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Surveyors in the SF Bay Area

Matey

Member III
Any recomendations on a good Surveyor in the Bay Area or Delta would be greatly appreciated. An Ericson pro would be a bonus.

Thanks for the help,
Greg
 

CWM

Chuck
The best IMO:
Peter Minkwitz
510 465 2527

Peter was the yard manager for Svend's for many years, so he knows what to look for.

Also, he is very detailed; as a buyer you want him, as a seller you do not.
 

Matey

Member III
Minkwitz

That's 2 votes for Minkwitz. I'll look him up.

Thanks .. and for the warning West.

Regards, Greg
 

Matey

Member III
Peter Minkwitz

Thanks for the great advise. My survey yesterday besides going well, was just a pleasure with Peter's experience and rational view of things. He answered constant questions as we made what I felt was a very detailed assessment of an old boat with plenty of issues. His communications were excellent.
Thank you guys again .. he was the right Surveyor for me.

Regards, Greg
E32 - 255
Sirena
:egrin:
 

zackreidman

New Member
price?

And how much did a survey run you? I'm thinking about getting one done after the fact (having already bought my boat), but I'm not sure if it's worth it at this point. Thanks.
 

Matey

Member III
Survey Rates

The rates and contact info for the company I used are listed at ..

http://www.sanfranciscomarinesurveyors.com/index.php?customernumber=466730390510441&pr=Our_Rates

It ran $13- a foot.

I guess you can look at a survey different ways. A good friend of mine just got one on his 80's vintage 30' boat. It ran him $500- and took about an hour. The guy said it was in excellent shape and the survey .. all three pages oulined the same. Insurance accepted it without any questions and all was good. The next week my friend found a stringer rotten through that was missed and plumbing issues. At $12,000 to repair, he will likely be selling the boat next summer.

I was looking for a surveyor who would help me avoid like surprises. I was also looking for one who might help me determine if the repairs needed were things I could do with my skill set. I got all of that. What I got that I wasn't expecting was pretty detailed instructions on how to properly complete these repairs. My survey took 6 hours.

The down side, one might say is that the 13 pages listed a lot of recomendations for repairs. My insurance (Boat U.S.) would only give me port risk coverage until many are completed with the exception of the 70 mile move to my new home this last week. But I can't really argue with the recomendations, they are things that should be addressed and I'll feel much better when they are. It's raining every week here in Ca. now, so I'm tarping off for a few months and I'll bang them out.

I guess you were'nt looking for a soapbox speech, but here's my 2 cents anyway. I did what I did because I want to know what issues my boat has from a more experienced impartial 3rd party. I'll take that and my years messing with boats and can go forward with a good plan. This year I'll sail my boat weekly with my Wife, Kids and the closest friends I have. I know I need to do my part on the front end to make those trips the best of times.

Regards, Greg
 

zackreidman

New Member
Hi Greg,

Thanks for the information, and the more soapbox the merrier. I just purchased a 1976 Ericson 29 a couple months ago (you may have seen it on Craigslist, it was listed in Richmond) that I plan to eventually live aboard when all the paperwork and such is taken care of. I, too, am interested in a survey so that I know what I'm in for. I took the previous owner for his word, though I'm sure there are things that he wasn't aware of. I plan to haul out in the Spring, at which point I might opt for a survey with that list of things to do and how to get started doing them. I've got a lot to learn. All the best, and stay dry -- I got the tarp up just in time.

-Zack
 

mherrcat

Contributing Partner
I just got off the phone this morning with BoatUS regarding the "Port Risk Only" stipulation in my recently purchased insurance as well. They seem to be most concerned about structural integrity issues; in my case a couple of cracked swage fittings. Other things like hose clamps, head plumbing, etc. can be dealt with down the road. As soon as I can show them that the designated shrouds have been replaced they will lift the Port Risk Only restriction.

There seem to be a lot of things that surveyors include in the "recommendations" section that are kind of standard boilerplate. The thing I find interesting is that in my case the surveyor didn't notice the sorry condition of the boom, which I would consider equal to the risk posed by the cracked swage fittings.

As has been pointed out, these surveyors can do a good job or a bad job, but whatever they do, the insurance company takes it as gospel.
 
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