Why Should You Use An Independent Yacht Surveyor?

Perhaps you hope that you have actually found the perfect power boat of your dreams

? The next idea to consider is whether you need to have a marine survey?Well unless your Insurer asks to see a current boat survey then the decision remains with you. Do you really need to spend your well earned cash on a marine survey report when the current broker says that it has been serviced regardless of expense. Another very common statement that you hear is "This motor sailor is so well maintained that it spends half of every year out of the water standing in the boat yard". The truth would be that it spends that time deteriorating. If the current owner or broker claims that this yacht has had little use over the last few years I would be very worried.The above explanations start to ring serious alarm bells in my mind. The simple truth is that the majority of sailing yachts are very rarely maintained properly. This is particularly true when they are not regularly used. Lack of use is the worst possible thing that you can do to the engine and running gear. When a yacht has had minimal use over the last few seasons, this simply means that this yacht has had no proper attention and therefore lacks the required maintenance. A yacht with little maintenance will almost certainly go wrong when you first start to sail her. If the broker or owner have a survey report but it is not very current what has occured to the yacht since the report was prepared? It could well have been holed, sunk or all manner of things could have arisen, so trust on an out of date report at your own risk. So how do you choose a yacht surveyor? You should find out what experience this surveyor has in yacht repairs,maintenance and ownership? Is he a qualified marine engineer and how long has he been working with craft of this size and type?There are some yacht surveyors who have come into this profession after retirement and if this is the case

you should ask them how long they have been in practice and what did they use to do before. Ask your chosen surveyor if he will be able to let you have a comprehensive examination on the condition of the Engine/s and the related equipment and machinery?Many can not do this because they are not Marine Engineers and so you are not having a full boat survey no matter what they may claim.Now what is it that a good marine surveyor should be looking for in a vessel?

We will assume for this example that the yacht in question is out of the water, located in the boat yard, and is of a Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic construction. Firstly he may look at the topsides and examine for signs of damage such as scratches,cracks,filler and evidence of repairs? Has it been repainted and if so why?A yacht less than 10 years of age should not have required to be painted and if so it could be to hide evidence of repairs.If there are indentations in the surface this could occur because the rigging is far to

rigid and the resulting strain has pulled the topsides in.It is a fact that any material which is left for long periods in the sea will

suffer from some degradation, steel rusts, wood rots GRP can suffer from Osmosis. GRP is fine glass strands which are woven into a matt which when impregnated with a resinwill harden and form the hull mould.The colour finish of a boat is contained in the Gel coat pigment, usually this is white but can be any colour which goes on the glass fibre matting.So what is it that does go wrong with this wonder material?Water may over the passing of many years penetrate the outer Gel coat and from there pass into the glass fibre strands which then react with the chemicals and a rash begins to form which will then creat bumps and blisters.Usually osmosis will start as a rash and then over time become larger. I have seen them as large as 50p pieces.When they burst the liquid contained inside smells sour.It is possible to

find a sympton known as Wicking. This is where the strands of the glass fibre matting protrude from the hull of the yacht and the individual strands of glass fibre matting become exposed to the water.In cases of Wicking water may be drawn into the individual fibres of the glass fibre matting by capillary action therby starting the process of Osmosis.Having a survey may be a very good value investment as it may save a lot of money by revealing any serious problems.

by: Peter Jones

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