Applied Marine Technologies AKA AMT fiberglass Kevin J. Merrill Took Payment for Services Unable to Perform Correctly, Winter Haven, Florida

In looking to purchase a boat in central Florida I contacted AMT fiberglass to find out if they were capable of inspecting a boat in their near by area, I got Kevin Merill on the phone and he told me he was very knowledgeable in the brand boat I was looking to buy so much so that he actually used to build that brand boat new. He assured me that if he looked at the boat he would be able to tell if it was good or not. I told Kevin The pictures are very nice of the boat but it is hard to judge the structural soundness without physically seeing the boat in person he told me he will inspect the boat within a day or two.

Kevin checked the boat out and contacted me later that day said everything looks good he pointed out quite a few small cosmetic items that werent really a problem and told me that with a real good detailing and a couple small repairs the boat could be near perfect for its age. I made sure to ask him if the boat was structurally sound and to check out the floor and stringers due to the fact that they are wood and have the potential to get water logged and rot. he told me not to worry that stuff is in great condition.  I pay him the price he wanted and decide to buy the boat and pay a transporter to ship it 1500 miles to my location,

The boat arrives at my location and within a day or two I look the boat over and realize the person that inspected this boat either knows nothing about boats or was persuaded by the seller to tell me the boat is great, I uncover the boat and find a big blob of white glue in the black carpet (acceptable) Then I move the aft seat forward to look in the bilge and find the entire bottom of the seat is rotted through to the point that if you sit in it you would fall through (acceptable to a point) Then I decide to see for my self what the boat looks like everywhere else and crawl under the deck and my knee goes through the floor (3/4" plywood) that is rotted away.

Then I check the condition of the stringers (structural support for entire boat) they are completely rotten 1/2 way up the length of the boat you could tell this without removing anything or taking anything apart, water is seeping out of cracks in the fiberglass and the fuel tank was sitting in a pool of water that was trapped in the rotten wood. The cost to repair this boat now far exceeds the cost of the boat. I contacted Kevin to see what his opinion of the matter is and all he can tell me is to never contact him again.