Surveyor recommendation Long Island NY

Does anyone have a good reference for a surveyor in Poughkeepsie / Hudson area? I was quoted $2200 for a full in depth survey (incl 2 engines and generator analysis). Is that in the ballpark?
 
I don’t know any surveyors in the Hudson area but the survey price would depend on the boat. I don’t remember exactly but I paid less than $1400 for a surveyor and mechanic on my 360DA with 8.1’s in Oct of 2019.
 
Trying to find an available surveyor for the mid March on Long Island. Found one guy, extremely well qualified and does both the engines and hull. When I asked about specific QSM11 issues I didn't get the warm and fuzzy from him. Kept saying his thermo camera will tell us everything. Should have went with my gut and not scheduled him. Gonna call and cancel even though I just gave a deposit. DUH, bad move on my end.
 
Trying to find an available surveyor for the mid March on Long Island. Found one guy, extremely well qualified and does both the engines and hull. When I asked about specific QSM11 issues I didn't get the warm and fuzzy from him. Kept saying his thermo camera will tell us everything. Should have went with my gut and not scheduled him. Gonna call and cancel even though I just gave a deposit. DUH, bad move on my end.
Is this Al Prisco?
 
Yes, nice guy but I need a Cummins expert.
Al is very good. Did a survey for me when I was looking at a Back Cove 34 with a Cummins QSB. Also did the survey - including engine - for the buyer when I sold my 34.

He will look at the mechanicals of the engine, and pull all the history that's stored in the engine computer using code scanners. He carefully checked fuel flow and temps across a wide operating range and checked the engine from the compartment while the broker drove. On the boat he did for me he found history of multiple severe overheats with his scanner. Also, he identified serious issues with the transmission and a shaft that was out of balance. In fact, he halted the sea trial because of the issues he found. Oil analysis by Blackstone confirmed problems with both the main engine (serious fuel dilution of the oil - likely from the overheat) and serious wear problems in the transmission.

Al will use a temperature scanner on the hull to help ID moisture problems, in addition to traditional sounding with a hammer. IIRC, he also put the thermal scanner on the engine to check for normal operation as well.

I'll compare what Al did to what my surveyor in South Carolina did for my 37. He did ONLY the hull and mechanicals outside of the engine / transmission. While the SC surveyor observed RPMs, fuel flow and the engine when underway, it was very much more superficial than Al's service. I was very comfortable with what Al provided me from an engine perspective. I would trust Al to tell you if he can or cannot provide a proper survey of the engines.

If you want something more detailed on the engine, I can suggest the local Cummins dealer. Honestly, I don't know what additional inspection they will do beyond what Al does. IDK if they are allowed to do any disassembly on a survey.

I would keep Al for the survey, and if you want a separate engine survey call Wesco Marine Services out of Hampton Bays, NY. Phone 631-718-9202 They are one of 2 Cummins service providers on the island, and who I call when I need them.
 
Al wouldn't do just the hull, it was all or nothing. I like him but really would feel more comfortable with a Cummins guy for the engines. I've called Mako and Wesco and both immediately spoke about EGTs, over propped engines and the recommended fuel burn for the QSM11. Al was extremely knowledgeable overall but didn't know the specific QSM stuff.

Trying to schedule John Lowe for hull and Mako or Wesco for the engines.

Shooting for the week of March 14th so I can hopefully close by April 1.
 
I'll just add that most marine surveyors don't address the propulsion systems. They will take the approach of the guy I used in SC and be hands-off for that part, so you would need a separate engine guy. Al is able to do both, which is unusual in my experience.
 
This surveyor is pretty good. Very thorough.

Steve Maddock NAMS-CMS
Certified Marine Surveyor
Maddock Marine Services

Office: 631-728-7970
Email: boatsurvey@aol.com

Know Steve very well. He surveyed my current boat. Be prepared for a serious list. He doesn't pass many Sea Rays.

Also another friend that does a very through job and is quite fair on price.

Sound Shore Marine
Captain John Mecionis S.A
631-445-3599
info@soundshoremarine.com
 
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Al wouldn't do just the hull, it was all or nothing. I like him but really would feel more comfortable with a Cummins guy for the engines. I've called Mako and Wesco and both immediately spoke about EGTs, over propped engines and the recommended fuel burn for the QSM11. Al was extremely knowledgeable overall but didn't know the specific QSM stuff.

Trying to schedule John Lowe for hull and Mako or Wesco for the engines.

Shooting for the week of March 14th so I can hopefully close by April 1.

Sounds like you have a plan. Good luck!
 
