Preparing Your Boat for the Marine Surveyor

Most marine surveyors in West Palm Beach are very busy all throughout the year. It is always of the utmost importance that the boat owner schedules an appointment as early as possible. Oftentimes, people want the survey performed as soon as possible. Everybody seems to want everything completed immediately however; there are too many variables when it comes to doing vessel inspections. Inspections cannot take place in inclement weather, and since the owner or representative must be present when the survey is being done, there are bound to be scheduling issues. Flexibility is a must for the boat owner.

Remove Unnecessary Equipment

Most boat owners have loads of equipment stowed away on their vessels. It makes sense, to keep your fishing gear, wet suits and the like on the boat. While this keeps clutter out of the house or garage, it can be a hindrance when the surveyor is trying to maneuver about the vessel. If you have the boom and sails stowed away below, be sure to remove those as well. Remove all unnecessary gear prior to the marine survey. It will make things so smoother.

Clean the Vessel

Nothing throws a wrench into the machine than expecting a marine surveyor to inspect a dirty boat. This is impossible to do. Every inch of the boat must be clean. This includes all of the compartments, the bilges and the machinery spaces as well. One would think that this would be obvious, but few vessel owners actually do this properly. Think about it. It would be virtually impossible to inspect the keel bolts if the bilge is filthy. Naturally, the deck should be meticulously clean as well.

Have Your Tools

The marine surveyor does not remove the panels or other things to access areas that need to be inspected. This is not part of his job. He does not provide you with the tools to do so either. You will need to bring your own tools and do the removals yourself. There is way too much liability involved if the surveyor snaps a fastener or something else breaks during the inspection. To eliminate the possibility of the inspector having to pay for costly repairs, the owner must handle accessing the areas.

Be Prompt

If all parties that are involved with the marine survey have an appointment for 10 AM, be sure that everyone gets there on time. Those who are running late will put the surveyor behind schedule. Remember, there are other boat owners who need to get their inspections done too. Being respectful of the inspector’s time is important. Just as your time is valuable, so is his. The marine surveyors at Simex International work very hard to accommodate everyone’s schedules.