A critical examination or inspection of a marine vessel for a specific purpose; the action of ascertaining facts regarding conditions or the condition of something to provide exact information especially to persons responsible or in fact interested; an examination of a vessel or a part of its cargo or equipment to determine its condition, responsibility for damage and disposition to be made.
The surveyor you choose should be the best one to protect your
safety and investment. After all, you have time, money and love
invested in your vessel or the vessel you wish to launch. Marine
surveying is not a regulated profession. The U.S. Coast Guard does
not license, certify or approve marine surveyors. What does this
mean to you, the boater or sailor who needs to have a marine survey
or appraisal compiled for purchase, insurance, or repair? Basically
it means you are almost always left to your own discretion on choosing
who inspects your vessel. Accordingly, you must choose your marine
surveyor wisely. To help you with this important decision, please
review the information under USSA the Criteria
Defining a NAVTECH/USSA Surveyor.
I have more than 41 years in the business. Please see my resume, credentials and affiliations. Every year thousands of boat owners rely on my extensive experience, references and credentials.
If you should have a claim for insurance coverage, I represent
only you -- not the insurance underwriter. I never have and never
will perform any damage adjusting or consulting for any insurance
underwriter. You are assured of my total allegiance to you as my
client. And, as an additional benefit for all my clients, as your
marine surveyor, I will never charge you for phone consulting on
any marine related issue.
In its simplest terms, a condition and valuation survey is a report
on the current condition of a vessel and its current value as judged
by geographical location and condition. It assures the insurance
company and financial institution that the vessel meets U.S. Coast
Guard, National Fire Protection Association & American Boat
and Yacht Council safety standards and that it is insured for enough
value to replace it if damaged or lost.
It aids you in the fact that you are insured sufficiently to meet any loss and that your vessel meets criteria for safe operation and welfare of your crew and passengers.
16,000 watt POWERHOUSE generator on my service
truck with 30amp & 50amp connections,
cords and adapters to plug
your yacht in for testing AC/DC electrical systems.
High performance racing boat survey with engine diagnostics
Usually vessels are financed up to a certain percentage of their
value. The remainder is your down payment. My survey advises the
financial institution of the value of your vessel.
It will depend on the insurance company, the value of your vessel
and its age. For the sake of safety, a survey is recommended every
three years.
I charge a fee based on the size of the vessel. For example: a 28-foot vessel would be $20.00 per foot times 28 feet. This charge covers only the actual cost of the survey. We also perform osmosis and corrosion analysis, engine compression testing, spectrometric engine fluid analysis, metal hull ultra sounding and sea trials for a very reasonable charge. Spectrometric oil analysis can reveal any abnormal or unusual bearing and cylinder wear inside the engines.
Please examine my Complete Pricing Breakdown for more detailed cost information.
I recommend that you
be there to open any locks and give me permission to board and inspect.
The survey can run anywhere from 2 to 10 hours depending on the
size of the vessel and 2 to 8 hours in the office to thoroughly
prepare the survey report. Larger yachts and commercial vessels
may take me 2-3 days to conduct a thorough survey.
My service truck is a custom design-build Chevrolet extended maxi-van which logs more than 1, 250 miles per week surveying corporate, private and commercial vessels throughout coastal New England, Cape Cod and the Islands.
The truck interior is state-of-the art design and equipped with on-board gauges, tools, instrumentation and calibration meters to conduct full-scope engine analysis and compression testing on gasoline and diesel engines. The truck has air-ride suspension to protect all my electronics and computers.
These are some of the engine diagnostic instruments and software I would use on your engines.
This equipment includes percussion sounding and ultra-sounding electronic instruments for the hull. I also conduct AC/DC electrical testing of all circuits and breakers on board the vessel. On board the truck is an extensive inventory of SNAP-ON tools and devices including the dial indicators to test the true run-out of the vessel's shafts.
The truck plugs into an AC system back at the office at the end of the day to keep all battery-powered tools, meters and gauges full charged for the next assignment.The computer system on-board the truck gives me instant information on the vessel I am surveying with respect to the hull number, documentation number; current owner as well as all previous owners. Further information is obtained over the computer in the truck to inform me of any past insurance claims on the vessel and if the engines and outdrives or related machinery and electronics are original.
The truck has an electric hose reel that holds 1,850 feet of 3/4" high-pressure water hose with all the fittings to enable me to run
the engines, genset and A/C pumps on board the vessel as she lay
supported on keel blocks and jack stands. The hose reel is electrically
powered to retrieve the entire length of hose back onto the reel.
The on-board electronics in the truck used to survey your vessel
are calibrated annually. Note also, I re-winterize the engines and
generator during winter months.
I welcome all clients to be present, and I have no problem explaining
as I conduct the survey.
Certified check, bank money order or cash -- NO PERSONAL CHECKS ACCEPTED.