Know Steve very well. He surveyed my current boat. Be prepared for a serious list. He doesn't pass many Sea Rays.

Also another friend that does a very through job and is quite fair on price.

Sound Shore Marine
Captain John Mecionis S.A
631-445-3599
info@soundshoremarine.com
Steve is great if you can get him. I had Mako there for the engines On my survey. Communication with them wasn’t as good but in the end I think they did a good survey
 
Steve is great if you can get him. I had Mako there for the engines On my survey. Communication with them wasn’t as good but in the end I think they did a good survey

I tried to hire Al for a survey last year based on this forums recommendation.

the yard where the big was stored said they wouldn’t let him on their property. i don’t know what the dispute was about or who was right and who was wrong. but i couldn’t use him. he is expensive but i heard he is thorough.

Also, the yard told me he’s no longer Nams/Sams if your lender or insurance requires that. i think i recall that was correct.

once again i dont know what the dispute was about and the boat yard could very well be arseholes here.
 
I tried to hire Al for a survey last year based on this forums recommendation.

the yard where the big was stored said they wouldn’t let him on their property. i don’t know what the dispute was about or who was right and who was wrong. but i couldn’t use him. he is expensive but i heard he is thorough.

Also, the yard told me he’s no longer Nams/Sams if your lender or insurance requires that. i think i recall that was correct.

once again i dont know what the dispute was about and the boat yard could very well be arseholes here.

Having zero actual knowledge, sounds a little like a good home inspector. My dad was a home inspector and his loyalty was solely to his client to ensure they knew what they were buying. Some realtors (and even entire realtor offices) hated him because he was really thorough, found important stuff, wouldn't be bought off, and more than once had clients walk from a sale because of what he found.
 
Steve didn't have any openings in the month of March. My broker also mentioned the lack of certifications for Al which could be an issue for the bank. John Lowe is available and so is Mako, waiting the return call from Wesco.
 
Having zero actual knowledge, sounds a little like a good home inspector. My dad was a home inspector and his loyalty was solely to his client to ensure they knew what they were buying. Some realtors (and even entire realtor offices) hated him because he was really thorough, found important stuff, wouldn't be bought off, and more than once had clients walk from a sale because of what he found.



best surveyor in Newport had a nickname

Tony ‘Dealbreaker’ Knowles.

you definitely wanted him as a buyer.
 
Having zero actual knowledge, sounds a little like a good home inspector. My dad was a home inspector and his loyalty was solely to his client to ensure they knew what they were buying. Some realtors (and even entire realtor offices) hated him because he was really thorough, found important stuff, wouldn't be bought off, and more than once had clients walk from a sale because of what he found.

We used to have a surveyor here on Lake Lanier that was the same way and the brokers/marinas did not like him at all, but he was a buyers broker in a big way. If you mentioned his name they would tell you right up front we are not going to fix everything he finds…..

Bennett
 
As a buyer don't you want the most hated guy out there? I had a survey done in Minn. Guy I used was a former broker. The broker representing the boat told me the guy when he was a broker hated certain surveyors. Now he was that hated surveyor. Did a good job for me, even though he was a Vikings fan.
 
As a buyer don't you want the most hated guy out there? I had a survey done in Minn. Guy I used was a former broker. The broker representing the boat told me the guy when he was a broker hated certain surveyors. Now he was that hated surveyor. Did a good job for me, even though he was a Vikings fan.
sure. in my case i didn’t have a choice. stupid tight market and the yard wouldn’t let him in. Al knew which yard i needed to go to and when i told him what the yard said he never replied.
 
I tried to hire Al for a survey last year based on this forums recommendation.

the yard where the big was stored said they wouldn’t let him on their property. i don’t know what the dispute was about or who was right and who was wrong. but i couldn’t use him. he is expensive but i heard he is thorough.

Also, the yard told me he’s no longer Nams/Sams if your lender or insurance requires that. i think i recall that was correct.

once again i dont know what the dispute was about and the boat yard could very well be arseholes here.

The last time this happened to me with a surveyor, was due to them finding water intrusion issues in many boats, killing their deals. After rejecting him they kindly gave me a list of surveyors allowed on their property. I of course shredded the list. I found someone not on their list. Long story short, the new surveyor took less than 2 hours to find major structural issues, which at that point I told him we were done. I didn’t buy the boat and paid the surveyor in full, even though he offered to reduce the cost of his partial survey.
 
Al surveyed a 460DA for me years ago.
The sellers broker asked me how I found him and why was I using him. Within an hour Al turned up enough concerns that we walked away. The sellers broker really turned into an ass at that point and told us all to leave and never return. He know his stuff
 

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