Boat appraisal

[Gordon Thomson]

Managed to get a bit of a deal on my ’95 26x and trailer.

Can anyone suggest someone familiar with MacGregor that could provide an appraisal for insurance?

Thanks in advance!

[Rick Thompson]

Hi Gordon and welcome to the club. You have asked a question that has been discussed over and over in a lot of different forums. Here are my 2 thoughts.
1. The Macgregor is a very simple boat and a survey is sometimes considered overkill. there are 2 possible negatives to a survey. One is the surveyor may be overzealous and identify a bunch of possible deficiencies that may or may not matter to you but the insurance company will make you fix all of them before they will insure you. The second is the cost. A member found a surveyor in the Vancouver area this spring and it cost them about $500. However a possible benefit of the boat survey might be the identification of changes that the previous owner has made that may not have been wise. I just saw a post that showed a picture of one new owners boat that had a “Quick Release Snap shackle” connecting the forestay to the bow. If this had quick released – which is what they are designed to do- the mast would fall into the cockpit breaking and injuring or killing anybody there. I would hope a surveyor would identify an issue like that but if they aren’t familiar with a MacGregor sailboat they might not.
My 2nd thought is that not all insurance companies require a survey. Another member just insured his boat with Dolphin Marine insurance Brokers. They found a policy underwritten by Lloyds of London that does not require a survey for boats under 27 feet. He is very particular about his insurance coverage and found the Lloyds policy to be even better than his previous underwriter that he had been with for many years.
The choice is yours. My guess is that many of our members have opted to not do a survey and been able to find insurance that fits their needs. I recommend you contact your insurance agent and ask them to research the different Brokers ( there are only about 4 or 5) for the best deal for you. They should also be able to provide you with a list of Surveyors in your area. Call around and find a surveyor that will work for you and your boat.
You should also check out our Club resources under the MacLEARNING TAB for a presentation on insuring your boat in the Safety section.
Good Luck
Sail Safe and Leave No Wake

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