairs alone.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 5:30 pm and is filed under Boat Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.