Sea trial - surveyor needed?

V

VTBoater

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I just talked with my surveyor, he gave the boat an excellent condition report. His fee did not include sea trial. He wants another 250 dollars for that portion. Money is getting pretty tight, and I'm not sure if I want to pay for that. I know engines and boats pretty well, mainly stern drive though. I would like to think I could tell if everything performs up to par when we are sea trialing. Any thoughts? Keeping in mind my pockets are not deep.
James
 
Geez, my pre-purchase survey included the sea trial. I thought that was SOP.
Let's hear what others have to say.
 
I had to pay for my sea trial and survey. Don't do it without the Sea Trial you really need to know how the boat handles and the engines run. Marine engines are different animals compared to auto. The $250.00 will be the best money spent. Without it you could easily end up with a bill in the thousands if one V drive or transmission is bad in that boat. There is no real way to check the V drives without a sea trial. Your almost there keep going in the right direction. Bill
 
I was suggesting that I sea trial it without a surveyor on board and rely on my own experience. We have a sea trial all set up.
I also thought that surveys included sea trial as well, hard no to feel like its expensive, I already paid 500 dollars for the survey.
Maybe there is a checklist somewhere for what to look for during a sea trial?
James
 
No; BOAT stands for "Bring on another thousand"! Run the boat through its routine, make sure the sea trial is for a minimum of a half hour give the engines time to warm up. If the boat has a generator run that as well under a load in other words turn the AC units on and try the stove etc. Try spinning the boat in one direction then the other forward and reverse. Watch the engine gauges oil pressure and temperature. Look for smoke and also condensation it should almost disappear after running for awhile. Check the bilge pumps anything related to a system that needs to be run in the water. The boat will probably have a Kohler generator 5kw unit in it if it has a generator. Good luck let us know how you make out again don't go for a quick ride this can hide numerous problems. I'd start by letting it idle at the dock for 10 to 15 minutes while you look in the ER for hoses leaking. Also listen and feel for any vibrations through putting along to full throttle, vibrations can be a dinged prop to a bad shaft to V drives being out of alignment. If you have a vibration make sure the owner has this fixed before you sign any papers.
Bill
 
$250 + $500 = $750. Bad engine mounts, questionable transmission, problematic engine, etc = $1000 to $2000+ each. Sounds to me like a no brainer. The extra $250 won't even fill up your gas tank. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. You need an unbiased pair of eyes and ears on this one. Good luck.
 
VT, Golfman25 gave you good sound advice. I would follow it. Your so close and to be honest sounds like you are just $250 away from closing otherwise if the unbiased eyes and ears find a problem it is on the seller no matter what you are paying for the boat.
Bill
 
Any survey I had done included the sea trail with the surveyor on board, however, that was understood before the agreement with the surveyor was reached. I also advise that you have a qualified surveyor on board when you sea trial any vessel. That said, what was your agreement with your surveyor? What was his per foot fee? If he gave you a bargain fee he may have also given you his "bargain" hull only survey. Full hull survey's in our waters including sea trial run around $17-$20/foot. What did your guy charge you for the services he has already provided?
 
His fee was 15 dollars per foot, and I knew ahead of time that did not include sea trial fee. I just should have asked ahead of time what the extra fee was for sea trial and tried to negotiate a better price for both. He charged for the entire LOA which is 33 feet 3 inches or something, also a surprise to me since it is a 31.
 
It sounds as if the mechanicals have not been done by any arbitrary third party. You may be better getting someone who specializes in mechanical inspections (survey if you will). The fee that you will pay, in my opinion, is just part of the price of admission, not to mention that this person is your advocate in the event of something that needs to be discussed.

By the way, it is not always necessarily true that whatever is found is "on the seller" or at the expense of the seller. What you already knew when you made your offer and the purchase price will enter into that equation. This mechanical inspection may just tip you off as to what you, as the new owner, will need to do.

The bottom line here is that you definitely should have someone else, surveyor or mechanical inspector, along for the sea trial to act on your behalf as your advocate.
 
Sounds like a "value" survey as one would get for an insurance/ finance company. Full survey with mechanicals and sea trial is more than $15/foot.
 
Take the surveyor with your. Mine had an IR temp gun and turned up hot risers on one engine. I bargained with the broker and they knocked off the cost of the parts and I replaced the risers and manifolds. I didn't want them doing the work because I was afraid of getting a "spray can" rebuild. Well worth the exta $ IMHO.

BTW, my survey included seatrial.
 
A pre-purchase survey Always includeds a sea-trial. Running the vessel under load conditions tells you so much about the boat. Sorry, i can't see a surveyor performing one with out it.
 
Survey says....................................

GET THE SEA TRIAL SURVEY !
 
Ok guys,
I get it, you all are right on and I appreciate the advice. I was trying to be cheap, I'm running low on funds after all the expenses, but it doesn't make sense to be cheap here.
Tomorrow I will shop around a few other options for possibly a mechanic type person to do it, my surveyor is old school and I highly doubt he uses a temp gun or other tools.
Is a mechanic a good choice for this, or should it be a surveyor?
 
This is not a guess.

Most surveyors per se, that is, those that "do" boats and their appurtenances, do not "do" engines; they "do" everything but.

Then, if you require an engine survey, they will call in someone who does "do" engines and mechanical features such as a generator. That someone is usually a mechanic with whom they have some relationship.

Ask your surveyor for a couple of recommendations; ask a couple of boatyards in the area; ask the seller or the broker who he or they use (God forbid though that you use someone who he/they may recommend). But, a common name or two may appear, and that may become your engine and sea trial guy. That coupled with your own knowledge and experience should form the basis for this decision making process.

Again, this is not a guess.
 
VT if you want to see what can happen with even a brand new boat go look in the LICC thread about what happened with Dave's new Regal "CurrentSea's" new boat. I took him out of our tricky back bay and out to the Ocean and ran with him for about 15 minutes 3 miles out. This repair is going to cost at least $7,000.00 and probably could have been avaoided with a good survey and sea trial.
Take care. Bill
 
I saw that thread, and am pretty shocked about that happening.
Yesterday I made the decision to go with a surveyor for the sea trial. The guy coming is a different person than my hull surveyor. I liked everything he said about what he checks and looks for, he brings an IR temp gun, voltmeter, etc.. and he was also pleasant to talk to. He charges by the hour, 75 dollars per.
So I am feeling good about that decision, and pretty anxious for next week!
Thanks Bill and everyone here at boatered.
James
 
James,

Are you looking at the Feather Merchant in Sheboygan WI (I see there is a deal pending on it)? If so, I can say that the boat was well taken care of by her owners. I tied up across from it for a few years.

Don
 
Hello,
Just got back from Sheboygan last night, new owner of the Feather Merchant! It is beautiful and was well cared for. I could not be much happier with it. It is even bigger than I expected. Unfortunately I am having major trouble with the shipping portion of it, so it is sitting in Wisconsin still, up at Manitowoc marina. I brought it up there to be at a travel lift. Took down all the canvas and radar arch to get it to trucking legal height, and there it sits. I wish I had not already paid half the shipping costs to the guy I hired or I would change direction at this point. I have to wait a few more days and see if this guy comes through before doing anything else.
Thanks for all the advice everyone, and hopefully soon we will be enjoying our boat!
James
 
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