Why get a survey before buying a boat?
For starters, I don’t wear rose tinted glasses when I look at a boat for a client.
Don’t get me wrong I love boats, but also know from my 35 years of boat building, that there is no such thing as a perfect boat.
So, when you found the “perfect” boat after looking at so many, sometimes reason goes overboard during the sea trials.
That is why I squeeze myself into those cockpit lockers to look at the steering, crawl around the bilge and get dirty to assess the keel bolts, structural members, engine foundations, skin fittings, sea cocks and the likes. It is a real triumph if you can write a glowing report with only minor defects needing attention, but sometimes even a good boat might just come up for a full re-paint, which is usually very costly. These are the things I feel are also important to point out. Boats can have a maintenance factor which can add considerable cost to the initial purchase price.
As you can see in my introduction [About Us], I am very passionate about wooden boats. My apprenticeship covered mainly timber and fibreglass construction but over the years I also gained a lot of experience in steel and ferro-cement.
Rather than boring you with all the details about what I do during a ‘Pre-purchase or Insurance survey’ why don’t you just give me a call when you have found the perfect boat.
Contact us today for more information.