HOW TO SELECT A MARINE SURVEYOR

A marine survey is an important investment – not just in the cost of the survey itself, but also in protecting the condition of your vessel, providing an accurate valuation of the vessel, and insuring the safety and enjoyment of your family and friends.  Unfortunately, in order to claim to be a marine surveyor, one only needs to have a business card.  There are no government regulatory agencies and there are no specific licenses required.  In many instances, surveys are too vague and overlook important details.  As a result, problems that are dangerous to yourself and others can be missed. 

A marine surveyor should be someone with a vast amount of marine knowledge, experience, and the appropriate tools and resources to do the survey correctly and thoroughly.  There are several questions that you should ask when deciding whether a marine surveyor meets your needs and the standards of surveyor excellence.

Questions to ask about a Marine Surveyor:
 
Experiences and Qualifications

When deciding on a marine surveyor, you should ask about his or her qualifications and experiences.  Experiences in building and repairing boats, boatyard management, or familiarity with other aspects of the boating industry can be very helpful to a surveyor’s understanding of your vessel.  Should your marine surveyor have to act as your representative in a boat repair, for example, you would know he or she is well qualified.  Also, you should choose a marine surveyor who has a lot of experience of with the type of vessel you own, whether it be fiberglass or wooden.
 
Professional Affiliations

Another way to assess a surveyor’s qualifications is to ask about their professional affiliations.  The National Association of Marine Surveyors (NAMS) has the most stringent requirements of any nautical organization in the world for certification of marine surveyors.  In order for a surveyor to meet the NAMS standard of excellence, he or she must meet specific requirements for years of experience, number of boats surveyed, background and reference checks, and also pass a rigorous examination.

A membership with the American Boat and Yacht Council, or ABYC, is also important.  Many recommendations in surveys are based on the Standards and Recommended Practices for Small Craft, which is the bible of the ABYC.  The ABYC is the leading institute that generates industry standards to ensure your personal safety and the safety of your investment.  Other safety organizations work in consort with ABYC, and in fact draw heavily upon their standards.  Organizations such as International Standards Organizations (ISO) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) not only work with ABYC but also provide the institute with subsidies for testing and research.  The National Marine Manufacturing Association (NMMA) has adopted several of ABYC’s recommendations and soon will be in compliance with all of them.  Many boat manufacturers now proudly advertise their compliance with ABYC’s recommendations.

Format of the Survey

Content   The questions you ask your marine surveyor should focus on insuring that he or she will perform a thorough and complete job.  Ask about the average length of a survey, for example.  A major marine insurance company in the United States recently issued a statement setting a minimum length requirement for surveys, due to the poor quality surveys they were receiving.  A survey of 10 pages or less, whether it is a pre-purchase or an insurance survey, should always raise a red flag that your survey might not be comprehensive enough.