Inspection before you purchase?.

[phil richards]

Should you find a RIB for sale on the internet, how do you go about checking the quality and the condition of the engine etc, if like me you have very limited knowledge of RIBs. Are there independant surveyors that you can hire or would a member of Ribnet offer to look at the boat with me?. Could you give me some ideas what i would need to look at.
Cheers Phil

Ps how do you get the smiley face thing to work?!!

[Xk59D]

Phil i was in exactly this position last year. i found a RIB for sale i liked in Southampton. i made few phone calls and found a well respected RIB surveyor to look at it since i'm in Glasgow and couldn't see it myself. he went and seen the boat and found out within seconds it has osmosis in the transom so he stopped the survey and called me to advise. it is the best "money" i have spent-i say "money" because he refused to take anything for his time.

long and short of it is if your buying something then you'll find a suitable surveyor no probs i'd say and if your unsure there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum you can tap into.

cheers

[Poly]

Originally Posted by phil richards

Should you find a RIB for sale on the internet, how do you go about checking the quality and the condition of the engine etc, if like me you have very limited knowledge of RIBs. Are there independant surveyors that you can hire or would a member of Ribnet offer to look at the boat with me?. Could you give me some ideas what i would need to look at.
Cheers Phil

There are marine surveyors, some of whom have experience with RIBs. If its on the south coast then Duncan ("Searider" on here) is well regarded. If its elsewhere then post a thread and someone local may be able to recommend someone. You want to make sure you "spec" the survey well though - e.g. on a RIB the engine is a rather important point - it will be difficult for most surveys to test this properly without a sea trial.

The other alternative is a reasonable one too - getting someone on here to go along with you (or if it is far away to go along first to see if it is a complete waste of time). The difference being that whilst many people here will do that FOC (or for a pint or two) any advice they give you has no professional indemnity insurance to back it up. If a surveyor says a boat is great and worth 30k and it arrives in Ullapool with a rotten transom and seized engine you have some comeback. If a ribnetter does it you probably have none. On the other hand a detailed survey could cost you over 10% of the purchase price on a cheap rib - and taking a chance / informal guidance might not be so bad.

If you are spending serious money (the threshold for which may depend on your disposable income!) then a seatrial has really got to be the way to go. If the vendor has nothing to hide, and is keen for maximum price then they should have no objection. It may be a good idea to offer to pay fuel and launch fees to show you're not just looking for a free spin.

There's a link in my signature about things to look for when buying.

Ps how do you get the smiley face thing to work?!!

If you don't see a list of smilies on the right of the window you write your message in you may need to go into the UserCP (left side of blue bar at top) and turn on wysiwyg editor. Once you become really addicted then you'll know all the symbol combinations

[phil richards]

Thank you for the info.Do you have any connections in the north of england regarding inspections.

Cheers Phil