Checklist for buying a new yacht

The shortest and safest is this one;

1. Call a Surveyor.

That's true. especially if you're really serious.
But reality is you're not going to call a surveyor for every boat you look at.
Only for the one or two that pass the list the O.P. asked for.

- Like soft decks.
- excessive oil in the bilge
- water stains around the windows or in the head liner.
- filthy bilges.
- nasty, home made wiring
- punky stringers, if they are wood or glass over wood.
- crumbling weather striping.
- cracked or scaling gel coat.
- broken ... almost anything.
- clear lack of maintenance.

None of these things, alone, would necessarily null the deal but if you've got a number of check marks on the list you might say " no surveyor needed, I'll move on..."

What does it cost for a quality survey of a used boat? Defever twin diesel comes to mind.

Hull/boat surveyor $20 per FT +/- in South Florida, then you also have the price of an engine surveyor in addition to that.

Thank you; and an engine survey costs?

Depends on the engines and depends on the surveyor or mechanic.....you can have twin outboards tested for around $300-400 usually.......6-12 cylinder diesel inboards could be around $1000...... it depends on how in depth you want to go as well......

Isn't this still the first item on any boat-buying checklist?

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/yachtforums-yacht-club/18431-what-would-you-build-$600-million-lotto-ticket.html#post148680