Yacht surveyor for wooden, fibreglass and grp yachts and boats located in Dorset, Hampshire, Devon, Sussex and Somerset areas covering the South Coast

Preparing your vessel for pre-purchase or insurance survey.

When it comes to preparing your vessel for a yacht pre-purchase survey or a yacht insurance survey there are some basic steps which will make the process easier for both the surveyor and the owner of the vessel and more likely lead to a sale if selling your yacht.

A selection of sample surveys or a free survey template to help you survey your own vessel or possibly carry out an informed inspection of any vessel you might consider purchasing are available below.

Sample GRP survey Bavaria 34
Sample GRP Moody 29
Power vessel GRP
Sample large timber yacht (Hillyard)
24ft timber sailing yacht
Free survey template for GRP vessels
Free survey template for Timber vessels
Full list of sample surveys and PDF articles

Pre-purchase surveys

It may not be you that organises the survey and it will usually be the responsibility of the buyer to arrange with their chosen surveyor when to visit the vessel. However, do not forget that you do have some input on these arrangements as it is your boat. You obviously want to sell the vessel to this particular buyer and therefore you must maximize the chances of the survey leading to a sale.

Firstly ensure the vessel is clear of as much personal gear and unnecessary equipment as possible, empty all lockers of extraneous gear and non ships inventory as a new buyer would like to see how the boat will look when they own it.

It is clear from the two photos above that one vessel is prresented tidily and the other mid refit. Not an easy sell .

It will be at this point where you will be able to see what the surveyor may see with regard to things such as deck leaks, corrosion staining from rigging points and other possible faults, some of which you may be able to rectify fairly simply without the surveyor being forced to comment upon them.



Even GRP can have serious and expensive corrosion issues. This is the mast support post landing on the bilge in a modern Moody Eclipse 33.

A good surveyor will empty and inspect all lockers and the job is certainly easier if these lockers are clear in the first place. Ensure that any lifting cabin sole boards are easy to lift and that the bilge is clear of oil and other detritus as there is nothing more off putting to a new buyer to find that the surveyor reported they were unable to check the bilge because of the cosmetic state of the bilge with regard to oil and water and general detritus.

Presenting the boat

Ensure the cosmetic condition is as good as it can be in that any signs of mould ,mildew and general neglect are attended to where possible. First impressions are everything to both the surveyor and the buyer and a boat that has obvious neglect will send warning bells up to the surveyor suggesting there may be a lot more going on to this vessel than first meets the eye.
I have been on vessels where the frying pan was still on the cooker with congealed grease and fat left from from the day the owners left the boat.
That first impression is not good to either the surveyor or the buyer although of course, the surveyor will look further beyond these initial thoughts however, it is possible that these initial thoughts of neglect will become part of the report which would not look good to the buyer.

Ensure the boat is tidy and everything in its place. Some Sellers hope that by leaving as much equipment aboard as possible it might hinder the surveyor and prevent the looking in areas where the owner might prefer them not to look. I can assure you that is not the case with most surveyors.
A boat that is clear of equipment and extraneous gear is much easier to survey without leaving areas of doubt on the report.

Externally much the same applies in that ensure the boat is as well presented as it is possible to be, this is not suggesting that you have to do a refit externally although, in some cases this can add many thousands of pounds to the value of the vessel at a cost of a few hundred.
First impressions are always important and to prevent a potential buyer walking away you need to get them interested at the outset. An obviously severely neglected vessel externally will generally not encourage a buyer to go further if they were expecting to see something different.

Yacht surveys made easier

Obvious external faults will almost certainly be picked up by a competent surveyor and it is not suggested that you try and hide these unless these issues are professionally attended to to a high standard prior to survey.
It may be that in many cases you may not be aware of some problems that the surveyor may find and there is not much you can do about that.
Be aware that the surveyor will ask questions such as the age of the rigging and how old is the engine, when was it last serviced etc.

Tips on selling your boat here.

Be honest from the outset, if the answers to these questions are unknown then only state what can be confirmed by receipts or other paperwork as, insurance companies will only accept proof of rigging replacement once they have seen confirmed receipts of the date of replacement.
In the event of any claim in future any claim will be void merely based upon a reported date without proof. The same applies to things such as saildrive gaiters which have a replacement period of approximately seven years depending upon the manufacturer.
This also applies to outdrive gaiters, some stern gland units such as PSS seals etc.

Subsequently if the vessel is subject to a claim because of a failed gaiter and then the insurers may well not accept any responsibility unless it can be proven that the item is still within the manufacturers required replacement period. Some of these items can be quite expensive to replace and a new buyer may well expect a reduction if these items are due for replacement. Most good surveyors should know of these problems with regard to certain items subject to replacement times.

Insurance surveys

Some of the above applies to insurance surveys but in this particular case the surveyor is primarily looking for items that may put the vessel at unnecessary risk to the insurers such as a deck cleat pulling out which might lead to the boat being lost for the sake of a failed or faulty fastening.

The above photo shows potential problems that need sorting but without too much expense.

The report will also highlight some areas where in longer term potential faults may put the vessel at risk in years to come which, at this time can be easily rectified and generally the report will give the owner an idea of what would help maintain the vessel in a seaworthy and insurable condition for years to come. The old phrase a stitch in time.... Can save a considerable amount of money if any notice is taken of the comment.

Generally most surveys will highlight potential problems with a priority rating.
In my surveys all recommendations are rated with one, two or three stars * ** ***, the one star * items being of no consequence but a reminder that perhaps over the course of a few years this will become more significant, the two star ** items suggesting that it might be an idea to give this some serious thought within the next couple of seasons. The three star *** items are usually quite important but can be a simple as a loose clevis pin on a mast rigging attachment point,
For a sample survey click here.

Generally most insurance companies will follow the lead of the surveyor in suggesting that they might expect some of these items to be attended to within the next two or three seasons and finally three star *** items being rated as importantly before the vessel is commissioned and insurance companies will require these to be confirmed as attended to prior to insurance cover. Do not think that all three star items *** are going to be expensive as, in most cases they are not and they will generally be related to minor maintenance items that can have a major effect upon the reliability of the vessel such as corroded pipework clips, seized seacocks, or faulty gas system pipework.

The insurers would require these attended to as, you would yourself. *** star constructional items such as cracks in hulls and failed rudders are far less common although, obviously, they do occur and again, these will be rated upon their structural significance, for instance a waterlogged rudder on a grp hull will generally be rated as one or maybe occasionally two stars but very seldom three stars unless there is a major structural deterioration.

Remember the surveyor is not trying to make life difficult for the owner, this is where an experienced surveyor understands the importance of not overstating some items that are not important, at the same time ensuring significance is given to minor items where the vessel could be at risk of loss or damage such as the corroded anchor chain shackle which can obviously lead to the loss of the vessel for the sake of pennies.

In either case of purchase or insurance inspections you might find it useful to download an appropriate survey template in order to go through the vessel prior to inspection so that you have an idea of what the surveyor will be looking for. Templates are available for grp and wood here.