Buying a Boat? Why You Need a Marine Surveyor

Just as ordering a home inspection is a traditional step buyers take before closing on a house, a marine survey plays a key role in most pre-owned yacht purchases. We spoke with Gary Frankovich, owner of Accurate Marine Surveys Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida, and president of the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS), to learn why a survey is such an important tool.

“Especially if you’re buying your first boat, but even if you have owned other boats, no one ever looks at a boat the way the marine surveyor does. He’s going to come on board that boat and he’s going to look at absolutely everything and test everything. Nobody besides a surveyor ever does that all in the same session. With a marine survey, you will get a snapshot in time of what equipment on the boat isn’t working and what is working properly. It’s really information overload the day of the survey,” Frankovich said.

 

There are two types of marine survey:

1. Condition & Value Survey. This survey is used by boat sellers and brokers to help establish the market value of the vessel before listing it for sale. A C&V survey also is required by most banks before they will finance a pre-owned boat purchase. In addition, when you buy a pre-owned boat, most insurance companies require a C&V survey prior to writing a marine insurance policy for it.
   “It’s about the same whether you’re buying a 25-foot boat or 125-foot boat. If it’s a used boat, the insurance company 99 times out of 100 is going to ask for a Condition & Value survey,” Frankovich said. “They want to know, is this going to be a good insurance risk? And the only way to know that is to have a neutral third party survey the boat.”
2. Pre-Purchase Survey. A much more thorough and detailed inspection of the boat and its equipment, a Pre-Purchase Survey can make or break a brokerage deal. This type of survey takes anywhere from a day to a week or more depending on the size of the vessel, and the resulting report can run dozens of pages. It covers the entire boat from bow to stern, including (but not limited to) a complete structural inspection of the hull and stringer system in addition to testing every piece of equipment on board from the running gear to the electronics to the head(s) to see determine whether it is in good working condition or needs replacement or repair. In addition to helping to assess the current value of the boat and the cost of needed repairs prior to your buying it, the Pre-Purchase survey will provide critical insight into the vessel’s overall safety and seaworthiness.

 

Pro survey tips

• If you are purchasing a small pre-owned boat, you still should consider ordering a marine survey. The smallest boat that Frankovich has surveyed to date is an 18-foot rowing skull a college was acquiring for its team.
• Prior to booking a marine survey of a pre-owned boat you are thinking of buying, Frankovich recommends asking the seller or broker for all of the maintenance records. They will help the surveyor assess how well the vessel has been maintained.
• Consider hiring a dedicated engine surveyor to inspect the boat’s engine(s), particularly if it’s equipped with twin diesels. “You want somebody who knows those particular engines,” Frankovich said. “He’s going to take the oil pressure. He’s going to take a borescope, look inside the turbo, and maybe look inside the coolers to see if they need to be cleaned, what condition they are in.”
• Hire an Accredited Marine Surveyor to ensure you are working with an objective professional. “The Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors has a really strict ethics policy. We have an Ethics Board and a Chairman of Ethics, and we have ethics classes at every regional and international meeting,” Frankovich said.

 

Whether the marine survey on a boat you are planning to buy is mandated by a financial institution or insurance company, or is voluntary on your part, it can be a worthwhile investment in helping to ensure you are making the right purchase.