So Where Do I Start Trying To Find A Reputable Marine Surveyor?

[Gary3675]

I Third jaronson's recommendation of Derek Rhymes. He has surveyed 2 boats for me.

[chef2sail]

Been on a couple of S34. Carigtoos and Josrulz from Sailnet. They are good boats. Is the boat currently named Aura.

Dave

[arf145]

We would have used Derek Rhymes to survey our boat 5 years ago but we had a scheduling conflict. I did hire him to survey some damage done to our boat a couple of years ago and was very happy with his work. I especially liked his willingness to instruct and talk about the boat as he surveyed.

[JulieMor]

Thank you all! Now I need to get some more info from the broker if I'm going to move ahead.

[surgdesigns]

I'm looking for a surveryor in the Olympia/Tacoma area in Washington does anyone know of a good one? Also, when I find a boat that I love and think want to purchase should I look for a surveyor located in that general area or go with one that I know to be good at what they do, but they may have to travel 2 hours to see the boat?

[Faster]

Originally Posted by surgdesigns

I'm looking for a surveryor in the Olympia/Tacoma area in Washington does anyone know of a good one? Also, when I find a boat that I love and think want to purchase should I look for a surveyor located in that general area or go with one that I know to be good at what they do, but they may have to travel 2 hours to see the boat?

Probably better to start your own thread , but in essence.. If you have a surveyor a 2 hour drive away that you have confidence in, and if they're willing to travel, expect to pay for their time and travel both ways. This could add a fair bit to the cost of your survey, but the peace of mind may be worth it.

Generally speaking surveyors will not/cannot cross borders (in the event you wanted to use a Canadian )

[jrd22]

Julie-looks like you got some good recommendations in that area. I usually use the surveyor that the broker says NOT to use:-)) I've found they are the ones that are very detail oriented and "nit pick", which is exactly what I want a surveyor to do.

Sur- contact Zenith Maritime
Zenith Maritime Seattle - professional maritime education

[daddyhobbit]

Tim Davis has a good reputation. Remember the surveyor is your employee. Listen carefully to his words. I think you should figure on 20 to 25% more than purchase price to add what she needs and what you want.
My boat has been a work in progress since we bought her I wish I would have flown Tim in to look at her. Nothing wrong that kept her from sailing but a lot of the attributes that attrated us were not functional or were 110 volt when there was no genset this meant we were slip bound to use them.

Jim
S/V Osprey

[JulieMor]

Originally Posted by jrd22

Julie-looks like you got some good recommendations in that area.

I had originally contacted Rymes but he was laid up. But he was very helpful with providing information. I'd go to him again.

We're hanging on to our money for now. That chainplate issue on the $12K Sabre 34 would have been a MAJOR repair. A rep from Sabre said the only way to do it right was to tear out the entire knee wall and replace it, no cutting out the rotted wood and patching in pieces. Plus the deck had signs of a wet core and the engine would probably have to be replaced. That was a SERIOUS project boat!

[lancelot9898]

If you are in the market again and still looking for a good marine surveyor in the Annapolis area I recommend Mike Previti out of Solomons, MD. I've known Mike for around 20 years and during that time he has done several surveys on my boat. The most recent being a laminate profile done last year while the boat was on the hard in Annapolis. I'm an engineer by profession and view most surveys as nothing much more than a cosmetic overview rather than in depth analysis. Mike has excellent technical ability and his website is Previti Marine Consultants & Surveyors