Contacting a Marine Surveyor

The purchase survey or Condition and Valuation Survey is a 15 page typed written report detailing all the systems of the vessel being surveyed. This report will furnish all the necessary paperwork required of the surveyor for insurance or financing the vessel. When calling or emailing a Maine Surveyor be prepared to answer some basic questions:

The surveyor will need to know your boating experience. It is important that he know how much you know about boating and the boat that you have chosen to purchase. Is this your first boat? How many years have you been boating? Once the surveyor knows what you know about boating he will be in a better position to fill you in on what he thinks you should know. Often a local surveyor will be able to advise you on where to dock your boat and the best places to enjoy boating in an area.

Where will you be using the boat? How will you be using the boat? Is this a family boat for cursing or mostly fishing? Knowing how you intend to use your boat will help to determine if this boat is right for you. There a many different styles of boats and many different expectations of boat buyers. A surveyor should never talk a buyer out of a boat but rather point out the positive or negative features of the boat that you have selected. Providing information to help you make a informed decision is what a survey is all about.

With the entire survey taking about 3 1/2 to 6 hours on average depending of course on the size of the boat being surveyed. A survey generally has two major parts, the in water inspection and the out water inspection. A complete survey can be done either in or out of the water and in many cases an entire report is furnished with the boat being either in or out of the water. Depending on the time of year, weather condition, and where the boat is stored will often depend on writher the boat is surveyed in water, out of water or both. If your purchasing the boat we do recommend that the boat be surveyed both in and out of the water.

The in water inspections will usually consist of a sea trial of the vessel. Here the boat is taken out in open water where the engines can be opened to test their performance. Steering, shifting, transmissions, engine mounts, helm controls, helm gauges, exhaust systems, engine rpm, engine cooling, the hulls structural system, and over all vessel performance is tested during the sea trial. A sea trial will usually last about an hour.

Engine surveys are conducted during a sea trial. But to fully evaluate the condition the engine the following test may be required. A compressions test of each engine ( present cost is $125 each engine). Keep in mind that the ability to perform a compression depends on our ability to access the engine spark plugs. Their also exist the hazards of gasoline and its explosive volatility. We will be unable to advise you if an compression test on an inboard engine can be performed until we have seen the boat and evaluated the engine. Outboard engines are never a problem compression testing.

A laboratory oil analysis of each engine and each transmission  These test are not required by any insurance or finance company but will assist you in determining the condition of the vessel your purchasing. The cost of the survey is computed by the LOA of the boat multiplied by a set amount, which could easily increase when adding the cost of oil laboratory analysis and compression testing.

Diesel engines are not compression tested by marine surveyors and if desired a diesel mechanic should be summoned. Compression testing of diesel engines requires special equipment and often takes a considerable amount of time. Often the results of the sea trial will determine if a compression test is necessary. The laboratory analysis is always recommended if the engine oil or transmission lubricant has not been recently changed. While providing valuable insight into the internal condition of the engine best results are often obtained by repeated analysis over the life of the engine or transmission.  Repeat oil analysis are seldom attainable during a purchase survey.

The out of water inspection centers on the condition of the hull below the waterline and all the underwater machinery. The drive shafts, rudders, strainers, struts, propellers, stern drives, actuators, stuffing boxes, thru-hulls, cutlass bearings, zincs are all inspected and their condition is noted in the survey report. The hull is inspected for blistering, collision damage, any warping, and any previously repairs. The underwater hull condition is also noted in the survey report.