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MARINE SURVEY SELF GOVERNING / UNREGULATED
I HAVE STARTED THIS RANT PROBABLY SIX TIMES, THIS IS JUST ONE OF THOSE TOPICS. SOME WILL DISAGREE WITH ME. BUT I WILL BET MORE WILL AGREE.
When you hire a marine surveyor what are you getting, and does he / she know anymore than you? Did they get a copy of another survey and copy your information into the appropriate areas? Forget about the fact that this person probably doesn't know how to calibrate or use a moisture meter correctly (the surveyors favorite tool). The fact is most surveyors probably cannot tell you or even understand how the most expensive and crucial parts of a new boat actually work. Do they know how to assess servomechanisms and electronic controls for corrosion. Surveys today must go way beyond the boat and its structure and hit the heart of were a boats value really lies, the propulsion system. I am aware that if a boat is rotten or falling apart that it will not pass a survey, However not passing a survey does not stop a sales deal or a boat owner from getting insurance. As a matter of fact the structural repairs on a new technology boat will be cheaper to fix than a mechanical failure will be. Case in point: a boat last year with an early generation IPS (yes there are multiple generations of almost every fly by wire control system) steering failure cost over $20,000 Canadian Dollars to fix and its still not out of the woods yet. Corrosion has set into all the delicate sensors and electronics that make the system work, yet this boat has flown thru survey after survey. Traditional marine surveys don't even require the boat to run never mind the fact that a survey is completed at the dock or on land (if you have a marine surveyor who takes out the boat please let me know). So what is a survey and why the hell even have one done anymore. They are expensive and provide not one guarantee. The list of deficiencies are usually past on from owner to owner. A lot of insurance companies are not even requesting one any more, and I understand why!
I copied this from SAMS the organization most surveyors cling to when justifying their rate and background.
SAMS
Anyone can title him or herself as a Marine Surveyor and start a business. Certain marine surveyors are permitted to use a designation denoting membership in accrediting organiza- tions that require members to meet strict professional, technical and ethical standards.
Surveyors should provide you with a professionally prepared report that can be accepted by your bank and/or insurance company. Talk with prospective surveyors and ask questions! What does the survey include and what type of reporting format is used? Do they use ABYC, NFPA and USCG standards in their surveys? How much will the inspection cost? How long will the on-board inspection take?
A thorough inspection will not be rushed and will depend on the type of survey required based on vessel size, equipment and on-board systems. There may be additional services available such as engine surveys, oil analysis, galvanic and stray current corrosion testing, ultrasonic testing, moisture testing and other non-destructive tests. There may be additional charges for these and other services.
Well conducted surveys can provide good infor-mation on the vessels' condition, but they are not guarantees. The surveyor reports the condition in accessible areas only as it exists at the time of inspection.
Why should you have a vessel surveyed? Most insurance companies and banks will require them on older vessels. They will need to know her condition and fair market value in order to finance and/or underwrite the vessel. Knowing her condition and fair market value before you purchase is also important. However, the most important reason to survey your vessel is for the safety of the passengers and crew
and the procedures for each vary to best suit your needs:
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Arrange to present a clean, shipshape boat, and have all papers and miscellaneous gear ready. If applicable, you will need to make arrangements with the marina to haul the vessel for bottom inspection, and retain a captain for sea trials. Lockers and cabin areas should be cleared of all miscellaneous gear. 
You read all that I hope. I think that surveys are a necessity more now than ever however the parameters that a survey covers must be expanded and a level of responsibility placed on the surveyor (we should rename the service from survey to safety check). In the automotive industry, aircraft industry and almost every other form of transportation someone, some were has an obligation by law to inform you of the safety of the vehicle. Why not create a similar standard with boats. This would create a safety net for boaters that would protect them from buying unsafe, unfit vessels. As environmental protection closes in on pleasure boats perhaps that will be the spark that will create an official boat certification program. If surveyors (even certified marine technicians) had a legal obligation and laws to back them up then we would see changes in the amount of floating junk out there. I myself have been on several insured vessels that I wanted to declare unfit to be in the water. Surveyors promote themselves as safety advocates yet what have they done as a group protect the vessel owners? These professionals must know we have a problem.
Self regulation is always a slippery slope, why not have 100,000 surveyors on the roster all paying dues and SAMS can triple the number of non mandatory courses for them at 1000 dollars a head and create an even bigger group of self appointed experts to take our money. A surveyor today should be just as much a graduate of MIT as a boat guy who has an understanding of boat structure (which to is fast going to be outdated). We need new regulation and new ideas to protect boaters. Other countries around the world are addressing this problem Canada and the US are stuck in the belief that new ideas should be crushed by the old guard, and who ever else is the beneficiary of bulling every one else of the marine industry block. The industry is changing and with this change will come new ideas I hope our officials don't continue to support the old guard any more.
As boating continues to grow and evolve so to should the services boaters pay for. I guarantee you if surveyors had a legal responsibility at least half of them would disappear. Boaters are in the same place the housing industry was in several years ago when house experts crawled out of the wood work to do home inspections. We need to clean up the marine survey industry and create a new survey that will cover the complete boat with more emphasis placed on the systems in the boat that all boaters count on the most, yet know the least about when making a purchase. The engines ,transmissions, drives the propulsion system.
I feel any information a boater or potential new boater can obtain about their boat is great, and I really am not against surveys. But come on when you consider the investment and commitment a boat takes shouldn't we demand more from those who we pay to advise us. After all they are supposed to be the experts. I am tired of walking the docks and seeing slicks in the water. Boats that shouldn't be sold anymore crossing the lake with a load of kids in them. If there is a boat for sale there always seems to be a buyer. All I want to do is somehow be sure that all boats that are out on a weekend are not fire traps or breakdown queens.
As boating continues to grow and evolve so to should the services boaters pay for. I guarantee you if surveyors had a legal responsibility at least half of them would disappear. Boaters are in the same place the housing industry was in several years ago when house experts crawled out of the wood work to do home inspections. We need to clean up the marine survey industry and create a new survey that will cover the complete boat with more emphasis placed on the systems in the boat that all boaters count on the most, yet know the least about when making a purchase. The engines ,transmissions, drives the propulsion system.
I feel any information a boater or potential new boater can obtain about their boat is great, and I really am not against surveys. But come on when you consider the investment and commitment a boat takes shouldn't we demand more from those who we pay to advise us. After all they are supposed to be the experts. I am tired of walking the docks and seeing slicks in the water. Boats that shouldn't be sold anymore crossing the lake with a load of kids in them. If there is a boat for sale there always seems to be a buyer. All I want to do is somehow be sure that all boats that are out on a weekend are not fire traps or breakdown queens.
AUTHOR BW
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