In California, surveyors are neither licensed nor bonded. They are not regulated by the State. They are accredited or certified by their peers. I submit to you, Who knows better what it takes to survey a vessel than another surveyor? Many of the finer professions are regulated in this manner.

The Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors is one of the nationally recognized sources of marine surveyor accreditation. There are others but SAMS is a very good example. SAMS requires that an individual wishing to be accredited by them , submit five surveys, one from each year of five years  experience for review by their board, have high moral character and receive ascore of no less than 80% on their test. It is not uncommon for an applicant toachieve a score of less than 80% the first time taking the test. The applicantmust then wait at least six months before retaking the test. Once the applicanthas passed the test and the review board then they are accredited. In order tomaintain their accreditation, Surveyors must acquire 60 hours of continuingeducation units every five years.

 Some surveyors acquire their knowledge from having been in some part of themarine industry , such as ship yard work, while others are Shipwrights. Stillothers attend a school such as Chapman's School of Seamanship in StuartFlorida. The California Maritime Academy, a four year California statecollege, located in Vallejo has many graduates that become surveyors.

The laws of California that govern the purchase and sale of boats through abroker do not require that a boat be surveyed. However, all marine insurancecompanies that I am aware of require a survey before the boat is insured. Allmarinas require the boats moored there to be insured. All finance companiesrequire insurance on the boats they finance to protect your investment andtheirs.

 There is a more fundamental need for a surveyor,, What is the real value andcondition of the boat? Are there things about this boat that no one is awareof? Is there a problem with the structure of the boat that is hidden by the factthat some of the boat is under water? The infamous blisters reside where onlyan out of the water inspection of the hull can disclose their existence. Underthe layers of paint in a well-maintained boat there may be chunks of corrosiondetectable only by the trained and experienced eye of a surveyor. If there is aproblem, is it a major item or only the product of age and to be expectedwhen buying a used boat? What, if any, is the urgency of these items? Whatwill it cost to have these items repaired or should these items be replacedWhat will it cost and which will be the most economical?

 Even though many experienced boaters have been around boats most of theirlives, they would no more be their own surveyor than be their own attorneyThey may be reasonably good mechanics and good electricians. They mayunderstand the physics of stress and strain and know what cracked metaland/or fiberglass looks like. But they have not spent years crawling throughboats looking for problems. Neither have they spent years looking at boatsthat have been repaired to see if the work has been done according toinsurance standards and boat builders specifications. These are the thingssurveyors do.

 When you have chosen the boat to become the fulfillment of your dreams, youare ready for a surveyor . There are several sources for names of goodsurveyors. (1.) Insurance companies (2.) Finance companies (3.) Yachtbrokers (4.) The Yellow Pages (5.) Friends who have had their boatssurveyed (6.) SAMS at 1-800-344-9077. Once in a while you will becomeprivy to a previous survey report. Before you decide to call that samesurveyor to do your survey, consider the value of a second opinion. If your yacht broker offers you only one surveyor, be careful, the surveyor could beworking to maintain his relationship with the broker, instead of working foryou.

 Most surveyors charge between seven and ten dollars per foot. Their pricehas little to do with their ability to give you what you need in a survey. Someof the highest priced surveyors offer little more than their ego and a fancyfolder for their report. While the least expensive are sometimes "filling inwhile waiting for something else to do. 

 There are two extremes found among surveyors which should be avoided byall buyers; 1. The surveyor who does only a cursory inspection, 2. Thesurveyor who makes a big deal out of every little thing Either of thesesurveyors will cost you money, time and heart ache. The surveyor who justgives your boat a cursory once over will not see problems or weaknesses thatwill cost you unexpected money in the future. The surveyor who picks outevery little thing and does not explain what to do about it but makes you feelthat you are foolish for even looking at this boat, could stop you from buyingthat boat which is perfect for you.

The best surveyor is one who meets the above criteria and invites you to bethere while he is surveying "the boat" or will have you come at the end of thesurvey and go over every thing with you. During or after surveying the boatthe surveyor should explain the ins and outs of each thing he finds that is notup to par. Your surveyor should explain to you those things like plumbingitems that may not be quite as good as they could be but are working and donot need attention immediately. Your surveyor should be willing and able totell you how to fix that plumbing properly with out unduly alarming you. As hegoes through the boat with you, he should point out items that need particularattention on this boat and other items that need regular maintenance. Somebuyers use a tape recorder for the entire survey. Others take notes. Theinformation you get from a good surveyor will come in handy as long as youown a boat. 

