Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats: A Step-by-Step Guide for Buyers and Owners

For assessing a sailboats condition before you buy.

Liked the writer, held my attention good illustrations , very informative!

Books like this are great for scaring one away from the idea of boat ownership. Much alarm is raised regarding blisters, osmotic or otherwise. It's not clear to me why they're considered an emergency, so perhaps they're more of a resale cosmetic / FUD issue than anything else. This book is perhaps most useful for the rarified crowd of people already surveying other types of boats, or with heaps of experience with fiberglass laminates. Much here is above and beyond what a typical boat owner/buyer would realistically be able to do on their own, and assumptions are made about the knowledge and skills of the reader.

A great book to inform someone how to look at a fiberglass boat and how to they are made so that you can have somewhat of a better idea of what you are getting into when you finally buy one.

I purchased this book to help me while looking at boats to purchase. I was a first time boat buyer and felt lost. If I had taken the time to read this all the way through I am sure it would have helped me to make a very informed decision, but I was only able to skim it minuets before I went to look at the boat I eventually bought. That being said, the skimming I was able to do did help me to see a few flaws that I used to bring the price down. This book is chocked full of info, but I would not recommend this to a first time boat buyer like myself. This book is better suited for someone with a boat that is in need of restoration and does not know where to start. This book will help you evaluate the true condition of any boat and help to lay out a plan for repairs. For those of you that want to perform those repairs yourself you should look at "This Old Boat" by Don Casey.

Mustin gives a lot of good information in doing your own survey for that boat you have your eye on. I would never recommend not having a professional survey, but this book guides you through a lot of information with good pictures and sketches. Read this book before you go boat searching to eliminate the dogs. Then use this book to hire a really good surveyor and be able to talk intelligently to him. Good luck. Would I buy again. Yes

I bought two books on sailboat inspection and this was the better of the two. Covers most subjects in sufficient detail to cull out boats prior to having a professional survey done. I actually learned quite a bit from this book.

I enjoyed reading it. It does not seem to be very complete and is not all that clear as to what to look for. It tells you about systems, but not what to look for to make sure they are in good shape. I bought it used, and did not pay much so it was worth more than I paid. Really is more a good introduction to boat systems for a new owner, than a what to look for when buying. Don Casey's "Inspecting the Aging Sailboat" is much better, and clearer. Even if it does not have as through a description of the systems.

I must declare an interest here. Henry Mustin, who has now sadly died, surveyed my boat before I had even heard of his book.Reading it after the event was very educational, and I am now delighted to have observed Henry practicing what he preached. He was, in any case, a delightful man.There has been a gradual revolution in the construction of Glass Reinforced Plastic boats. Mostly, they are better and more consistently built from more predictable materials, but at the same time are usually far less substantially constructed than in the past. The principles remain the same - and this book describes these clearly. What to look for, what to do when you find problems, and how to avoid trouble in the first place.Despite having been written more than fifteen years ago this book is relevant today and probably will be for as long as boats are built from strands of glass impregnated with resin.

der sollte dieses ausgezeichnete Buch davor lesen und dazu noch: Surveying Yachts and Small Craft von Paul Stevens. Damit koennen Sie selbst Segelyachten wunderbar einschaetzen und koennen viele auf den ersten Blick interessant scheinende Yachten ausschliessen. Diese beiden Buecher ersetzen keinen professionellen Gutachter aber werden ihnen viel Zeit und Geld ersparen ein Gutachten von einem nicht geeigneten Boot erstellen zu lassen. Mit geeignet meine ich ein Boot das ihnen wegen der notwendigen Reparaturen zu teuer kommen wuerde.

Good Product.

Se puede aprender muchas aspectos de la construcción de los barcos y sobretodo los puntos a inspeccionar a la hora de comprar un barco.

Bien acheter son premier bateau, quand bien même on a de bonnes connaissances mécaniques, n'est pas sans risques. L'auteur de ce livre offre son expérience acquise dans sa profession d'évaluateur (Surveyor), attire l'attention sur les points d'usure pas toujours apparents, et donne des conseils de prévention et d'entretien en parallèle. Schémas, photos, check-lists, et explications constituent cet ouvrage intelligemment conçu. Et étant donné qu'un bateau est souvent acheté dans un pays non-francophone, connaître les termes techniques en anglais est capital pour poser des questions au vendeur, négocier, et s'assurer de la sécurité de son achat avant la signature du contrat.