One reason for having a boat surveyed is prior to a purchase. Another reason could be for insurance purposes. By having a pre purchase survey you will be able to obtain an independent report on exactly what you are purchasing.
The survey report will list any defects that are found on the vessel and where appropriate contain recommendations for suggested remedial work. A pre purchase report may save the buyer considerable sums of money by requiring the current owner to address the defects or to make a reduction in the price accordingly.
Sometimes a survey report may actually make one walk away from what might have turned out to be a very large financial error.
I looked at a sports boat that had been made by a major British manufacturer and my surveyor found that the boat had been damaged and not properly repaired. Indeed the hull was soaking wet through but without a moisture meter I could not tell that. He could and was able to identify where the boat had been holed perhaps by being dropped on a stanchion.
The diesel engines, on the other hand, were a dream.
Another important reason for having a marine survey is when a boat has been damaged as then a survey report is usually commissioned by the Insurance Company with reference to the actual claim or loss.
A damage survey report will help to reveal the amount of the loss or damage and provide a useful guide of the cost of the proposed repairs.
Where a vessel is damaged the marine surveyor will liaise with the owner (the insured party), the repairers and any other interested third parties as appropriate.
Some times very difficult decisions have to be made as to whether it is actually more economic to repair or replace the vessel.
Some years ago a motor cruiser then known as had an incident when a propeller hit something in the water off the south coast of England. This resulted in displacing the P bracket of the propeller which then started to chip away at the glassfibre bottom of the vessel. It was rebuilt in Brighton marina but the total costs were probably more than a replacement vessel.
All survey reports will usually contain a disclaimer clause which restricts the use of the report to the client who commissioned the report. This does make sense because if one had bought a boat last year with a survey and then sold the boat a year later the new buyer can not rely on my surveyors report. For one thing, time has moved on, so now it is out of date. Anything could have happened in the time period.
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