boat surveyor
 

Does anyone know of a licensed boat surveyor who knows wooden boats?

Try this guy. http://www.marinesurveyor.com/mlc/

He is actually surveying one of my boats today. Seems like a very knowledgeable person when I spoke to him on the phone. He was also very accommodating to my schedule! Seems like a real nice guy!

dan

He is a grumpy old man, one I know too well. He is my father!

Even though he is family and I am biased, I will say that he is probably one of the top surveyors in the New England area and has all the right credentials. He just got back from doing a 72' multimillion dollar yacht in CT and was only 1 of 3 in all of New England that had the right credentials to do the job.

Having dealt with a few surveyors in my many boat purchases I have seen the good and the bad.

I love Capn Bill.. Knows his stuff. Good choice.

I've used this guy, and he seemed very good:

Thomas Ferguson
677 Lake Ave
Manchester, NH
603-669-0734
[email protected]

Never heard of him, but after looking him up he seems to be associated with a different, smaller association.

One thing to keep in mind, there is a National Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS) that is basically the governing body in the industry. Anyone can claim to be a surveyor, but ones that are under the organization are accredited and are held to educational guidelines in the form of courses that need to be taken, conferences that need to be attended, etc. to keep up on the latest investigative methods, industry trends, etc.

You can verify on the following website if a surveyor is part of the assocation:

www.marinesurveyor.org

thank you all for your endorsement and advice. I went to the gentleman's web site and he posted that he is SAMS certified so I am taking that at face value along with his son's endorsement.

I just checked www.marinesurveyor.org and searched for everyone in NH. He is second on that list on this SAMS site.

I used this guy this past spring, he did a good job for me:

http://www.marinesurveyor.com/mcdonough/

Captain John C. McDonough Marine Surveyor/Consultant, LLC
Rye, New Hampshire

John C. McDonough, SAMS® AMS®
Principal Marine Surveyor

Yacht & Small Craft Marine Surveys
Serving the North East USA since 1995

Good luck with your search.

What exactly do they do? I assume that if I was looking to buy a used boat they would give it a complete inspection and advise you as to what a fair price may be. What would the cost to have that done be for your average 5 year old 26 ft open bow on Winni be?

Surveyors do not tell you the value of the vessel in question. They walk around the vessel and Tap on the hull with a hammer..poke at the wood with a pocket knife..(wooden boat hull) check the moisture content of the hull with a meter (Fiberglass) ...generally inspect the condition of the boat, engine, plumbing, electronics AND equipment. Then they give their opinion.

The cost for a 1990 survey of my 1980 32 foot fiberglass sailboat (Value about 32K) was about $300. They give you a Complete report.

Weather or not you (as a purchaser) have a boat surveyed depends on how knowledgible the buyer is. FYI: The Buyer pays for the survey..Always.

Don't buy the boat..??? You still pay for the survey. NB

Surveys these days range from $17-20 per foot.

Yes, my surveyer gave me a market value report of the boat. Just like a real estate agent would do, they compare your boat with those recently sold and currently on the market and give a fair market value opinion.

Of course these days, you can almost do that yourself online. But you may have to pay for access to a couple of websites that collect such information.

They also work like a home inspector to inspect all the systems on the boat, and tell you what is working and what is not, as well as what may need work or improvments to come up to the proper standards.

We recently purchased a used 27' Cobalt and were required to have a marine survey done in order to obtain a loan for a portion of the purchase price. As that came as a complete surprise we found ourselves scrambling.

Mark Corke http://www.surveymyboat.com
is SAMS accredited and was VERY responsive. I feel he did a thorough and professional survey of the boat. He pointed out a number of tips as he went over it, and identified a couple of issues that we were able to have resolved as part of the purchase process. His written report was very thorough and complete, and included numerous photos of key areas and an estimated value.

i would not hesitate to use him again, and would definitely recommend him to anyone needing a survey.

No matter who you use a survey is well worth it. On a few purchases that I made in different parts of the country the ones I used saved me plenty, gave me better negotiating power, and also prevented me from buying some major headaches.

On the ones that I did not bother getting surveys on I definitely regretted it. Believe me....

Some of the insurance companies are requiring them now just to renew. I changed companies.