Getting prepared for a Marine Survey

[frankypettolina]

I was thinking about making this post for a while, and now that I see we have yet another surveyor on the board, it may be a good time for it.

I hope PitchBait and Makopeel chime in and offer any helpful hints they have as well.

I have been surveying since the end of 1995 and primarily work in the state of MD, but cover from NJ to NC.

In this post I will mainly cover Condition and Valuation surveys for the purpose of insurance renewal. This is going to be quite relevant for many of you over the next couple of months, so here it goes.


1. Do not wait until the last minute to schedule your survey. Nothing is more aggravating then getting a call at 8 on thursday night with someone telling you they need an out of the water survey done, but their boat is getting launched on Saturday. I know that last minute notice from the INS co. can happen, but I have found that most of the time the notice comes in April of 07 to have the survey done prior to April of 08 and it gets put in adrawer and forgotten about. Anyway, plan to give the surveyor a little notice.

2. Try to have the boat cleared of excess equipment prior to the surveyor arriving. I don't mean take all your stuff off of the boat, but if you store your spare anchor in the aft bilge, and it is under the only access hatch for the rudder packing, aft bilge pumps, etc, move it out of the bilge before the surveyor gets there. Try to have every accessible compartment ACCESSIBLE.

3. Have the boats Documentation and/or State Registration papers handy. Also copies of USCG licenses, courtesy inspections or anything like that as well. If you are not already keeping a log book, START. If I see a log book on the boat, I note it in the report. Insurance companies like to hear these sortof things.

4. Pull your safety equipment out and have it ready for the surveyor to see. PFD's, Throwable PFD, Visual Distress Signals and Fire Extinguishers. EPIRB and raft if you have them.

5. Have your Waste Management Plan (40 feet and up) available, and make sure your Oil and Trash placards are properly displayed.

6. If you have painted over or removed your engine and transmission serial number placards try to provide prooof of this info to the surveyor.

7. Give your boat a good once over before we get there. Check your Nav Lights, bilge pumps and horn. Try to have the machinery spaces clean.

8. If you are an inboard powered boat with accomodation spaces, install a CO detector. (yes diesel boats as well)

If you have an old survey, you can provide it if you wish, but most times I will not use it for anything. I will page through them sometimes to see if you addressed the previous surveyors findings.

Keep in mind, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and is geared towards Insurance renewal. Pre Purchase C and V's are a bit of a different animal.

To try and give you folks incentive to not wait til the last minute on scheduling a survey, I will offer a discount to SFC members in need of Insurance Renewal surveys. The disount will be good through March 15 2008 (MD boats only) PM me or call my cell 410-251-0575 for more details.

If anyone has any other questions feel free to give me a shout.

[pitch bait]

Thank you Franky. I could not agree more with what Franky has said. Being in the boat yard often some times we do have alittle pull but when they have a yard full of boats to launch and you are asking for just one more favor sometimes they get alittle upset.

[frankypettolina]

Just to throw this out there as well, if anyone has any survey specific questions I am almost done bluefinning here in MHC, so throw them on out there over the nex few days, and maybe Bobby, myself or Makopeel can help.

[WAHOONBOX]

I THINK THIS THREAD DESERVES A STICKY!


THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF US OUT HERE WHO NEED THIS AND IT SOMETIMES IS HARD TO GET IN LINE TO GET A SURVEY


LET'S SUPPORT THE BIG 3 ON THE EAST COAST WE HAVE HERE AS MEMBERS!

[frankypettolina]

Thanks Box, How do we request a sticky? I mean hell, I am even offering a disount to SFC members, not a BS discount where I raise the rate only to drop it to look cool to a client. Legit money in your pocket to spend on bait, fuel, beers whatever.....

Looks like I am done bluefinning for the year and will be wearing the survey hat full time for a few months before OC fishing gets going.

I do have 2 clients from home that will have me looking at their boats down in the MHC area in March (one is a boat that is nearing the final stages of the building process, the other has had a big job done at Jarrett Bay). I don't want to step on any local surveyors toes, but if the MHC charter fleet or any SFC guys in the area have any boats in need of a survey I will extend the discount in their direction too. I will be there working anyway.