A pre-purchase boat survey in the US costs about $25 to $35 per foot of boat length, with some surveyors charging up to $45 for large or complex boats. In Europe, expect €17 to €29 per foot, or about €55 to €95 per metre. On a 38 ft sailing yacht that is roughly $950 to $1,350 for the surveyor, and $1,950 to $3,250 once the haul-out, an engine survey and oil analysis are added. The buyer pays.
The rest of this guide breaks those numbers down: what each type of survey costs, what sits outside the surveyor's fee, and what to send a surveyor to get a quote you can rely on.
What each type of survey costs
Surveyors price most surveys per foot of length overall, with a minimum charge for small boats. Typical 2026 rates:
| Survey | US, per foot | Europe, per foot | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-purchase (condition and valuation) | $25 to $35, up to $45 for large or complex boats | €17 to €29 | Every system inspected, ashore and afloat, sea trial, valuation, full report |
| Insurance (condition and valuation) | $18 to $28 | €12 to €21 | Structure, safety and main risks, valuation, shorter report. Often afloat only, no sea trial |
| Damage | Hourly or a fixed fee | Hourly or a fixed fee | One incident: cause, extent, repair specification |
| Engine survey | $500 to $2,000 per engine | Quoted per engine | Compression, oil analysis, running under load, by a marine engineer |
| Rig inspection | Quoted per job | Quoted per job | Mast, standing and running rigging, often by a rigger going aloft |
Minimum charges run from about $400 to $650 in the US. In Europe a survey on a small boat rarely costs less than €450 to €600.
A pre-purchase survey covers everything an insurance survey does, so buyers seldom pay for both. The yacht survey checklist lists what gets inspected in each system.
A worked example: 38 ft sailing yacht, US
| Item | Paid to | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-purchase survey, 38 ft at $25 to $35 | Surveyor | $950 to $1,330 |
| Short haul and pressure wash | Yard | $380 to $760 |
| Engine survey, one diesel | Marine engineer | $500 to $1,000 |
| Oil analysis, engine and saildrive or gearbox | Laboratory, via surveyor | $110 to $150 |
| Rig inspection | Rigger | $300 to $600 |
| Surveyor's travel | Surveyor | Often free locally, mileage beyond that |
| Total | $2,240 to $3,840 |
The same boat in Europe, at about 11.6 metres, comes to €650 to €1,100 for the survey, with lift-out, engine survey and rigger on top. A motor yacht of the same length costs more, mostly because of the second engine, the generator and the extra systems.
What moves the price
- Length. The base of almost every quote. Above 50 ft many surveyors move to a higher rate per foot.
- Engines and systems. Twin engines, a generator, a watermaker, stabilisers, air conditioning and a bow thruster all take time to test. Each one adds to the day.
- Hull material and age. Steel and aluminium hulls need ultrasonic thickness readings across the hull. Wood needs more sounding and probing. Older boats have more history to check.
- Ashore, afloat or both. A full pre-purchase survey needs the boat out of the water for the hull and in it for the sea trial. Afloat-only insurance surveys cost less.
- Location. Travel, accommodation and remote marinas show up on the invoice. Rates are higher in big yachting centres.
- Deadline. A survey squeezed into a busy week to meet a closing date can carry a premium.
What sits outside the surveyor's fee
Most of the surprises on a survey bill come from items paid to someone else:
- The haul-out. The yard charges for lifting the boat, holding it in the slings or on blocks, and pressure washing. A short haul is usually priced per foot, often $10 to $20 in the US.
- The sea trial. Fuel, a skipper if the seller insists on one, and berth fees on the day.
- Specialists. An engine surveyor, a rigger, a gas engineer, an electrician for a complex installation.
- Laboratory tests. Oil analysis runs about $55 to $75 per sample. Fuel samples, fire extinguisher service checks and life raft servicing are billed separately.
- Re-inspection. If the seller fixes the defects the survey found, a visit to check the work is a new job.
Who pays for the survey
The buyer pays for the survey, the haul-out and the specialists, in almost every sale. If the survey turns up a reason to walk away, the buyer still pays. That is the cost of not buying the wrong boat.
The seller pays to put right anything agreed in the renegotiation, or reduces the price instead. A seller who commissions their own survey before listing pays for that one, and the buyer will usually still want their own.
How long it takes, and when the report arrives
A pre-purchase survey on a 10 to 15 metre yacht usually takes most of a day on board, plus the haul-out and a sea trial. Larger boats take two days or more.
The written report follows two to five working days later. Writing it often takes as long as the inspection: the surveyor turns notes, photos and readings into graded findings and recommendations. The marine survey report guide shows what a good one contains.
What a low quote usually leaves out
A quote well below the local rate usually means less time on board, no sea trial, a short report, or a surveyor without professional indemnity insurance. European brokers and surveyors often treat anything under about €12 per foot, or €40 per metre, for a pre-purchase survey as a warning sign.
Before accepting a quote, check:
- The surveyor's accreditation, such as YDSA, IIMS, SAMS, NAMS or ACMS membership.
- Professional indemnity insurance.
- That the quote includes the sea trial and the valuation if you need one for your insurer or lender.
- A sample report, so you know what you are paying for.
How to get an accurate quote
To price a job by the foot or by the hour, with travel and laboratory tests, try the survey quote calculator.
Send the surveyor this in your first message and the quote will come back in one round:
- Make, model, year and length overall
- Sail or motor, number of engines, generator and other major systems
- Hull material
- Where the boat is, and whether a haul-out slot is booked
- Pre-purchase, insurance or both, and whether a lender is involved
- Sea trial needed: yes or no
- Your deadline for the report
For surveyors: where the hours go
A survey is priced per foot, but the cost to the surveyor is time: a day on board, then the report. The time spent at the desk rebuilding findings from notes, voice memos and a few hundred photos is the part the client never sees and the part that sets the turnaround.
We built Axsail to shrink that part. You talk through the boat as you inspect it, take photos as you go, and Axsail writes each observation up as a finding with its location, reading, recommendation and a suggested grade. The draft report is ready minutes after the walk-round, and you review and sign it. To try it on your next survey, start free.