Choose the Right Surveyor

“Thank you for your excellent work. It was a pleasure meeting you, and we were most impressed with your entire approach. The surveyors in the UK could learn a lot from you! Please feel free to use me as a reference should any potential client ask. I won’t miss an opportunity to steer business in your direction.”

"I commend you on your knowledge of boats and related systems, your professionalism and thoroughness. The cost of the survey was well worth it. I will continue to recommend your services.”

“We have received the report and are very impressed with the depth of information. I really appreciate the time you took with both the actual survey and answering of questions from both my wife and me. You run a first class operation and I will recommend you to anyone that asks.”

“I first met Steve in the fall of ’88. At that time, Annapolis was still a boatbuilding mecca with a seemingly endless supply of shipwrights, laminators, riggers, outfitters, mechanics, sailmakers, and surveyors… many of whom I knew personally. So I wasn’t looking for someone to check off boxes and tell me what I already knew about the Swan… She had been, as we say, “rode hard and put away wet,” but otherwise the boat appeared to be structurally intact (or so I thought!). As it turns out Steve was the only one who was able to properly detect a number of critical issues that were otherwise hidden from view, and which certainly had a major impact on the safety and viability of this particular vessel. That was a long time ago, but it was only the beginning of what would become Steve’s permanent TOP SPOT in my rolodex file. Thirty years and more than a couple dozen boats later (yes, really), he remains my #1 pick for expert analysis and consultation. I always learn something new from Steve, and over the years he’s saved me a small fortune’s worth of time and expense. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.”

We first met Steve Uhthoff through his repair work on our former 55’ sailboat. We came to deeply respect his skill, knowledge, and integrity. So, after we sold our sailboat and put a power boat under contract, we called on Steve yet again to help us by performing the survey.  He flew all the way to California to do the inspection and sea trial with us. As expected, Steve’s work was meticulous, detailed, and incredibly thorough.  I have seen many surveys that just ticked off the boxes - not Steve’s.  He personally inspected all of the essential parts of the boat and submitted a detailed and completely documented report to us both in PDF and written form.  His work enabled us to report back to the seller with credibility that we were not just “blowing smoke” to get a reduction in price, but that there were real issues that needed to be attended to.  We are thankful to have had Steve do this work and I believe he saved us thousands of dollars of potential repairs on the vessel. I can and do recommend Steve Uhthoff as a surveyor to anyone in the market for a new-used boat.