 When we talk about surveyors, generally we think of the vessel surveyorThere are two other kinds of surveyors that are important in some casesRigging surveyors and engine surveyors. These surveyors are not regulated atall. They stand to profit from any thing they find wrong, unlike vesselsurveyors that do no repair work. As a buyer you should consider havingsome one other than these surveyors do the recommended repairs andcertainly have the replaced parts saved for your inspection. Your vesselsurveyor may recommend rigging and engine surveyors. Ask him. Discusswith him the ins and outs of these types of surveys. At this juncture in timeyour properly chosen vessel surveyor is your best source of advice.

Any sail boat over ten years old should have a rigging survey unless youintend to replace the rigging immediately after purchasing the vessel. Mostvessel surveyors will survey the bottom of the rigging up as far as he can reachstanding on the deck. This includes the deck fittings, chain plates, mast stepand the shrouds at deck level. Rigging surveyors inspect the mast and therigging all the way to the top. One of the places he will inspect closely is at thetop of the mast. On an aluminum mast, there is potential for electrolysis wherethe stainless steel tang meets the aluminum mast. Often the ears on the tangare welded and corrosion can weaken these welded joints if they have hairlinecracks. Also while at the top of the mast, the rigger can check the mountingsfor the wind instruments, connections for the lights, the antennas and the upperbearings for roller furling units. As the rigging surveyor comes down the mastthey will continue to check for corrosion and general condition of spreadersspreader lights and other fittings. 

Your vessel surveyor will tell you what he thinks of the engine but most willnot do an engine survey. They will tell you if they think the engine smokes toomuch or has a suspicious knock or some other problem he can see. Mostoften a mechanic will do an engine survey. 

We ask the impossible of an engine surveyor in that we ask the surveyor tolook inside the engine without taking the engine apart. Short of tearing downthe entire engine and measuring each piece, the condition of the enginebecomes a judgment call based on some tests, the number of hours on theengine and the experience of the mechanic. Your engine surveyor will want tostart the engine when it is cold. How much does it smoke when it first starsup? How fast does the oil pressure come up and how far does it drop afterthe engine gets warm. How quickly does the temperature rise and whattemperature does the engine level out at? Does the engine temperature risesignificantly under load? After the engine has been run and is up totemperature the surveyor will do a compression test. If one or two cylinders test with low compression there may be a problem. The most commonproblem is that the valves need adjusting. But it could mean something moreOil analysis is sometimes done on the oil in the engine but the results aredependent on how many hours the oil has been run in the engine. If the oil isonly a few hours old it will test good while if the oil has many hours on it theoil will test bad. Since this is an engine you are most likely unfamiliar withthere is no way to tell when the oil and filter were changed. Therefore resultsdo not necessarily mean much.

 A Surveyor is hired by, and paid by, the buyer to give an honest, fair andunbiased appraisal of the vessel. The results of the survey are thereforeowned by the buyer and should only be shared with those whom the buyerchooses. Obviously, the survey report will go to the insurance and finance companies if the buyer wants their services. But, if after the survey the buyerdoes not want the boat, the buyer is not required to share the survey reportwith anyone. If there is a clause in the purchase agreement whereby the buyeragrees to share the survey with the broker then there is a contractualobligation. Also if the buyer wants to use the survey report to renegotiate theprice of the vessel, then the report must be shared with all parties. Whatshould be guarded against is the extremely slim possibility that another buyercould use the report to obtain insurance and/or financing without paying for asurvey.

 The job of a surveyor is difficult enough in that they have to crawl around inthe bilges and all the hard to reach places on a vessel to see what is there andsee that they contain no surprises. Often his job is made more of a challengeby the different parties involved in a sale and their desire to have the surveyreport come out in their favor. A good surveyor has a strong enough will toreport the facts in a totally unbiased, fair and honest manner.

 A good surveyor is a real professional. Choose your surveyor with the samecare you would an accountant or a doctor. Your money is in his hands, andyour life could be.

 Dan Steadham, Broker

Horizon Yacht & Ship Brokerage

                     Horizon Yacht & Ship Brokerage

                     3007 Washington Boulevard

                     Marina Del Rey, CA 90292, USA

                     Tel (310) 822-2234

                     Fax (310) 822-2816

                     Email info@horizonyachts.net

                      http://horizonyachts.net