Correcting a bad Marine Survey

[Captn_Dwt]

This is a tough topic. I don't want to open a can-o-worms here. I fear we could fill the server with the many tales of woe, so let's not do that.
My surveyor made what myselft and many others consider to be a gross oversight. I'm sure this happens, and yes, we're all human, but we count on and spend LARGE dollars based on their expertise. I had every opportunity to have this problem paid for by the seller *if* the survey was done correctly.
My question to the group is:
Have any of your ever gotten any statisfaction or compensation as a result of protesting (or litigating) a botched survey?
(If you'd rather not post your answer, then email me direct please)

[jleonard]

My survey contained many errors. I had to correct it by marking it up and had him write another report correcting his errors. Then I had to write to the insurance company to explain several things he said were not acceptable and convince them he was wrong. And all this was to get insurance coverage for winter storage.
And yes he missed a couple of major things, one being water in the keel, but I just fixed it myself when I found it the next spring.
Some surveyors are good (so I hear) and some pretty much suck.

I do know a couple that went into litigation about a botched survey. Yes they finally got some comp, but it ate them up. They lost the respect of many of theoir friends as a result.
I also know a couple who went into litigation over buying a house. It ended up totally consuming their lives for about 2 years. Countless meetings with their attorney. Many hours of liesure missed. But once they started they had to stay in the game. They regretted the whole scene once it was over even though they "won".

[Mariner]

Going after a surveyor for the cost of repairs to a boat is a waste of your time and energy. They are a relatively dry well. Think about it, they charge about $500 a pop and are typically indpendent self-employed private contractors. A REALLY good surveyor might make $40,000-$50,000 a year in gross income. They will probably purchase errors and omissions insurance, but when that gets involved, you're talking about fighting professional hired-gun attorneys. And in order to acquire such insurance, you better believe their contracts are written in such as way as to severely limit their liability.

You should never think of a survey as a comprehensive report on the condition of a vessel. It is an opportunity to crawl around a boat with a professional engineer and gain some insight from their expertise. The report itself is just a piece of paper summarizing the experience. The same is true of home inspections, by the way.

If you feel that your survey was less than satisfactory, you may want to request a partial or full refund of the survey fee. That's all you're going to get.

[Kristo]

I agree with the other posters that on survey day it would be wise to put on your overalls and crawl around the boat with the surveyor even if your mechanical aptitude is poor.
Its a great way to learn about your potential purchase.
In British Columbia Home inspectors usually attempt to limit their liability to the cost of the inspection in their contract with the buyer....... and this may be the case with surveyors also.
Tackling E and O lawyers will be very expensive and energy consuming however recent litigation against a home inspector was quite successful.

The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered a home inspector to pay nearly $200,000 in compensation to a North Vancouver couple for a faulty home inspection he performed.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... wsuit.html