How Much Does a Marine Survey Cost?

What surveyors actually charge

These are pre-purchase rates as each business listed them on its own website when I checked on 15 Nov 2026. They are the asking rates, so call for a quote on your boat before you count on any of them.

• Samson Marine Surveying (Northeast Florida, Jacksonville to New Smyrna Beach): $30 per foot with an $800 minimum, for fiberglass powerboats and some classic wooden boats under 40 feet.
• Wilson Yacht Survey (Rockledge, Florida): $25 to $32 per foot up to 50 feet, $30 and up over 50 feet. The price covers the in-water survey, haul-out hull inspection, sea trial and a fair market value.
• Ocean Marine Surveyors (Southern California, with an office in North Palm Beach): $22 to $32 per foot for its Southern California work, $650 minimum, sea trial included.
• David A. Troy Marine Surveying (Baltimore, Maryland): $33 per foot, sea trial included.
• 3C Marine Services (Kent Island, Maryland): $35 per foot up to 40 feet, $850 minimum, and the company says older boats, over 20 years, may cost more.
• Boston Marine Surveyors (Quincy, Massachusetts; posted as 2025/2026 rates): $28 to $30 per foot, sea trial included where it applies.

So for a typical 30-footer you are looking at roughly $660 to $1,050 for the survey itself. On small boats the minimum usually sets the price. Ocean Marine says outright that under about 30 feet its $650 minimum, not the per-foot rate, is what you pay, and Samson's $800 minimum covers anything under about 27 feet at $30 a foot.

The haul-out is a separate bill

A proper pre-purchase survey looks at the bottom, running gear and through-hulls, which means lifting the boat. The yard charges for that, not the surveyor. Ocean Marine notes that the yard bills the haul-out separately and that who pays it is something buyer and seller work out, usually before the survey is booked.

Two Florida yards I checked post their survey haul rates. Palm Beach Yacht Center charges $14 a foot to haul and hang a boat for survey up to 50 feet and $16 a foot from 51 feet up, with an hour of hang time included and $100 per extra half hour. Huckins Yacht in Jacksonville lists a survey haul at $10 a foot on its 44-ton lift and $12 a foot on its 77-ton lift in its 2026 rate schedule. On a 40-footer that is $400 to $560 before anything else, and if the surveyor needs more time in the slings, the meter keeps running.

Engines, oil samples and other extras

The surveyor will run the boat on the sea trial, but a dedicated engine survey is often a separate line item. Samson lists a gas engine survey at $350 per engine and quotes diesels based on make and horsepower. Pinnacle Marine Group prices a gas engine survey with compression test and computer diagnostics at $450 for a single and $550 for twins, and quotes diesels individually. Boston Marine Surveyors prices plug-in diagnostic reports and compression tests per quote.

Oil analysis is the cheap add-on I would never skip on an inboard or diesel boat. Published prices were $75 per sample at Boston Marine Surveyors, $75 per unit at Samson, $50 per unit at Pinnacle, and $60 to $80 at Wilson depending on whether you order it with the survey.

Then there is travel. Wilson charges $0.73 a mile plus lodging if the boat is outside its area, 3C includes one hour of round-trip travel from Kent Island, and Boston says it typically charges no travel fees. Wilson also passes along a $42 third-party report formatting fee on condition and value surveys.

Bigger boats cost more than the math suggests

If you are shopping a 50-plus-foot sportfisherman, say a used Hatteras or Bertram, the per-foot numbers above are only a floor. Wilson starts at $30 a foot over 50 feet, Samson and 3C quote anything over 40 feet individually, and Ocean Marine quotes boats over 60 feet one at a time. Run a 54-footer through Wilson's floor and Palm Beach Yacht Center's 51-foot-plus haul rate and you are already at $1,620 plus $864 before any diesel engine survey, which Samson and Pinnacle both quote separately.

Cheaper options before you commit

If you are traveling to see a boat or you are not sure it is worth the full survey, some surveyors sell a quick look first. David Troy offers a $250 flat-fee "First Look," a 60 to 90 minute walk-through with a verbal report only, and credits $125 back if you then book the full survey. Boston Marine Surveyors offers a drive-by evaluation for out-of-state buyers at $150 an hour plus travel.

Insurance surveys cost less, but they are a different product. Boston charges $22 to $24 a foot for an insurance survey against $28 to $30 for pre-purchase, and Troy charges $23 against $33. The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) says plainly that a limited condition and valuation survey done for insurance is not enough to make an informed purchase decision. Don't buy a boat on one.

SAMS, NAMS and choosing a surveyor

ABYC also points out that marine surveying is not a regulated or licensed industry, so anyone can call themselves a surveyor, and that a yacht broker can't ethically recommend one to you. Many insurers and lenders want a credentialed member of SAMS or NAMS, so check with yours before you hire anyone.

The Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS) was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Jacksonville. Its Accredited Marine Surveyor (AMS) members have proven the experience and technical skills for the designation and must keep up continuing education, while Surveyor Associates are less experienced members working under AMS guidance. The National Association of Marine Surveyors (NAMSGlobal) has three levels, Apprentice, Associate and Certified Marine Surveyor (NAMS-CMS), and every applicant needs a sponsor and must pass an ethics test, with a separate test for CMS status.

Whatever state the boat is in, book the survey and the haul for the same morning so nobody is waiting on the lift. Browse boats for sale in Florida and Maryland, and use our used boat inspection checklist to rule out the obvious problems before you spend money on a surveyor.