Survey Cost?

[Ocean Spray]

Just curious . . . . . What is the cost range to survey a boat? I'm looking at an older wooden Lobster boat, gas engine, thirty five feet long. What am I looking at for a survey?

[mmd]

I s'pose it depends on who you hire - the guy at the boatyard who "knows 'bout that kinda stuff" or an accredited professional. Regardless of which, he will have to drive to the boat location, spend an hour or two crawling all over the boat (length of time depends on complexity of the boat - a simple lobsterboat is pretty open and straightforward; a tricked-out lobsteryacht is a lot more complicated) measuring, poking, and taking pictures. He will then drive back to his office and write up a report for you and post it. All told, he will likely rack up somewhere between two and four hours of professional charge-out time on a boat of this size and type, so multiply that by what professional tradesmen get per hour in your area ($50 per hour? $75?) and you will be in the ballpark.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Guys that know what they are doing around here seem to get about $20 a foot for a survey.

-Thad

[mmd]

Izzat how the rates are figured down there, Thad? By the foot?

[Doug Wood]

Paul Haley, who's located in Orleans, MA. would be a good person to contact about a wooden boat pre-purchase survey. Here's his web page (http://home.comcast.net/~captfull/).

[Thad Van Gilder]

I thought surveys were always charged by the foot!!!! I didn't know anyone did it on an hourly rate!!!

-Thad

[TimothyB]

They do charge by the foot, which is a 'guesstimate' of what the hourly rate would be.

If you cut a survey short, for example, he may give you the hourly rate back calculated for time instead of the full rate. That could easily happen if he finds something nasty and you decide to end the agreement. Depends on the surveyor though, so ask if he will do this for you.

--T

[Carlsboats]

The numbers above may be low, if what you want is a really thorough survey. Example: recent
survey for a 40' yawl 35 years old, located CT, cost $1100. What the owners got, though, was not just a general status report (pretty good boat,
but needs some work). They got a detailed rundown
on exactly what was wrong (e.g.,six fractured ribs,specifically located), plus equally detailed
suggestions for repairs wherever needed (e.g., replace plank fastenings with 1 3/4 X12 bronze screws spaced XX inches apart, etc.) Ed McClave, one of the guys who really knows old wooden boats, and has restored his share of them, did that survey, and the owners had him at their side as they did the renovation work. That's what I call a real survey!
tht survey

[Concordia..41]

Michael - the standard here is by the foot. The range per foot is anything to anything based on location, wood vs FRP, age, length, etc. There are also different surveys - prepurchase and condition-value a/k/a insurance - and the range per foot varies in both categories.

In other words, if you are buying a boat, you want a prepurchase survey where the surveyor is acting as your agent and basically inspecting the boat and reporting to you any concerns and deficiencies.

An insurance survey is what is required by some companies every few years to renew your own insurance, and is basically an inspection of the boat and a stamp of approval on the bilge pumps, safety equipment, etc.

Because he is looking at purchasing a vessel, the thread starter needs a prepurchase survey.

The marine surveyor industry is self-regulated and the two leading organizations are Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (http://www.marinesurvey.org/) (SAMS) and National Association of Marine Surveyors (http://www.nams-cms.org/) (NAMS)

Dave was a SAMS Accredited Marine Surveyor (amoung his other talents). ;)

- M

[WindHawk]

Much, much cheaper for a good survey here in Michigan, aroud $300 is the staring point on a 'glass boat. Wood has become so rare on the Lakes, that I'm not sure I'd trust most of these guys to do one. However, a good two hour sail should be part of the equation; so, something approaching $500 for a fulls days work might be fair.

I'd need a big pay raise to live on either coast... that salt water is hard on the standing rigging! ;)