looking for a surveyor

[J&A]

Can anyone recommend a surveyor in the Sarasota - Ft. Myers area? Are close to purchasing our first boat and don't know what we are doing.

[dgurgel]

I did three surveys before buying my Albin 28. I used http://www.marinesurvey.org/, SAMS, Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors to get some names and then emailed them. In my area, price was $20 per foot for survey and seatrial with seatrial on same day as survey. About six hours were required. Buyer usually pays for hauling the boat and pressure-washing the hull - $250 to $325. It is not unreasonable to expect a report 48 hours after the survey/seatrial is completed. The report will be 20 - 40 pages and will be mostly filler. The end of the report will have specific recommendations. I would tell the surveyor not to discuss the report with the broker without your OK. Check your agreement, but you should be the one to accept or reject, even if the surveyor thinks the boat and price are OK.

Be sure the surveyor does a lot of the type you are buying, i.e. power instead of sail, 25' - 50' boats, not ocean tugs and working trawlers. I always required an oil sample analyzed by a lab (add $75). Many surveyors will have pictures of recent surveys on their web site. Some are better than others on engines, so ask them about their engine experience. The surveyor will coordinate schedules and haulout location with the broker for you. The broker will furnish a licensed captain or the owner to drive the boat. You can get a marine policy one day in advace using Progressive or other online service. I pay about $975 per year for my 2000 TE with $300,000 combined single limit and $2,500 deductible. If you reject the boat, Progressive will refund 100%. Owner's insurance covers until you close.

Ask in advance for maintenance records so that they are available. Ask the surveyor if the engine zincs and hull zincs were replaced this season. You can check this yourself too. Changing zincs and oil change are basic things that must be done yearly in any reasonable maintenance program. Ask too to see at the survey manuals and other documentation on the boat and its equipment. (Almost all equipment and engine manuals are available on the web.)

The hull and the engine are the two big questions. Talk to the surveyor as he does the hull. Tell him you want to see all blisters or cracks. Mostly he will depend on eyesight and a sounding hammer. Moisture meters are used too but do not give much useful information unless the boat has been out of the water for more than a day.

If you can see the radar display and if the chart plotter is clear for chart and depth sounder/fishfinder, you are probably OK. Most surveyors will do little on electronics except report on whether they powered up and gave a reasonable display. If electronics have been replaced since 2005, you probably are not going to need anything for a while. Electronics have added lots of features and dropped sharply in price over the past ten years. The VHF radio will probably work, but you don't care very much since great radios are $200 or less. New chart plotters with GPS, fishfinder, and radar display are $1,500 to $4,000 before installation. You probably know the manufacturer of the chart plotter now. Go to the manufacturer's web site and look at the latest models. Old radars and old fishfinders usually will not work with new chart/plotters. Replacing radar and replacing fishfinder will add $1,500 for each item without installation costs. The chart/plotter is the heart of the electronics package.

If there is an anchor windlass, make them demo operation since many seldom use the anchor. Make them flush the head in your presence because a non-working head can be a major expense. Have then switch the fridge on, and feel the freezer after an hour. Engine appearance even on a 2000 boat should be almost like new with no rust or corrosion. You will want to see about 22 kt at wide-open throttle if the boat is an Albin 28. Speed is best read on GPS, but GPS speed is speed over ground (SOG) not speed through the water. Hull-mounted speed sensors are often very inaccurate, and GPS is accurate to less than 0.2 knots. Run speed trial one way and then reverse course. Average the two readings to get rid of current errors and some but not all of wind/wave effects, Look for good oil pressure (mid scale on gauge) and nearly constant engine temperature during the entire sea trial.

I would be happy to email you copies of two of my ALbin 28 surveys (the third was not a full survey), so you can see what a survey covers. I will need your email address to do this since I do not know how to attach large files to the AOG messages. Email to dgurgel at efaonline.com, the Internet address for my engineering firm, Energy For America, Inc. Get the Energy For America address on Google if the AOG software strips out the address in this reply.

[J&A]

WOW! A lot of information. Thanks so much. I will pass this on to Jim, my very personal captain.

[Drew]

We used Steve Berlin of Independent Marine Surveyors in Ft Myers....came recommended and very satisfied. Surveyed a 28 in Punta Gorda for us which we eventially purchased. Phone - 239-466-4544.

[J&A]

I printed out all your info, Dave, and gave it to Jim. He had it in front of him when he called Steve Berlin (thanks, Drew). Jim almost sounded like he knew what he was talking about! We are having our survey on Dec 6 so wish us luck. Thanks again to you both.