By Captain Ed Wiser
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]oats are occasionally dropped from forklifts, lifting straps break, or poorly secured boats slide off the trailer going down the highway. Cosmetic damage from such accidents is relatively easy to repair but there are often structural defects as well. These can make the boat dangerous and a total insurance loss.
Back in the 1990s there was a 54 Bristol in Lauderdale that had been poorly blocked and had fallen over at the boatyard. The insurance company said the damage could be repaired and was mainly cosmetic on the exterior, though some interior bulkheads and furnishings were popped loose. The owner wanted a second opinion. His surveyor sounded the hull with a phenolic hammer looking for delamination and he found a lot of it. The separation of laminate was not visible from observation but it dangerously compromised the integrity of the hull. The boat was ruled a total loss but was eventually sold off to another buyer. It may have found its way back into the market to an unsuspecting owner.
Which brings us to surveys. Surveys are usually warranted in any used vessel valued at over $20,000, but this figure is highly subjective. The real clincher is that lenders and insurance companies want a survey by a certified professional. Please note, the nearest licensed and certified surveyor to the Big Bend is in Panama City. There are at least two people in our area who claim to be surveyors. They state they are members of the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (SAMS) and/or National Association of Marine Surveyors (NAMS). Being a member is not the same as being certified. Anyone reading this article can be a member and that alone is no indicator of skill, knowledge, or experience. These men may be highly knowledgeable but it is disingenuous of them to infer that by joining SAMS they are certified.
These certifications are not easy to obtain and while not a guarantee of professionalism, they are a good beginning. If you hire a surveyor, be sure he is certified by one or both of these national accredited professional associations, that he is insured, and that he is approved by your lender and insurance company.
One more caveat is in order. The surveyor is supposed to be working for the man who pays him, but it does not always work out that way. Surveyors depend upon referrals from brokers, dealers, and boatyards. Without them they would starve. This may result in a conflict of interest and may result in a superficial report that ignores and/or understates many defects. This happened to a very good friend of mine in Mobile. The selling yacht broker sent him to a local surveyor to examine and report on a very poorly maintained vessel. The result was the most misrepresentative survey I have seen in thirty years in the boat business and the buyer paid far, far too much for the boat as a result. There is a very well-known surveyor in Lauderdale who has gotten far too close to the brokers. He was once hired to inspect a boat that I had listed. During the survey, he took me aside and asked what market value I wanted him to report on the boat. Any surveyor who does this needs to find a new vocation.
Lesson learned – with boats as with real estate get your own surveyor and ignore the seller’s recommendations. And if you suffer a casualty, you don’t have to accept the insurance company’s opinion. Their “surveyors” are often nothing but adjusters in disguise and they get well paid to look after the company’s interest, not yours.
The hull surveyor is rarely if ever qualified to do an engine survey. It is wise to get an engine survey from a mechanic or technician fully certified for that engine. Don’t take your four-stroke Honda to a two-stroke Evinrude mechanic. He should check compression, ignition, look for signs of wear, particles, water, or other impurities in the lower unit oil and crankcase oil for four-strokes. Check everywhere for corrosion. If you are looking at a later model engine, get a computer diagnostic done. These tests are not foolproof. There is no mechanic in the world who can guarantee the shaft won’t break two hours after you first launch the boat, but these steps will reduce the risk of buying a lemon.