From the sellers perspective, getting your sailboat surveyed.
I’ve been on both sides of the survey fence, meaning as both a buyer and a seller, and not just for my current sailboat. As a seller, getting to the point the boat was getting surveyed meant that the perspective buyer had made an offer to purchase, and we had accepted. He (or his broker) then found a Marine Surveyor, Engine Surveyor, Rigger and made an appointment at a boatyard for the requisite haul out. After my three hour drive to the boat, I was pleasantly surprised to find one of the best surveyor’s in the area already on the boat, hard at work. I also met the perspective buyer, his broker, my broker and the engine surveyor. Professionally, they all took time to introduce themselves and make sure I received their cards. They then walked through the day with me and the perspective buyer. I was impressed. Haul out was at 1100, so we took a break and moved the boat to the haul out yard at 1100, and out she came.
If you look close, you’ll see Shiny Michelle (new anchor) there on the bow, the bow thruster and the fact that our bottom has been well cleaned. The hull survey went well and 30 minutes later, she was back in the water. Like normal, the surveyor came along for the in-water portion of the survey. During the next couple hours of the afternoon, we sailed and motored San Diego Bay, getting the boat to her full power and speed (8 knots) and getting all sails up to attempt to beat the America’s Cup Sailboat (we lost). That’s ok, as I know her engine is in great shape as are her sails, so she did great. Coming back to back on the docks, we cleaned up everything while the surveyor’s continued their work. In the late afternoon, the lead surveyor impressed me the most as he took the time to sit down with both me and the perspective buyer to verbally explain what he had found and it’s impacts. There was nothing catastrophic, but there were minor repairs that I could do myself, quickly. The engine surveyor also give us a verbal run-down of his findings, but they were all fixable pretty quickly. Again, I was impressed by all of their professionalism. The perspective buyer will see the written report (which most boat sellers/owners don’t get to see). After the survey was done and everyone had left, I was relieved and happy that none of the survey’s noted anything dangerous or immediate on any of the survey’s, and Tulum IV was in decent shape. I’m always looking for improvement, so I’ll continue to work on her and take care of her till the day she sells.
*Note on Marine Surveyors: If you are a perspective boat buyer, a bit of research on Marine Surveyors may go a long way. Of course, choose your own surveyor,,,,,choose your own surveyor. Ask your boat broker for their opinion, but make sure you pay for it and that you set up the appointment with a surveyor of your choice. Do your research, especially with your perspective Marine Insurance Company, as they might have a mandated list by region of approved surveyors. YEP,,,,Boat US does have this list on their website (but I threw it on there for you) and they enforce it. We used the surveyor on this list and I was very pleased. Same surveyor from my post above. I don’t have any issues with the company, cause the truth hurts sometimes and my boat isn’t perfect. But of the things that were discussed with me and the perspective buyer that afternoon, I’ve already knocked out several of the larger issues. Propeller and new fresh water pump fixed,,,new sail cover done next week, moving on to the rest of the issues. Like I said above, I’m always trying to improve her, it’s a good boat that’s well priced and ready for sale- see the link below!
Here’s the rest of the Series-
Time to Sell the Boat-Part 1
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